Growing up with 'American Pie'

18.05.12

Alt rock soundtrack (Barenaked Ladies, Blink 182, Third Eye Blind) was straight out of my CD collection.

Best of all, the chicks, like my girl friends and I, were equal parts raunchy and romantic. They were fleshed-out characters, rather than pieces of objectified flesh — except for Nadia the foreign exchange student, of course.

I saw my own high school experience on screen, and my peers and I savored every bite.

Then came the sequel. And, similar to coming back to your hometown the summer after freshman year in college, it was familiar and comforting, but ultimately annoying.

In “American Pie 2” the boys try too hard to recapture the magic from their senior year of high school, which echoed the filmmakers’ desperate attempt to recreate the spirit (and the profits) of the first film. Both resulted in some laughs and iconic moments (Jim as “Petey” playing the trombone) but they both fell flat.

I went back to the dorms, and I grew apart from the “Pie” kids even as many of my real-life high school friendships faded. I saw Alyson Hannigan around on “How I Met Your Mother,” but I didn’t attend her “American Wedding,” you know?

Source: New York Daily News

UNSTOPPABLE GROWTH: The local boys in Kudzu go the extra mile to be more than ...

18.05.12

The members of local rock band Kudzu are an adventurous lot.

Not only do they have two albums of original music under their belt — the most recent, “Not Afraid,” was released earlier this month — they’re gung-ho about tackling cover songs that don’t fit into any preconceptions fans may have about them. But while everything from Prince to Ronnie Milsap to The Commodores may find its way into the Kudzu repertoire, the majority of the band will, on occasion, draw the line.

Singer and guitarist Tim Flatford found that out the hard way when he brought Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” to rehearsal one night.

“If you look at the lyrics, there’s nothing in that song that’s locked in to a woman having to do it!” Flatford said with a laugh. “It could just as easily be about a man seducing a woman. But the disparaging looks I got from the guys was enough. (Bassist/keyboard player) Charlie (LaFountain) said he hated the song when it came out the first time. They weren’t too keen on doing that one.”

Source: Maryville Daily Times