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Show Thursday, April 27, 2006 ™DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 12 COUNTDOWN OF TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR her belated, but beautiful, Extraordinary Machine (Version 2.0): "I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes." But, after a massive effort by her fans to 'Tree Fiona," the talented and pensive pianista broke from her self-imposed seclusion to once again win the hearts ^nd heads of music lovers everywhere. Inspired by the outpouring of support for both her.and her incarcerated third album—which was never officially released in its first (weeeeird) Brion incarnation, though nevertheless "leaked" onto the Internet for all to hear—Apple went back to the studio with a new guru, Mike Elizondo, and reproduced what is arguably her most personal, and inarguably her best, album to date. The perfectly titled Ex- Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine 3 Fiona Apple had a rough transition into 2005, but, like the flower that graces continued from Page 11 the inside cover of her third and simplicity of singular record, Extraordinary Manotes. It never feels rushed. chine, the artist blossomed Fittingly, the album opens despite her adversity. After a much-gossipedwith the Radiohead-esque "Wordless Chorus," on which about break-up from a certain James sings, "Tell me spirit/ celebrity director and the What has not been done?/ decision, on behalf of her reWe'll rush out and do it/ Or cord label, not to release her quirky, Jon Brion-produced are we doing it now?" WithZ's breathy lyrics, sub- third album after it was nearly dued (when appropriate) and finished, it seemed as though riotous (when needed) gui- the lovely Ms. Apple had evtar licks—balanced by James* ery reason to sit about her beautiful swan voice—the an- house and mope her pretty swer very clearly is: Yes, My little head off. Morning Jacket. You are doWhich, coincidentally, she ing it now. did for quite some time—as she explains in the first line of -E.G. knobby tires IT .TQ JOUR ON YOUR WHILE have nofcteawhat they're missing by living off campus so here's the deM—well qfae you a $ 10 gjft certificatetothe bookstore, a free meal from our acdaimed dining hall, and a $5 gift certificate from Outdoor Recreation (good toward a mountain bfke or other equipment rental). All you havetodo h take a student-led tour of our residence halls; just stop by our main office {easily drum kit and 100-watt amplifiers—combined. After undertaking an ambitious musico-geographical project—to capture, on tape, the quirks and nuances of each of the 50 united states—a few years back with the alsoawesome Michigan, Stevens returned in 2005 to prove that his cartographical inclinations were no passing phase. Neither was his beautiful way with music. With the release of Illinois, Stevens captured the attention of a cynical music world with heartfelt songs about UFOs, serial killers and Superman. He also managed t6 come up with the most out-of-hand, loquacious song titles since, oh, Rush, But the adorable theoretical content of the album is not Bloc Party, Silent what makes Illinois one of the Alarm If I had any choice in best records of the year—it's the matter, I would have been the way Stevens, with comborn black, raised in London posure and poise, manages to and formed a lightning-fast reveal the interiority of a nagarage band that would go tion and an artist within his on to .tour the world. So, ad- preconceived constructs. mittedly, it was with a small To say that songs like "John amount of jealousy that I Wayne Gacy, Jr." or "Casimir watched Bloc Party's Kele Pulaski Day" are actually Okerere put the world in a fe- about mass murderers and ver with his band's infectious parades would be like saying indie album Silent Alarm in "Godzilla" is really a movie 2005. And if the rave reviews about a giant fire-breathing didn't make me jealous, the lizard—they are much, much fact that the album is every bit more. As explorations of melas good as the hype definitely ancholy, joy, isolation, love made me green with envy. found and love lost, all the -M.H. cuts on Illinois probe deeper than anyone thought posSufjan Stevens, Illinois sible—and they do so with Much has been said the help of some of the best about this Midwestern melodies and orchestrations indie-orchestral genius in heard in years. The result of 2005—most of it centered on Stevens' efforts is a map, yes, how, exactly, we pronounce but less of a known