The Michigan Daily - September, 9, 1998 - 21 Nasty' is wel *cker MCs beware: The Beastie Boys' latest effort "Hello Nasty" is bound to monopolize the speakers of hipsters' stereos worldwide for the remainder of the summer. After a lengthy four-year hiatus, the beastly three, rappers and stylistic auters Mike D (Michael Diamond), M.C.A. (Adam Yauch) and Ad Rock (Adam Horovitz), have finally released their first full-length LP since the great- ly ambitious and rewarding "Ill Communication," a per- fect showcase ofthe Beasties' Beastie innovative and genre-warping Boys metal/ rap fusion. Hello Nasty Artists such as Beck and Capitol Cornershop have since bor- Reviewed by rowed heavily from the Daily Arts Writer Beasties' trademark collage Stephen Gertz of old school hip-hop, '70s funk, hard-core and general eirdness, and proceeded to elaborate expansively pon it. So it appeared that the Beasties would have kmi dable challenge to keep up with their o ger heirs. But as "Hello Nasty" has made strik- *gly evident, the Beasties are still the star players in e game. Stretching across a lengthy 60 minutes and 22 ongs, "Hello Nasty" is as artistically diverse as burms come. The Beasties have transcended the 'rganic, punkish rap sound characteristic of the ulk of their '90s output, with an album that imultaneously nods heavily to their 1989 sample- "Paul's Boutique" and treads new sonic ter- tory *ng structure? What's that? The Beasties allow . eir druggy funkathon to string track to track in a oupy free-flowing form, turning "Hello Nasty" to one gigantic booty-moving jamboree. Opening track "Super Disco Breakin"' kicks pings off with a blend of outer space computer mith makes Elliott Smith recorded his first three albums in he bedroom of his house. The results were mazing. On "XO0 his debut release on reamworks, the indie songster fails to disap- oint. The end result of Smith's venture into the depths of a professional recording studio brought several exciting new sounds to "XO." With a veritable Uiot Smith stable of instruments at his XO disposal, Smith added sev- eral intriguing sounds to the Dreamworks album. Instead of the tradi- Reviewed by tional acoustic guitar and Daily Arts Writer drum sound on which Gabe Fajuri Smith built his reputation, this record includes piano, ax, vibes and strings, in addition to the unchar- eteristic liberal use of electric guitar. 'st known for the sorrow-filled single "Miss corned return FOLLOWING KORN'S LEAD bleeps and Run DMC-esque rhyme trades. "The Move" follows with a repetitive bass lull that some- how turns into a Bach-like harpsichord melody. "Hello Nasty" also boasts the talents of guests as diverse as reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry, New York super DJ Mixmaster Mike, folk siren Beth Orton and Biz Markie, all of whom are given free reign on several tracks. Of course, all of "Hello Nasty" is cohesively strung together with the Beasties' half-intellectual, half-smartass lyrical wit. Songs like "Sneakin' Out of the Hospital" and the Sugar Hill Gang based "The Grasshopper Unit" prove that the Beasties' biting sense of humor has not been lost in the shuffle. Altogether the cumulative whole of "Hello Nasty" is much more than the sum of its drastically diverse parts. This hugely creative and innovative wonder of an album makes a sumptuous addition to the Beastie Boys' already extensive catalog and pre- serves their position as some of the most imagina- tive artists of the past two decades. During the hey-day of the grunge era, five guys out of Bakersfield, Calif. moved south to Huntington Beach and decid- ed to combine Death Metal's detuned guitars, hip-hop's groove and an emotional singer in a drunken swirl. The result was Korn; a manifestation of heavy music that made the likes of Metallica and Black Sabbath sound their age. In response to the tsunami of disciples trying to recreate Korn's sound, the band follows up 1996's platinum selling "Life is Peachy" with its third album titled - appropriately enough -- "Follow The Leader." On its latest offering, Korn picks up where "Life is Peachy" left off and infuses its music with more memorable vocal Korn lines, harder guitar riffs and electronic embellishment. Follow the Leader What results is 13 brutally catchy songs. Epic/Sony Music But catchy is definitely the