Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, April 28, 2005
“Who the hell wants to look
at an attractive cartoon character?”
Seth Macfarlane | Animator
■ TV review
Unwholesome
'family/
fun
The Cultural Forum will
present the six most controversial
'Family Guy episodes Friday
BY RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
Reversing its decision in one of the most crim
inally inept cancellations of all time, FOX will be
bringing back its manic, hyper-intensive animated
comedy "Family Guy" this Sunday. Right in time
to hype the premier of the belated fourth sea
son of the show, the University Cultural Forum
will be presenting the "six most controversial
episodes" of the first three seasons at 180 PLC
on Friday at 9 p.m.
Having seen each episode of this show so
many times thatthey have become
deeply ingrained in my mind, I've
sort of lost perspective on the of
fensive content. But let's go over the
Cultural Forum's choices anyway and see
what merits discussion, m-kay?
The first pick for most controversial episode
is the first episode of the series, "Death Has
a Shadow" (this was back when the cre
ators were trying to give each episode a
name evocative of an old radio mystery, a
practice quickly dropped). The episode could
be taken as offensive for two reasons. First is a
FAMILY GUY, page 12
■ In my opinion
AMY LICHTY
POP ROCKS
Breakups and babies
keep Hollywood busy
From bitter breakups and sizzling
hookups to bulging bellies expecting babies,
2005 has proved to be quite the year for Hol
lywood couples. And although it's only April,
the gossip keeps getting hotter as the tem
peratures outside continue to rise. Here's an
update on the latest celebrity couple news.
One of the biggest stories this week is the
breakup of two of television's most outra
geous stars. No, not the "Newlyweds'"
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, but none
otherthan "The Simple Life's" Paris Hilton
and Nicole Richie. The feud between these
two was first reported in Us Weekly way
back in February as rumors swirled thatthey
LICHTY, page 6
PULSEMUSjC PULSEMUSIC
The Cloud Room, "The Cloud Room": With releases from the Mars Volta and Queens of the Stone Age already
on the shelves, as well as a slew of other excellent releases, this is looking to be a good year for recorded music. And
with new stuff on the way from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nine Inch Nails, it is looking to just get better and better.
Of course the best way to tell if it's a good year is to examine whether even die second-rate releases are worth picking
up. So let me enter into evidence the self-titled debut release from The Cloud Room, a sweet collection of baroque pop
rockthatwill get into your head and take your brain hostage until you find something equally catchy to force it out
Opening with the impossibly enjoyable "Hey Now Now," the album finds a distincttone and sticks to itthrough its 11
songs. The rhythms are infectious and the instrumentation swings between sparse and nearly overdone.
This is a strong pop album with a contemporary sound. It is quite possible that people will stumble across this in a
decade or so and be reminded of what the early years of the new millennium sounded like.
This is notto say the album is perfect The lyrical content rarely matches the melodies that adorn them, often coming
off as absurd and stilted. The lack of variation also leaves much of the album feeling indistinct with a few standouts
among some pleasant filler. Butthis is a debut release, and a good one atthat, so all of the faults just pointto the potential
of the band. It will be nice to see what they do next
-Ryan Nyburg
INSIDE PULSE
The arcade at The Break in the
EMU holds many wonders for
University game-o-philes.
David Sedaris wowed a
Eugene audience with his verbal
wit and pointed observations.
The 0 Bar has created the
perfect hang-out for Duck
fans.
Today
Ellis Paul
Cafe Paradiso
8p.m., $14 advance,
$16 day of show
Folk
Friday
Jerry Joseph andthe
Jackmormons
John Henry's
9 p.m., $8
Rock
Saturday
Yeltsin
Sam Bond's Garage
9:30 p.m.,$18
Hawaiian dinner, music
and dance
Sunday
Oregon Mozart Players
Hult Center
2:30 p.m., $18-28
Classical
TOP 5 MOVIES
1: "The Interpreter"
2: "The Amityville
Horror"
3: "Sahara"
4: "A Lot Like Love"
5: "Kung Fu Hustle"
NEWYORKTIMES
BEST-SELLERS
1: Nicholas Sparks,
"True Believer"
2: Sue Monk Kidd,
"The Mermaid Chair"
3: Matthew Stover,
"Revenge of the Sith"
4: Mary Higgins Clark,
"No Place Like Home"
5: Dan Brown,
"The Da Vinci Code"
BILLBOARDTOP 5
1: Mariah Carey,
"The Emancipation of
Mimi"
2: Mudvayne,
"Lost and Found"
3:50 Cent,
"The Massacre"
4: Garbage,
"Bleed Like Me"
5: Faith Evans,
"The First Lady"