8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 10, 1998 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES Meshu ghushes BLAND IN HER POCKET . into Chaos here . History repeats itself. And, judging by "Supposed pointlessly through - yep, you guessed it - an Former Infatuation Junkie," so does Alanisfs insufferable series of "how long'"s. Morissette. This track illustrates that though she may have The fine line between sanity and In some ways, the repetition is good in that the acquired some Eastern flavor, she thanks India in genius seems to have been blurred on music on "Junkie" is as comfortable and enjoyable "Thank U,'her lyrics lack spice. Sweden's Meshuggah's new release, as on "Jagged Little Pill." In fact, "Junkie" stands as It is only when Morissette goes out on a limb that "Chaosphere." The album sounds as a continuation of "Pill"- all the familiar guitar and this "Junkie" shoots up in quality. though it was made by a group of gradu- bass-beat love-and-life songs that the royalties from While hardly a risk in today's pop landscape, ate engineering students who decided to - 15 million copies of your debut album can buy, tai- Morissette reaps the rewards of straight-forward form a technically sophisticated heavy bred for today's slightly edgier times. dance music on "So Pure, a joyful rave which pos- music group utilizing the knowledge of "Junkie" generally rocks harder than its predeces- sesses a chorus so Madonna-like that even Madonna upper level math. With unheard of time sor- often annoyingly so, as on the album-opening wouldn't even attempt it anymore - "I love you signatures, groovy rifing, mathematical- "Front Row" and the near-staccato annoyance when you dance, when you freestyle in trance" ly precise-yet-intriguing song structures known as "Sympathetic Character." Morissette croons. and a penchant for being completely But "Junkie" follows the same sonic trajectory as "Unsent" also offers up a new flavor of heavy, it is easy to believe that "Pill," only on a much larger (17 tracks) scale and uN dMorissette, as it graciously details private letters to Meshuggah members must have enlisted Morissette can't help ripping herself off. five former flames and tells the fellas how they the know-how of some sort of technical The harmonica-laced "UR" though musically a Ienriched her life, instead of telling them what they engineering degree to construct such millennium. The eas in the usage ofodd strong and rather hummable, is "Hand in My Pocket oughta know. impressive music. time signaturesin such a brutal manner is '98." The aforementioned "Front Row" is more than It is when Morissette simply opens up like this, as The first listen to "Chaosphere" is dis- especially a mind- blowing high point on a bit similar to "Pill"'s "All I Really Want" And and booty-shaking "I Was Hoping" well as on "UR" and "One, instead of heavy-hand- turbing. The gui- this release. Morissette even cribs from this year's radio hit, But when Morissette employs this repetitive struc- edly flaunting her extended vocabulary in wordy, tars and bass There are no fillers on this nine son "Uninvited," off the "City of Angels" soundtrack, ture on nine of the pretentious mediations seemed at first out epic. Band members Jens Kidm which is quite blatantly the already-overwhelming on society, that of sync with the (vocals), Marten Hagstrom (guitar), piano-and-wail model for the 17 tracks, one wonders "Junkie" comes even Meshuggah drums while the Fredrik Thordendal (guitar), Tomas * extremely repetitive "Are You if she has nothing close to the highs of riffs seemed dis- Haake (drums) and Gustav (bass) prove Alanis Still Mad" worthwhile left in her "Jagged Little Pill." Chaosphere jointed. When that they are musicians of the highest Moriss Repetition also dominates pocket. Yes, it is technically Nuclear Blast more attention is order with this songs such as "New SuppwoeFormer Morissette's overall song struc- "Are You Still Mad" unfair to compare the Reviewed by placed on the Millennium Cyanide Christ" and "Sane." Infatuation Junkie tre, repeating key words or ranks among the worst two so exclusively and Daily Arts Writer material, however, As most bands today seem content to Maverick/Reprise phrases in either the stanzas or tracks, with its redun- a review should accept Adlin Ros a sudden surge of walk in the footsteps of previous groups Reviewed by choruses and, on some occa- dant questioning of the new album on its realization over- - making no attempt to be innovative - Daily Arts Writer sions, both. "Are you still mad" this own terms. comes the listener. Believe it or not, it is very refreshing to find a music group Bryan Lark Sometimes this format or "are you still mad" But after takinga lis- everything does fit into place and the that is willing to push the limits and raie works: The sweet promises of that, set against an exact Cure Maeced ten for yourself, you'll combination truly works. the stakes. 