---~~A~~F~S:~-~ -, --- PAGE6 .&.. · _ ___:--t_ · SEPTEMBER 2- 8 2008 The Expmdalb>les bring SFI showcases singing Sita

reggae grooves to SS·U R<;>sEMCMACKIN 1930's. Her jazz and blues recordings StaffWriter give vibrant life and voice to Sita. Paley's animation style is wildly A'1ANDA CRAVER Prairie Sun Studios right here in Cotati. imaginative: the animated Sita resembles StaffWriter This versatile band combines punk rock, The colorfully animated "Sita Sings Betty Boop, the Sri Lankan king sports reggae, and 80's style guitar flare to cre­ the Blues," is the first feature-length of­ multiple heads, and Rama's skin is the ate a sound that fans just can't seem to fering from independent filmmaker Nina color of blue bells. Start the semester out with a bang get enough of. Paley, and it's making its Northern Cali­ Paley uses an abundance of vary­ and see what kind of entertainment No longer the rookies on the tour, fornia debut this week. ing visual styles, including several sty­ Sonoma State University is bringing The Expendables have accumulated a The Sonoma Film Institute will be listically rotoscoped sequences. The your way! rather large fan base of their own. Some screening Paley's unique vision of the psychedelic animation features a cast On Sept. 13, the Back to School of their most popular songs include "No "Ramayana" at Warren Auditorium in of hundreds, including flying monkeys, Concert in the Commons will feature Time to Worry," "One Night Stand," and Ives Hall. Screenings will be held on evil monsters, gods, goddesses, warriors, "24/7". Fri., Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Sun., Sept. sages, and winged eyeballs. The con- 14 at 4:00 p.m. "I hope they laugh [ when they see cert will be­ The self-proclaimed "Greatest the film]! Also I hope that they would gin at 8 p.m., Breakup Story Ever Told," tells the anal­ actually read the real Ramayana. For and Commons ogous stories of the traditional Indian a lot of people this is going to be their will be opened "Ramayana" and the breakup of first encounter with the Ramayana, and it at 7:30 p.m. Paley's modem marriage. shouldn't be," stated Paley. However, to Paley wrote, directed, produced, and Paley's quirky film was named \ get a sneak designed the 82-minute film by herself, "Best.Feature" at the Amnecy Animation peak at The creating all the animation using Flash, Film Festival, and "Best American Film" Expendables and occasionally water­ before the colors, on her laptop over show, check a period of five years. out their web­ Three witty shadow site at www. puppets narrate the par­ theexpend­ allel stories of Sita, the CoURTESY II MYSPACE.COM ables.net or leading lady of the "Ra­ The Expendables, Ryan Demars (Bass), Adam Patterson take a look at mayana," and Nina, the (Drums), Geoff Weers (Vocals/Guitar), and Raul Bianchi their MySpace filmmaker herself. Sita, a (Guitar), are setting their sights on SSU's Commons. page at www. Hindu goddess, follows myspace.com/ her husband, Rama, into The Expendables, a well known, and theexpendables. 14-year exile, only to be highly talked about punk-reggae band This concert is brought to you cour­ kidnapped by a Sri Lank­ from Santa Cruz, Ca., and Dirty Penny, tesy of Associated Students Productions an king. a classic metal band who have made a (ASP). Tickets for SSU students with Though Sita stays name for themselves playing all over the school ID are free, while general admis­ loyal to her husband, she CoURTESY II 8ITASINGSTHEBLUES.COM Bay Area. sion tickets are $10 and available at the faces a maze .of tempta­ Paley's use of diverse anirnation styles gives "Sita For the past year The Expendables front desk of the Student Union. tions. Meanwhile, Paley Sings the Blues" a crisp and dynamic quality. have been dazzling crowds across the After their performance here at describes her broken nation, touring alongside Slightly Stoop­ SSU, The Expendables will be back on marriage in honest detail, including how at the Avignon Film Festival, as well as id and Pepper on the Tailgate 2008 Tour. the road, finishing up in California and her husband--in India on business--end-· receiving honorable mention at the Ber- While playing with Slightly Stoopid, the beginning their Fall 2008 Tour with Re­ ed their marriage via email. linale Film Festival. , Expendables impressed more than just bolution and OPM so be sure to catch "The aspect of the story that I focus Tickets for "Sita Sings the Blues" their fans, landing themselves a record them now befqre they head out across on is the relationship between Sita and are free for SSU students, $5 for general !lea! with Stoopid Records. the country. Rama, who are gods incarnated as hu­ admission, $4.50 for seniors and non­ People are raving about the Expend­ If you have questions about the man beings, and even they can't make SSU students, and $3.50 for SFI mem­ ables' latest and self-titled album, "The Back To School Concert,, contact Sara ''their marriage work," Paley explained to bers and children under 12. Expendables," released in 2007. A ma­ Kaufman at 707-664-2753. For more in­ WIRED magazine. For more information on "Sita Sings jority of the album was recorded in Phil­ formation about ASP and other campus The exotic story and vibrant anima­ tpe Blue'' or otfier upcomfog films, call adelphia aJld it featlhs a new YenlMMl'of events, call 7()1..664-238?, t*-visit www. tion are set to the vocals of Annette Han­ (707) 664-2606 or visit SFI's website at "Burning Up," which was recorded at sonoma.edu/as/asp. shaw, a radio star from the 1920's and www.sonoma.edu/sfi. Bloc Party gets intimate on new LP

