Scene

Matt Maher drops the beat at Legends

Looper brings on the plot twists

Star Wars Uncut shows at DPAC

Small Talks with Big People

Editor's Note: Scene Editor Kevin Noonan sat down with '02 Notre Dame alumnus and humor writer Ted Fox, whose new book "You Know Who's Awesome? Not You." is on shelves now. Check his website www.tedfoxisawesome.com to find where it's sold. Kevin Noonan: I'd say it's probably a good guess, not to diminish your accomplishments so far, that most university students probably don't know who you are. Ted Fox: I'd say that's very accurate. KN: So I'll give you the opportunity now to introduce yourself to the student body. TF: Well, thank you first of all for having me in Scene. My name is Ted Fox, I'm a 2002 Notre Dame graduate; I lived in Morrissey Manor all four years. I'm also an alum of the Observer - I was a columnist for four years in the sports section. My column was titled "Fox Sports ... Almost," which was the brainchild of the editor calling me at like 10:30 on a Sunday night going, "Okay well, we need a title for the column now." And I was like, "Well when do you need it?" and he said "Well we need it for tomorrow, you've got five minutes to come up with something." After I graduated I worked at ESPN for a little while, and then I came back to Notre Dame in 2004 to work as a writer/editor for the College of Arts and Letters, developed a passion for wanting to be a humor writer professionally and that really became my focus. I moved over to the provost office in 2010, and I've been there a couple years now. I write for them: speeches, website stuff, things like that. I work for them part-time, and they've been great about letting me focus on my humor writing career, which gave rise to this, I always tell people it's my second book, it's the first that's actually been published, but "You Know Who's Awesome? Not you." It's based off a Twitter feed that I write and hopefully is kind of a gateway for me to get into eventually the only thing that I do would be humor writing. KN: The Twitter feed that you've got, @KnowWhosAwesome, where did that start? TF: The genesis of it actually was, and Notre Dame students, you will be able to relate to this once you graduate and you go out into the world, I was on the way back from a wedding of one of my Notre Dame roommates. That and football games are like the pseudo-reunions after you graduate. So this was a wedding out in Pennsylvania I think, and when my wife and I were driving back we were at a McDonald's, because all road trips end up at McDonald's at some point. We were stuck in line for like 10 minutes and the woman who finally got to the front of the line was sitting there looking at the menu like, "What am I going to order?" and I'm in the back of the line thinking "How many times have you been to McDonald's? There is nothing to think about. There's like three options." So I was so annoyed I got on my phone before we left saying something like, "You know who's awesome, people who are in line for 10 minutes at McDonald's and can't make up their mind." A week later at the Pancake House over on Ironwood I had another kind of obnoxious experience with fellow diners, wrote a second "You know who's awesome?" But for me these were funny blog posts; I never was going to think about it again. In the process of trying to get the first book I mentioned published, and part of what you need to do if you don't want to be self-published but actually have a publisher is get a literary agent. In the process of trying to get a literary agent, I struck up a friendship with a woman who said, "I don't think I could publish that first thing you wrote," because, much like Notre Dame students, no one knows who Ted Fox is, "but would you be willing to take this idea that you came up with, "You Know Who's Awesome?," turn that into a Twitter feed and then once we build that up, I will try to sell a book based off that." KN: Has it been successful so far? TF: It's hard to say because I don't have anything to compare it against. It's certainly not in danger of hopping on the New York Times Best Seller list anytime soon. I think on Amazon right now I'm like the top 500,000 out of 8,000,000 books. KN: Well that's pretty good. TF: But the thing that's crazy is that you can drop down to like 1.2 million, you sell one book on Amazon and you go back up to like 150,000, which tells you how many bad books are on Amazon. I've been pleased with it so far, and I think for a first book I think it's doing well. I'm working on a second book right now that's not related to this one, but I certainly hope I get to write a second "You Know Who's Awesome?" and that will be determined by how well this one sells. KN: And it's funny, which is the important thing, right? TF: I appreciate you saying that. If you said, "Well I'll do a story on you but I really didn't think this book was very funny," then I'd be