Newspaper Page Text
Famed designer
leaves Classic City
By ELAINE KELCH
The Red & Buck
Every artist has an
inspiration, or at least a
catalyst.
For Chris Bilheimer, for
mer University student
and Athens resident, that
catalyst needs only three
letters of explanation:
R.E.M.
“[I was] not able to
make a living doing [art]
before I started working
for R.E.M., but I’ve worked
hard continually,”
Bilheimer said.
But Bilheimer is a mod
est man. Reserved and
direct, he shrugs ofT being
friends —and collabora
tors —with RE.M.’s
Michael Stipe.
Bilheimer’s portfolio is
best described as he dis
plays it online: 12 photos
of David Letterman. More
specifically, 12 photos of
Letterman holding his
work.
“It’s something I’ve
always wanted to pursue,”
Bilheimer said.
“Something in music ...
but I’m a terrible musi
cian.”
Bilheimer is an artist by
trade and by passion. A
former painting major, his
work in the last decade is
iconic Green Day's
“American Idiot” bleeding
grenade? That’s
Bilheimer’s.
Green Day’s “21st
Century Breakdown?” Yes,
that’s Bilheimer and his
wife. Still, there’s more.
Bilheimer's client list
reads like a who’s who of
the alt-rock and alt-come
dy scene of the last decade,
but Athens his home
is still at the center of it
all.
Widespread Panic, of
Montreal and The Whigs
are three such bands.
Weezer, The Police,
Nirvana and the Smashing
Pumpkins have employed
Bilheimer’s skills as well.
Patton Oswalt an
Athens favorite and fan
David Cross and Sarah
Silverman have, too.
“Sometimes the clients
have very specific ideas for
what they want, and it is
basically more of produc
tion,” Bilheimer said.
“Other times it’s a collabo
ration —with R.E.M.
everything is a collabora
tion and even that is differ
ent.”
Meeting —and later
working with— Oswalt is
again a lingering effect of
Bilheimer’s relationship
with R.E.M.
“I have to work in L.A. a
lot, and probably in ’96 I
went to this club it only
cost $5,” Bilheimer said.
“Patton was telling a story
about going back to his
high school reunion and
admitting to his English
teacher that he fabricated
things [in his assign
ments], including citing
Stipe v. Buck as if it were
real.”
After the show,
Bilheimer mailed Oswalt a
complete collection of
R.E.M. CDs, and the two
have become friends since.
Bilheimer even contribut
ed art for Oswalt's first
two albums and posters
for the Comedians of
Comedy Tour.
In turn, Bilheimer
assisted Oswalt getting in
touch with Stipe for
Oswalt’s upcoming book
release.
But now, Bilheimer’s
time in Athens is coming to
acloae.
“I came to [Athens] to
go to college,” Bilheimer
said. “I’m turning 40 and
my wife and I are ready for
a change."
In January, Bilheimer
and his wife will move to
Austin, Texas, a town simi
lar in mood but greater in
size than the Classic City.
Partly because of
Bilheimer’s departure, and
partly because of the
breadth of his work and
degree of success, CinC
approached Bilheimer
about putting on a show.
“When Cin£ asked, I
think they were thinking
more art than design,"
Bilheimer said. “I almost
named the show ’Quantity
Not Quality' l’m trying
to show everything, wheth
er it’s good or bad."
Joining Bilheimer for
Friday and Saturday’s
“Blackboards ii
Smoke bombs" are Mends
Lance Bangs best
known for his film work
including The Shins “New
Slang” and Arcade Fire’s
“Wake Up” —and Dan
Donahue, a multi-disci
plinary artist who’s worked
for clothing company
Penguin and whose clients
. C.,.. (~,, UM
‘American Idiot,’ for
which Bilheimer
designed the cover
art, has sold more
than 14 million copies
worldwide, according
to Nielsen Sound
Scan.
A Neutral Milk Hotel’s
1998 in the
Aeroplane Over the
Sea’ is Bilheimer’s
favorite record of all
time and the piece of
package art he is most
proud of.
BLACKBOARDS &
SMOKEBOMBS
When: Friday at 6:30 p.m. and
Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Friday at Cine,
Saturday at ATHICA.
Price: Free
include Nike and MGMT.
Even as he prepares to
move on from Athens.
Bilheimer is certain this
won't be the last of him
you’ll see in Athens —and
on Letterman.
“I’ll still come back and
forth to work for R.E.M,”
Bilheimer said. “I started
here, I went to school here.
From UGA I've done work
around the world I did it
all from here.”
C r edit
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Call for Reservation’.
Local store lets the bullets fly
By JOE WILLIAMS
THk Red & Black
While the students and
professors of Athens slept
peacefully in their beds
Tuesday, I was shot five
times in the chest by a
small boy wearing blue
cross country shorts.
