The Ithacan

Book gives outsiders uneasy peek into music business

By Harry Shuldman, Senior Writer • April 4, 2008

With the possible exceptions of Tipper Gore, cops and Scott Stapp, there’s no greater enemy to rock ’n’ roll than corporate suits: faceless, fun-hating squares who refer to bands as products and albums as units. Yet, according to Dan Kennedy in his new book, “Rock On: An Office Power Ballad,” these are the people who…

Rudimentary career book misses target audience

By Jamie Saine, Accent Editor • March 28, 2008

A major part of college is partying and having the time of your life. When you hit senior year and realize you’ll soon be entering the dreaded “real world,” the partying usually gets stepped up a notch in a desperate attempt to ignore the inevitable. Author David J. Rosen understands the panic and outlines some…

Mars Volta reaches new heights

By Byard Duncan, Staff Writer • February 7, 2008

Listening to the Mars Volta is a lot like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle in the middle of a hurricane. The band’s explosive compositions are equal parts mathematical logic and natural disaster, a constant zigzag between focused polyrhythmic breakdowns and the spastic drone of buzz-saw guitars. “The Bedlam in Goliath,” the band’s latest…

The Onion’s writers make reading the World atlas fun

By Harry Shuldman, Senior Writer • November 16, 2007

For everyone who thinks Columbia is for cocaine, Belgium is for chocolate, Norway is for Vikings and has never even heard of Kyrgyzstan (let alone can pronounce it), there is finally a book that gloriously reaffirms all your favorite global stereotypes and misconceptions. “Our Dumb World” ($27.99) is a fictional atlas about real countries. Equal…

‘Rendition’ brings national issue to public eyes

By Amanda Cecca, Contributing Writer • November 1, 2007

With a powerhouse team of actors, it is very difficult for “Rendition” not to deliver. The gripping melodrama gives faces to the government practice of “extraordinary rendition” — sending people to another county for torture interrogation — and these faces just happen to be such Hollywood A-listers as Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep and…

Comedy Central anchor masters the art of publishing

By Harry Shuldman, Staff Writer • October 26, 2007

You know a person is planning to run for president when he releases a book. John F. Kennedy released “Profiles in Courage” in 1956. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and he was commander in chief a few years later. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has already released two books. Now add Stephen Colbert to this list…

Film gives new life to classic Beatles music

By Byard Duncan, Staff Writer • October 25, 2007

If the Beatles can be considered a force that redefined the genre of rock ‘n’ roll, it should now be said that Julie Taymor’s film “Across the Universe,” an unrelentingly lush visual exploration of the Fab Four’s repertoire, does much of the same for the American musical. The film’s plot, though at times skating on…

Film shows the Virgin Queen’s romantic side

By Courtney Miller, Contributing Writer • October 25, 2007

Nearly 10 years ago, director Shekhar Kapur put a spin on the life of Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England, in the blockbuster “Elizabeth,” starring Cate Blanchett. It combined romance, treason, attempted assassination and the threat of Catholic Spain to create a clever masterpiece. In the sequel, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Kapur gives us a second…

Documentary casts new light on old topic

By Garrett Stiger, Senior Writer • October 11, 2007

What distinguishes Charles Ferguson’s “No End in Sight” from other documentaries about the Iraq War is Ferguson’s lack of celebrity. Where Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” is bogged down by his persona and sensationalism, Ferguson’s stinging indictment of the war focuses on the cold, hard facts. Ferguson draws on extensive insider testimonies to reveal unsettling truths.…

Latest Farrelly brothers release lacks comedic charm

By Amanda Cecca, Contributing Writer • October 11, 2007

When you think of R-rated adult comedies, you tend to consider the classics: “Harold and Kumar,” “American Pie” and “There’s Something About Mary.” The appeal of these laugh-out-loud adult films are what the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter, were trying to recreate when remaking Neil Simon’s “The Heartbreak Kid.” They fell surprisingly short, however. Ben…

Predictable British farce still pulls laughs

By Benjamin Tietz, Staff Writer • October 11, 2007

Though it runs the risk of stereotyping a wonderful culture and country, it’s fair to say the British do dark comedy better than any other group of people in the entertainment industry. Black comedy is a hard genre to pull off successfully. If the film goes too dark, it can feel forced, unpleasant and in…

Drama follows agents’ international journey

By Alex Palombo, Contributing Writer • October 4, 2007

The devil is in the details. “The Kingdom” weaves a tantalizing web that is slowly and teasingly unraveled by the discovery of seemingly minute and meaningless details, and its mystery is ultimately solved because of two small observations. This meticulous attention to detail is evident in the opening sequence, a succinct three-minute timeline of Saudi…