Arts & Entertainment

October 24 2012 - Over the Edge

ATTENTION UNBC
MUSIC NERDS!

“Pree tae
%

PHOTO le FRASER

FRASER HAYES
CFUR STATION MANAGER

Hey there’ students.
My name is’ Fraser
and I am the Station
Manager at  CFUR,
YOUR campus radio

station. I just thought
I would give you a
quick update about
what’s happening at
CFUR lately. We have
been working hard all
summer to update our
software, hardware,
the station itself, and
learn how it all works.
If you tuned into CFUR
last year and weren’t
happy with what you
heard, I strongly
Suggest you give it
another shot.

We have nearly 30
original shows on
CFUR, developed and
produced right here at
UNBC. You can tune in
and hear anything from
indie-rock to old-timey
ragtime. We are up at
the station almost every
afternoon and we love
visitors. Why visit, you
ask? Well, our Music
Director (OTE's very
own Jordan’ Tucker)
gets about a dozen new
albums every day from
different artists, labels,
and promoters. If you
have a favourite band
that has a new album
coming out soon, we
might already have it!
Come lay on the couch
and Jordan will throw it
on for you.

We are very excited
about all the new

STARS; THE NORTH ALBUM REVIEW

JORDAN TUCKER

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

I’ve loved Stars dearly for
years now. I’ve loved Stars
since I went to summer
camp when I was ten years
old, and the cute hippie
counsellors played it in the
truck on the way home.
Dreamy, sweet, hopeful
pop with an _ alternative
kick, Stars has been the
smart person’s edgy indie
pop for the better part
of a decade. So it is with
profound disappointment
that I tell you, good reader,
that their new album is
just not that memorable.
Stars has long been terrific
because of their clever
lyrics, interesting riffs and
unique instrumentation.
This record, while
more accessible in the
mainstream sense of the
word, is not challenging.
It’s not cool. It’s a_ shrill
chirping irritation, like that
bird outside your window
at 5:00am on a hangover
morning. I want the old
Stars back. This record is
boring. This sounds like a
Hey Ocean album dipped
in oatmeal and dyed beige.
I want “Nightsongs”. I

“In The Bedroom
After The War”. I want “Set
Yourself On Fire” Stars. I
want “Do You Trust Your

want

Friends?” collaborative
Stars. “Hold On When You
Get Love, and Let Go When
You Get It”? You’re better
than preaching, Stars!
Remember when you told
me about riots and Pont
Champlain and repentance
and regret? Remember
uncertainty and _ frailty?
Oh Stars, when did you
become so lame? I want the
mournful, melancholy, gut-
wrenching, sweet and sour
Stars back. I hope that this
new fault can be blamed on
some idiot executive who
wants to broaden appeal.
Hopefully the members of
Stars have merely been
kidnapped and will return,
pick up their instruments,
apologize happily, and write
an excellent mopey album
about the dangers and joys
of alien anal probing. One
can only hope, because
otherwise we have lost one
of the pillars of Canadian
indie rock. We miss you
Stars - please come home.

WHY DO WE PAY TO WATCH SCARY MOVIES?

THE SHARK GUYS

THESHARKGUYS.COM

Creator of
‘Hallowe’en’ Film
Franchise Discusses
Why We Love
Horror

Irwin Yablans, creator of
the “Hallowe’en” films that
forever changed the genre,
says the answer's easy.
“When done right, a horror
movie evokes an involuntary

response involving _ fear,
excitement, repulsion and
fascination,” says Yablans

(www. irwinyablans.com),
author of the new memoir,
The Man Who Created
Hallowe’en. In it, he details
his rise as a_ successful
independent producer, sales
chief for Paramount Pictures
and head of Orion Pictures.
His masked creepster
Michael Myers, who debuted
in 1978, spawned a wave of
iconic horror characters, and
a new way to do business
in Hollywood. “Too many
commentators focus on the
cost of making a film, and
how much the lead actors
were paid,” he says. “But,
from a producer’s point of
view, the most important
money question is: Is our
movie worth the $10 ticket
price?”

Yablans shares his views on
why we love to be horrified:
Universal appeal: Horror
will always tantalize the
masses because it touches a
visceral emotional response
within everyone -_ unlike
other genres. Not everyone
finds the same __ things
funny, for example, but just
about everyone finds the
same things scary, he says.
“Horror connects on_ that
most fundamental level. A
truly frightening boogieman,
a likeable protagonist and
sympathetic victims puts
audiences right in the shoes
of the characters being

chased,” he says.

The difference between
horror and horrible, and
fan loyalty: Asa boy, Yablans
grew up in a poor tenement
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,
listening to radio shows that
relied on “theater of the mind”
narratives, which captured
the imaginations of listeners.
He used this approach with
the Hallowe’en film series.
“Too many of today’s horror
films rely on blood and guts
to coax gross-out responses

from audiences,” Yablans
says. “Hallowe’en’ was
successful, in large part,

because it played more on
the mind, where fear lives.”
“Horror fans tend to give
new movies the benefit of
the doubt, and if the first one
is good, then they'll return
for parts two and three,” he
says.

Cost-effective: Most of
the greatest horror film
franchises began with modest
budgets, including “Night of
the Living Dead”: $114,000;
the first “Hallowe’en”:
$320,000; “The Blair Witch
Project”: $35,000. Each of
those movies were wildly
successful, grossing millions.
The “Friday the 13th” series,
inspired from the success
of “Hallowe’en,” has earned
a worldwide total of $465
million. “There have been
many failures, but the genre
is one of the best bets in the
film industry,” he says.
Great marketing: Yablans’
legendary horror _ series
appropriated a_ children’s
holiday, Hallowe’en, and
made it exciting for adults.
“Everyone wants to be
young again - at least
sometimes,” he says. Other
successful horror franchises:
“Nightmare on Elm Street,”
“Friday the 13th” and
“Scary Movie” copied
Yablans’ branded approach:
recognizable titles, costumes
or makeup and theme music.

88.7im

FUR Slop 20 Albums

developments here at] |1. Grizzly Bear - Shields 11. Kreayshawn - Somethin ‘Bout Kreay
CFUR and wewouldlove} [2. Mother Mother - The Sticks 12. Amanda Palmer - Theatre Is Evil
for YOU to get involved.} |8. The xx - Coexist 13. Nu Sensae - Sundowning
There are endless| |4- Wax Mannequin - No Safe Home 14. Chilly Gonzales - Solo Piano II

area 15. David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant 15. Erin Costelo - We Can Get Over
Se et great experience 6. AC Newman - Shut Down The Streets 16. Sienna Dahlen - Verglas
. . 7. The Sheepdogs - The Sheepdogs 17. Pet Shop Boys - Elysium
In broadcasting and j8. Rah Rah - The Poet’s Dead 18. The Zolas - Ancient Mars
journalism. Rock on! 9. Cat Power - Sun 19. Lou Wreath - Exploding Diagram

10. Kandle - Kandle 20. Muse - The 2nd Law