8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 5, 1997

Talented Spice Girls reign over 'Spiceworld'

The Insane Clown Posse brought craziness and lots of Faygo to its show last week.
Bizarre ICP rocks
at Halloween show

Ry Curtis Zimmermann
For the Daily
It seemed as if everyone in the crowd
was fired up for ICP's 4th annual
Detroit Halloween show. Perhaps the
tone- of the evening was set by the
crowd of fans, who waited in line for
hours in the rain
outside the
Palladium. R1
The Insane I
Clown Possef
proved that,
despite all the con-
troversy surround-
ing the band, it
plays an incredible live show.
Throughout the evening, members
asked: "Are you down with the clown?"
As always, the familiar question was
followed by a resounding roar from
howling fans.
ICP is currently touring in support of
its latest release "The Great Milenko."
The album is arguably just as bizarre
as the band itself. It was originally
issued by Hollywood Records (a divi-
sion of Disney). Within hours of its
release, it was pulled from the shelves,
and the band was dropped from the
label. Soon after, ICP signed with
Island Records and re-released the
album. As a result of the controversy,
MTV has refused to play the video for
"Halls of Illusions."
In both atmosphere and perfor-
mance, Friday's concert was similar to
both Alice Cooper's and Kiss' live
shows.
Instead of hanging himself like Alice
Cooper, Violent J stuck a pistol against
his temple and pulled the trigger.

E
n

Afterward, he flew backward, only to
get up again screaming "I'm not dead
yet." He then stuck it down his throat
and pulled it again.
In addition, as at Kiss shows, many
fans arrived at the concert with clown
makeup caked heavily on their faces.
After a long
introduction by
VIEiW Shaggy 2 Dope,
sane Clown the group took the
Posse stage with a group
of masked men
The Palladium standing behind
Oct. 31.1997 them. During ICP's
first number, the
mostly high-school-aged audience
erupted into a moshing-and-crowd-
surfing frenzy.
As ICP began playing its second
number, "Southwest Voodoo," the
doors to the tomb onstage were opened,
revealing hundreds of liters of Faygo
cola and orange soda. Throughout the
night, the band members dumped most
of it on the willing fans. This has
become such a trademark of ICP's
shows that the company's spokesman
has released statements expressing that
it doesn't want to be associated with the
group. The band also performed many
other onstage antics; the most memo-
rable moment was when, in true WWF
fashion, Violent J dove off the speakers
into the crowd.
At the end of the evening,ICP invit-
ed the audience to come up onstage,
only to be greeted by several 10-gallon
tubs of Faygo.
Overall, ICP proved once again that
it certainly knows how to put on an
memorable live show.

Spice Girls
Spiceworld
Virgin Records
***1
There is a question around campus that is more con-
troversial than affirmative action, more pressing than
perks for student athletes and more important than
new seats in the football stadium. Yes, you guessed it,
the question is whether the Spice Girls are a good
group or just talentless sexpots. These ladies seem to
have more critics than fans: yet their sales have been
astronomical. But with their new album,
"Spiceworld," these gurus of "Girl Power!" show that
they have what it takes to survive and, darn it, they're
proud of it!
The CD starts off kicking with the already released
"Spice Up Your Life." With a Latin beat and a fast
tempo, this is a great dance tune. The song picks up its
listeners and nearly forces them to shake their booties.
This emotion is slowed down a bit for "Stop," a
more Madonna-esque rock tune. The horns used here
are surprisingly good and abnormal for most modern
pop music. In true Spice fashion, the ladies take turns
singing and do a nice job blending their voices. Before
listening to "Too Much," I figured that the Spice Girls
had never heard an orchestra, let alone violins and
trumpets. But strings and horns are present in this sul-
try R&B song. The instrumentation, along with a
good melody, makes this slow song great.
One of the best songs on the album is "Never Give
Up On The Good Times," a retro-disco piece with a
great feeling and a positive message. The song begins
with a techno intro and moves into a disco beat. The
use of a flute solo and strings truly bring back the days
of polyester, platforms and pet rocks. The chorus is
great and will stick in your head, only to come out at
the most inopportune moments. In "Denying," cre-
ative instrumentation and a good beat make up for
otherwise silly word use.
Bad lyrics is the one
major problem on
this album.
Sometimes slip-
ping into non-
sense, the 'girls
seem to sing
anything that
rhymes rather.
than sending a K
message. In
"Move Over,"
for instance, they
sing "hold it down,
feel the noise / Let
me know it's a
fight, pick it up
it's alive,"
which makes
me wonder if
they are
s i n g i n g
a b o u t
"bustin' t The Spice Girls have the v
move" or professional wrestling. Still, luckily for the
"fab five," most people don't pay attention to the

