8A- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 18, 2000 s " IT 14 U:\ 7, 7- rl , 'C0DL- ,' OF DA FUN-'j.. Layers of sound bring life to Death in Vegas If listeners can overlook the cliched thematic content, "Tha G Code" stands as an excellent album explod- ing with Mannie Fresh's dense elec- tro-funk and the Juvenile's smooth lyrical flow. Each of the 16 tracks fea- ture a dense layer of percussive rhythm and plenty of sampled funk staples such as horns, synthesizers. guitars and record scratching. Unlike the minimal beats of producers such as Dr. Dre to which even the elderly could shake their asses, Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh piles up the beats and disregards standard 4/4 tim- ing, laying down a scrambled template of funk for his rappers to flow across Juvenile Tha G Code Cash Money Records Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Jason Birchmeier with their equally erratic rhymes. While the creative groove con- structions of Mannie Fresh may not be that unique to listeners famil- iar with the electronic funk them hoes just need to holla for that big long Oscar Meyer." In this song, Juvenile and Mannie Fresh return to the style of pornographic rapping practiced most famously by 2 Live Crew and Easy-E as they boast about how they "got that fire" and how they don't have problems getting dates. Even though this sort of thematic content may seem appalling under analysis, it probably won't turn away many listeners. Juvenile's booty anthem from 1999, "Back That Azz Up" was the song that propelled him to stardom, thanks in part to a colorful video featuring countless women showcasing their derrieres for the jew- elry-clad cash money rapper as they wave handfuls of crisp bills. As anoth- er example, go to a party and watch the dance floor when this song gets played to see the point I'm trying to make. So even though many may object to the vane image and "Oscar Meyer" mentality that fills "Tha G Code," this deviant behavior has become the norm within the world of rap. In fact, it has ever since LL Cool J stood atop a car in thick gold chains on his 1987 album "Bigger and Deffer" and Easy-E told women "just don't bite it." Juvenile simply functions as the latest succes- sor to the thematic tendency inherent in America's most popular music genre. For those who may not feel com- fortable identifying with the image portrayed by the Cash Money crew, Mannie Fresh's creative injection of old school electro-funk into the often- formulaic template of hip-hop compo- sition compensates for the unsatisfac- tory thematic content. Perhaps the popularity of "Back That Azz Up" can be attributed to Mannie Fresh's beats rather than the hormone infused lyrics or the eye-catching video. Though this theory is unlikely, the primary reason millions of listeners will enjoy this album - whether they're conscious of it or not - can most likely be attrib- uted to the funk which often lingers in the background of the songs rather than the lyrics which fill the fore- ground. The crashing sound that can be heard at the end of "Neptune City," the closing track of Death in Vegas' latest, "The Contino Sessions," may very well be the sound of musical cat- egories toppling to the ground. This closing moment bookends nicely with the album's opening track, "Dirge." This song, penned by writers/pro- ducers Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes is a nearly six-minute pro- gression from a simple guitar strum and angelic "la la la" vocal refrain to a cacophonic swirl of guitar noise and keyboard effects. "Dirge's" pounding climb to this frenzied mix of techno and punk elements stands as a blue- print for the rest of the album's eight tracks. On "Soul Auctioneer," guest vocal- ist Bobby Gillespie spouts lyrics that sound sufficiently poetic and off-the- cuff to be reminiscent of Patti Smith in delivery, but the fact that this delivery goes on top of a beat that Death ic Vegas could have been cribbed from a The Contino Sessions Tricky album is a Time Bomb Recordings big deal. Reviewed by And though Daily Arts Writer there's some Brian Egan serious program- ming being done here, all the button pushing is infused with a punk savvy that prevents the proceedings from growing too sterile or safe. The music on "The Contino Sessions," as smartly constructed as it is, nonetheless always feels as though it teeters on the brink of chaos, and walking that edge for 48 minutes proves to be an exhilirating experi- ence. The punk spirit of "The Contino Sessions" is embodied by a guest appearance from the godfather him- self, as Iggy Pop contributes lyrics and vocals to the naughtily sinister "Aisha." Pop brings his best Michigan drawl and gleeful bad-guy persona to this murderous tale, leaving it panting and smoking on the ground with ven- emous attitude dripping off of it. In keeping with that punk spirit, of electro artists such as Ectomorph and Afrika Bambaataa or ghetto tech artists such as DJ Assault and DJ Godfather, it is quite different from what most mainstream hip-hop listen- ers are used to hearing on MTV or the radio. There aren't any booty anthems like "Back That Azz Up" or "Tha G Thang," but the funk runs even deeper here than it did on Juvenile's last album, "400 Degrees." Instead of songs about booty shak- ing, Juvenile and the rest of his Cash Money crew - BG, Hot Boys, Lil Wayne and Big Thymers - spend the majority of the album boasting about their newfound fame and all the vane accessories that come along with it. When Juvenile raps about "acting like a nigga that ain't never had shit" and his comrades rap about how they "got