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FEATURES

Esthero drops awaited EP

Emily Bingham
January 18, 2005

If you're an Esthero fan, chances are you've been holding your breath in anticipation to a follow-up of the vocalist's addictive first album, "Breath From Another." Well, you can finally breathe easy. Like a smart hostess who dishes up a few appetizers to her guests to tide them over until dinner is served, Esthero has released a short, but successful EP, with a handful of tasty tracks that will appear among other songs on her forthcoming full-length album "Wikked Lil' Grrrls." It's been six years since Esthero first hit the airwaves with "Breath From Another." The disc was a smart, sassy debut for the Toronto-based singer, whose smooth vocals blended perfectly with the trip-hop beats and quirky sampling of her then-recording partner Martin McKinney.

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Local hip-hop, rock band to perform tonight at The Temple Club

Nhia Lee
January 18, 2005

One day, in its CD liner notes, Kill Filthy can thank Ruby Tuesday and Meridian Mall. It was about one year ago when lead vocalist Rich Ensley, who goes by the stage name of Filthy Rich, guitarist Josh Waddell and DJ Ryan Kramer,also known as Dr. Sketch, met as line cooks at the unlimited salad bar restaurant. "I had the initial idea of starting a band," said Ensley, 23.

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Local, national twang-rockers to play Temple Club tonight

Emily Bingham
January 14, 2005

When he was just 8 years old, and already dreaming of rock stardom, Robbie Fulks never envisioned that one day he would actually be a professional musician - or that he'd also be taking his own phone calls, answering his own e-mail and walking to the post office himself to mail merchandise to fans. "I pictured myself like Mick Jagger and having guys to do that for you," he said.

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'Hotel Rwanda' stunning, accurate

Emily Buckler
January 12, 2005

Every once and a while, a film comes out that attempts to recreate the worst events in human history - events that cannot ever be adequately described, because words and pictures can never do justice to real experiences.

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New releases

In case the snow's kept you away from your local music shop, here's a roundup of new releases. Pop/Rock/R&B Artist: Esthero Album: We R in Need of a Musical Revolution (EP) Label: Warner Brothers Artist: Doobie Brothers Album: Minute By Minute Label: Audio Fidelity Artist: Destiny's Child Album: Destiny Fulfilled (Bonus Tracks) Label: Sony International Jazz Artist: Grant Green Album: His Majesty, King Funk Label: Universal Japan Blues Artist: Etta James Album: Best of the Modern Years Label: Blue Note And for a head's up - here are next Tuesday's releases. Country Artist: Bill Anderson Album: Gospel Gold: Softly and Tenderly Label: Brentwood Artist: Patsy Cline Album: Duets Label: Brentwood Latin Artist: Alea Album: Alea Label: WEA International Artist: Antonio Vega Album: Autorretratos: Lo Mejor De Label: Universal International Rock Artist: The Coke Dares Album: Here We Go With ... Label: S.A. Artist: The Detroit Cobras Album: Baby Label: Rough Trade

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Kresge exhibit has art-goers questioning reality

Nhia Lee
January 12, 2005

John Spillman wasn't quite sure if it was a real roll of toilet paper. The 28-year-old East Lansing resident squinted and got as close as he could to the plastic box that enclosed what appeared to be the fluffy white roll. "Is it real?" Spillman asked. Well, it's no Charmin, that's for sure. The roll of toilet paper is actually made from Italian marble, and it has such precise details - quilted cotton designs and dotted lines - that it looks lifelike. "This is amazing how soft it looks when it's really not," Spillman said. The toilet paper roll is artist Jud Nelson's piece simply titled "Toilet Paper VIII," and it will be on display at the Kresge Art Museum as part of the "Masters of Illusion: 150 Years of Trompe l'Oeil in America" exhibit. "Trompe l'Oeil" is French for "to fool the eye," said museum curator April Kingsley. And the 45 pieces on display do just that to curious eyes. A bulletin board in one room has letters, business cards and a folded dollar bill thumb-tacked to it.

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We're all connected

Maddie Trier
January 12, 2005

Whether students use it to chat with friends, get the scoop on the class they skipped or talk to cute girls and guys, there is no question that Thefacebook, the Internet college directory, has taken MSU by storm. Rachel Ainslie, a Lyman Briggs sophomore, uses Thefacebook to keep in touch with acquaintances from high school and check in with people at MSU.

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Connecting living and dead colorless effort in 'White Noise'

Emily Buckler
January 11, 2005

If there is one thing to be learned from the film "White Noise," it's that wandering around a dark city on tips from ambiguous ghosts is not always a good idea. This is something you wish you could tell Michael Keaton's character, Jonathan Rivers, whose interest in receiving messages from his recently deceased wife spirals into an obsessive disaster. At first, it's easy to empathize with Jonathan's grief - we meet him while his beautiful wife Anna, played by Chandra West, is still living, and catch a glimpse of their happy, almost idyllic relationship.

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'Sea Inside' traces death

Emily Buckler
January 10, 2005

Director Alejandro Amenábar must have a thing for death. He is well-versed in the thriller genre, having written and directed such films as "Tesis," about a young student's research on the human obsession with death and violence; "Abre los ojos," loosely based on Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (later remade by Cameron Crowe as "Vanilla Sky"); and "The Others," a psychological ghost story and his first English-language film. It might seem as no surprise, then, that Amenábar's latest film, "The Sea Inside," follows a man's lifelong quest for death.

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Carlson & The Pantones' disc blends folk, roots

Emily Bingham
January 10, 2005

On one of these dark January nights, you could keep cozy by slipping into your favorite fuzzy slippers, wrapping yourself in a homemade quilt and sipping hot cocoa near a crackling fireplace. Or you could pop Matthew Carlson & The Pantones' "Memory Is All" into your home stereo system and get the same effect. With their feet firmly planted in a foundation of folk and roots music, singer/songwriter Carlson and multi-instrumentalists The Pantones have crafted an album flooded with warmth.

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Rwanda film to premier at Wells

In addition to the usual second-run flicks screening at Wells Hall this weekend, filmgoers can sneak a peek at one buzzed-about film not yet in theaters. "Hotel Rwanda," the true-life war drama starring Don Cheadle, is screening tonight at the Campus Center Cinemas in Wells Hall - more than a week in advance of its limited theater release on Dec.

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'Ratchet & Clank' unloads fun weaponry

Give Insomniac Games a lot of credit. At a time when many video game companies use the success of past titles to produce shoddy, disappointing sequels, they have done just the opposite. Despite the fact it is the third title in the franchise, everything about the company's recent release, "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal," is a testament to the hard work and creativity that went into the game. The graphics are immaculate, the storyline is fresh and, many times, hilarious, and the game play is diverse and well thought out.