operating word Reviewed by here, as songs like "Freak on a leash," Daily Arts writer "Dead Bodies Everywhere" and "Got the Adlin Rosi life," which is already getting heavy radio and MTV airplay, are exactly the kinds of tunes that go on repeat in your head during important lectures. Singer Jonathan Davies opts to emphasize more singing this time around, but loses none of his sinister charm. Older Korn fans should not worry, however, as Davies' patented manic "Tazmanian-scat cat" vocal styling is still prevalent here in choice places. The guitar sound experimentation of guitarists Head and Munky, that was in its infancy on the first album, comes to full jagged elegance this time around. The massively detuned guitars are again juxtaposed in songs with guitar sounds of an other worldly nature that evoke keyboard-like and hip-hop atmos- pheres. Drummer David and bassist Fieldy are not to be outdone either, as they create some of the funkiest and tightest grooves this side of Bootsy Collins. Complementing Korn's unorthodox heavy music approach are a bunch of unorthodox guests on the record. Among the guests include original gangsta rapper Ice Cube, who collaborates here on "Children of the Korn," and Cheech Marin who appears on the hidden track "Earache My Eye," a cover of the Cheech and Chong classic. With "Follow the Leader" Korn manages to stay true to its original sound while gradually expanding it towards some pre- viously unchartered territory. Korn has proven themselves worthy exponents of the new age of heavy music and is set to lead this form of music into the next millennium. I I. 'I 'Misery' listenable on 'XO' Misery," which garnered the unlikely star an Oscar nomination (it was the hit from the "Good Will Hunting" soundtrack) earlier this year, Smith has become an unlikely rising star. The single also helped move more than 250,000 copies of the soundtrack off shelves this past year. Despite his successes, some things haven't changed for the self-taught musician. As on past releases, Smith played most of the instruments, produced, recorded and arranged "XO:' For the horn and sting parts, however, he did bring in outside help. While old school fans might wince at the prospect of messing with a tried and tested formula, Smith manages to pull the whole thing off nicely. Songs like "A Question Mark" are shining examples of said new style properly executed. Smith's vocal range gets tested on a haunting pseudo-acapella track "I Didn't Understand." The rest of the tracks are acoustic guitar dri- ven, which is what Smith does best. Standout tracks include "Bottle Up and Explode," "Baby Britain" and the opening song, "Sweet Adeline." Another departure from classic Smith style, "Waltz #1," is an unfortunately sharp thorn in the record's side. But aside from that one strike against it, the rest of "XO" flows nicely. While definitely a transitional record for Smith, another release done in this musical vein will surely attain "clas- sic" status. Lyrically, things on "XO" are much more pos- itive than they have been on past albums. "Say Yes," the closing track on "Either/Or" and a track on the "Good Will Hunting" record gave listen- ers a glimpse at this side of Smith, which, until now, had now been seen in his songwriting. "XO; some would say, picks up where "Say Yes" left off. Upbeat and positive tracks characterize this record, and compliment a few dreary and JOBS"' FALL TERM Apply now at the Law Library- non-Law Students " Law Students * S.L Students Apply in person: Room S-180 in the Law Library's under- ground addition, 8-noon and. 1-5, Monday through Friday. AAJEOE depressed offerings that fans of the New York- based artist have come to expect and adore. This record may Smith's finest work to date, but definitely worth the $9 it will set you back at the record store. It is a fine introduction to the work of one of today's most talented song- writers. Enter the Casio "Class of '99 Sweepstakes to win our Grand Prize,$25,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds!' 25 First Prizes Casio QV-700 digital camera } and DP-8000 printer At Casio, were making education easier and more affordable. Thafts why wave designed our family of Graphing and Scientific Calculators to deliver more power for less money. 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