8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 7, 1998 WEILAND'S '12' SUFFERS POST-GRUNGE BLUES Suicide Machines survive with 'Battle' Since the release of Stone Temple Pilots' lacklus- ter "Tiny Music ... Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop" two years ago, lead singer Scott Weiland has had a full plate of things to do in life - kick a hero- in habit, divorce a wife, watch fellow STP members play in the horrid band Talk Show and finally, record a solo album. With his solo debut "12 Bar Blues," Weiland deserves a little credit in pulling out all the stops and answering to no one, breaking free from the stigmat- ic grunge label that plagued STP in the form of heavy criticism. Drastically cutting any ties to STP, "Blues" is very experimental, blending various forms of rock, pop, blues and dance. Weiland mixes guitar, drums, accordion, piano, xylophone and the ever-present bouncing beat box to find an enclave of different sounds with each new song. In all this experimentation, however, Weiland strikes out - "Blues" is plain boring. Scott Weiland Each new track goes into 12 Bar Blues something beginning with some intriguing beat or Atlantic whimsical piano that ends up Reviewed by to be nothing but Weiland Daily Arts Writer warbling in his lethargic, Chris Cousino raspy voice. Outside influences are abundant on this album as Weiland's vocal style is much too reminiscent of David Bowie in the early '8Os. Weiland also borrows from the likes of the Beatles, Elvis Costello and Beck, among others. If Weiland fans aren't already sick from "Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart," they will surely be very wearied and junkied after listening to the numerous songs on "Blues" that deal with depression and addiction. In the first single, Weiland moans to "Barbarella," asking "Come save me from my mis- ery/ Can't you see it's a disease." "Divider" then talks about "A junkie, he ain't shit/ Somne of them get famous/ But most of them just get it." Well, listeners, get this. Most of the songs are just chunks of sound thrown together, producing some bothersome noise. Different music styles are tra- versed in single songs, yet they don't fuse together well. There is, however, one really fantastic song, "Where's the Man," which exists along the same lines of STP's "Pretty Penny" and "Creep." "Man" opens with a fade in and quick fade out of the blues guitar strumming. An acoustic guitar, a wood block and a violin set up a dark, dreary facade as Weiland's uncharacteristically smooth, pained voice portrays a passionate character for the scene. The slow drums provide a solid constant as the gui- tars explode along with piano and synthesizers. With a great song like "Man," it is a disappoint- ment that songs like "Cool Kiss" and "Jimmy Was a Stimulator" even were recorded. These place together very noisy guitars, the beatbox and key- boards while Weiland wails away his pointless words. "Desperation #5" is almost laughable, open- ing with a beat similar to Tone Loc's "Wild Thing." Another wild track, "Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down," includes a piano, an accordion and a violin playing a melodic waltz. "Lady," also on the "Great Expectations" soundtrack, is a one of the strange experiments that actually works, mixing a guitar- driven melody and Weiland's straining vocal range with the tight, sexy waltz. The interesting waltz of "Lady" and the powerful "Man" will not hold the album up from sinking into the "Blues" of used CD bins. If Weiland could just find the spark he has on such great STP hits as "Creep" and "Big Empty" he may create a solid album. Even "Man" has this spark as he sings, "I'll tell you what you wanna ear." What you wanna hear - well Scott, not your album, that is for sure. When I was out in Los Angeles a couple of months ago, I picked up a punk-zine that listed things that they wished would disappear. One of those things was the Suicide Machines. They're just jealous 'cause a band from Detroit does this punk-ska thing better than most of their precious Southern California counterparts. On "Battle Hymns," the Detroit quartet's second major-label album, the band takes what it has been doing for years and upps it a level for one of the most intense offerings released so far this year. The Suicide Machines don't break any new ground here, lots of bands combine ska rhythms and punk tempos, but these musicians do it better than