0 the lush "That I Would Be Good," the continued replica of the aforemen- Alanis Morissette escalates her wordy lyrics and see that "Supposed Meshuggah's songcraft is like nothing It is said that the fine line between "thank you"'s of the first single "Thank U" only tioned "Uninvited." repetitive song structure on "Junkie." Former Infatuation else that exists in today's music industry. insanity and genius is measured only serve to make the song catchier and more sonically The much-touted Junkie" is Morissette's Fusing the discipline of jazz with ele- through results. With "Chaosphere'" endearing, or the title refrains in the beat-driven Eastern flavor of the album is almost entirely rele- amicable, passable, often danceable but largely ments of heavy music - without the Meshuggah show the results of possible "Would Not Come" and the simultaneously haunting gated to the second track "Baba," which grinds ragged "Little" sequel. cheesy stuff- the group has discovered insanity can be astounding and that the a blueprint for heavy music of the next genius contained therein is incredible. Band 40 Rondelles romance fans in fun rock 'n' roll, a With more than ei rooted warrant an extra 4- exclamation points s4..! Rondelles uses '6 s agnaion :monies as the spring pogo-pop songs. Ja to rebels, math nerd Following the recent release from to cross paths with one real, big Phish, the Pittsburgh ensemble Rust Root plays a story + "A . .A + of its own wnthti ts new self-titled telease, "Rusted Root." standable response many listeners ***%i But a sad misconception may be may have to "Rusted Root," don't The Rondeiles astir - this "Rusted Root" isn't the plant your feet quite yet. "Rusted Fictios Rumance, earthy rockers we have come to Root" experiments in a blend of Fast Mackites know and hail. rock, R&B and grass roots, as well Smells Like Records With the absence of the as Latin and Eastern sounds. Though unabashed, orgasmic mantras of ultimately it makes for a not cohe- o v eed "When I Woke," or the more tempo- sive release, this such experimenta- Jimmy Dra al uitar riddled nulsins of tion succeeds well on the individual nough enthusiasm to generous supply of in this review, the 0s girl-group har- board for its garagey im-packed with odes s and any other boys this band, "Fiction RomAnce, Fast Machines" is an exhilarating trek to the heart of the teenage crush. The Rondelles' album could very well double as the soundtrack to a seedy after-school special where leather jackets, cigarettes and bad ross the boob tube. ugh posturing, the s to play fun rock 'n' ongs into 22 minutes, D.C. co-eds don't bother with the political tomfoolery that often bogs down punk; instead, the group opts to sing about boys who've got all the girls' hearts racing. The result isn't kitschy immaturity, but is endearing in its crushed-out, tough gal sound. When the handelap-along chorus of "Catastrophe" kicks in ("Hey, hey, what a catastrophe/I wish he had a crush on me!"), any listen- er with the tiniest shred of pop apprecia- tion will smile and sing along. The band struts its best stuff on songs that combine its hilarious sense of humor with knock-off-your-socks rock. On "Mission: Irresistible" singer/guitarist Juliet (no last names for these punkas, thank you very much) sings about her math geek infatuation: "I'll look through his glasses, into his eyes/And there'll be sparks!/We'll go downtown to the roller rink/And hold hands 'til it's dark!" Then the song shifts into high gear with its demented cheerleader chant of a chorus (note the infectious "Hey! Hey! Hey!" cheers). She disses a boy in "Magazine," sneering. Her voice comes off like the biggest eye roll caught on record. Elsewhere, she threatens revenge on cheating hearts ("Shanghai Surprise"), and describes afternoons of milkshakes and drag races ("Drag Strip Race"). The music isn't very diverse, but doesn't feel repetitive - quite a feat for three kids who released their first single while walking their high school halls to study hour. Like a kid sis of Justine Frischmann, Elastica's smirking singer, there's no doubt that Juliet has "Attitude" stamped on her driver's license and has the skinny on the secret punk rock handshake. Juliet, bassist Yukiko and drummer/key- boardist Oakley may be the fast crowd you only daydreamed of cutting I1th- grade biology with, butthey never sound like they're pulling a fast one on the audience, or that they're part of an exclu- sive clique. The trio is so energetically fun that it's hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm. This exuberance is the Rondelles' biggest appeal - the trio makes music sound so fun and easy that ,tl gula plum guapV "Remember," the latest Root offer- ing plays very flat and dispas- sionate. While the disjointed Rusted Root effort contains