Some bands, like The Egg (whom I wrote about last month), succeed despite their boring, off-putting or generally lame names. The band's music transcends its failure at this most basic of marketing/branding ploys, enabling the listener to see that, behind this image lies a band that is worth supporting, dumb name notwithstanding.
The problem with M83, however, is that its name is so cool that it threatens to overshadow its music. Visually, I think those characters fit well in that arrangement -- the "M" and the "3" kind of tease your brain into thinking the name is symmetrical. You have to wonder what "M83" means, but not in the confounding way that you have to wonder about a name like "Death Cab for Cutie."
I don't care what Death Cab for Cutie means because that's a stupid name, a nonsensical name; M83, on the other hand, is both intriguing and stylish, and I actually would like to know what it refers to. Is it some kind of erudite, boho French thing that my Midwestern psyche could never understand? Is it actually related to fireworks? I don't know!
I've also had this long-standing concern that my fandom for M83, whose entire catalog I own and to which I have committed many listening hours, derives more from loving the name than loving the music. I probably put more stock in band names than most people, but for me, having a smart, visually appealing name can overshadow average music. This has certainly been the case for me with !!!, Deerhunter and Junior Boys. I like these musicians fine, but I like the bands more than their music because of their sweet names. Has this been the case with M83 as well? Am I lying to myself?
After seeing M83 perform, the answer is emphatically, in all caps and boldfaced, blood-red font, NO. The band put on an absolutely phenomenal show, adding to and reworking old material and transforming its endearingly cheesy songs into a coherent, moving musical experience.
You have to love a show in which the band plays every song you wanted to hear. By that rubric, M83 gets an A++: Except for omitting the song "Asterick," Anthony Gonzalez and friends performed the set list I would have written. Performing old and brand-new songs with equal panache, M83 really drew attention to how consistently good it has been over a seven-year career.
That said, the show's standout songs were all recorded within the last three years. Whatever the dictionary says is wrong; with its sweeping vocal chorus and echoing drums, "Moon Child" is the definition of "epic." The atmospheric, electro-tinged "We Own the Sky" was both delicate and banging, alternately inciting supplicant arm-raising and rager-bro fist-pumping. And though a handful of the subtle shifts and layers of "Teen Angst," to my mind still the band's best song, got lost underneath the incredibly loud musical ether, that song still managed to tug heavily on the heart strings.
How M83 made these cheesy, melodramatic songs moving at all, much less beautiful, was probably its biggest achievement. The no-one-asked-me-to-the-prom, "Sixteen Candles" (1984) motif of "Kim and Jessie" and "Graveyard Girl," while goofy and ironic on record, is actually quite moving live. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I found songs with lyrics like "Death is her boyfriend/ She spits on summers and smiles to the night/ I can't help my love for graveyard girl" genuinely pathological. But given how well M83 played -- more than good enough to live up to the promise of its sweet name -- I'm only a little embarrassed.
Since the long-awaited vampire romance-thriller "Twilight" comes out this Friday, we thought it proper to search pop culture for other seemingly normal people who were hiding a thirst for human blood. After throwing away all the all-too-obvious ones (Gary Busey, Martha Stewart, Lindsay Lohan) we found some startling results. 10. Jared Leto: This 30 Seconds to Mars frontman and all-around strung-out-looking actor (2000's "Requiem for a Dream," anyone?) will only need a pair of fangs to add to the eyeliner, pale skin and black hair for the transformation to be complete. Teen-aged girls might swoon over him now, but wait until he tries to suck the blood of his fan-base ... it might be the end of his career as he knows it. 9. Tim Curry: While Curry and friends have since regretted playing their parts in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975), there is no denying that Dr. Frank, and many of Curry's other characters, would make perfect vampires. Frank could have a coffin surrounded by Boas, and Nigel Thornberry could catch the animals he is documenting and use them for ritual sacrifices. Great Scott! 8. Amy Winehouse: She only goes out at night, she's deathly thin, and she almost certainly cannot be killed by conventional methods -- she's tried that with far too many substances already. Our guess is she's sucking Blake dry before she moves on to the next guy. 7. Hillary Clinton: As if the paleness and lack of human emotion weren't enough to give it away, she picked a poor choice of covers by pretending to be married to Bill. It finally makes sense why Bill ventured to other sources for a different kind of sucking... 6. Bunnicula: If you haven't read the timeless childhood tale of the cute little bunny that sucks the juice out of carrots, you haven't truly lived. We always secretly hoped the rabbit would go rogue and just start devouring everyone, but, unfortunately, the rest of our 8 to 12-year-old cohorts weren't ready for that yet. 5. Count Chocula: This vampire somehow managed to sneak into the mainstream --- using the adorable tagline, "I vant to eat your cereal!" as a cover to get to young, unsuspecting children. We've always been warned not to eat too much sugary cereal because it's bad for your teeth, but don't you find it strange that it also makes you develop fangs? 4. Rob Silverblatt: What else can you say about someone who spends his days either sleeping or locked in a dark, windowless basement? Try misplacing a comma: He will come after you. 3. The Count: As the odd ghoul with a German accent in the Sesame Street series, this one might not come as a surprise. As one of our first introductions to the world of blood-sucking and garlic-abhorring, the most frightening aspect of this friendly Muppet is his inability to stop counting. Since he's made of harmless felt and stuffing, we'll assume he's not counting victims... 2. Will Smith in "I Am Legend" (2007): You see, since Smith was the only survivor of the human race, he was forced to hide away in his "castle," coming out in the daylight to prey on the vampires, who were trying to go about their everyday lives. Who do you think is the bigger threat to society? Yeah, that just blew your mind. 1. Jumbo: What do you think those giant tusks are for? We all know the fictional story of our mascot's heroic adventures, but all those lies are covering up the truth: He's a bloodsucking, nocturnal monster, and Barnum Hall actually burned down from the angry mob of (Somer)villagers who torched the building in an attempt to save future generations from his wrath. Who ever said we had a lame mascot? -- compiled by the Daily Arts Department
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Dear Mickey Mouse,
We can't believe you're already 80 years old. It seems like just yesterday you were bouncing around with Uncle Remus and all of your mildly racist friends, gallivanting in the delightfully colorless world of the 1920s. In today's thoroughly PC world, it's probably best that we ignore Remus for a while...
Actually, come to think of it, we can't really name any particular thing that you're famous for -- other than simply being the token Disney anthropomorphized animal character. Donald Duck had his hilarious speech impediment, Roger Rabbit had his hot tranny alter-ego, but you're just a mouse. And now you're an octogenarian with a shady past.
Then again, there's always the off-chance that since you've already made it this far without visibly aging, you're some sort of immortal. We don't doubt that you and Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen body made some sort of pact to meet up in 2025 and systematically rid the world of everyone but yourselves, extending copyrights left and right as you impose your skewed sense of morals on everyone.
It's a well-known fact that Walt was an anti-Semite, and you have some unpleasant connections yourself ... no one has seen Remus for years now, and the obviously-Jamaican Sebastian from "The Little Mermaid" (1989) has been leading protests in his homeland. I must congratulate you though; you've done a good job of keeping the press from reporting the beheading of Flounder.
Then again, it's hard to stay mad at you. Over these 80 years, you've changed shape, gained color and gradually renounced violence, all the while never getting droopy around your perfectly-rounded edges.
Or maybe that's just the moralizing brainwashing talking. Either way, happy 80th birthday, and have a pleasant senility. Sincerely, The Daily Arts Department
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