[email protected] Technique Entertainment Editor: Daniel Spiller 17 Friday, Assistant Entertainment Editor: February 13, 2009 Entertainment Jennifer Aldoretta !e Fray releases more Jason new, not improved catchy, TV-ready tunes MUSIC The Fray The Fray LABEL: Sony GENRE: Pop/Rock TRACK PICKS: “You Found Me,” “Where the Story Ends” and “We Bend Then We Break” Image courtesy of Sony OUR TAKE: !!!!! By Tim Bruegger Contributing Writer !e album’s production does not always seem to do all of the For many listeners, !e Fray band’s instruments justice, how- is forever tied with the television ever. Lead guitarist Dave Welsh medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, and rhythm guitarist Joe King for their wildly popular 2005 o#er memorable performances single, “How to Save a Life.” !e on the track, “Say When,” mostly Fray’s second, self-titled album because there is less piano in it. brings more of what the music It is a shame that Slade’s piano fans have come to expect from at times overpowers their playing the Denver quartet: soft, piano- throughout the album. !is takes infused songs about love, loss and away from the distinctiveness of reconciliation. the band’s songs, which doesn’t !e Fray is not anything par- do them any favors in the age of ticularly new, but it de"nitely digital downloads where albums has its charms. Lead singer and are harder to sell when a buyer pianist Isaac Slade adds an appro- can simply purchase the popular priately earnest touch to his songs’ singles. lyrics, even if his voice is not dis- “You Found Me,” the album’s tinct. Most of the tracks seem to "rst single, is a noticeable at- be designed as ino#ensively as tempt to recapture the essence of possible, leading to soothing (but what made their previous singles sometimes boring) songs. so powerful. Despite starting Slade’s piano is featured in with the lyrics, “I found God on most of the tracks with vary- the corner of First and Amistad, ing degrees of success, but comes where the West was all but won,” through strongly on highlights which is trite and confusing at the “Syndicate” and “Where the Story same time, the track is passionate Ends.” !e piano intro to “Where with a memorable chorus. It will Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures the Story Ends” is one of the most surely "nd its way into popular memorable parts of the album and TV shows, especially medical will likely stick in listeners’ heads after a few plays. See Fray, page 20 FILM Lake, but somehow came back it starts taking away from the Friday the 13th to life. His mother, unaware that horri"c elements of a movie, I he had come back to life, went on personally think the director Umphrey’s delivers stellar jam GENRE: Horror a killing spree and killed all but has gone too far. !is movie is STARRING: Jared Padalecki, one of the camp counselors who somehow still rated R even with tracks on Mantis Amanda Righetti and Derek ended up killing Jason’s mother. all of the nudity in it probably MUSIC Mears !e movie alludes to the fact that because there was very little gore Umphrey’s McGee DIRECTOR: Marcus Nispel Jason is somehow dis"gured and in comparison to other slasher possibly mentally handicapped. movies. !e kills lacked creativ- Mantis RATING: R !e premise of the remake ity for the most part and while LABEL: Sci Fidelity RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, is that a group of teenagers go still violent, this movie does 2009 camping out in the woods to "nd nothing new or even impressive. GENRE: Rock, Jam Band a "eld of marijuana, so they can !e huge lag between the TRACK PICKS: “Mantis,” OUR TAKE: !!!!! sell it to make big bucks. As night "rst set of killings and the sec- “Cemetery Walk” and “Spires” falls, one by one the teenagers are ond was way too long, and look- By Kristin Hanson separated from each other and the ing around the theater at times, OUR TAKE: !!!!"