8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 15, 1995
nere's Black Velvet Hag, lounging around like usual.
RECORDS
Continued from page 5
Black Velvet
Flag
Come Recline with
Black Velvet Flag
Go Kart
As their clever name implies,
Black Velvet Flag mixes traditional
hardcore and punk with schmoozy,
boozy lounge music. And while it
seems that everyone and their punk-
rock little brother have suddenly "gone
lounge" these days (like Combustible
Edison, Love Jones, the Coctails),
Black Velvet Flag stand apart from
the swelling ranks of swingers in that
they nabbed the "Best Unsigned Art-
ist of 1994" award from none other
than stodgy old Rolling Stone.
Whether or not this will help these
hepcats in the future remains to be
seen, but "Come Recline ..." is a live
album recorded at the legendary
CBGB.
It's also lots of fun. The band's
renditions of such punk chestnuts as
the Circle Jerks' "Group Sex," the
Dead Kennedys' "I Shot JFK" and
The Germs' "Media Blitz" are funny
and, of course, swingin' - and you can
hear all of the lyrics. But the best track
on here is definitely Black Velvet
Flag's reworking of Sucidal Tenden-
cies' "Institutionalized," which gives
the original's despairing humor a
world-weary, blase twist. So, are they
the best unsigned band of last year?
Nah, not really. But "Come Recline
..." provides plenty of mellow angst
to groove to.
- Heather Phares
Lyle Lovett
I Love Everybody
MCA
After expanding his sound more
and more with each successive album,
Lyle Lovett now has stepped away from
the expansive diversity of "Joshua
Judges Ruth" and "Lyle Lovett and his
Large Band" for a far more stripped-
down and personal sound on his latest,
"I Love Everybody." Most tracks, with
the notable exception of the horn-driven
"Penguins," feature only Lyle's acous-
tic guitar and warm vocals and sparse
accompaniment on bass and drums.
The 18 songs of "I Love Every-
body" come from all phases of his life,
freshly recorded here with all of their
humor and sympathy intact. "Fat Ba-
bies" finds him singing, "I don't like
hippies / And I don't like cornbread /
And I don't like much / But I like you,"
while in "Sonja" he realizes that if he
wants to score, he "needs a song about
Sonja when I'm singing tonight." The
songs grow more poignant in the latter
half of the record as Lyle waxes nostal-
gic in "Old Friend" and "Moon On My
Shoulder." In the simplicity of the ar-
rangements on "I Love Everybody,"
Lovett allows the songs themselves to
speak for him and they do so beauti-
fully, resulting in his best effort to date.
- Dirk Schulze
Smog
Burning Kingdom
Drag City
Caution: this album is steeped in
gloom. Don't listen to these six songs
unless you want to feel morose, help-
less and hopeless during and afterwards.
But that's a compliment; Smog is so
adept at reflecting, filtering and manu-
facturing sorrow that even the merest
hint of antidepressants would consti-
tute a bad career move. All six songs
feature different kinds of angst, but
"My Shell" "Renee Died 1:45" and
"Drunk on the Stars" show off Smog's
dreary, droning beauty to its finest.
"Burning Kingdom" shows that Smog
are indie-gloom rock royalty.
- Heather Phares
Digable Planets
Blowout Comb
EMI/Pendulum Records
Hold your breaths, Digable fans.
That dreaded question lingers on your
lips: will the Planets follow-up effort
live up to their first?
You can inhale now. "Blowout
Comb," in fact, proves to be a worthy
second release by Doodlebug, Lady-
bug and Butterfly. The CD features lots
of soft, rolling tracks that please the
ears. Yes, the group continues to rhyme
intelligently, constantly urging listen-
ers to take a more politically active
stance. The trio takes their sound deeper
into the world of acid jazz, utilizing the
noises of traditional jazz instruments
like the vibes, cello, and tenor sax, to
name a few. Thejazz influence that was
not as prominent on 1993's "Reachin"'
definitely makes itselfknown on "Blow-
out Comb." It's so strong you can
almost see the smoke emanating from
the bar you're in. Or rather, the bar you
should be in when the music's playing.