place than of a territory previously unhis name. Let's set the record straight: charted: the statehood of the It's Soof-yan, not Sofejaaan, soul. or Sufjin or StupidindiefacedAh, it all makes sense now. loser. Touche, Sufjan. Sufjan. -E.G. Let's get another thing straight: This man has got e.green@ more creative talent in his chronicle.utah.edu snoozaphone than most mum.hogan@ sicians have in their bass, chronicle.utah.edu traordinary Machine is just that: a kitschy, well-oiled, intimate gizmo, on which we see Apple at once joyfully and ruefully exorcizing some very real demons with wit and maturity. Unlike" her previous releases—which were a bit childish at times, and often recklessly raw (though engrossing)—Machine is an exercise in mastery and restraint. Apple never gives more than is needed, but she never delivers less than listeners desire—tracks such as the bitter "O, Sailor" and the intelligent "Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)" show an artist at the top of her game, and consequently, the top of the 2005 music scene. -E.G. 4 5 accessible by hopping on any red or blue shuttje - Heritage Center stop, bWg, 822), Whether you like Heritage Common's uHra-convenient location, the value of induded amenities and dining, or want to be more connected with students and activities on ^ campus, residential housing can help you enjoy college to its fullest Watch Battery Installed' $150 Wlfh Coupon William's Master Jewelers U Housing & Residential Education rut UNIVEK-STTY of OIAH 567-2002 LIVE THE life, LIVE ON campus, UNIVERSITY FREE Jewelry Cleaning & Inspection With Coupon I William's Master Jewelers ~ Eosy Finoncing — MYSTERIOUS SKIN: HONEST AND SAD continued from Page 9 bet), a pair of 18-year-olds who don't know each other but remain unwittingly connected by a traumatic childhood event. Ten years earlier, Neil and Brian were members of the same little league baseball team. Neil is seduced and sexually abused by his baseball coach, mistakes that affection for love and grows up to be a gay male prostitute with a penchant for pleasing older men. Meanwhile, young Brian blacks out for five hours one night and wakes up in a field with a gushing nosebleed. He has no idea what happened to those five hours of his life, but as he gets older he starts to believe that he was abducted by aliens. It isn't hard to tell where this is going, but that's not the point. What matters is the way these two boys react, in completely different ways, to this childhood trauma, how they become, as Roger Ebert puts it, "different people than they were intended to become." Neil is cold and distant and approaches life with a careless and self-destructive hopelessness that eventually leads him to a couple of terrifying experiences that have him re-thinking his chosen vocation. Brian is perhaps even more disturbed. He befriends a girl named Avalyn (Mary Lynn Rajskub), who also believes she was abducted by extra-terrestrials and explains to Brian that his nosebleeds are just the aliens' "up-the-nose trick, so you can't see the scar." Avalyn helps Brian discover the connection between him and Neil, leading to a touching climactic encounter between the two. All the film's performances are good, including Elisabeth Shue, who brings warmth to her role as Neil's promiscuous but understanding mother. But the film is anchored by its two central performances, and they are the primary reason the film succeeds. As Neil, Gordon-Levitt has the film's most difficult task, asking the audience to feel sympathy and affection for a character who, even according to his best friend Wendy, has a "bottomless black hole" in place of a heart. Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since "Angels in the Outfield," and his work here is stunning. Nearly as impressive is Corbet, who, as the confused and introspective Brian, is the tragic center of the story. The material in "Mysterious Skin" is nothing new to Araki; his films are no stranger to sexual abuse and alien abductions. But unlike some of his earlier films, which often tried much too hard to be edgy and explicit, thisfilmis more subtle and focuses intimately on its characters. Araki still has some growing up to do; some of the grittiness still seems forced and at times even contrived. Regardless, this is an honest and heartbreaking piece of work and one that lingers long after we've left the theater. c.bellamy@chronicle.utah.edu OF UTAH GREEKS Where U want to . V^ FALL RECRUITMENT August 26 -M§USt 31 #.- Tisit Our website EEK |