Volume 137, Issue 4
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ARTS
BY
ELI MILCHNER If you find yourself needing to throttle the life out of the next person who even thinks about mentioning the word "metrosexual," you're not alone. The popular term, referring to a young, aesthetically sensitive male has been voted one of 2003's most overused words by Lake Superior State Univer-sity. But then again, if you have no idea what the hell "metrosexual" means, you're not alone either.
"I heard of transsexual, bisexual, homosexual but never metrosexual," said "T," a 24-year-old City College student, which sums up the general level of awareness on campus about the trend. The word elicits strong opinions from some, however. Lorraine Wilner, Chair of City College's Fashion Department, sees the trend as overblown media hype. "I found it loathsome. I can't stand the whole stereotypical thing," she said, commenting on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The show features five gay men vigorously metrosexualizing a hapless straight slob eachweek with grooming, design and fashion advice. "Gay guys don't have any lock on taste," she said. Overall, most people have little grasp of what the term means. Fishing for a consensus at City College to help clarify this ambiguous stereotype has proved about as fruitful as trying to nail a shadow to a wall. "A man who's more concerned with his appearance than a straight woman," 26-year-old Jay Johnston said. "I'm not really sure what it means, I had to have Jay Leno explain it to me," said 32 -year-old Susan Boeckmann.
One common idea is that the term was simply cooked up by Madison Avenue to lure young heterosexual men to the mall. While untrue, increased awareness and shows like "Queer Eye," have led to a significant jump in the spending habits of young straight men, according to a recent New York Times article. Those
who haven't been exposed to "Queer Eye" might have caught
wind of the word from a recent episode of South Park, or maybe from
one of the hundreds of news articles (like this one) that have emblazoned
the word into our cultural fabric. So where on God's taupe and hunter green earth did the term "metrosexual" really come from? Back in 1994, Mark Simpson, now a columnist for Salon.com, coined the word in The Independent, a British newspaper. In July of 2002, a Salon.com article, again by Mark Simpson, unleashed the "M" word upon an unwitting U.S. public for the first time. He defined the metrosexual as a "young, free-spending man who lives in the city so that he can be near to shops, hairdressers, and gyms." Simpson
also said that he could be gay, straight or bisexual, which contradicts
the oft-stated opinion that he is exclusively heterosexual, and perhaps
takes his fashion and grooming instruction from gay men. Pop culture shapes the stereotypical metrosexual man as a sensitive aesthete: well-groomed, well-dressed, well-shaped and well-cultured. Smartly outfitted in a cashmere sweater over a striped shirt tucked into corduroy pants, he cooks mushroom risotto to the sound of opera music, his hair gleaming with "product" under track lights. Maybe he totes a "man bag" (described by Carson Kressley, of "Queer Eye's" Fab 5, as being big enough to carry a laptop but not looking like it's big enough to carry a laptop. Whatever.) "It's the whole labeling thing like you'd expect," said 23-year-old Sociology major Ray Capistrano. "I'm opposed that they [gay men] have to be tied to grooming and clothing," Capistrano said of the Fab Five. "It's definitely a stigma to the gay community." With all the objections, stereotypes, and conflicting opinions involved, the standard metrosexual is elusive, if not a mythological creature. Metamorphosis:
Vandalism Turned Art BY
MARLON LUMANG City College faculty members are proud participants in "Rever-sing Vandalism," an exhibit at the San Francisco Main Library that transformed stacks of vandalized books into beautiful pieces of art- work.