in trouble because, I mean the book that I'm working on now is what I tell people is like a book-book, like a real book with chapters and everything. A book based on a Twitter feed, if it's not funny there's not a whole lot else to hang your hat on. So I appreciate you saying that. KN: And then the book you're working on now, "Project 33," what can you tell me about that? TF: So I turned 33 two weeks ago, and so the book is based around the idea of, and this is potentially a little offensively put, this is my "Jesus Year," in that a lot of historians speculate that Jesus was 33 when he died. As a humor writer, it also turns out that Chris Farley and John Belushi also died when they were 33. So over the course of the next year, I have a list of, it's like a 33-year-old male humor writer's version of "Eat, Pray, Love." I don't like abandon my life and go live in Europe, I actually just do things that I've always wanted to do like, beat the "Legend of Zelda" on my original Nintendo because I never got around to doing it, or break 90 for 18 holes of golf or drive cross country, things like that. So I'm in the course of doing these 33 things during my 33rd year, and also at that point then kind of reflecting on what I have or haven't accomplished at this age, and things that I'm dealing with or struggling with. My agent described that as it's not a humor book, it can be funny but it has to have that like life deeply examined kind of thing that you hope a lot of people can relate to. "You Know Who's Awesome?" on the other hand, the target audience for that, and one of the reasons I was so excited that you guys wanted to interview me is that it's really 18-35, it really targeted that college age, those kids are kind of my target demographic. I had a Notre Dame senior one time tweet back at me [saying my tweets are funny], and I actually put that in my proposal, like, okay I don't have that many followers yet, but people who are the right age think it's very funny. They're very different kinds of books, but I enjoy working on both of them. I'm hoping to have a sequel for "You Know Who's Awesome?" and I've already written half of it. KN: Who would you say are your comedic influences? I see a lot of Seinfeld references on your Twitter. TF: Yeah, I would say 1a, 1b and 1c would all be Jerry Seinfeld, and then by extension Larry David. I'm kind of a Seinfeld, Conan, Larry David, "Family Guy" kind of a mix in there. And I don't consciously try to emulate Jimmy Fallon, but I do think my humor tends to be a little more good-hearted. I'm not a mean comic, and I make fun of myself a lot too. That to me is very Jimmy Fallon. I try to be clever while not being mean-spirited, because I don't like mean comics, so I try to make fun of myself a lot. KN: So, big question, if this was a job interview they'd ask you this (not that I'd know)- 10 years from now, where do find yourself? TF: As much as I love my alma mater and the folks in the provost's office and Dr. Burish is one of my best supporters on the campus, I don't see myself working at the University anymore, I see myself writing books full-time for a living, writing funny books. Obviously, with what I'm trying to do with that "Project 33" book, getting beyond just that Twitter kind of book. Like I said I'm trying to do a sequel to that, and I'm planning to for it as if I will get to do a sequel. But really I want to write books that make people laugh. Those are my two passions: writing and making people laugh, and hopefully giving people joy that way because it's something that I really enjoy doing. And if it became something more than that, if I had opportunities in television or if I had an opportunity with a screenplay, to me that would just be like icing on the cake. What I want to be able to do, it's not about fame and fortune, I'm quickly discovering. KN: All right, last question. You were a sports writer here, you worked for ESPN for a while, you're a big Boston fan, what is the deal with the Red Sox? TF: It's so creepy, because we got our dog last, like August 21. We named the dog "Buckner," because the idea was, you know what, [forget] the curse, it's over. The Sox were nine games up in first place, so we named the dog Buckner, I put the video on my blog with the puppy, I'm wearing my Yaz jersey, and I say "[Forget] the curse, we named this dog Buckner, it's over." They go like 6-20 that September, miss the playoffs, and then this year happened. KN: So it's your fault. TF: It is, it absolutely is. And you can tell that I'm a Red Sox fan who did not grow up in New England, because no self-respecting New Englander under any circumstance would ever name their dog Buckner. Any Red Sox fans reading this on campus, please don't kick my [butt], and I am really sorry. I don't know what we're going to, we can't change the dog's name. In retrospect, I think we may have angered the baseball gods with that one. 