so many carrots I can feed ten rabbits/ got so much ice I cool down when I wear it," the album's underlying theme is overly apparent. The lyrical content saturating "Tha G Code" caters directly towards the lower-class urban minority idealism about escaping the ghetto and attain- ing wealth, power, fame, respect and women. Juvenile and his crew never rap about the path out of the ghetto or about the amount of work necessary to do so, they simply rap about a lifestyle of money, fame and sex with- in the ghetto. It is a fairly slim proba- bility that many of the millions buy- ing Juvenile's albums will be able to follow in his footsteps, but one can safely assume that most of these lis- teners will revel in the idealistic urban fantasy this album represents. Though Juvenile rarely resorts to such classic illogical rap motifs about violence, an NWA-like mentality does show its ugly face on tracks such as "Fuck That Nigga." On this sad track, Juvenile's ego bloats a bit too far as his rhymes cater to the BG's chorus of "man, pop that nigga/ man, kill that bitch/ man, shoot that nigga/ man, spank that bitch." Should this be taken seriously? Or is this just more of the playful rap proclamations practiced long ago by casualties such as Easy-E and modern day casualties like 01' Dirty Bastard? On other tracks another unsavory motif about unacceptable sexist male egotism appears from time to time. Whenever any of the Cash Money crew raps about "slinging their Oscar Meyer," they aren't referring to pork products. It is a metaphor that finally gets defined on the opening mono- logue to the track "I Got That Fire." In the context of an intriguing fictional skit, a reporter asks one of the Cash Money crew what an Oscar Meyer is. The respondent fires off several mean- ings for the metaphor, including "a bunch of paid mother fuckers - hot boys - that got the rap industry on lock" and "a big old black wiener that's on fire." He then addresses his listeners, saying "if you want that fire, there are no bridges or codas to be found on this album. In fact, nearly every song centers on a singular motif that is expanded upon instrumentally as it is repeated. Thus, such a motif finds itself firmly lodged in the listen-. er's unconsciousness while being manipulated as to become almost unrecognizable. It's as if the Ramones broke into a DJ's practice space and hijacked the equipment to create a handful of six-minute punk techno epics. All facetiousness aside, Death in Vegas' "The Contino Sessions" really is very much akin to the music of the Ramones. Both groups take what they like of music in its barest essence and* throw it all into the mix on endless repeat. the idea being that the result- ing product is inherently more inter- esting because it is stripped of all that is superfluous. Indeed, this album is all about hooks--beats, basslines and instru- mental leads (in addition to vocals) all carry weight here regardless of what genre they can be traced to. That, ulti- mately, is the point of these songs,# and why, at the end of the day, this album matters. Whereas artists like Beck look to bring elements of various genres and styles together to create a sort of hybrid musical form, Death in Vegas, it seems, would rather obliterate the notion of genre altogether. And they're off to a pretty good start on "The Contino Sessions." After all, "la la la" is pretty much the same thin* no matter how you sing it. Swedish rockers are no Deadbeats This band certainly has managed to come up with a comprehensive package of band name, music and lyrics. Calling themselves The Deadbeats, the group peddles extremely catchy and raunchy MC 5-style rock and roll. And with lyrics such as, "Hey baby won't you stay for a while? Hey baby I got no class, but I know you like that style," you know these boys did indeed give a lot of thought as to what sort of lyrics would suit a band calling itself "The Deadbeats!" There's plenty of songs with reference to playing cards, fast cars, juke boxes, drinking and women. Over and over again the group keeps returning to these themes across its 13 track release. The group also consistently manages to fol- I* T Yo hat The Deadbeats The Deadbeats Feec Up/ Necropo sRecorcs Reviewed by Daily Arts Wrter Adlin Rosli low this up with an endless supply of memorable bluesy riffs played through super fuzzed out amplifiers. The trashy guitar tones achieved on this album are absolute- ly delicious! You could have sworn The guitars alone may be great, but the singing and the rhythm section hold their own pretty well, too. There are plenty of catchy vocal hooks that quickly make their way into your unconsciousness and keep playing in your head long after the CD is over. The rhythm section does a terrific job holding everything together, as well. Overall, the group sounds like it was on fire and having a blast recording this release. What is most surprising about The Deadbeats, however, is not the quality of the material but the fact that the band does not hail from where you might anticipate to find such music. The Deadbeats is actually a Swedish band. Who would expect such raucous music from the land of melodic death metal and meatballs? If you're in the mood for something that will keep your head bobbing for a straight 36 minutes and 26 seconds, then you've got to check these Swedes out! at these boys must have Mudhoney's equipment backN Seattle group was at its prime. stolen when the What's on the syllabus is what you're going to be reading. What you're going to pay, however, can be up to you. That is, if you shop at VarsityBooks.com. At VorsityBooks.com you can save up