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Entertain Yourself
Portland indie/pop band blooms this spring
K elsey S chrader
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"Pop is not a dirty word"
Page Editor
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At first look, The Shins,
a growing-in-popularity
Portland-based band, may
look innocent with their
flannel shirts and their
quiet persona. But don't
let it fool you, according
to an interview by Blender
magazine, our favorite indie/
pop band members battle
with insecurity, mayhem, and
super models just like any
other rock group.
The Shins are one of
Portland's more famous rock
bands. The band includes
band members James Mercer,
Martin Crandall, Dave
Herandez, Jesse Sandoval
and Eric Johnson. The
Shins are all 30-year-old,
"Oh, Inverted World." From
slightly balding, sweater-
there, The Shins went from
vest-wearing guys from
a side project to selling out
Alburquerque, N.M. (they
_ the Crystal Ballroom in 20
later relocated to Portland,
minutes. You could say
Ore.). Their name was based
The Shins have done some
on a fictional family in the
growing.
Broadway show, "The Music
Three years ago, the notion
Man," which was a favorite of of this modest retro-pop
Mercer's father.
outfit performing for a sold-
The Shins released two
out arena with sceaming fans
singles, "Nature Bears
of all ages would have been
a Vacuum" in 1999 and
hard to fathom. Yet ever since
"When I Goosestep" in 2000.
"New Slang/' appeared in
While on tour with Modest
the hit romantic comedy (and
Mouse, they were met in
my favorite movie) "Garden
San Francisco by a Sub Pop
State," the Shins have gained
representative who offered
popularity.
to release their debut album,
Like Death Cab for Cutie
Page Editor
11
It's startling to think that
Disney got away with not
having an African American
princess until now. Arriving
better late than never is
Maddy, a 19-year-old black
housemaid living in New
Orleans in the 1920s, in
the new film, "The Frog
Princess," to be released in
2009.
Before the fact that she's
a maid gets you riled up,
keep in mind that nearly
every Disney princess has
been oppressed. For instance,
Mulan can’t fight because
she's a woman. So, no,
it's not necessarily racially
discourteous or irresponsible.
Maddy could just as easily be
white.
The story presumably
follows the classic Grimm
brothers fairy tale, "The Frog
Prince" though the movie
will be a musical adaptation.
In the original story, a king
sets out his three sons to find
; f
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brides. One way or another,
the youngest prince ends
up with a frog. The king
puts each of the brides-to-be
through various tasks; baking
bread, doing laundry and
any other household chore
that would undoubtedly be
expected of a wife.
The two human brides
are lazy and fail at each of
their tasks while the frog
miraculously excels in all
of her chores. Even so, the
youngest prince is ashamed
of his frog bride xmtil she
magically transforms into
a beautiful princess. These
types of things happen in
New Orleans even today,
so it shouldn't be a difficult
adaptation.
Jennifer Hudson and
fellow "Dreamgirl," Anika
Noni Rose are reportedly
top contenders for the
lead, though Alicia Keys
has apparently contacted
Disney's studio chief to
express her interest and beg
for the role.
her when she was 17." Well
stated, Chris.
Although the Shins
unfortunately couldn't fit
me into their tight interview
schedule (but, mind you,
I did try!), their publicist
provided many answers
to questions such as, "Why
Oregon?" The Shins moved
from Arizona to Oregon
because after they were
signed, the Shins felt like
they had the freedom to
move somewhere new. Going
on tour exposed the band
members to different parts of
the country, and they were
really drawn to Portland
where they moved in 2001.
No doubt, the Shins have
become one of the most in-
demand bands in America.
Their music has been used
in Gap commercials and
McDonald commercials,
but the Shins prefer other
venues. Whether it's a
commercial, a sound track
in a major motion picture,
just another ground breaking
album, the Shins will go
down in history for their
music, their quirky looks,
and, I think, being one of the
best bands of all time.
Adams reveals bottom
Disney names first African American
princess; better late than never
M argaret A dams
r I
listen to the songs
"We Will Become
Silhouettes" and
"Kissing the
Lipless."
You’d think
after all this
publicity and
touring, the
Shins might feel
a little pride in
their work, but
actually they are
sm *.
quite humble and
pW k,
maybe a little
insecure. "People
think I'm a better
person than I
am," Mercer said
in Blender, "just
because of these
Photo courtesy of internet pretty songs."
Martin Crandall, who
or the Arcade Fire, the Shins
could win a Chris Parnell
are what some are calling
look-alike competition hands
"yindie" rock: "half yuppie,
down, has quite the history
half indie — palatable
with America's Next Top
enough for the masses,
Model's first-runner-up
edgy enough for the snobs"
according to urbandictionary. Elyse Sewell. In fact, they've
been dating for the past
com.
seven years. "People think,
If you haven't listened to
he's in a rock band, she's a
the Shins already, they sound
model, it must be like E! True
like a mix between the Cure
Hollywood Story!" Crandall
and Simon and Garfunkel.
said in Blender. "But here's all
Even with their soaring
you need to know: I bagged
vocals and their pop hooks,
this band is far from the
pop genre. If you're not yet
accustomed to their different
sound, you might want to
M argaret A dams
Graphic courtesy of internet
"The Frog Princess" will be
a 2-D animated production,
either primarily hand-drawn
or created using computer
generated imagery. While
2004's "Home on the Range"
was set to be Disney's last
2-D animation film, the new
leaders of Disney's animation
department would like to
see more movies done in the
classic form of animation.
Page Editor
So
they gave
me this
column
where I
get to rip
on stuff
people
are into.
You can't
get insulted though, that's
part of the rules. Plus, if you
really do like what I hate
then you shouldn't let me
tell you it sucks and it won't
get you down. Keep up that
attitude.
1. PT Cruisers are all over
the place for some reason,
but I'm still always surprised
when I see one on the road.
It's difficult to pity the person
driving though. It's not like
their economic situation
forced them to resort to a
Cruiser; they aren't even
cheap. It's twenty-five grand
for a PT with a turbo and
exclusive sport bucket seats.
So people buy them because
they're attracted to them?
Attracted? To a PT Cruiser?
Come on.
2 .1 just found out Sean
Paul won a Best Reggae
Album Grammy in 2004 for
a record called "Dutty Rock"
that sold six million copies.
3. Everyone knows that
we are trashing the planet
and I swear a gum wrapper
will fit in your pocket. Who
decided it would be okay to
use the ground as a garbage
can? Litter at your house if
you love to do it so much.
4. Tattoos are permanent
and seem like the kind of
thing you would take the
time to think through. Enter
Celtic armband tattoos. Is that
really the best you could do?
5. The Ice Cream Skate
Team wears Ice Creams
by Reebok x Pharrell on
their feet. It's sort of like
The Wiggles of skate teams
judging by the shoes. One
of Pharrell's clothing lines,
Ice Cream, sells denim with
running dogs on the crotch
and $80 t-shirts with money
rolls on them. The running
dog is their signature pattern,
I guess, so you can also get
an all over print bucket
hat to go with your pants.
That sounds really good.
Billionaire Boys Club is super
hyped too, and it's all aboi’* 1-
diamonds, money signs
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bullets.