Make the most of the bye weekend

So it's a bye weekend - no pep rally to go to, no tailgating, no game, not even Notre Dame football to follow on TV. Here are some ideas to make the best of the one weekend this semester that isn't eaten up by football: Check out South Bend: It's actually got fun stuff to do! If you've already been to the South Bend Chocolate factory, the College Football Hall of Fame, University Park Mall and all the downtown restaurants and clubs, this weekend there's also the FlipsidePotawatomi Zoo Trip on Sunday, leaving at noon from library circle and Community Energy Day concludes Energy Week with trolley, car and bike tours to the greenest places in South Bend from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Go see a show: Whether it's music, theater or comedy, there are professional and student performances on campus for you. Comedian Aaron Kominos-Smith is at Legends on Friday and contemporary Christian musician Matt Maher is there on Saturday, with both performances at 10 p.m. ND Theater NOW will be at DPAC for an entire week, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. For more music, Third Coast Percussion is performing at DPAC on Sunday at 2 p.m. Cheer on another ND team: Did you know we have teams besides football? Really good ones? Cross Country's last home meet is Friday at 2 p.m. at Burke Memorial Golf Course, and women's volleyball plays Marquette on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Syracuse on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Purcell Pavilion. See a movie: Both SUB and DPAC have movies almost every week. This weekend's film include "The Hunger Games" on Friday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 p.m. and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at DPAC. The performing arts center is also playing "Star Wars: Uncut" as its midnight movie Saturday night and continuing the films of HayaoMiyazaki with "My Neighbor Tortoro" Saturday at 3 p.m. and "Castle in the Sky" Sunday at 3 p.m. Help a Worthy Cause: Sign up to local cancer education and awareness with the Domer Run, a fun run that can either be a 6-mile run, 3-mile run or 2-mile family walk, starting at Legends at 9 a.m. Saturday. Keep on walking into Sunday with the Project Hope Suicide Prevention Walk, which raises money for mental health facilities in South Bend, starting at 12:30 p.m. at the Rockne Memorial Center Do something that is "So ND": Crazy-themed events like a pirate- or Kentucky Derby-themed dance that only happen at Notre Dame are going down with no football game to stop them. Signature, alliterative dances include the Fisher Funk and the Howard Hoedown, plus events like Mr. ND and the Keough Chariot Race. And what's more Notre Dame than Legends Nightclub? Friday is Total Request Latino and Saturday is Retro Nightclub, both starting at midnight. Go outside: It's supposed to be sunny and in the 70s all week: enjoy it while you can before the permacloud moves in (if you don't know what that is yet, you will). Wear all your warm weather clothes now before they get packed away for months in the darkness of storage. Throw around a football or baseball, be really collegiate and toss around the Frisbee or be really Fisher and play spikeball. Be chill: Who says you have to leave your dorm to have a good time? Take the chance to actually watch some college football. Gameday is normally so consuming you never watch any other team; size up the competition for the rest of the year. Or sleep all day because you can, and because you might not get any sleep for days once midterms start, so it's totally justified. Get ahead on studying for midterms/catch up on your homework: Nah, just kidding. Let's don't and say we did.  

No Doubt shines in return

They're back. Eleven years, one appearance on "Gossip Girl," two solo albums and four fragrances by lead singer Gwen Stefani since their last release, No Doubt has triumphantly returned with "Push and Shove," their sixth studio album. A throwback to our middle-school days, the return of the band is both tantalizing and worrisome. Could the band possibly live up to lofty expectations? A listener could operate under two assumptions before listening to No Doubt's latest effort. Either the band had so much pent-up creative energy that they were bound to release their strongest album yet, or after more than a decade away from the studio, No Doubt would be as rusty as the Tin Man from "The Wizard of Oz." Surprisingly, neither of these seems to be true. "Push and Shove" took a monumental two years to record, and comes with high expectations. If you can imagine an area where the band neither fails to deliver nor exceeds these expectations, this is where "Push and Shove" belongs. No one is going to mistake the album for the band's magnum opus, but at the same time, it is no "Chinese Democracy," the disastrous and long-awaited release from Guns 'n' Roses. All in all, every one of the album's 11 tracks feel like they fit in with No Doubt's catalog. After more than two decades as a band, would you want anything different? No Doubt has sold more than 33 million records worldwide, won several Grammys and set a record when their single "Don't Speak" spent 16-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. At this point in their careers, no one in the band needs to prove anything, nor do they need to "reinvent" their sound or image like Madonna seemingly does every other week. As their last album attests, No Doubt "rocks steady" and their fans wouldn't have it any other way. "Settle Down," the first single released earlier in the summer, is the standout track off "Push and Shove." Featuring Stefani's signature luscious vocals, electric-reggae sound and dancehall-inspired beats, "Settle Down" is signature No Doubt - fun, flirty and the perfect summer jam. The first time you listen, you are reminded the band never fully departed the music scene, because they own the track - no other musical act could produce a similar hit. Lyrically, the song also sets the tone for the rest of the album. Stefani croons about adjusting to unfamiliar circumstances, but that she will be able to adjust and "settle down." Despite their 11-year hiatus, the band is indeed fine, and hopefully will stick around for a little longer. The second single and title track "Push and Shove" is an initial disappointment, but upon further listen is one of the album's stronger cuts. Featuring Busy Signal and Major Lazer, the song digs even deeper into the band's ska roots. Perhaps because bassist Tony Kanal said the song was to No Doubt what "Bohemian Rhapsody" was to Queen, the track came with lofty expectations. Once you walk away from that ambitious statement, one can fully appreciate what "Push and Shove" means to the album - it's a very modern take on No Doubt's unique sound. Undoubtedly musical trends have wildly warped in the past 11 years, but the song still sounds fresh and radio-ready, while also sounding like the No Doubt of yore. Other standouts from the album include the next single, "Looking Hot," along with "One More Summer" and "Heaven." "Looking Hot" displays one of Stefani's strongest vocal traits, the ability to use her pipes as the ultimate emotive communicator. Listening to Stefani sing, it's impossible to not connect with what she is feeling. The song also features some awesome guitar synths. "One More Summer" is classic California rock, exactly the type of song you'd be listening to on the California Freeway with the top of your convertible down, sun shining down and wind whipping through your hair. "Heaven" is a bouncy, '80s-style track that makes you want to put on your legwarmers and windbreaker. It is bubbly, flirty and the bottled-blonde Stefani once again reigns supreme on the track. While our middle school days are long gone, you wouldn't know it listening to No Doubt's latest release. "Push and Shove" doesn't break the mold, but it doesn't need to. At this point in the game, No Doubt has established themselves as the leaders in ska-punk-reggae-California rock - whatever you want to call it - and "Push and Shove" is more of the same. What more could you ask for?  