MICHAEL DIGRANDE synthesizers, Bloc Party everything from messy discos rather than onto seam.less the band is able cused and pushed Bloc A&E Editor has decided to remind ev­ static splatterings_, to thick a bottle of their favorite to mesh their electronic Patty to a point where eryone that there are still and powerful drums. The bourbon. leanings with therr off~ they feel they can truly artists out there trying track climbs and falls • Elsewhere, "Zepb­ kilter riff.~ and relentless tackle any arrangement. With the onset of iP­ to make substantive and with grace and ferocity, as erus" begins with Oker­ rhythms. 4'rojanHorse's.. The album's opus ods and iTunes accounts sonically dense albums. front man Kele Okereke's eke's voice copiously fuzzy and digitally laced is the ethereal "Signs," becoming common place Taking a page out of full voice barely holds the layered against bleak overdrive plug,s away re- a sparse number mere­ in the 2000s, it feels like Radiohead's playbook, chaos together. ly held together by a there's a disturbing trend the British four piece dig­ As a whole, plethora of chimes and of fewer and fewer bands itally released their third "Intimacy" re­ sweeping strinp. · pushing the sonic envel­ album, "Intimacy;· on veals a vastly There's a soar­ op. Aug. 21., a mere few days different Bloc ing quality to it, with You know the bands after the final mixing and Party than the Okereke channeling I'm talking about, the mastering was completed. public might be bis smoothest register ones that make you re­ While the physical ready for, a band for largest effect as he think how you look at an release slated for Oct. 28. that focuses on sings. "J see signs now album, the bands that took promises fans additional . tension and com­ all the time/That you're radical risks to explore tracks, the 10 songs on peting sounds not dead, you're sleep-­ soundscapes and musi­ "Intimacy's" digital re­ rather than at­ ing... " cal tension rather than the lease represent a band tempting to re­ Nimble keyboards next Top 40 hit. · fascinated with combin­ hash the spikey crop htre and there, but It seems like they've ing abrasive white noise post-punk of the sparld~ quality of gone the way of the dino­ clattering alongside dense 2005's "Silent "Signs" illustrates how saurs, unable to coexist or dance beats and majestic Alarm" or the Bloc Party has managed compete in this musical atmospherics. expansive ambi­ to experiment in a soni­ landscape of Soulja Boys The album's opening ance of 2007's cally cooragcous way and Panic(!) At The Dis­ track, "Ares," successful­ "A Weekend In while still .retaining their cos. ly illustrates how baroque The City." CoURTESY // ITHINKYOURESWELL.BLOGSPOT.COM signature song ctaft. So far, the 2000s and meticulously crafted But for as Russel Liasadt and Kele Okereke's intertwining guitar play is In the end. this is have yet to yield an album Bloc Party has made "In­ abrasive as some only one of the draws to the diverse "Intimacy." probably why "Inti~ that's as revolutionary as timacy". Making liberal of these songs macy' succ;eeds; Bloc an "Adore" or a "Kid A." use of Russel Lissack's are, there is a sensual and thumping beats and velvet lentlessty, with dnnmner Party didn't need to write Yet at a time where guitar turned air-raid si­ sexual tension to much of strings, all before erupting Matt Tong's avalanche of this .rcconl. most bands make music ren, the band launches this album. in gothic tinged backing rolls and fills providing Fans would have that's an easily digestible into a chucky and stutter­ The grimy break vocals. busy back beats. been fine if they made an­ pile of hooks and slick ing number that marries beats, buzzing keyboards, Part Danny Elfman "Bik.o" begins with other --Silent Alarm" be­ and sliding horns score, part danceball sparse open notes as it cause of it's ac<:essibility found on "Mer­ anthem, the track soars slowly builds alongside and it's deft boob, but in­ cwy" bring that with a cinematic quality syrupy guitar tones and ~ they opced to create tension into a while Okereke laments, skittering bRak beats a t1onically div~ ffl:Old downright dance­ "8actwardl. forwards while Okereke morosely in the name ofgrowth. able, din. but making no ground at sing,, "Wa., my love not 1ltey've channeled And while all/Standutg in the city strong enougb?/fo bring band.'! . like Radiobead, Okereke has with the clocks counting you back from the dead/If The Smashing Pumpkins, fomp~~ stated that much words/And your face is I could I would ~t your and U2, choosing to cre­ of "Intimacy's" still wet from the night cancer/But I can't."' 1lte Qte an album ofsongs that , 'VdMldl. ~ lyrics deal with before/As yout teats bit whole song concludes would mean ~ to them a painful break the 8J'IJUDd blue flowers widl choppy digital trick­ and their craft rather than (101} 1,,.,,u up he endured at spring from them," ery as Okereke's wail trying to top themselves the end of 2007, make no mis-­ - But fades wistfully into the with somcthingthat would . songs like "Mer­ take, Bloc Party have not distance. yield huge sales. cwy" might actu­ crafted a straigllt dance al­ ProduceB Jae.knife And that brings us in­ 8mile and 8ave ally push listeners bum. In fact, ··tntimacy•s" Lee and Paul Epworth timately closer to a set of into clubs and strength relies OD how seem to have milly fo- serious n1usicians.