! Sta! Writer bloodshed beings. !e "rst 20 I could tell I was not the only Image courtesy of Sci Fidelity minutes of the movie are as good one who was bored. !e direc- !e Friday the 13th remake as this movie gets, because while tor was probably trying to estab- By Philip Poole the guys gets a look on his face that comes out in theaters today the beginning is pumped full of lish a story for the characters, Contributing Writer and says something along the lines delivers over-sexed and under- action all at once, the disjointed but the fact of the matter is of, “Oh really? Us real Bonnarroo- slaughtered stoners. !e "lm is remainder of the movie leaves the that the story was not interest- Umphrey’s McGee makes an- ers came to see Les Claypool, Um- directed by Marcus Nispel, who audience a little bored at times. ing. I’d much rather see heads gry hippie music. Not that they phrey’s McGee, Phil Lesh….” also directed the Texas Chain- Another group of teenagers, roll when I’m watching a horror sound like Grateful Dead with a When we returned that night, saw Massacre remake that came unrelated to the "rst, are on a movie than watch some people harder edge or anything (although the camp was trashed–upturned out in 2003. It is produced by road trip to one of the guy’s lake play beer pong, smoke weed and that kind of sound is de"nitely in tents, stu# scattered and trampled Michael Bay, who has been in- house after the happenings with have sex. their repertoire), but they literally on (not stolen though, because volved with another horror clas- the campers. On their trip, they People get killed o# rather craft music that appeals to malev- Bonnarooers never steal). So af- sic remake, !e Amityville Hor- meet Clay, played by Jared Pa- quickly after the long, bor- olent stoners. ter that, I forever associated Um- ror in 2005. dalecki, who is searching for his ing middle. In the "nal stand My "rst Bonnaroo festival was phrey’s McGee with unruly con- For those unfamiliar with the missing sister Whitney. It ends up against Jason, they overcome in 2006. After pulling up the car certgoers, and I deliberately went Friday the 13th series, the movie that Whitney, played by Amanda him and put an end to all the in the 250-acre "eld that serves as out of my way to avoid seeing Um- tells a little bit about killer Ja- Righetti, was one of the teenagers horror. Or so they think. !ey the camping area, the "rst thing phrey’s McGee play. After all, how son’s back story, but it doesn’t camping at the beginning of the throw his dead body into Crys- that happened to my group was could the only non-cool guys that exactly match up with the origi- movie. tal Lake and breathe a sigh of re- being accosted by a couple dudes I’ve ever met at Bonnaroo have nal series. In this remake, Ja- All horror movies have teenage lief. But as every good Jason fan demanding to know what bands good music taste? son drowned at Camp Crystal sex scenes and nudity, but once knows, Jason never dies. we had come to see. “Mainly Ra- diohead,” my friend said. One of See Umphrey’s, page 21 ENTERTAINMENT Technique t'FCSVBSZ t 19 2 4 5 3 2 7 2 1 4 6 1 6 5 6 3 5 1SUDOKU8 3 5 4 5 6 2 7 4 8 45 PUZZLES 8 9 1 8 9 3 9 4 1 7 3 9 8 7 6 4 7 1 4 6 2 7 3 4 8 5 4 2 6 6 9 3 Advertise with us! Visit nique.net/ads for information !"#$%&'(" )**(+",-"(.&//&%0(&/((((((1 2 3&44)(.""!&%0/(5%(!1"/6)7/( !"#$%$&"'()"*+,-.,/)&"011%23! t'FCSVBSZ tTechnique ENTERTAINMENT Fray from page 17 dramas. Even the music video for the song has paramedics and an Coraline pleases the eye,Image courtesy not of Focus Features the mind FILM horribly tacky recreation of the ambulance, as if the band realizes Coraline Birth of Venus with a buxom old that it needs to play up its prime- woman. time TV appeal. GENRE: Animation, Fantasy !e #rst true climax of the !is strategy of making STARRING: Dakota Fanning, #lm fell short of exciting. !is, soundtrack music can seem unap- Teri Hatcher and John the grand challenge Coraline pealing; it devalues the artistic as- Hodgman must make against the ruler of pects of the band by implying that this Other World, just does not they found a successful formula DIRECTOR: Henry Selick validate the anticipation I felt and want to stay with it. Often- RATING: PG building inside me as Coraline’s times, the formula only works for perfect world grew more and more so long before listeners want some RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2009 sinister. !e moment felt entirely growth. !e Fray has the poten- too rushed and the challenges far tial to grow but is going to have OUR TAKE: !!!"!! less complicated than I imagined. to take more chances; this album !ere should have been some an- fails to provide noticeably di"er- By Kenny Phillips guish or some feeling that she may ent music. Sta! Writer not accomplish her daring deeds Giving some optimism for by the #nish, or some greater peril the band’s future work, however, Who is that shiny-haired girl in the tasks she had to accomplish.