A 's .kooky enough to enjoy Well, it's no Oscar winner but with Anjelica Huston (Morticia) and Raul Julia (Gomez) how bad could it really be? At least it's good for a couple laughs. PAW If you're looking for a way to start your Thanksgiving weekend, try Paw and Flop's concert at St. Andrew's tonight. Hailing from Kansas, Paw packs enough guitar raunch to qualify in the ever-popular grunge sweepstakes but are also sensitive enough to be one of the favorite bands of the ethereal folk-rockers, the Red House Painters. Paw's debut album, "Dragline," encapsulates their midwestern take on alternative perfectly; their live shows are also rumored to be smashing. On the other end of the spectrum is Flop. Although they're from Seattle, * they sound very little like Mudhoney, Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam. Throughout their excellent albums, "Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer" and the brand-new "Whenever You're Ready," Flop chums out a series of irresistible pop songs that pack the best of the Kinks, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Buzzcocks and Nirvana into one lovely three-minute treasure. Make sure you make it to St. Andrew's tonight at 8 PM to catch the a concert that showcases what commercial altemative is today. And that's a compliment. Tickets are only $5 in advance, but you must be over 18 to join in the fun. Crush, Sr. The Clown Sessions Rockville Records/Dutch East India Trading NBC's smash-hit television sitcom "Seinfeld" has been described as a show about nothing. Likewise, Crush Sr. can be called a band about noth- ing. Their new release "The Clown Sessions," a collection of songs origi- nally recorded in the late '80's, is extremely unconventional. The songs do not follow the typical verse-cho- rus-verse structure of most pop songs. Instead, Crush Sr. either omit the cho- rus completely or insert breaks char- acterized by weird guitar noises. The gems on the album include "Crush Theme," a garage-band rocker; "Pig Palmer," a unique punk song; and "Couldn't Make It Over The Bridge," a Neil Young-ish ballad. I Many of the other tracks seem to drag on without a point - much like "Seinfeld." This sense of frivolity is not the only common reference-point be- tween Crush Sr. and "Seinfeld." The band's singer, Ron Ward, plays Kramer's double on the television show in "Seinfeld." Quite often, Ward's wacky showmanship and zany lyrics are what holds Crush Sr.'s songs together. For example, in "Corndog," Ward sings "Got a corndog in my pocket / It's a four-pound sausage / If you got the mustard, I got the time." Some of the other songs, such as "Livin' Like a Pimp" and "Sexy Fish," are interestingjust based on their titles. In the end however Crush, Sr. lacks the one element that "Seinfeld" has - consistent humor. The band writes in the liner notes that "no band ever had more fun making a recording than did Crush, Sr. making The Clown Sessions."Perhaps not. Unfortunately the "fun" for the audience is limited on this effort. However, there are some good songs, maybe enough to make "The Clown Sessions" a worthwhile purchase. But, at the same time, some tracks are boring and rather forget- table. Flip a coin. - Matt Carlson Ghost of an American Airman Skin Hollywood Records In the limitless wake oftheR.E.M. jangle comes "Skin," from Ghost of an American Airman, a band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ghost, com- bining interesting but overly simpli- fied lyrics with a bland, featureless sound, has made an album which is ... well, nice, I guess. they catch a groove, but it is com- pletely lacking in daring or ingenuity. The album is edgeless, taking no chances with its '80's pseudo-intel- lectual style. You almost want to hear them scream or swear or something, just to make themselves remotely in- teresting. The one thing that "Skin" does accomplish is to prove that bands can't keep on copping their sound from R.E.M. and still maintain the listener's interest. - Josh Herrington Altered State dos Warner It's kind of ridiculous to think about the marketing strength of drugs these days. This is especially bizarre considering the generation from which we've been spawned. Altered State makes use of this trendy marketing ploy, but the music is where the band really excels. The tunes have a happy and up- beat feel that pulls the listener into the music. The musicians are all excel- lent, especially guitarist Curtis Mathewson whose musical sensibil- ity is a