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by a “wild packs of family dogs’ and a
“decal man is standing upside down but
talking out of his pants' (from the
album's biggest rockers ‘A Different
City'' and “The Stars Are Projectors,
Yeah,' respectively) The bottom line:
the lyrics on this record, like ail the rest,
leave you smiling and scratching your
head with some weird deep thoughts.
Who else is going to say “no one
really knows the ones they love.../ if
you knew everything they thought I bet
that you'd wish that they’d just shut up.’
as heard on the stabbing confessional
song ‘Lives.’ Isaac's words only leave
you guessing, which is a statement that
needs no explanation.
The album's backbone lies in the
outer space aura it leaves in the air. with
guitar lines reverberating and shivering
in eerie ways at times. One could never
mistake them for anyone else’s playing.
Along with the trademark guitar sound,
Modest Mouse has added violins and
keyboards, which seem to sedate and at
times charge up the repetitive and
droning songs like “The Cold Part' and
set fire to tracks like Tiny Cities Made
Of Ashes.' All in all what makes this
album stand up is the way it flows from
track to track. Each song, like the album
cover shows, seems to shake the next
track's hand in the best way possible.
After a couple listens to this album, I
knew this is definitely another Modest
Mouse album that I can’t wait to drive to
with notning to think about.
David Matysiak
CUPCAKES
Cupcakes
Dreamworks
If you enjoy the likes of The
Pretenders. The Psychedelic Furs, The
Cranberries, or the equally magnificent
sound: of The Smiths, do not expect the
same raw talent from Cupcakes. This is
the latest production from the omnipo
tent producer Steven Street—who I
myself immortalize regardless of this
good, but not great, project. Still there
must be something; perhaps, just one
thing about this Chicago foursome
known as Cupcakes that warrants the
attention of this accomplished producer.
Some of these colorful characters
describe themselves as truly dysfunc
tional and self-destructive: singer
Preston Graves, bassist Solomon
Synder and drummer Matt Walker were
all in Tribal Opera (also from Chicago).
Evidently, that band enjoyed moderate
success until it broke up in the early-
90s. After the breakup, Graves hooked
up with the undeniably talented guitarist
Greg Suran, who at the time worked
with Machines Of Love and Grace. Matt
Walker later became a member of Filter
and The Smashing Pumpkins. Walker
also composed the music for the film
Blade (not too shabby).
Now, lefs dissect the music itself,
for that is our true intent. Suran
describes Cupcakes' early works as
“these little, two minute sugary cup
cakes with a heavy Can and Kraftwerk
influence." Huh? True, there are vague
remnants of Kraftwerk influences on this
self-titled release. For instance,
“Vidiots" contains a machine-like, key
board rambling that lasts for about two
seconds and is then overpowered by an
over-used heavy guitar riff left over from
the pop sensationalism of the mid-90s.
One can really hear the Street influence
with the dynamics and breaks in
“Welcome To The Candy Store," which
also contains a drum machine-type
sound reminiscent of Kraftwerk com
bined with obvious Street meddling.
What irks me the most about this
unlikely combination of influences is the
constant return to the radio-friendly,
heavy-guitar bullshit of the former
decade’s insidious failure of creativity
and balance. Where's the bass?
But let's not write Cupcakes off until
the band climbs the mountain of
garbage it calls the pop radio charts.
Then it will have truly put me in my
place... okay? (9268 West Third St.,
Beverly Hills, CA 90210)
David Amico
THE WAXWINGS
Low To The Ground
Bobsled
Detroit's very own retrograde,
gloss-rock foursome's debut is
charming, if not saccharine laced, with
melodic structures mixed with space,
plus percussive movements on this
debut LP.
The band initially comes off
pulsing, like so much blue “arterial"
blood, from the same vein as the wave
of other recent projects made up mostly
of dejected art students who listen to Pel
Sounds with expensive headphones on
countless, lonesome Sunday evenings.
