10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 30, 1999 4KING RECC FE MUSJC INDUSTRY'S I ONE BIG HORRIBLE 'DEATH' Hawtin showcases techno excellence MTV show spawns bland disc a0 Celebrity Death Match. The only clay con- structed program that strikes fear into the hearts of college students and pre-teen MTV viewers across the country each and every time it graces the airwaves. As if the the visual stimulation of the "most gory claymation show in all of history" wasn't enough, the wizards in the MTV marketing department dreamed up a Celebrity Death Various Match CD for the blood- thirsty viewer in all of us. The stellar talent lined up Celebrity-Death for this release include the Match likes of Marilyn Manson, interscope Records Eminem, Powerman 5000, Reviewed by Daily Music Editor and other "hard edged" acts Gabe Faju i like Sevendust and Rob Zombie. Perhaps the record's only salvation is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The first track, Marilyn Manson's "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" is nothing more than typical Manson dreck. Successive offerings spiral further down the ladder of good taste. Xzibit makes a crass commercial move on track number two, simply titled "Celebrity Death Match." Replete with crowd cheers from the television show, if the rap- as Celebrity Death Match (the program) tries to capture a sort of humor that was evident in only the first few short and humor filled clips used as teasers between other bland MTV programs. But leave it to creators of "the next big thing" to beat that very same thing to death. The show and disc are both clear cut proof that MTV needs to re-examine their formula for success. Eminem's contribution to the pseudo-sound- track, "My Fault," isn't all together horrible, but like most of his choruses, the line "I never meant to give you mushrooms girl I never meant to bring you to my world" does elicit at least a few pathet- ic laughs from listeners before turning extremely annoying. As if that weren't enough, the song appears to have been edited for younger fans. Ironic, isn't it, that the album closes with a track titled "Money" from none other than those radio darlings of this past summer, Lit. Indeed, this record was not released because a stellar line up had been assembled and should be heard, but for profit and profit alone. At any cost, be sure to stray far from the path of the Celebrity Death Match. If the actual show wasn't enough to scare you away, the CD will be sure to pound your senses into the ground demanding you ask the question "Is this what music has come to?" before crying uncle. Best known as Plastikman, Richie Hawtin has progressed through the course of a decade from a white teenager from Windsor fascinated by Detroit's then-burgeoning techno scene to the world's most acknowl- edged techno producer. In the early '90s before Hawtin was restricted from entering the country, he acted as the Pied Piper for America's then-infantile rave scene. His all-night warehouse parties in Detroit-charac- terized by black plastic tarp covered walls, minimal strobe lighting and deaf- ening volume-drew youths from across the Midwest. "Decks, EFX and 909" captures per ever had any talent, it isn't apparent on this cut. For those with a masochistic, Death Match induced sort of spirit, be sure to check out other winners on this compilation: "Standing 8," from Powerman 5000, "Secret Wars," by The Last Emperor, " and "Lets Go All the Way," by The Wondergirls. Each song tries all too hard to cash in by embodying a specific genre of music, just Richie Hawtin Decks. EFX and 909 Minus Records Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Jason Birchmeier the DJ side of Hawtin instead of his more serene style of music recorded under the P 1 a s t i k m a n guise. Keep this in mind when contemplating whether or not to purchase this Website compilation brings nothing new Cductive.com is a music download site that also offers the service of burn- ing audio CDs for its customers. Audio Ambrosia is a compilation demon- strating the latter. Unfortunately, it's an uninspired indie rock venture that is disappointing because it is an idea with promise. It has its interesting moments. Starting off with a Make Up song is always a good sign. But here it sets up the disc for a fall. Almost all the songs in this collection Various are readily available. Cductive touts itself as a place to Artists find tracks you can't dig up elsewhere, but there's hard- Audio Ambrosia ly a one on this CD-R. There's a Mercury Rev song from www.cductive.com a David Bowie tribute disc, but that's it for worthwhile Reviewed by rarities. Daily Arts Writer The prevalent material is familiar stuff; old stand bys Ted Watts or tracks off of groups most recent albums are the rule. And while Helmet's Born Annoying, King Missile's Jesus Was Way Cool or Servotron's Phonetic Lecture are good tracks, they're not worth a look to the preexisting fan and they somehow fail to gel on this random amalgam. Listening to Audio Ambrosia is exhausting, and not in a good way. It's way too jangly, and its good moments are drowned under the crush of the unin- spired. For every interesting and new-to-the-listener band like the Giraffes or the Junior Communist Club, there's two Pete Krebs or Danielle Howles ready to , suck the fun out of listening.. Cductive might actually be doing this on purpose, daring - the listener to go to their site. and make their own, better comp. The bad news for the label is that CD writers are becoming more and more common and cheap and soon anyone with a computer will be able to do their thing bet- ter and at home. The good news for them is that the day of the omnipresent CD writer isn't here quite yet, and even when it is the ability to sample bands you don't own yet will still be rele- gated to companies like Cductive. Even so, don't let them assemble a com- pilation for you today; you could certainly do a better job. album. "Decks, EFX and 909" isn't going to sound nearly as melodic or calm as his Plastikman albums. Instead of hallucinatory cerebral elegies, the techno on "Decks, EFX and 909" hits hard, fast and relentless- lv. The 38 tracks Hawtin mixes non- stop over the course of 61 minutes still can be described as minimal by the fact that their rhythms are repetitive, sparse and void of excess, but he pro- pels these tracks beyond the concept of minimalism. Through the use of three turntables (decks), an effects processor (EFX) and a drum machine (909), Hawtin crafts a thick collage of continually forward-moving grooves never lacking in substance. Think of this as the head banging thrash metal equivalent of dance music. Granted, Hawtin's DJ set may be a little too intense for average listeners not accustomed to relentlessly pounding bass, deep layered'percus- sion and subdued whirlwind synthe- sizer melodies. Similar in nature to the strobe lights Hawtin often uses to alter the context of his rave parties, this music will impair your judgment with its fast-paced audio flickers, flashes and tracers The set starts out with some of the hardest hitting house music currently on the market. iawtin seems together four different versions of Richard Harvey's "User" to get things off to a fast start. He then follows these records with multiple versions of a Grain 2 record and two versions of Santos Rodriguez's "Road to Rio EP" lawtin then drops four tracks in row of techno peer Jeff Mills (also from Detroit) before moving towards a mon- tage including four versions of Hawtin's most recent release, "Orange," and the industrial rock of Nitzer Ebb's "Let Your Body Learn." After a momentary intermission at track 23 where a voice asks "What the hell was that?" lawtin progresses towards European techno such as a few tracks from Berlin's Tresor record label. Slowly, the invigorating pace of Hawtin's set begins to ease around track 32. Here the dense, relentless techno begins to vary in both tempo and spatial attributes. The ambient, down-tempo dub records of German producers such as M and Quadrant slowly release the tension built up by the preceding 45 minutes of the set, gently landing lis- teners on their feet. Once Hawtin lifts the needle from the 38th record of his set, it becomes clear that his mission is to take lis- teners on a ride. Unlike other DJs interested in making you dance, Hawtin wants to test your limits and boundaries, seeing just how far you want to go. Judging by densely lay- ered musical intensity of "Decks, EFX and 909," lawtin's ride is probably too much for anyone with- out a sense of adventure or a taste for hedonistic extremity. 0 O I U 0 r r 0 0 Be a tutor for cash! %Z...2..n ,, + . "rn.r IAI". i nn+ aann if fnr n.hrn nnnh7