16 THE UCSD GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010
HIATUS
KING OF THE BEACH BUMS CHURNS OUT MORE OF THE SAME
5 10 Jack Johnson
KNIGHT AND DAY
To The Sea BRUSHFIRE RECORDS
J
ack Johnson’s fifth studio album, To The Sea, is just as uninspired as its title suggests. While the 13 songs don’t stray far from Johnson’s typical style — laid-back jams ripe with acoustic strumming, lightweight drums and carefree beach-day vocals — the tracks blur together until the album’s reduced to a neverending bonfire sing-along. Working out of his solar-powered studios in
JUNE 25
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fter the success of his “Mission: Impossible� action thrillers, it seems as if Tom Cruise is finally taking a turn at self-parody. His new film, “Knight and Day,� has him indulging in slapstick shootouts and absurd one-liners, with the likes of, “No one follows us, or I kill myself and then her.� Cameron Diaz comes through with the
sex appeal, playing the distressed, unsuspecting civilian to Cruise’s wisecracking secret agent. The formula may be overused, but the star power of Diaz and Cruise all but ensure a financial windfall for this June release — though critical acclaim for this lightweight film is anything but a guarantee. — Imran Manji Staff Writer
Hawaii and Los Angeles, Johnson has nailed the chill, environmentally-friendly, beach-bro image to perfection — but it’s hard to take the perpetually stoned surfer facade seriously when the guy’s released four albums and fathered two children. The lyrics continue in the same vein. Instead of providing genuine, meaning we’re lost in a swarm of confusing metaphors. “Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology� sounds like the product of one too many glasses of Merlot, as it finds Johnson stringing together muddled phrases like “little crying robots.� Johnson attempts to supplement his usual simplistic acoustic guitar sound by sporadically adding flowing keyboard, reverbheavy electric guitar and a healthy dose of tambourine throughout the album.
MILEY CYRUS
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE
CAN’T BE TAMED JUNE 18
JUNE 30
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s a respite from the summer heat and slews of action films, director David Slade’s “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse� will take you back to the somber forest of Forks, Washington for the third installment of the box office smash series. Picking up after 2009’s cliffhanger — where Edward proposed to Bella and the vampires and werewolves forged an unholy alliance — “Eclipse� is the stuff that shrieking fangirls and million-dollar movies are made of. With the same cast of perfectly-sculpted, vapid characters, fans shouldn’t expect a huge improvement. All the bland “Twilight� staples are sure to cameo: Kristen Stewart will moodily tousle her hair, Taylor Lautner’s whine is sure to recall his prepubescent “Cheaper by the Dozen 2� performance and Robert Pattinson will groan this way through all 90 minutes with a hazy, angst-fueled deadpan. But why bother with warnings? Crippling shame or no, you’re still going to be dropping $10.50 at the midnight premiere decked out in fangs and a Team Edward tank that’s as sparkly as he is. — Amanda Martinek Staff Writer
T
hough her debut album was only a few years ago, Miley Cyrus is preparing for a precarious leap across the teen-adult divide. With the June 18 release of Can’t Be Tamed, Cyrus ditches her all-American digs for a she-woman roar. The titular track features the diva’s signature Tennessee croon, set to a heavy techno-dance synth borrowed from last year’s “Party in the U.S.A.� The new track, however, noticeably abandons the latter’s bubblegum sound for more mature club tracks — a sonic shift that one can assume continues throughout the album. Phasing out the sickly-sweet singles that dominated her
But this attempt at variety only steers Johnson further off course — the intro on the title track sounds like a Shins ripoff, while “No Good With Faces� is a drugged-out Brandon Flowers impersonation. The album does have its moments, particularly with “When I Look Up,� a minute-long collection of running water noises, xylophone plunking and a chorus of background singers. Too bad the album’s best song is its shortest. Johnson’s fifth attempt isn’t all bad. In fact, it’s pleasant in all the same way smoking a bowl is. But as charming as that might be, To The Sea still feels as though we are trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean — water everywhere gets a little redundant. — Amanda Martinek Staff Writer
previous album, Can’t Be Tamed trades in lyrics about butterfly-inducing first dates for lyrics about abusive relationships. The change is expected for the teen, who has gradually followed the familiar “I’m a grownup now!� path that Britney and Christina slithered down years before. While the darker, sexual lyrics about how all the guys want her are sure to set fans of Cyrus’ good-girl image on edge, perhaps it’s for the better — Considering her almost robotic penchant for foot-in-mouth syndrome (she managed to shit about Thom Yorke, Jay-Z and her own single), Cyrus hasn’t always had her Disney persona on lock. If a Poison cover and a scantily clad music video isn’t enough to convince you that the former Hannah Montana star is ready for the grind, then her new badass black duds will — 1992 birth date be damned. — Neda Salamat
DON’T LET A HOT DATE TURN INTO A DUE DATE
senior staff writer
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