Weekend Events Calendar

ND Theatre NOW opens FTT season

The Master': an Oscar-worthy masterpiece

Campus Cafes by Claire

Wingin' It

Last week I compiled and published a weekly calendar for the best wing deals in the South Bend area. Like many of you, I have already found the calendar invaluable for deciding where to get food on any given day. In order to further help you out I will bear the burden of visiting each of the wing establishments and sharing my opinions. The first of the fine restaurants I've visited was Wings Etc. While this is a fairly widespread and well-liked chain, I feel it necessary to lodge a few of my complaints. 

Biggest Surprises of the 2012 Emmys

Grizzly Bear shines on "Shields"

I've been a fan of Grizzly Bear since I heard two tracks of its 2009 breakthrough album "Veckatimest" at the end of my senior year of high school. After spending a summer and a year of college getting lost in their lush, layered, hard-to-categorize folk pop melodies, I saw the Brooklyn quartet perform live at Lollapalooza 2010 in one of my favorite sets of a weekend that included the likes of Arcade Fire, Phoenix, The National, MGMT and Spoon. 

Best Fashion of the 2012 Emmys

Guests at the Emmys tend to joke that the event lacks the star power of the Academy Awards, but this year, what they were supposedly lacking in big names they made up for in style.

Biggest Losers of the 2012 Emmys

While it is supposedly "an honor just to be nominated," a handful of shows had a lot of nominations and came away with relatively little to show. They're certainly not "losers" as shows, but these nominees had some big hype surrounding them only to be disappointed.

Biggest Surprises of the 2012 Emmys

AMC

Biggest Winners of the 2012 Emmys

Sunday night's Emmy Awards were all about "Modern Family" and "Homeland." The Emmy-favorite family comedy maintained its winning streak with four golden statues, while hit drama "Homeland" surprised everyone by taking home five awards.

Pitch Perfect hits the right notes

In a refreshing change from corny musicals that pervade the genre, "Pitch Perfect" is a college version of "Glee," without all the singing about feelings and ridiculous drama.

Kanye West presents: "Cruel Summer"

For the pessimistic few whose too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen theories were proven wrong by the excellence of 2011's "Watch the Throne," GOOD Music's 2012 collaborative effort "Cruel Summer" might be a better target. Though his presence on the album is ubiquitous, Kanye did not author this one alone, and it shows. The album lacks both the merit and cohesion of a solo West release. This is not to say the album is a failure. Viewed as a collection of solid rap songs, the album fares well. Tracks such as "Clique," "New God Flow" and "Sin City" bump with a graceful coalescence of style and modernity. The GOOD Music crew knows what is going on in hip-hop everywhere, and though "Cruel Summer" sounds more like an imitation than a response the songs are proof that the GOOD Music crew won't die as quickly as other hip-hop collectives.

Silversun Pickups play at the Aragon