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FLAGPOLE
QamuurtL, 25, 1995
£AR WAX FACTS
Megadeth
Youthanasia
/ CafJfc>l Records
I had high hopes for this
one since Megadeth's last al
bum, Countdown To Extinc
tion. although slick, was
pretty damn good. Alas.
Youthanasia is rather dull in
comparison. I never thought I
would hear Mustaine singing
about 'Raising swords and
shields. We ascend to our
destiny. To the Elysian Fields.'
That shit was mined quite well
by Led Zeppelin on 'Immi
grant Song" and most of
Ronnie James Dio's Sacred
Heart album.
They are a 'state-of-the-
art" metal band, but even that
can only go so far. The first
chords piqued my interest
right away but as soon as
Mustaine starts singing about
how it's 'Reckoning Day," I
reckoned that Megadeth
would never return to the
awe-inspiring power of So
Far, So Good, So What. (That's
less the horrendous 'Anar
chy In The U.K.' cover.)
Honestly, I wish someone
would rip out Mustaine's vo
cal cords because his vocals
grate on my nerves more
than. This album, for all its
technical virtuosity, is rather
stale and boring. Not one
song has the bite of 'Hook In
Mouth' or the breakneck an
ticipation of 'Wake Up Dead."
I should have been tipped off
to the photo detailing
Megadeth playing air-guitar
inside the CD insert. Air-gui
tar? Megadeth? Is Riki
Rachtman in the picture any
where? I want his head.
John Mincemoyer
Richard Souther
. (sort of...)
Vision: The Music of Hildegard
von Bingen / Angel
I cringed when I read
that this record contained
'modern interpretations' of
the l2th century chant
melodies of Hildegard von
Bingen. Yikes, what have we
here? Cheap drum ma
chines. tacky analog synths
the medieval equivalent of
'Stars on 45'?
No. thank goodness. In
fact, this is a classy, sympa
thetic and very intelligent
reshaping of chant melody
into an ethereal Goth-pop
similar in form to that of
Dead Can Dance (only West
ern rather than Eastern, for
those of you who can tell the
difference). Composer Rich
ard Souther clearly knows
when to leave well enough
alone, and when he chooses
not to, it's invariably the
more interesting choice.
The standout track here
is his reworking of
Hildegard's most well
known piece. 'O Virga Ac
Diadema.' This melody was
already justifiably famous
counted in the conventional
four. But if you count it in
six....
Scholarly such practices
may not be, but they lead to
a record of creative and in
terpretive success. If you
liked Chant, you'll like Vision
even better.
Liz Ireland
Died Pretty
Caressing Swine (...and
some history) / RCA
Died Pretty, a Sydney-
based quintet, has been
among Australia's best ex
ports for nearly 10 years. Af
ter two EPs on the local Cita
del label, their first full-length
release. I986's Free Dirt.
drew raves from the notori
ously bitchy Melody Maker.
Caressing Swine... is ex
actly what the title indicates.
The opening title track is a
single from the current IP,
Trace, with no additional
songs, in reverse chronologi
cal order, back to the first
single, 'Out of the Unknown.'
The songs chosen give the lis
tener a good idea of the
band's strengths throughout
their career.
The all too relevant 'Ca
ressing Swine' presents the
life and thoughts of a victim
of domestic violence over a
rapid drum pulse of fear, rage
and sorrow. The emotional in
tensity for which their music
is praised by everyone from
fanzine writers to The New
York Timeswas never more in
evidence.
Lisa McDonald
Lush
Split / AAD/Warner Bros.
Lush, arguably the best of
the English melodic noise
bands.Tiave toured exten
sively since their 1991 U.S.
debut. Gala, and while their
commercial success has been
modest here, they regularly
evoke the poetic praises of
critics and concert-goers.
As the title would suggest,
the songs (eight written by
Emma Anderson, 4 by Miki
Berenyi) deal with the emo
tional minefields we call rela
tionships, both familial and
romantic. The pain of betrayal
is described with both hon
esty and dignity, and a re
freshing lack of self-pity. The
first single, 'Hypocrite.' is
positively bouncy pop. even as
a wronged girlfriend charges
her false friend, unfaithful
love'’ and finally herself with
hypocrisy. At the other end of
the sound spectrum lies the
scary "The Invisible Man,' all
darkness, struggle and the
frantic whispers of one being
forcibly silenced.
Lisa McDonald
The Roots
Do You Want More?!!!??! /
Talkin Loud / Geffen
"You are all about to wit
ness some organic hip hop
jazz" begins the album, per
fectly describing the work of
this Philly foursome. More
than jazz musicians who hire
sub-par rappers or hip hop
based on jazz loops. The Roots
truly intertwine the two
genres, demonstrating how
they came from the same tra
ditions. Recorded live without
drum machines or samples,
the tracks feature smooth rap
ping and humorous human
beat boxisms over energetic
grooves. Guests include
singer Cassandra Wilson, rap
per Shorty No Mas and bag
piper Rufus Harley. It definitely
stands out from the rest of the
hip hop jazz efforts flooding
the record stores.
Judson Kilpatrick
140 E. Washington St. • 543-7114
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