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SONIC YOUTH
Murray Street
DGC
There's something undeniably and
unmistakably right and viscerally satis
fying about Murray Street Some
Youth's 16th record, excluding all those
neat little SYR releases the band did
You Imd it in little moments little
instances that dot the soundscape ol
the disc points where you forget about
whatever worries have plagued your
mind for the last few weekend simply
sit back and listen, oblivious to the tact
that its really just a song
The floating, watting whispery
dosing track "Sympathy For The
Strawberry." in which Kim Gordon
seems to glide along on top of Steve
Shelley s simple drum beat is evidence
of this As is the goosebunip-yielding
Neu-reterencmg motonk guitar-drum
interplay that forms the bulk of the
standout Ram On Tin" Thankfully
moments of the sort become almost
old hat by the end of the disc
On Murray Street la Beaties refer
ence as wen as an ode to its sower
Manhattan studio) the band seam
lessly connects its noisy early era cat
alog with the floating whispery.
salting aesthetic it has crafted of late,
all the while tying it logethe f with
instrumental jams that might receive
more applause at the Fillmore than at
CBGBs
Recogni/mg as strengths the
albym is built more on the vibrations
of guitar strings than on Beat-poetry
spouting vocat chords And whereas
certain recent Sonic studio albums
might have left somewhat inconsistent
if not forced, this latest comes with
seven quality songs that seem to arrive
rather than puncture Seven songs No
waste No filler
John Knight
Sonic Youth plays at the 40 Watt
Club on Tuesday. August 6
JIM WHITE
no such place
JIM WHITE
No Such Place
luaka Bop
Though Floridian oddball Jim
White and the obfuse term "Southern
Gothic became nearly inseparable fol
lowing ms 97 debut Wrong Eyed
Je^us. some of Whiles psychologically
damaged story stuff has grown less
Waits-esque and more akin to that of
Beck or even Dub Narcotic as of late
Snippets of tump-cut funk, hazy low-
key moments and Whites near over-
exaggerated grasp of the Southern ver
nacular make tor a loosely hinged
musical slop albeit a nicety realized
s.op that s sure to puzzle as many as it
pleases
Whether f evving cylinders (the
Odeiaycum Cosmic ThmgB-52's 10
Mites To Go On A 9 Mite Road the
Sly Stoned Handcuffed Tc A fence in*
Mississippi’) or retreating into hush,
hush territory ("The love That Never
Fads'' i No Such Place teeters on over
doing it but holds together Whites
droll drifte' shuck remains tongue-in-
cheek without being tacky and his ear
tor punched up though mostly simple
arrangements succeeds far more than it
tatters
l honestly didn t expect to dig No
Such Place a Southern-themed record
augmented by an urban trip-hop honor
roll including members ot Morcheeba
and Sweet back, delivered by a shady
character who resembles a hybrid ol
smartass actor Owen Wilson and cull
filmisl Joe Bob Briggs But you'd do
well filing this one next to the Bad
livers' chaotic Blood And Mood as it's
pleasing when such eclecticism actu
ally holds tight through the home
stretch instead of merely stalling at the
gates
Michael Andrews
Jim While plays the 40 Watt Club
on Wednesday. June 19
JET BY DAY
The Feedback That Distracts Us
Moodswing
Athens Jet By Day has been
showing tor a lew years now that
being thoughtful and mature doesn t
mean you can t make some eardrums
bleed The Feedback That Distracts Us
continues that trend
Jet By Day has absolutely no dead
weight as a band but makes its mark
with a mighty iwo-pronged attack
David Malysiak s voce is a doozy—
militarily versatile Just when his
seemingly emo meandenngs start to
make you conclude wn*ny' be makes
impulsive octave-defying leaps tike
Jett Buckley out for blood Ohen times
this jefcyil-Hyde switch Happens mid-
lyrtc, which it nothing else xeeps you
on your toes Had the CD come with a
lync sheet. "The Payoff could have
been transcribed accordingly 'We
drown m SllEEEENCE'l Before the
music was ever turned on ‘
Matysiak s voice faces sonic competi
tion from his and Mason Brown s gui
tars which prove you don't need solos
to rock, so long as you have fitts, licks,
feedback and a cache ot pedals in your
arsenal Depending on your mood, you
may hear shoegazer. grunge, indie,
prog rock and—shocking for such
seemingly arty types—metal
Jet By Day is a true work in
progress, and an ambitious one at that
The band is maturing constantly, and
has cooked up a somewhat disjointed
but exciting hybrid of styles With The
Feedback That Distracts Us, Jet By Day
hasn't yet achieved artistic mrvana-
no pun intended- -but has only started
to Ilex its artistic muscles (3833
Roswell Rd. Ste 104, Atlanta. GA