The album takes its time through-
out, with a running time of sixty-one
minutes. Each song makes for an over-
all sprawling effect, for unlike the com-
monplace oversampled rap tunes that
seem to be everywhere, the Planets
actually record using live instruments.
Guest artist David Lee Jones plays a
Don't Worry, See Bobby
Seven years ago, Bobby McFerrin catapulted from the ranks of the critically-
acclaimed right into the mainstream. He's never been the same since. Before
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" - his only pop hit - McFerrin's amazing vocal
gymnastics weren't mocked, they were respected throughout the world of
jazz. But the pop phenomenon that was "Don't Worry" made the masses
believe that he was a one-hit wonder; consequently, he's never been able to
regain the momentum that "Don't Worry" game him.
However, he's never stopped making good music, as anyone who's listened
to his albums knows. McFerrin's vocals are even more impressive in concert,
where he truly sounds like a full band. Tonight, he plays the Michigan Theater
supported by a jazz-pop trio; the concert promises to be a thoroughly
entertaining show. Doors open at 8 p.m.; tickets are $22.50 and $15 In
advance. Call 763-TKTS for more information. Go to show - if you do, you'll
be happy.
0
sweet alto sax on "K.B.'s Alley (Mood
Dudes Groove)," while the album's
most surreal track, "Black Ego," is es-
sentially seven minutes of funky drum
beats and shimmering, echoing key-
board sounds. "Highing Fly," though.
short in duration, serves as a great little
pick-me-up, as well as "Blowing
Down."
"Blowout Comb," however, doesn't
have atruepop hit like "Rebirth of Slick."
But when you'vegottheinterestingsound
of the Digable Planets, who needs it?
The final words on their latest effort:
aw, yeah, aw, yeah.
- Ella de Leon
The Artist Formerly
Known As Prince Inter-
active
Graphix Zone
Macintosh and Windows CD ROM
The artist formerly known as
Prince (TAFKAP) may not be Prince
anymore, but he'll always be his
purple majesty. In TAFKAP's very
own interactive CD ROM, curious
players tour around the modern-day
Mozart's mansion, absorbing a wide
range of ordinary and also very bi-
zarre pieces of the artist's life and
twisted imagination.
Could you expect anything less from
a man who cuts the ass out of his pants?
TAFKAP'sgameis adeepandinterest-
ing exploration into sight and sound,
combining his music, video and memo-
rabilia into a colorful and animated
virtual reality game.
On the video tour of the symboled
one's domain, players encounter vari-
ous games and challenges in an attempt
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ALTT E NT 10N
Student fkecognition Awards
nouinnation, deadfine hias been
eXternfed.
9Nominations due Februarj 24, 1995
:ormination forms available at CIC, N(CIC',
andSAL
Af/forms must be turned into the office of Stundent
activities & Leadership, 2202 Michgan 'Union, by NO NFrida,'
February 24, 1995 in order to be condsidered . For
more information, contact SAL at 763-5901
to tindtheditterentpiecestoA AP'S
symbol. The journey travels through
TAFKAP's recording studio, where
players can use his mixer to create their
own version of his new song, "Race."
There are also games to unscramble full
music videos, along with various sound
clips and mystical characters.
"TAFKAP Interactive" also con-
tains six complete music tracks that
were created especially for the project.
Italso has 52 clips from other TAFKAP
and Prince classics hidden throughout
the experience, in a variety of pictures,
awards and other memorable items from
the artist's career. Some of TAFKAP's
more amusing belongingsare found in
his bedroom closets. Asidefrom anum-
ber of outfits from TAFKAP's more
famous videos and concert perfor-
mances, a safe in one of the closets
reveals handcuffs, a whip, and some
other kinky items.
"TAFKAP Interactive" is as close
as recent interactive adventures have
come to virtual reality, especially with
the lack of any words or icons. The,
game is acurious adventure through the
life and mystique of TAFKAP, and
over ten years of his music and video. It
is definitely an interesting adventure in
sight and sound, and it goes right along
with the mysterious, very strange, and
ingenious mind of the artist formerly
known as a man, but now a-symbol.
-Brian A. Gnatt
I
Sponsored byithe lice resident for Student Afairs, and
the Student Alumni Cuncil
I
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