More on Anthem: 2005 Debut with DNA

24 Sep 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 0 Comments

Back in 2005, the now-Duke famous Anthem (Anteneh Addisu) made it into the pages of the Chronicle (specifically, recess) for a show he and 10 other MCs played on Halloween at George’s Garage.

It was the dancy “This Is How We Do” that finally got the crowd’s attention. Building on senior “Big” Will Durrah’s infectious hook, junior Anteneh Addisu took over, spitting rhymes that went right to the heart of his student audience.

“Try to tell the girl I’m sorry/She’s down the hall telling my RA,” Addisu jived. And on a night where the most risque masquers wore not skimpy costumes but the initials “ALE” on their backs, nothing garnered louder applause than Addisu’s declaration, “I drink and I don’t give a damn about no A-L-E!” By the time the song ended, the audience was pressed up against the band, finally feeling the music.

You can check out the full story here.

Anthem's Hip-Hot Roots at Duke

24 Sep 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 1 Comments

Yesterday’s explosion of Anthem’s Blue Devil-themed hip-hop track “Dear Duke” sparked some interest as to who Atteneh Addisu. Turns out, some of his footing in rap came from his “dear” alma mater. In light of the 2007 Don Imus scandal, WRAL reported on Duke’s hip-hop class with Robi Roberts. Here’s what Addisu had to say:

“Don Imus really took attention and put it on hip-hop,” said Duke student Anteneh Addisu. “What everyone’s fired up about is the popular presentation of hip-hop. It’s not actually. Hip-hop is a very large animal. All you know are the claws.”

Check back here for more information about Addisu’s supposed homecoming appearance this weekend.

Interview: Paranormal Activity Dir. Oren Peli

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Film, interview, Playground, 0 Comments

recess’ Sanette Tanaka recently spoke with Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli on a college conference call. The film, about a couple who moves into a new house only to find it haunted by a demonic spirit, has been hyped to be one of the scariest of the year. Read the full transcript of all the participants’ questions and Peli’s responses after the jump.

I’m good. Well, I know a little about the movie, but I don’t know much about the background and inspiration. Could you elaborate a little bit?

The expression specifically for the movie was, first of all, I’ve always been a fan of horror movies, but the kind of horror movies that play more on your psychology rather than the gore. And the movies like Blair Witch Project and The Others show that, you know, you can make a movie that will be very scary and creepy even without having to rely on kind of like over-the-top special effects. So I always thought it could be like very interesting to try to make a movie basically that I would enjoy.

And what ended up happening is that when I moved to my house, the first house that I owned, we started hearing all sorts of like weird noises during the night. Some of it was probably the house settling and neither — you know, we just don’t know.

I’m not saying specifically, you know, I think there was a ghost in the house, but just the fact that there were strange things happening and I couldn’t explain them logically kind of got me thinking, “What if I had a video camera and let it run and then if something happened here in the house, maybe I can capture it.”

So I never actually went and did it for my own sake, but I thought if I did it and something did, you know, we made something happen and, you know, that would actually make a pretty interesting movie.

I was wondering what sort of advice you have for filmmakers, you know, doing this low-budget, you know, one-camera-type film?

I would say the most important thing that I found is after Blair Witch, a lot of movies came out that were trying to, you know, mimic the success of Blair Witch. And the main reason that most of them failed was the acting. And when you make this kind of a movie, you can’t just get by with decent acting because you have to, you know, have so much credibility to the performances that it doesn’t even look like acting. It looks natural.

So I told myself I wasn’t even going to bother shooting the movie unless I found actors that can, you know, be convincing enough. And it wasn’t until I found and cast Katie and Micah that I really decided, “Okay, you know, I’m going to make the movie,” because without the right acting, you could just be wasting your time. So for that kind of a movie, I would say that’s the most important thing. You can’t compromise on the level of performance.

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Review: Monsters of Folk

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Playground, Review, 0 Comments

When Aristotle decided that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, he must have been predicting Monsters of Folk’s self-titled debut album. The indie supergroup, comprised of Conor Oberst, M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and producer/musician Mike Mogis, shows evidence of each member’s musical input, but still manages to achieve its own unique sound.

Oberst’s influence is the one that is the most immediately obvious. He is musically the middle ground between Ward’s bluegrassy take on pop and James’ blues-affected folk-rock, so a blend of the three styles sounds consistent with Oberst’s past work. Despite the clear differences between songs like “The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me” and “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)”—the former a slice of Americana and the latter playful and experimental—Oberst’s presence can still be felt.

“His Master’s Voice” and “Man Named Truth” display M. Ward’s contribution to the group. The two artists fit seamlessly, matching a meaninful delivery with intriguing, reflective lyrics.

James lends his Southern-rock feel to “Whole Lotta Losin’,” and his presence shows in “Magic Marker,” which recalls 90s rocks, minus the cheesiness. That tackiness wasn’t wholly avoided on the catchy single “Say Please,” however. There’s a guitar solo halfway through, but in the context of the otherwise retro pop song, it just seems out of place. Mogis rounds out the quartet, playing instruments like the mandolin that are integral to the distinctly American feel of the album.

Although a few odd songs result when Monsters toys with the already loose definition of indie-folk-rock, the band’s formula simply works. Take “Temazcal” for example, which is a perfect synthesis of the musicians’ individual sounds. Even the occasional clashes of genre add to this character, and the album as a whole is likeable, playful and melancholic—like the band itself.
—Canon Brodar

Review: Pearl Jam

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Playground, Review, 0 Comments

Let there be no doubt: Backspacer is a great Pearl Jam album. Everything the fans have come to expect over the years is here, from frontman Eddie Vedder’s trademark growl to Mike McCready’s expert lead guitar work.

Things are kicked off by the driving, in your face “Gonna See my Friend,” opening with an explosive riff that sets the stage for Vedder’s vocals. There is a range, though, demonstrated by the vulnerable “Just Breathe.” The ballad stands out as the record’s best track, but it doesn’t stray far from the softer fare Pearl Jam has attempted in the past.

Lyrically, Backspacer is an oddball compared to the band’s older material. Gone is the angst-filled subject matter of Pearl Jam’s early days, when Vedder used to sing about his daddy issues. Instead, the songs are full of optimism: for example, Vedder proudly declares on “Amongst the Waves,” “Up riding high amongst the waves/I can feel like I/Have a soul that has been saved,” and it only gets cheerier from there. It’s a relief that he’s not whining anymore, but the transition to sappiness is sudden and unnatural.

Backspacer also has a killer flow. It kicks off with four upbeat, hard-rocking songs, and then abruptly changes to a more subtle, introspective atmosphere for the next four or so tracks, with the last three ending up somewhere in between. As jarring as the transitions were, the pacing serves to keep the album from getting stale.

Despite all this, Backspacer is not perfect. Although the songs are effective, they aren’t distinctive; it’s hard to recall particular examples beyond the overall feel of the album. The record doesn’t push the envelope, but it’s still a satisfying rendition of the tried and true Pearl Jam formula.

—Jose Lamazares