words when there is a good beat.
The kitsch is laid on thick in "Move Over,' an ode
to Pepsi. Not much substance here, but a great dance
number just the same. Similarly in "Viva Forever," one
wonders if these girls ever took a Spanish class, or if
they just wanted to make a new version of "La Isla
Bonita'" This song, too, makes up for its corni-
ness by giving a strong, slow melody and
beat.
"Spiceworld" ends on a great
note with the fluttery jazz pun,
"Lady Is A Vamp." The allusions
to pop culture and modern histo-
ry make this song a delight to
hear. As cheesy as this is, it is a
lot of fun and is very audacious for
a singing group like this one. In a
classy manner, the Spice Girls end their
second CD with an impersonation of Elvis say-
ing "thank you very much."
All in all, this is a good album and an admirable
showing of previously hidden talent. The girls suc-
cessfully experiment with techno, disco, jazz and
rock. Most of what is lost in the silly lyrics is gained
by the general fun and kitschy feeling the CD brings.
This is a great one for Spice fans and closet listeners
alike. Now I can say, without any reservations: "Hi,
my name is Aaron Rich and I'm a Spice fan."
-A arwn Rih
Travis
Good Feeling
Independiente/ Epic

then you listen to the second song.
Having departed from the sometimes overly
somber, shy and witty school of British songrit-
ing, Travis is more concerned with making listen-
ers jump off their arse to sing along rather than-
lean over to the nightstand to grab the box of
Kleenex and the half-empty bottle of Prozag.
But by no stretch does that met
the 12 songs on "Good Feeling' "1,ic
substance or depth., Instead, the
album boasts a beautiful collection
of musical short stories, each with
a refreshingly simple and straight-
forward take on the ups and downs
of life.
Listening to "Good Feeling" in
its entirety is like going out on a date
with the band itself. You are quickly
introduced to the band through the first fext
songs, which are very loud and upbeat. And
time progresses, you get to know Travis a little bit
better. They, in turn, open up to the listener with
gradually more introspective offerings until, final-
ly, things get comfortable enough for the four tal-
ented lads from Glasgow to close the album with
two intimate ballads.
Debut single "All I Want To Do Is Rock" kicks
off the album with a lazy guitar and vocal hook
that gets caught in your head almost as soon as
you begin to nod it from side to side with
approval.
Second single "U16 Girls" leads in with a bur-
geoning Smiths-esque jangle but soon vaults into
a sprawling sing-along pub anthem, complete with
meaty na-na-na chorus so thick with inspirational
verve that you can almost smell the pint of lagor
being waved in the air.
Singer/songwriter Fran Healy sounds like a
raspy hybrid of Bono and Thom Yorke on the solis
rocker "Good Day To Die," as he yelps out a bit-
tersweet tale of love lost between a "girl with 4
flower" and a "boy with a hammer." Current U.,
single "Tied To The 90's" is a bit too catchy for it
own good, but embodies the essence of the album
by capturing the wryness of classic rock'n'roH
through a strong dose of melodic exuberance and
lyrical bounce.
The best of Travis' more relaxed material is the lan-
guid "I Love You Anyways." Here is Healy at the
height of his vocal and lyrical prowess: "You are so
beautiful, I think you should be framed in some Fine
Art gallery ... won't you stay with me / I know you'd
disagree with me / But I love you anyways."
The closing salutations of "Good Feeling" come
all too soon. "Falling Down" combines a layer of
melancholic piano as Healy's vocals grow from a
soothing croon to a rotund and robust bellow,
while "Funny Thing" is the final kiss good night
with another twist of U2 and Radiohead to wetteyi
the pucker.
With the Noel Gallagher seal of approval and a suc-
cessful tour with Oasis already engraved on the band's
pop resume, "Good Feeling" is soaked with enougi
talent to carry the spirited members of Travis w1
beyond the British spotlight into an America tha
would be lucky to have them.
- Brian Cohen

Only a small per-
centage of today's
z artists can lay
claim to having
a timeless
sound -
one that is
v a g u e I y
z: familiar yet
impossible to
limit with a
simple date,
definition or
label. When you
put on "Good
Feeling,"the
debut album
from emerging
Scottish quartet
Travis, it con-
j ures up
imagery of
eeyhing
from late '50s
ole world in their hands! soda shops
and poodle skirts to harder-edged '90s alcoholic
stomp and swagger of British capriciousness. And

'U

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