most. There's no annoying horns here, either; this is pure ska-core in the vein of Operation Ivy. "Battle Hymns" has a much more live feel than the band's previous Hollywood r e l e a s e, ** "Destruction By Suicide Definition." The songs are sharp Machines and jagged, but Battle Hymns many of the Hollywood album's tracks Reviewed by are actually pop- Dailyits wier pier than any- Culin tantos thing on "Destruction." With 22 songs clocking in at 31 min- utes, you could guess that the Machines have two speeds: Hyper and warp. Although the tempos of the songs don't vary much, you won't catch twotracks that sound at all the same. Pop-ska flavored tracks butt heads with hardcore rants to give "Battle Hymns" a very diverse feel. The Suicide Machines are ab< more than mere musical intens though. Vocalist Jay Navarr focused lyrical tirades touch on ma important topics on "Battle Hymnr "Confused" and "Step One" tac the destructiveness and hypocri1 war. "Black And White World" a "Hating Hate" condemn racism. "High Society" and "Strike" do mert the tragedy of the separat between the different sociocconot strata of society. "In The End" ce brates being different, emphasiz "when you're on the outside look it, it's all just fashion in the ee Pretty deep subject matter for a "t ical punk band," huh? "Destruction By Definition" no slouch by industry standards "Battle Hymns seems poised even greater success. Detroit's0 has raised its flag and planted it fit ly. No matter what they say, California, people should be pr( to stand behind a band like Suicide Machines, who means w it says and makes you feel it. that, L.A. Goodie Mob is 'Still Standing' with second CD First Cappadonna, then Gangstarr and Cocoa Brovas. Next will be AZ and Public Enemy, and eventually Canibus, and A Tribe Called Quest. 'Tis the season for high-profile Rap albums. Now that the snow is thawing out, record labels want to be the first to get their artists played inside your newly waxed car. LaFace Records is no exception, throwing Goodie Mob's hat inside the ring. The big question is if Cee- Lo, Khujo, Big Gipp, and T-Mo can swim with the big fish with their "Still Standing" sophomore album. Unlike a lot of rappers in * this industry, Goodie Mob has Goodie Mob only slightly changed its image: Now they are all older Still Standing and wiser than in their social- ly and politically charged caFace debut. Reviewed by In other words, it's the same DuailAms group, but the messages are even deeper and sharper than before. The best example of this is the flagship song of the album "They Don't Dance No Mo" which delivers a double-edged blow over a slow, bouncy Organized Noize groove. On one hand, the song speaks out against people who go to clubs and parties yet do everything but dance to the music. It also says loudly that "Mr. Bojangles" is tired of dancing, making a fool out of himself to impress an unappreciative audience. This is vintage Goodie Mob. The strong messages continue through the album, from "Beautiful Skin," which tributes the black woman, to "Fly Away" which tells those who don't like Goodie Mob's style or message exactly where they can go. They pick up the roles they had from last time: Khujo is once again the old man, spitting razor- sharp wisdom without a care for who he insults in the process; T-Mo is once again the loud revolu- tionary, forcing you to step back and look at the big picture; Big Gipp is once again the street hustler, bringing the pain of life in the Dirty South to a per- sonal level; and Cee-Lo is once again the sancti- fied preacher, bringing fire and brimstone to the equation. They are also blessed by the presence of their label mates Outkast on the slick "Black Ice," and by fellow Atl.-ian Witchdoctor in "Ghetto- ology." Along with Craig Love and superproducer D3 Muggs, Organized Noize returns to provide more Breaking Records~ Star System cutting-edge music for the Mob to rap over, like on the gritty "The Dam" and on "Just About Over," which is a guitar-loaded voyage into the uncharted waters of alternative music. Each Organized Noize track fits the theme and mood of the Mob's subjects perfectly. With "Still Standing," LaFace will definitely hold its own with the heavyweights, and may even knock a few of them out of the box. - Classic ** - Excellent *** Good **- Fair * Poor No stars - Don't Bother - If you missed a wee of Breaking Recordl check out the Daily' archives online http://www.pub.umic I