rarity. Creative twists in the songs make repeated listenings both necessary and enjoyable. Stand-out songs include the acoustic "Life on a Skateboard," the samba and horns of "Licking the V ..." and the effective opener "This Just Might Take Me Down". Their influences include King's X, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and a mixture of 90s influences. About half of the songs are radio ready ballads, but they're enjoyable anyway. Al- tered State probably evolved from a pop metal framework, but their songwriting and identity overcome any traces of that genre; they are songwriters first and foremost. This is an exciting band. They leave the anger and depression of modern rock music behind in ex- change for a positive vibe. The music may leave you wondering where you've heard it before. For many parts (such as the intro to "Strong as I Am" which sounds a lot like a piece off of Pink Floyd's "The Wall") your won- derment will be warranted. However, the quality of this record will tran- scend all traces of unoriginality. Potheads and music lovers rejoice. Musical offerings of this caliber don't come around very often. - Gianluca Montalti A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders the story teller, pocket sweller, sportin'-the-R&B-analogies fella in the crew. If Mr. Mohammed reaches any deeper into the jazz stacks he might end up playing the sax. The rhythms aren't recycled from the last album but arejust as thumpin', smooth yet (of course) gritty ruff. But Tribe reaches back further then the boom-bap, dark jazz and soul that characterized "The Low End Theory," adding creative and stylistic varia- tions reminiscent of "People's Instinc- tive Travels and the Paths of Rhythms." Large Professor and Skeff Anselm each produce a track, the other 11 songs are all Tribe. One question which lingers is whether Jarobi is back with the group or not - he is mentioned, but not pictured and he does not give thanks. Whoever is in the group, the album is pivotal. A Tribe Called Quest is on track for the year to 2000 and "Midnight Maraud- ers" must be purchased by all. Right now. - Dustin Howes Boredoms Pop Tatari Reprise The Boredoms have come to our nation, bringing screaming in-tongues onto the music scene for the first time since God knows when. The seven member Japanese noise group has released their first major label US album, and it is quite likely this year's most fascinating record. "Pop Tatari" is not an album that can just be listened to, it must be open-mindedly experienced so that its chaos and cacaphony are not mis- taken for anything less than brilliant. It brings a motley collection of styles together to create a peculiar sound. The opening track consists of 30 sec- onds of high-pitched mechanical whining, and provides a beautiful white noise contrast to the muddled elements of the rest of the album. And a pleasant muddle it is. Jazz, blues and rock are only the tip of what it involves, and are about the only de- scribable styles. Other styles involved have yet to be named, but perhaps "Flintstone tribalism with a Hallow- een feel" is an appropriate, if silly, appelation. The voices on the album are rivet- ing. War cries, gibbering, demonia- cal screams and frog imitations all contribute to the greatness of the al- bum. The vocalization of the lyrics (in Bore-language, a Japanese-En- glish-Nonsense construction) ranges from singing through the teeth on "Molecicco" to growling and sexy intonations of "Poy." Lyrics are defi- nitely lacking, but the vocals more than make up for that. Boredoms are like a dream in that they are very hard to pin down, and they fly all over the place. They are Hendrix, Mr. Bungle and a construc- tion site in Okinawa all jumbled up. It's noisy. Try it. - Ted Watts I 1 .gh they will forever be cursed as the band from MTV's "The Real .eigndance is actually a solid, driving rock & roll band. Besides, local band so you should get out and support their show tonight d Pig. Doors open at 9:30 PM, with advance tickets selling for a for those who are 19 and over. le Now I you Friar fans get movin' and go buy your tickets to that long ent ... the FRIARS CONCERT! Tickets go on sale today for their 10 concert. We know how long you've been waiting for this so your chance to get tickets. And when they sell out, don't come ~ . i l l s i t l / t i i i i 1 i 1 t i i i / i r t t t I i i i +. r f t 1 t q y11y f, f l:l t " 1/ t i - i 11 it i I. Y '$ ' rr- 1. 4 L - 1 4 L 4 4 t 4 VI Ail I . A 0 A. -'kl Aft