The midnight massacre
didn’t make local news,
nor did the police sweep
in to save the day prob
ably because I was resur
rected 10 seconds later,
then given a slice of pizza.
Play ’N Trade, located
off Epps Bridge next to
Trader Joe’s, hosted a
release party for the much
talked about “Call of
Duty: Black Ops” Monday
night leading into the
world-wide midnight
release.
They even got permis
sion from the developer to
break a few copies of
“Black Ops” out of their
‘Black Ops’ Breakdown
In November 0f2009, “Call of
Duty: Modem Warfare 2” redefined
the first-person shooter, breaking
records and selling an impressive
$550 million in five days.
One year later, “Call of Duty:
Black Ops” has finally hit stores to
mixed reviews. lON.com, the stan
dard for game reviews, rates the
game at 8.5/10. In comparison,
“MW2" holds an impressive 9.5110.
How does “Black Ops" stack up
to its legendary predecessor?
STORY MODE
The CoD series is well-known for
its in-depth, movie-like quality, and
“Black Ops” is no exception.
The opening scene quickly
erupts into a brutal bar bash with
a soldier getting a knife stabbed
through his hand and into the bar
counter. The player is then thrown
a gun by his teammate to fend off
soldiers attacking from the outside.
What continues is an Intense
skirmish in the dark streets, with
random explosions, a mini-car
chase and gunfire from every possi
ble direction.
After escaping, the player must
stealthily zip-line through a jungle
on a mission to kill Fidel Castro.
The controls remain the. same,
and graphics are equal to “MW2.”
"Black Ops” goes to equal
lengths to create a believable story
that is both engaging and epic.
VERDICT: TIE
VARIETY
cases for a massive tour
nament with the grand
prize being a free copy of
game.
Fox’s Pizza was served,
and a representative of
the Army was present giv
ing out lanyards and
bags.
Don’t underestimate
the hype surrounding
“Black Ops” an Army
H3 Hummer was parked
out front complete with a
flatscreen television,
thumping surround sound
system and a mini-touma
ment of “Modem Warfare
2.”
What I eqjoy most
about the Call of Duty
series isn’t necessarily just
the gameplay —it’s the
culture and language sur
rounding it.
Avery eclectic group of
people are hooked to the
first-person war shooter,
and Play ’N trade’s party
featured them all: smack-
ONLINE UPGRADES
A major difference from "MW2”
is the way in which players custom
ize their guns, perks and class. In
“MW2,” players earned experience
points on each weapon, unlocking
new scopes and attachments by
achieving a certain amount of kills.
That was thrown away in “Black
Ops,” with the player now focusing
on “contracts” and fake currency.
Players are awarded money after
each match to purchase attach
ments, weapons and perks that
used to require a lot of work to
attain. F\m? Yes. Cheap? Definitely.
VERDICT: MW2
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The Red a Buck | Thursday, November n, aoro
.. _ J
AJ REYNOLDS | Thb Rip a Black
a Kids and adults flocked to Play ’N Trade off
Epps Bridge to play ‘Black Ops’ before release.
talking middle schoolers
accompanied by their
naive mothers, sleek busi
nessmen in suit and tie, a
pregnant woman, a man
wearing camo and a teen
ager buzzing the tune of
Mario on a kazoo.
ONLINE GAMEPLAY
The first noticeable difference in
“Black Ops” is actual online game
play. Apparently the pleas of the
people were heard, because maps
have been severely overhauled.
Remember the aggravating bun
ker in “Wasteland” on "MW2”
where kids camped? Such a place
does not exist in “Black Ops.” How
about the numerous spots in
“MW2" where players sat with a
sniper, picking off everyone until
their ammo ran out? No more.
Each sniping spot has numerous
paths leading to it, making any
spot in the game impossible to
camp for more than a minute.
Gameplay is much quicker
paced, with environments that are
beautifUl and terrifying. “Jungle”
features waterfalls, steep inclines
and intricate paths, but beware:
bullets seem to come from the trees.
VERDICT: BLACK OPS
The event as a whole
was a huge hit.
Unfortunately, I’m no
match against a 10-year
old with heightened hand
eye coordination, and was
eliminated in the second
round.
IS IT WORTH THE SSS?
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, WH,
Nintendo DS and Window's computers
Price: $59.99 (or basic edition
Verdict: Although I wouldn’t suggest
trading in 19 games to purchase it -as
the kid in front of me did - “Black Ops”
is a worthy opponent to MW2 and a step
in the right direction for the series. The
upgrading system needs major tweaking,
but the gameplay far surpasses MW2.
- Joe Williams
7