ci Adt~ml J alig
Celebrate Chicano History Week with Luis Rodriguez. A distinguished
poet and author, Rodriguez also works as a peacemaker among
Chicago's inner-city gangs. Come hear Rodriguez tell gripping, real-
life tales of poverty, racism and police brutality. The event will take
place at 5 p.m. in East Hall Auditorium 1324. Be there.
--a
&~~4*
Wednesday
February 5, 1997
Flmoffei
Julia Shih
aily Arts Writer
. "Shadow Conspiracy," starring
*Charlie Sheen and Linda Hamilton,
4may contain only a shadow of a plot,
byt it is an enjoyable and exciting
omp through the bowels of our gov-
d#rnment.
Sheen stars as Bobby Bishop, the
nost trusted advi -
aor to the R
resident of the
nited States. Shado
When a man is
killed by a ruth-
fess assassin while
giving Bishop
sl199king information about a govern-
gent conspiracy, Bishop and reporter
Amanda Givens (Hamilton) are
orced to uncover the truth before
me runs out.
The film also co-stars Donald
Sutherland as the White House Chief
of Staff and Sam Waterston (NBC's
"Law and Order") as the President -
who spends almost the entire movie at
Camp David.
"Shadow Conspiracy;" unlike many
ack's lates
Spring Heel Jack
6 fillion Shades
4sia Independent
; Having just completed a U.S. tour
opening for Orbital, Spring Heel Jack
4eleased its second full-length album,
68 Million Shades." Comprised of
ondoners John Coxon and Ashley
Wales, Spring Heel Jack is an up-and-
:'ming band in the electronic dance
music scene that mixes genres of dub
and drum 'n' bass with ambient to cre-
ate psychedelic music amidst a trippy
atmosphere.
While it took a couple of listens, "68
Millipn Shades" proved to be an excel-
lent excursion into electronic music, as
wel as an extension beyond the bound-
arie'sf electronica with string and horn
interludes.
The standout track, "Pan," epito-
mizes the dub format as the bass effects
boom through the speakers. Although
the first three minutes of this seven-
minute track seem like any other dub
track (with fast breakbeats and boosted
bass effects), this track takes a surpris-
ing turn with the sole sounds of a harp.
Then, the bass and breakbeats
resume to create a fantastic blend
between psychedelic and dance music.
This~ experimental approach in "Pan"
represents what this album is about:
Ble ding seemingly totally different
moeds with different sound effects.
,'6 Seconds;' is yet another exam-
ple. The synthesized horns on this track
create a laid break groove that centers
on trip-hop rather than jazz. "Take 2"
rs shadow of a thrill
political thrillers, does not concentrate
too much on the conspiracy theme. In
fact, it doesn't really concern itself too
much with plot in general. The banal
story line is flimsy, flat and extremely
predictable, but at least it is easy to"
understand.
Basically, there is a conspiracy with-
in the government that involves many
people in high
r V I E W positions. Bishop
and Givens must
v Conspiracy figure out who is
involved and what
s
F
EV
At Showcase
these people plan
to do - without
getting themselves
President can be brought to safety. But
surprisingly, the killer also shows up,
wreaking havoc on the streets of D.C. as
Bishop desperately tries to get away.
Heart-pounding action sequences like
this make the movie a great deal of fun
to watch.
"Shadow Conspiracy" was written
by screenwriters Adi Hasak and Ric
Gibbs, who found inspiration in Alfred
Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too
Much" and conspiracy movies from
the '70s like "Three Days of the
Condor."
Charlie Sheen is finally making his
return to drama after a long stint of
mediocre comedies. In his first political
thriller, Sheen is convincing as Bishop,
showing the same controlled intensity
that characterized his excellent perfor-
mance in "Wall Street"
Linda Hamilton's performance, on
the other hand, can best be described as
blah. Her portrayal in "Shadow" defi-
nitely cannot compare to her acting in
the "Terminator" movies.
"NYPD Blue" fans will be delighted
to see Nick Turturro appear as Grasso,
the arrogant and fast-talking specialist
I ;.?
killed. But the plot's existence is mere-
ly to set up the action scenes.