Librarians Kate Connell and Mary Marsh, and Graphic Arts instructor Amy Conger have art on display in the exhibit, which blossomed from a hate crime into 217 individual pieces. Last summer, the San Francisco library placed a public call for help with turning a terrible act of vandalism into an exhibit. The library suffered a tremendous loss when they discovered 600 slashed books hidden throughout the library over, totaling over $24,000 in damages. The mangled books ranged in topic from gay, lesbian and transgender topics, to women's health issues, and HIV/AIDS. "We were horrified as the discoveries were being made. When the books were returned to us by the police, we didn't know what to do with them, but we felt strongly that discarding the books would satisfy the vandal's crime," said Jim Van Buskirk, manager for the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the main library. The call for artist lasted six months, from April until Oct. 10, 2003. Two hundred artists and volunteers from 20 states and three countries submitted art for this library-sponsored event. It is the largest exhibit that the new main library, which opened in 1996, has ever had. In some cases, volunteers were allowed to pick their own books and other cases the books were mailed to the artists randomly. "I think that everyone who works in the library wants the books to be available to everyone, and when they're horribly damaged, it makes everyone angry," Connell said. Connell, who has two masterpieces on display, described the perpetrator's handy work as creepy and overwhelmed with viciousness. Her art is displayed in different parts of the library. "Mother Tongue," a book with damaged pages at the end replaced by words of wisdom from Connell's mother and her husband's mother, is in the Jewett Jr. Gallery in the library's basement level. The other one, titled "Busted" is on the third floor on the Hormel circle and depicts photos of feminist Hannah Wilke, first as a glamorous model, and then dying of breast cancer. "I think the show is fantastic and a great response to vandalism, and that people use their imagination in a wonderful way," Connell said. "I thought it was a great idea to turn hate crime into art," Amy Conger said. Her "Queer Reader Mandorla" hangs in the atrium of the library near the elevator. This rainbow colored almond shape is a symbol of healing and transforming hostility into compassion. The almond symbol, or mandorla, was carved into many of the vandal's targeted books. They were released back to the library after the vandal, John Perkins, was caught and found guilty. "It's a curious collection and an interesting project to work on" said Jeff, one of the viewers who came to see the exhibit. "Reversing Vandalism" will be open from Jan. 31 until May 2, 2004. BY
JEREMY TANNER City College is now a heavyweight in the turntable world due to the success of two student DJs.
Marc Bayangos and Shimon Nolfo topped national DJ competitions, taking first place to represent the United States at the International Turntable Federation Championships in Germany last December. In Munich, DJs from around the globe prepared their record crates for battle and convened in a massive hall resembling an airplane hangar. Bayangos, known to his audience as Mr. B, had logged many hours in the studio concocting a blend of creativity, variety and innovation potent enough to make the crowd go bananas and the judges throw up tens. "You bring only your best stuff when you battle," said Bayangos, a 23-year-old with an easy smile. Bayangos converses with a modest, unassuming style, a characteristic that may have brought him to tell his professors before he left that he was simply going on a "short vacation" to Germany. Mr. B describes the style of DJs from the USA as "traditional" because the songs used in competition are often from original records and, during the short time allotted for each round (usually around two minutes), the records have to be changed constantly while maintaining the rhythm. International DJs use a different style, mixing all the songs to be used on one record creating a seamless, albeit simple routine. This may have been the reason why Bayangos was rated first by the American judge, but came in seventh overall. Nolfo, who performs under the alias "DJ Teeko", also faced some cultural barriers in his category at the ITF championships. His opponent began scratching--manually moving the record back and forth under the needle to create a light, fast, rhythm--over a song from the drum-and-bass genre, which enjoys vast popularity throughout Europe. Consequently, Teeko's opponent played the crowd for all the support possible. DJ Teeko still brought home second place from the competition. Bayangos and Nolfo were both introduced to music at an early age, undergoing the requisite recorder lessons and moving on to piano, and in Nolfo's case, the guitar as well. However, the new possibilities that turntables offered, and the infectious popularity of a new genre soon had Nolfo scraping the guitar pick up and down the strings to simulate the sound of scratching. Some of Nolfo's first memories of turntablism are of watching pioneers like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jam Master J on cable at his grandmother's house. One of his boyhood heroes became a friend this past summer when DJ Jazzy Jeff complimented him after a performance in Washington, D.C. Nolfo was elated when Jazzy Jeff asked if he would like to hang out and go record shopping the next day. Bayangos had his first exposure to the art of scratching through watching his older brother, who was a DJ during the '80s. As soon as the front door would close behind his brother, Bayangos would sneak out a record or two, throw on the headphones and get lost in musical experimentation until someone came home. Bayangos and Nolfo agree that those were the good moments, far away from two-minute time limits and drum-and-bass beats. Both DJs are now turning their attention to San Francisco and are glad to apply their musical touch to local clubs and friend's houses. As for future competition, "I'm not trying to wear a belt around my waist saying I'm champion of the world, I just want to do me and come out with the best music I can make," Teeko said. Bayangos holds similar reservations but says he will continue perfecting his audio ammo. For upcoming shows, more information on the ITF, and to hear DJ Teeko's performance in Germany, you can visit www.4onefunk.com, www.itfeurope.com, or www.eyes-wide-open.com. BY
MARK FOLKMAN When the inescapable advertising blitz for the new iPod mini pummeled my consumer consciousness, I was powerless to resist its siren call.
