Thursday, January 28, 1999
Soundbites
MUSIC:
Blue and Holding, "Hell"
Feel the hollow of steady, synthesized beats and slick, spacy
guitar strummings that seem to lead nowhere but down. Attempt to
clutch on to lead singer Monika Khoury’s low, disaffected moans and
dismal complaints. Realize that "This is the city of angels but
this city’s killin’ me/ tired of levitatin’ with this blue, angelic
glow/ I’m tired of betweens/ I’m tired of slowly sinking in this
sea of memories" just like her, in the song "City of Angels."
There’s just something about the band’s astral, yet bare
trip-hop grind and almost down-and-out lounge crooning that brings
to mind a smoky red leather-boothed club situated under the glare
of green neon lights on a dead Monday night at around one in the
morning.
The whole album drags from one song to the next like a junkie
slinkin’ between lamp posts just to maintain her balance. Yet, no
song ever wakes up from this opiated slumber, leaving the overall
work to exist only as a sort of background music for apathetic
crank users waiting to chop up the next line. In the end, it
doesn’t leave one jonesing for more, rather just a cold memory of
what it is to be numb. But somehow, we’re all destined to return to
stale moments of self-reflection for which there can be no better
backdrop than the sounds of "Hell."
Vanessa VanderZanden
Rating : 7
Various Artists, "Rocktober"
Remember the early ’90s? When grunge was king, flannel was a
daring fashion statement and Beck spoke to disillusioned slacker
teens everywhere? When goofy fat guys in baggy pants dominated the
rap scene and every rap group had a token white guy? When Madonna
had already killed Cyndi Lauper off and then nearly committed
suicide with a low quality exploitation book, "Sex?" When techno
was still just a spot on the horizon, something that weird
Europeans did in their lame discos?
"Rocktober" is a completely random collection of songs from that
by-gone era; the only thing that the tracks have in common is that
they are all great songs. It’s very rare to find this many great
rock songs together on one album.
Jackyl kicks off the show with "We’re and American Band," a
loving ode to traditional rock band excess. It just gets better
from there with classic performances by Aerosmith, Nirvana,
Whitesnake and The Eagles. Songs such as Guns N’ Roses’ "Paradise
City" and Nirvana’s classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" will
transport you back to those magical days of yesteryear.
The only thing wrong with "Rocktober" is that it claims to
contain 19 songs, but it seems that someone forgot to include the
last two (Whitesnake’s "Here I go Again" and Guns N’ Roses’
"Sympathy for the Devil"). Even with this annoying slip, this album
will give you hours of pure listening pleasure. If this isn’t
enough to recommend the album, just remember that it also has a
really cool photo of an oompapah band on the cover, complete with
comical hats.
Michael Rosen
Rating : 9
Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, "Thrills"
I fell into a burning bowl of fire and came out OK. Andrew Bird,
best known as the featured violinist for Squirrel Nut Zippers, has
put together a band and made some fairly good songs. With James
Mathus and Katherine Whalen of SNZ along for the ride, the music
sounds pretty much like SNZ’s usual music, swinging hot jazz with a
twist.
Bird plays a mean fiddle, echoing the legendary Stephane
Grapelli’s gypsy-swing violin. He also sings, and though his vocal
skills aren’t quite on par with his string work, the off-kilter
style in which the Bowl of Fire plays doesn’t really require
perfection. The album sounds like a vintage record, so the somewhat
limited singing sounds strangely appropriate.
There’s no really killer songs here, but it’s fine music to
relax to. "Minor Stab" has some good New Orleans-style polyphony,
and "Pathetique" is nicely creepy. You can easily imagine hearing
the tunes in a smoky jazz club, surrounded by gangsters and poets
dressed in all black.
When the Bowl of Fire heats things up, though, it is at its
best. The fast-paced swaggering arrogance of "Cock O’ The Walk"
makes it both amusing and catchy, as well as the best work on
"Thrills."
Bird hasn’t broken any new ground here, but at least he’s
reviving a classic genre. Aficionados of hot jazz and Squirrel Nut
Zippers fans will definitely want to give it a spin, and those in
the mood for something you won’t find on the radio too often should
check it out as well.
Brent Hopkins
Rating: 7
Plaid, "Not for Threes"
Former members of Black Dog, Ed Handley and Andy Turner, have
released a second album as the quasi-techno duo Plaid. The band
sounds like a blend of Orbital’s melody structure, Autechre’s
cross-rhythmic synth drums and Bjork (who appears on the album – if
you like her, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one), except
that it simplifies all three.
One moment it sounds like a kitschy advertisement, throwing in
wah guitar or steel drums like parsley, then sultry R&B,
romping around on heavy club beats, then the X-Files, tense and
discordant. Great variety, even if overall this giggly inability to
take it seriously overrides one’s appreciation of it. Most of the
stuff is grounded on thick, stuttery beats, with dance club synths,
and a penchant for repetitive minor progressions and much sound
treatment to keep the keyboards interesting.
But Plaid throws a lot of quirks into the barrel to make it more
appealing.
One thing this album should be congratulated on is that melodies
are traded among dozens of different synthesizers, creating flowery
keyboard pastiches.
At times too "Pop," Bjork’s co-written track keeps it’s cool.
Like Orbital? Like Bjork? Check this one out.
Wes Medina
Rating : 4.5
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]