30342)
Tom Bavis
Jet By Day plays Tasty World on
Saturday. June 22 as part ot AthFest
2002
ELVIS COSTELO
When l Was Cruel
Island
The past *ew years our dear Elvis
has been playing well with others—
opera singer Anne Sofie Von Otter. '60s
pep composer Burt Bacharach (1998's
Pamted From Memory is much more ol
d sound salvation tor the office than
any ol those bullshit listen while you
worn radso stations), and various
etner collaborations
Now hes released ms tirst proper
solo record since 1994 s Brutal Youth
and iusl about everyone is hailing it as
his Return To Rock Costellc himself
toid Bravos Musicians series that he
wanted to mane a "21st century big-
band record' The torch-song aspects
are there— When i Was Cruet No 2"
sounds as if Joao Gilberto dropped in
on one ot Costello and Bacharach $
sessions "15 Petals' and "Tart" also
have that jazzy, loungy feet "Alibi' is
also mellow but it's one ot the most
deliciously cruel love/hate songs in a
while In lad. the only real rawk songs
are opening track “45" and 'Tear Oft
Your Own Head (It's A Doll
Revolution)’ and "Daddy Can I Turn
ThisT
Ol course, since he hasn't released
a "real" record in eight years, it's a bit
on the long side My beet with Costello
is that he buries some true musical
gems amongst some unremarkable
tracks Hell, even Mighty Like A Rose
has its moments ol brilliance Trim the
fat. and this is up there with Blood And
Chocolate. Trust, ot most ol the man's
early output (825 Eighth Ave. NY, NY.
10019)
Heather Muse
Elvis Costello plays Chaslam Park
m Atlanta on Monday. June 24
BUTCH WALKER
Left Ot Self-Centered
Arista
Its not everyday that an album's*
credits read. “All songs written by. per
formed by and produced by’ a single
artist But men again it's not everyday
that a musician like Butch Walker
comes along Hes a perfectionist at
heart, most likely his own number one
tan and hes the rock star that all ol the
Mds long to be it's no surprise that
after terminating the Marvelous 3.
Butch pursued a solo proied where he
would command complete control The
result is a power-pop marvel and one
ot Butch's finest efforts
Left Ot Sett-Centered {you decide
tor yourself whether the Idle speaks the
truth) starts olt with a two-minute mock
infomercial titled "Rock Vocal Power
an advertisement promising that you
too can learn to sing like the best ot
them In it. Butch mocks everyone from
Korn to Kid Rock to all ol the Eddie
Vedder np-otts Score one for Mr
Walker
The music kicks oft wuh Butch's
new anthem "My Way," which sounds
about as powerful on (he record as it
would in the stadium in which it was
crafted to be performed Butch has
always been known for clever lyrics,
and he displays that talent in the trou
bled tales of "Suburbia." He gets a little
experimental with the ultra-cool tracks
"Into The Black" and “Get Down" And
he shows his pop-rock roots with
"Alicia Amnesia" and 'Diary Ot San
Fernando Sex Star"
Almost every track ol Lett ot Sell-
Centered is a winner and a must-have
tor any former Marvelous 3 tan With a
killer live show to lop things oil. Butch
Walker appears to be laying a rock
solid foundation tor his new solo
career
Leah Weinberg
Butch Walker perlorms al
1Downtown Rocks" al Baker Street Park
in Atlanta on Friday. July 5
THE DAYTON FAMILY
Welcome To The Dopehouse
Koch
The Dayton Family's latest release
is an unrelenting, unforgiving, hour-
long bloodbath on wax While it is
decidedly more polished than the
debut, Whals On My M<nrf> the shiny
edges don't sacnlice the lightening and
thunder ot Dopehouse
Do You Remember" is a gem,
strottmg down a gbetto thug's memory
lane The melodic, bouncing track com
plements rappers Bootlegs and
Shoestrings rapid fire delivery perfectly
as they swap imes. leading lo Ihe tracks
memorable hook Do you remember/
When days were shorter and nights
were long/ Do you remember/ Hotdm
on even though your daddy was gone/
Do you remember/ When momma was
momma and daddy m one/ Do you
remember/ Time moves on but it* too
late for some'
FRESH SHIRTS MADE DAILY
FRATERNITIES, SORORITIES, FUNDRAISERS & MORE!
2173 W. Broad Strwwt
Atftwnt. QA 30606
706.3S3.1060
shrtworfcrOhotrnail.com
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Shiftworks me
Athens Music
Memorabilia Walk
June 12-23
Now through June 23. fifteen downtown businesses
will host displays of Athens music memorabilia - the
familiar, the obscure and the strange look for the
numbered marker and description of the displays
at each location
Flek up a kfnc Soon brochure at the Athens Mfcfcome
Center, the Flofpolt office, or look for thooi at the
AthFest info booth.
STONES CREEK
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28 FLAGPOLE COM - JUNE 19. 2002