8 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 12, 1994 The Afghan Whigs What Jail Is Like Elektra Actually just a single, the Afghan Whigs's "What Jail Is Like" is quite like the Whigs' music itself - great rock'n' roll with afewsurprisingtwists. The single includes six bonus tracks which aren't available anywhere else. Milking a dead cow? Probably, but when the music is as enticing as the Afghan Whigs', you shouldn't care. "What Jail Is Like" is the third single from the Whigs' 1993 album "Gentlemen." The song isn't quite as good as the previous two, "Debonair" and "Gentlemen," which possibly ac- counts for the bonus tracks. But, as usual, singer/songwriter Greg Dulli's lyrics are deep, emotion-provoking works of art. Words for relationships, break-ups, love and life, Dulli's lyrics are at the same time beautiful and dis- turbing. Dulli is easily the best songwriter of the past five years. So why are there so many covers on the single? Possibly as tributes or pos- sibly for fun, the covers are well-ex- ecuted and as engaging as any of the Whigs' own heart and soul. One of the better covers is of the Ass Ponys' "Mr. Superlove" a sloppy barn-burner with banjo provided by Whigs' guitaristRick McCollum. Another wonderful cover is an Afghan Whigs' live staple, the Supremes' "My World Is Empty With- out You/ I Hear a Symphony." The Whigs play the classic to near-perfec- tion. This song and two others are live tracks that don't have great production value, but give you an idea of the Whigs' intensity in a live setting. Not really released to attract new listeners, but to appease fans (and the numberis growing rapidly), "WhatJail Is Like" is an excellent collection of songs that shows just why the Afghan Whigs are one of the best and most original rock bands in recent memory. - Matt Carlson Gumball Revolution On Ice Columbia Gumball's latest release, "Revolu- tion On Ice," is a punk album, but a very unusual one. The diversity on it is amazing. Instead of the typical punk rock 40-minute freight train of scream- ing and power chords, every song sounds unique. Each has a different musical and lyrical style, and the al- bum sounds like a retrospective of the past 15 or 20 years of underground rock. While the diversity of "Revolution On Ice" is refreshing at first, the album fails to make a deep impression. It sounds good while spinning, but its lack of strong hooks and somewhat random lyrics make it easily forget- table. Tracks like "Free Grazin"' and "Breath Away" are poppier and more upbeat than most, and add a dreamy sound to the album. "Nights On Fire" is another of the happier songs reminiscent of the good ol' days. Singer, guitarist and bigwig producer Don Fleming pays his tribute to the Beatles, Beach Boys, CBGB's, .and of course, Sid and Nancy. Other tracks like "Whatcha Gonna Do" are more true to the roots of punk. The song sounds like a Ramones origi- mal, with screeching screams and that 1egendary Joey Ramone stupidity. Gumball is tight and has a good amount of talent, but "Revolution On Ice" is too varied, and the band fails to develop any sound or style to call their own. - Brian A. Gnatt Tsunami The Heart's Tremolo Sianple Machines On their second LP, it's clear that Tsunami are trying to break away from some of the simplicity that was present on their first album, the astounding "Deep End." But the real passion in Ts.unami's music doesn't lie in its com- plexity. Instead, it lies in the buried feelings of anger that lash out at just the right moments through their music and their lyrics. UAC's Soundstage Welcomes UNDER THE PINK TOUR Gumball: The ultimate band for pop culture fanatics. They even like Elvis "Tremolo" kicks off with "Loud Is As Loud Does," a song which summa- rizes their musical approach almost perfectly. Rather than being excessively noisy or grating, Tsunami manages to convey their intensity and power in more subtle ways, rather than falling back on the tried-and-true approach of unrelenting chaos. However, "Tremolo"is by no means an easy listen. Songs such as "Le Bride D'Elegance" and the furious instru- mental, "Slaw," finds the band wrench- ing out some particularly furious noise bursts, but not without losing control of their songs. Other songs, such as "Fast Food Medicine," keep the listener on edge r- .:; with some unusual time changes and train-of-thought style lyrics, such as "What ifIjust let it out, flat and straight without a twist of bitterness or the false. bold blunt of hate ... it comes un- loaded, and no one will mistake you for happy." "The Heart's Tremolo" shows that Tsunami have progressed, but it also shows that they have new avenues that they can still explore. By throwing out the traditional rock 'n' roll, raw noise approach and allowing themselves to try different directions, they have cre- ated an album that is interesting and* nearly flawless from beginning to end. - Andy Dolan KILL Continued from page 5 failed marriages: Lieutenant Karl Genesko, the six feet seven ex-U of M football player; Alice Cowan, the* mousy Professor's wife; even Anneke herself, the attractive career woman who prefers to wear trousers. Even the old line about students is in there: "(Ann Arbor is) the sort of City where the kid who hands you your fries at the Burger King has an IQ of 140 (and may some day walk on the moon)." I also found myself wishing that Anneke could have said something more intelligent or imaginative thanO "Oh my God, I think she's dead" on finding the first body. Have you ever wondered what you would say on find- ing a corpse? Antique-dealers do come up with some interesting one-liners. "Has any- one ever told you you have the face of an Erte Odalisque?" is typical of the novel's tongue-in-cheek humor. This is an entertaining read if you want to turn off for a few hours and relive Spring in Ann Arbor. Hill Auditorium Saturday, October 15 * 8:00 pm Tickets available at all outlets including Hudson's, Harmony House, Tower Records and the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Charge at 313-763-TKTS. An Office of Major Events / Division of University of Michigan Student Affairs Presentation. ON SALE NOW! 4 T "' lwwwp EVERY TEST DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A STRESS TEST. Practicing for tests can help raise your scores and lower your anxiety. And Cliffs StudyWarel has the most complete test preparation software available for ACT, SAT I, GMAT, GRE, LSAT and CBEST. Find them at: V Michigan Union Bookstore everything you need at one place One of the first appointments by Czech President Vaclav Havel, an absurdist playwright, was of a certain American as trade emissary. For 10 points - name this absurdist rock artist who created the album "Weasels Ripped My Flesh." "Cemetery" was the name of one of two streetcars running on a single track in the French Quarter of New Orleans. For 10 points - name the other, more famous, streetcar, celebrated by Tennessee Williams. The first round of the College Bowl IM tournament will be on October 22nd and 23rd. All you have to do is fill out a registration form at the UAC office-2015 Michigan Union. The fee to register a team is $24, which includes 4 players and an alternate. The fee to register as an individual is $7; we'll put you together with three other people. (Hey, nothing in life is free.) The deadline to register is Thursday, October 13th, at 5:00pm in the UAC Office. Any questions? Just call the UAC office at 763-1107 and ask for one of the College Bowl coordinators, or send email to dfrazee@umich.edu. Oh yeah, the answers are "Frank Zappa" and "Desire." The questions are Copyright 1992 College Bowl Co., Inc. College Bowl THE VARSITY SPORT OF THE MIND University Activities Center D 0 1 El 0 1 D 0 1 Environment--Taking Global Responsibility A symposium to discuss the role of Peace Corps Volunteers working in some of the most environmentally neglected areas of the world Special Guest Speaker Carol Bellamy, Peace Corps Director Opening remarks by Dr. James Diana, Professor of Natural Resources PEACE CORPS COMPRISES THE LARGEST ENVIRONMENTAL WORK FORCE OF ANY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ' ORGANIZATION TODAY. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS ARE ACTIVELY WORKING IN OVER 55 COUNTRIES IN ASIA LATINAMERICAAFRICAANDTHE FORMER SOVIET UNION 0 11 mi IN 11 I