Don’t expect, however, the experimental
zonk and loop of atonal flux; this is
straight-laced guitar-pop, friends. wi*h
no forced ambiguity about it's roots. It
must be said that Waxwings bring to us
a more genuine article of pure-at-heart,
slight-of-hand psyche pop, although the
album does occasionally lapse into a
weak acoustic flush (think Atlantic-era
Lemonheads).
In the end, the band manages to
accomplish it's apparent task of hand:
bringmg it all back home in a *66
fashion. (P. 0. Box 6407, Aurora, IL
60598)
Brandon Cox
VARIOUS ARTISTS
At Home With The Groovebox
Grand Royal
The medium is the muse—at leas 1
in the case of At Home With The
Groovebox, an unlikely musical compi
lation both inspired by and composed
using the Roland MC-505 music
sequencer, AKA “the groovebox." The
concept behind At Home is simple-
pass the groovebox around tc a skilled
ca^ of musicians and compare the
results.
So why would Pavement, Sonic
Youth and Beck among others line up to
pay homage to a machine? To answer
this question, you have to understand
the presence that is the groovebox. The
unassuming beat and riff apparatus has
enjoyed a cult-like following among
electronic (and instrumental) musicians.
It io the Les Paul of synths. with a rich
legacy and a rabid set of devotees.
Basically an all-in-one clone of Roland^
deliciously lo-fi synths and drum
machines of the early eighties, the
groovebox embodies the “retro-
lutionary’ ethos of todayls sampled-
beat, vinyl-takes-all movement.
At Home does justice to the honor
able groovebox name. While compila
tions discs often reek of money-making
novelty, from a production standpoint,
this recording exhibits some real
thought and effort. Although the mar
quee names are there, special attention
obviously went into the balance of the
final line-up of featured artists.
Especially notable is the inclusion of
Jean Jacques Perrey and Gershon
Kingsley, early forerunners of re-mix
style music. The opening track, com
posed by Perrey, is certainly the most
ear-blowing of the recording, with his
cut-and-paste sonic patchwork attaining
a mysterious vocal quality.
The recording is also a showcase
for some obscured but hardly obscure
electronic acts. The selected artists cut a
good introductory swath into the world
of electronic music. Cibo Matto and
Buffalo Daughter both offer quirky but
memorable 505 tracks.
Speaking of quirk, one word of
warning—this is probably not the
album you want blaring in your car tape
deck when you go to pick up that date
for the first time. The quirk factor runs in
the red throughout and it can even push
into the realm of ‘Robo cheese’ at
times. But such is the price for a project
that possesses ambition. (32181/2
Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles. CA 90039)
Matthew Hutchinson
SARGE
Distant
Mud
It isn't by any means your run of the
mill rock and roll story: Band forms,
tours relentlessly and achieves some
national acclaim. On the verge of poten
tial breakthrough the lead singer...
decides to attend law school? So goes
the strange story of Midwestern cult
favorites, Sarge.
Now, a year after the band's demise,
comes the band's postscript. Distant, a
beautifully varied collection of demos,
live track: and three, new unreleased
songs recalls The Go-Gcft in its most
poppy moments and Ohio post punkers
Scrawl a’ -S most raucous. Lead singer
Elizabeth Elmore's lyrics tell vivid tales
of relationships either lost or so dam
aged that repair seems futile, yet her
phrasing is often so gorgeous that the
listener is left holding out hope. That is
until an aggressively fuzzy guitar makes
quick work of the tenderness of tne
scene, quickly looking for new heart
break.
In spots the band's soft-loud sym
metry fails, treading dangerously close
to formulaic, but for the most part the
bandls smart sensibilities avoid that pit-
fall. The innovative and quirky time
changes make for a heavier version of
Time After Time’ than Cyndi Lauper
could have ever imagined and bands
with an imagination like tnat should be
remembered kindly. Distant is a keeper
for Sarge fans.
Tom Kielty
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