By far, the focus of the movie is on
the action sequences and suspenseful
thrills. Most of the film revolves
around cat-and-mouse chase scenes
involving Bishop and the killer, all of
which are extremely drawn out, but
nevertheless exciting.
One of the best scenes in the movie
occurs when Bishop arranges to meet
with Sutherland's character, so that the
Charlie Sheen runs like the wind in his latest film, "Shadow Conspiracy."
whose job is to track down Bishop. His
spunky character is, by far, the most
amusing one in this film.
Otherwise, none of the other charac-
ters are very special or memorable.
"Shadow Conspiracy" is basically
just a lot of mindless fun. It definite-
ly doesn't require too much thought
or concentration to follow it. It is
more of a suspense thriller than a
political thriller, as the plot never
delves too deep into details about the
conspiracy, or about the people
involved.
The stunts and action sequences
should please the action fans in the
audience, but those who expect a To4
Clancy-ish movie are bound to be di-.-
appointed.
So don't get fooled by the implica-
tion that this is a deep, provocative film
about government conspiracy and scan-
dal. It's really just another action movie,
albeit a shadow of one.
t mixes many shades of music
.t
uses classical piano to enhance the
groove of a fast-paced track.
The only problem with "68 Million
Shades" is that it tempts the listener
with a new approach to electronic
music, but comes back with a track that
isn't as fresh. The only way for
the current electronic
music scene to continue
to thrive is to always
reinvent itself. Some
tracks on "68 -
Million Shades"
start to sound alike in
some ways and that's
possibly the worst thing
one can say about elec-
tronic music.
Because Spring Heel Jack is rela-
tively new, it will hopefully realize how
inspiring its music can be and will tap
that talent into innovative music in the
years to come.
- Philip Son
Texas Is The Reason
Do You Know Who You Are?
Revelation Records
Once in a while, a band comes along
with the ability to draw the listener right
into the music. Texas Is The Reason is
one of those bands, and when you hear
its debut full-length album, you know
you're listening to something special.
Texas Is The Reason is made up of
former members of great hardcore
bands like Shelter and 108, yet it does-
n't try to imitate the same old chugga-
chug sound so monotonous in hard-
core music. The band has taken these
influences, along with many others,
and it has created a sound that
is intense, yet extremely
heartfelt and melodi-
cally dynamic.
"Do You Know
Who You Are" starts
out with an up-
tempo track, "Johnny
On The Spot," which
is pretty indicative of
things to come on the
album. Every single track
deals with vocalist Garrett Klahn's
reflections on a decaying and damaged
relationship.
The song titles, while interesting,
actually have nothing to do with the
songs' lyrics at all. The band names its
songs according to the feeling the songs
evoke in the listener. A fascination with
the Kennedy murder is pretty obvious,
with song titles like "The Magic Bullet
Theory," "Back And To The Left" and
"A Jack With One Eye."
"Nickel Wound" sounds like its name
- it starts out fairly quiet, unwinding
and unraveling to an intense ending.
"The Day's Refrain" is a more mellow
offering, showing that Texas is just as
emotional playing light as it is playing
heavy.
There isn't a single weak track on the
disc. It's a book that defines Texas as the
premier emo-core band currently out on
the scene. With comparisons to Sunny
Day Real Estate and Sense Field, it's no
exaggeration that these guys have put out
a beautiful record that any music fan can
appreciate and learn to love.
- Colin Bartos
Pig
Sinsation
Nothing/Interscope
"Sinsation" is big and booming post-
gothic scariness from long-time industri-
al god Raymond Watts. The album suc-
cessfully does everything that other new
industrial bands wish they could. It is
lush, evil and perfectly formed.
The album begins with "Serial Killer
Thriller," a guitar-heavy track that'
nonetheless gives the impression that
it's being performed in an aged cathe-
dral. Kind of like an operatic song, but
without the whining quality of 500-
pound theater-types.