several good Rusted Root tunes, not one Mercury Records song enlightens lead singer Reviewed by M i c h a e 1 Daily Arts writer Glabicki or Chris Cousin backup angel harpy Liz Berlin to a higher ground. While the opening track, "She Roll Me Up," aptly sounds like a well-produced cut for a WB teen melodrama, "Magenta Radio" pro- vides fun melodies that fail to erupt like Root's past creations of won- drous intensity. Early in the bluegrasa runaround "Kill You Dead," Glabicki asks, "Tell me where, where is the way to the door?" Though possibly an under- tracks such as "Rising Sun,""Live A Long Time" and "Agbadza'." Although "Agbadza" could be referred to as "Drum Trip" Jr., "Live A Long Time" develops as a hip form of grass roots rap - a probable influence from Root's producer Susan Rogers, who also produces the Barenaked Ladies. "Rising Sun" illuminates the entire album in its laid back guitars and Glabicki's happy warblings. Glabicki's vocal delivery, though enjoyable in "Sun," fails even to bring much new excitement to a classic rendition. Remember the band's so-called better-than-Santana version of "Evil Ways?" Covering the Rolling Stones' best "You Can't Always Get What You Want," Root plays the song similarly - except with out any of the "Rolling" that the Stones have. In following suit with the rest of the album, Glabicki and company are more stagnantly rooted. reputations flash ac Yet for all the to Rondelles just wants roll. Cramming 11 sc these Washington, lsteners will wish nat mney, to, nau convinced their high school buddies to jam in the garage. If itcan keep making music this enjoy- able, the band will quickly immortalize itself as the icon band of teen crushes. Feeling blue because the new boy doesA know you're alive? Down in the dum about the wedding ring your substitute teacher wears? Try "Fiction Romance, Fast Machines" - inspiring crushes through a stereo near you! Conflict chooses Crucial 'side' It took longer than other cities, but Chicago is slow- ly-but-surely establishing its own hip-hop identity. The city is represented by super-lyricists Common and Da Brat, but is known more for super-fast rappers like Twista, Psycho Drama and Do or Die. Crucial Conflict is part of this group of speedsters, following up its debut with "Good Side Bad Side." It's easy to be cynical, since music . as of late has been * swamped with artists who try to show off how fast they can throw Crucial words out. The difference Conflict between Craeial Conflict and Good Side Bad Side these other artists is that it was Pallas/Universal one of the true innovators of this Revie y style, and it proved that by out- Daily Arts writer shining its guests, Do or Die on Quan Williams the slick "Airplane;' and Three 6 Mafia on the catchy "Bogus." The surprising thing about Crucial Conflict is that it finds a way to offer variety within its style, which keeps its flow from getting repetitious. The group constantly switches the style of its flow, making songs such as "Scummy" and "Let it Go" interesting to listen to. It even experiments with a swing style on "I'm Bout to Explode" which may be the best song on the album. Wildstyle's production is also noteworthy. He resists the temptation to make wannabe Timbaland beats or boring R&B remakes, and delivers original, high-qual- ity music. He shines most with the sparse "The Bidness," the bouncy "Like This" and the smooth "Come On."'The only major flaw with his production is that all of the music except for "Pump it Up" is the same tempo. But listeners may be too busy bouncing to realize it. The biggest problem with most fast rappers is that either they're not really talking about anything, or they're going so fast that the listener can't understand what they're talking about. Crucial Conflict is no exception. Aside from the two ballads, the group really doesn't say anything meaningful or engaging. Even though we may not be able to figure out what the band members are saying, we will certainly enjoy the music just the same. Another major problem is that "Bogus" is the only exciting song on the album. "Good Side Bad Side" is more for listeners and riders, so if you're looking for more songs such as "Hay"then look elsewhere. Crucial Conflict has avoided the sophomore jinx, and has made a solid album that should make all of Chicago proud. JOIN THE MOST PROMISING PROFESSION OF THE 21ST CENTURY Prospective Teacher Education Meeting Tuesday, November 10, 1998 6:00 p.m. fpSchorling Auditorium 4 Room1202 School of Education Building Call 764-7563 for more information. The 'k4 W gU1Ja classified section is currently hiring creative, business-minded freshpersons and sophomores. Interested students can apply at: Students Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Deadline: November 20 Get Involved in the Links - Courses - E-Mail Lists Calendars - Student Arts Board www.UmiCh.edUharIs