I admittedly balked at the $249 price tag, but a quick call to Mom and Dad for some additional "textbook" money enabled me to procure an iPod mini the very Friday they landed in stores. The iPod mini isn't merely adorable eye candy. Its brushed aluminum case is durable, cool to the touch and acts as futuristic as it looks. Although it weighs just 3.6 ounces--with dimensions not much bigger than a business card--it somehow manages to hold 4 gigabytes of data. That's a thousand songs, right in the coin pocket of your jeans. Another bonus is the included iTunes software. The program installs easily on Mac or Windows, and the interface is simple and sophisticated. iTunes did an admirable job of automatically importing and organizing the hundreds of songs on my laptop into its library. Transferring music from a computer to the iPod unit is similarly effortless and speedy. Once you're on the go, iPod mini's innovative Click Wheel makes browsing and selecting songs a snap. Responding instantly to the touch, the Click Wheel lets you scroll effortlessly through the on-screen menus by sliding your thumb in a semi-circle, and clicking on the four sides of the wheel activates the control buttons. Go ahead and crank up Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" as you're boarding the MUNI, or walk up a steep San Francisco hill while listening to "The Passion of the Christ" soundtrackyou can pretend that you're Jesus, dragging your big heavy cross up to Golgotha. The possibilities are endless. iPod mini also comes with a handy snap-in belt clip (you can also purchase an optional neoprene arm band), so you can proudly flash your fashion accessory in public. This device is just as stylish as Paris Hilton's yappy Chihuahua, and it's a lot easier to clean up after. One downside: be sure to purchase Apple's $59 protection plan, because the battery only charges 500 times and is costly to replace. The best part about the iPod mini is that you're in control. No matter where you are, or where you're going, you're behind the wheel of your own private aural experience. Movie
Review: Movie-goers beware: Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is such an unrelenting, horrific beat-down that it could qualify as porn to the sadomasochistic. To Gibson's credit, the production values of this movie are superb. The cinematography and use of color are flawless. His insistence that the movie rely on the dead languages of Aramaic and Latin gives a real touch of authenticity to a long series of Jesus flicks featuring messiahs who speak perfect English. For the most part, the story Gibson tells stays true to the Gospels of the New Testament. But Gibson's desire for authenticity expresses itself in other, less admirable ways. I have never seen so much blood in a movie, except for Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" when the halls of the Overlook Hotel run red with rivers of it. The victim of all of this violence is an all-too-human Jesus, as played by the handsome and definitely non-Semitic James Cavezel. But he doesn't stay pretty for long, spending most of the movie looking like a slab of rare roast beef. Everyone in "The Pas-sion" from Jews to Romans takes a turn spitting on Jesus, beating Jesus, or both. He is chained, whip-ped, and dragged through the streets before being nailed to a splinter-ridden cross. By the time the Romans are done scourging Jesus, the courtyard where the torture takes place looks like it's covered with gallons of strawberry jam. There are flashbacks that outline some of Jesus's teachings from the Sermon on the Mount and the Last Supper, but they are all too short before the symphony of splatter resumes. His message is not emphasized; his suffering is. After the movie, I watched the audience stagger out into lobby, not exultant over the triumph of Christ over death but exhausted from watching Christ die in mind-numbing detail.
BY
MILES HARWELL Last year, Kanye West was just another name on the inside of a CD jacket, listed as a producer on tracks for Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and other Roc-A-Fella artists. But in 2003, the public would get to know the man behind the beats. West made his name as a producer by sampling R&B and soul tracks, speeding them up and building entire songs out of them. This tactic is practiced by other producers such as Just Blaze, The Heatmakerz and even Eminem. People didn't know that West could also rap, but with the release of his first single "Through the Wire" and his appearance on Twista's "Slo Jamz", it was clear that West was a skilled lyricist and also very capable of putting out an album. Kanye released his debut album as a rapper, "College Dropout" on Feb. 10. The album's 21 tracks were all produced by West himself. Featured on the album is a collection of rap's brightest stars including Jay-Z, Ludacris, Mos Def, Freeway, Common and Talib Kweli, along with Twista, whose "Slo Jamz" single was also included on West's album. Every song on the album tells a story from West's life. The shining points of the album are "Never let me down" (featuring Jay-Z) and "Last Call", in which West tells the how he came to sign with Roc-A-Fella. The whole album is definitely worth listening to.
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