The rest of the album trips along like
a hot knife into butter sculpted like a
chest. The album is one of the finest
evil pieces of music to be produced in
the last several years.
After about a decade of large-scale
obscurity, one would hope that Pig will
finally get the recognition it deserves
through its association with Trent
Reznor's nothing label. But even with-
out recognition, the music produced is
still beautifully ugly.
- Ted Watts
See RECORDS, Page 10
The Grassy Knoll plays at the Blind Pig
M.
$a
While its name may sound like a piece of land In Dallas, the only crime sur-
rounding The Grassy Knoll Is Its lack of popularity. The group's Instrumental'
songs are lively and thoroughly captivating- none of that dragged-out 20-
minute-long boring-as-hell hippie trash here! The music of composer and stu-
dio wizard Bob Green (above) defies all its possible musical labels of ambi-
ent, techno, avant-garde jazz fusion and heavy metal. It's all just really cool.
Convinced. yet? Well drop by the Daily Arts Office at 420 Maynard St. (sec-
ond floor, first room on the right) after 1 p.m. today to pick up a FREE CD
sampler courtesy of PolyGram. The FREE CD features songs from The Grassy
Knoll, Stereolab and Herble Mann, Everything But the Girl, Ben Neill and
Courtney Pine. And don't forget to check out The Grassy Knoll at the Blind
Pig tonight with Ann Arbor's own Transmission and MKR. For more Informa-
tion about the show, call 996-8555.
I
U I
UM Dance/Party Policy
Open Forum
Thursday, February 6, 7:00 - 8:30pm
University Club, Michigan Union
The Dean of Students Office will hold an Open Forum
on the University of Michigan Dance/Party Policy
for the purpose of biannual policy review and amendment.
Comments and opinions will be solicited.
All members of the University community are welcome.
Rumaors exaggerate
fate ofStem's show
Los Angeles Tunes Howard. He creates news. Tha
The rumors of Howard Stern's immi- he's so interesting. But no decis
nent demise from E! Entertainment been reached."
Television because of Disney's finan- Masters said: "I don't think it w
cial investment in the cable channel essarily go the way Howard sa
have been greatly exaggerated - at love Howard. He's done a great j
least for the time being. Stern and his representative
Even though "shock-jock" Stern last not be reached for comment.
week had been saying on his nationally Disney and Comcast are payir
syndicated radio show that the teaming million to Time Warner to buy a
of the Walt Disney Co. and Comcast ity stake in E!, which airs progra
Corp. to purchase the majority stake in mostly about the entertainment
E! Entertainment might mean the end try.
of his risque TV show, executives insist Although much of its progr
that Stern may be spared. revolves around movie premieres
"It's early right now to be discussing and documentaries about celebri
any changes, but we're not anticipating , cable network also has carried
anything, particularly when it comes to versial shows such as re-enactm
Howard and our 'Talk Soup' show'Lee the O.J. Simpson civil trial and
Masters, president and chief executive versions of Stern's daily radio p
of E!, said Friday. "These are our two in which sex is a frequent topic
highest-rated shows, 'our signature cussion and some guests strip.
shows. Any discussions about them Although no firm decision
would be rather significant to our busi- been made, Masters and Frank s
ness. They're the most helpful in brand- they expect considerable money
ing our network." spent to beef up BUs original pr
Added Rich Frank, the head of C3, ming and live coverage of prem
the programming unit of Comcast that, "Both companies are very bu
will run the new venture: "All we've our original programming' P
done is announce the arrangement. Any said. "There will definitely b
rumors or discussions about Howard resources put toward our progra
are not coming from the new partners. We'll have more news, special;
This is all premature. Howard is behind-the-scenes coverage."
t's Wh
ion has
will qeg-
ays. We
ob."8.
s could
ng $31
majqr-
ammini
t indus-
ammi g
, gossip
ties, the
contro-
vents 'of
d edited
rogram,
of dis-
is have
aid that
will be
rogram-
ieres. °-
llish on
Masters
e more
imming.
s, more
Ashley Wales and John Coxon of Spring Heel Jack.
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