College Rules
Tyler Wintermute
Beck turns somber on new CD
The solemn songs on
his album “Sea Change”
show mature vocals and
fine-tuned guitar skills
CD review
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
Like many great performers,
Beck Hansen’s music is best dis
cussed with a larger perspective in
mind. There is no “best” Beck
r
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album, because each one of his
nine-odd releases (counting some
that aren’t readily available any
more) seems to gain strength in
comparison to the others. This is
like a puzzle that isn’t quite com
pleted, but each time an album is
released, you see more and more
of the picture.
A good example is “Sea Change,”
the musician’s newest release. It’s
not that a listener would be lost if
this happened to be their introduc
tion to Beck, but — not all Beck
sounds like this. This album is just
Today's crossword solution
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IEAMIIV WWi an adult ticket chHdi
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as produced as his previous,
“Midnite Vultures,” but where that
release was bustling full of up
tempo tracks replete with flamboy
ant horns and Beck’s shrieks, “Sea
Change” is more somber — so
much that the album could be
viewed as one big song.
In the past, Beck’s lyrics have
tended to juxtapose the inane with
the ironic. On “Sea Change,” howev
er, he has given his words a new
found, naked strength. The sound is
decidedly reflective; on “Paper
Tiger,” he sings, “There’s one road to
the morning / There’s one road to
the truth / There’s one road back to
civilization / But there’s no road back
to you.” Listeners will easily be able
to determine the themes that “Sea
Change” touches upon: Love, loss,
confusion and sadness.
Turn to Beck, page 10
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■ Tonight ■
Benefit for
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Laura Kemp, Members of the
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Singer, Songwriters
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Margaret Cho turns
tragedy into laughs
in concert movie
The comedian leaves little
to the imagination in the
hilarious Notorious C.H.O.
Movie review
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
Like any great art form, stand
up comedy is a “chew ’em up and
spit ’em out” business consisting
of mostly forgettable performers
aiming for audiences with short
attention spans. For instance,
you’re not likely to find any in
depth discussions of Carrot Top
any time soon. And like all great
artists, comedians who endure do
it because their craft is simultane
ously fresh and timeless.
Margaret Cho’s concert movie
“Notorious C.H.O.” proves the
rule. But more than simply that,
this chick just rocks.
If Jerry Seinfeld is the voice of
the every-man, then Cho is the
voice of the every-other-man. Her
people are the outcasts. And the
proof is offered in the opening
moments of this Seattle perform
ance as we see her fans marching
into the auditorium, stopping by
the camera for short professions of
love for their idol.
For her part, Cho offers up com
edy that is truthful and rich, even
if it isn’t always universal. She’s
seen a lot and done a lot, but her
art comes from a youthful sensi
bility. You get the sense that Cho
is in a constant state of discovery
about herself and the world.
From her teenage drag queen
friends to a candid discussion of
bondage, Gho gives hilarious
insights into the absurdities of life
that Richard Pryor would be proud
of. Venturing into her own bouts
with eating disorders and low self
esteem, she proves why the great
est comedy comes from the most
painful places. There’s a strength
of character that can only come
from someone who spent much of
her life being told to stay in the
background. It is impossible to not
get a charge from watching some
one bust loose so thoroughly.
By now, Gho’s impression of her
mother has become a crowd
favorite. And “Notorious C.H.O.”
offers enough to satisfy but not
wear thin, mainly because of the
story she relates about her father’s
brush with a friend he thought was
gay. Throw in a dash of menstrua
tion and female orgasm humor
and any predictability is quickly
swept away before she launches
into an afternoon colonic story
that leaves nothing to the imagina
tion. And we won’t even get into
the fisting.
All of this is unabashedly in
your-face, but not for simple
shock value. Gho is a person who
woke up one day and decided she
wasn’t going to settle for the status
quo or believe the false prophets
of advertising and Cosmopolitan.
This is “empowerment” comedy.
Her approach to life is summed up
in these words: “Love yourself
without reservation. Love each
other without restraint — unless
you’re into bondage, then by all
means, show restraint.”
“Notorious C.H.O.” will come to
the Bijou starting Oct. 25.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
atryanbornheimer@dailyemerald.com.
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