10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 14, 1999 BREAKING CORDS IEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEA FRESH 'SPLENDOR' DANCES ELECTRONICALLY aims for concepts Not your ordinary Hollywood soundtrack, "Splendor" features exclusive remixes and hand-picked rare tracks from a talented line-up of inventive artists. Each of these 14 tracks closely balance on the increasingly blurry divi- sion between guitar driven alternative rock and digitally driven electronica, making the upcom- ing film's soundtrack a fresh compilation of cre- ative material. While the hard-to-find tracks are a nice addi- tion, the many exciting remixes are the best part about the soundtrack. Past omens of today's electronica such as New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" and Slowdive's "Shine" get special treatment on "Splendor." Though Steven Hague does little to the New Order classic from the 1986 "Brotherhood" album, the track concludes "Splendor" Splendor with plenty of bang, sound- Original ing more innovative and Soundtrack modern than the majority of Astralwerks material currently being Reviewed by marketed as electronica to Daily Arts Writer America's naive mainstream Jason Birchmeier audiences still infatuated with MTV's exploitation of the genre. Moby's ambient reworking of Blur's "Beetlebum" ranks as arguably the most sub- lime moment on the album excluding the nostal- gic opening moments of "Bizarre Love Triangle." Much can be said about the merits of "Beetlebum," the opening track from Blur's. genius self-titled 1996 album. Moby chooses to completely deconstruct the song, opening it with nothing but a repetitive drum loop onto which Moby lays Damon Albarn's sampled fem- inine-sounding vocals: "Nothing is wrong/ She turns me on." After 22 seconds of sparse drumbeats and the reverb-drenched vocal loop, Moby's signature synthesizers enter, instilling a mood defining utopian tranquility. More synthesized strings swirl through the song as the vocal sample con- tinues to loop over and over. Eventually the drum loop alters, a strange sound appears, and the songs begins to build with a new vocal sam- ple: "Oooooo, lovin' you." This flash of intensi- ty dies down for a moment of ambience before Moby again adds several new elements lifted from the original song. The reconstruction of the song includes guitar riffs and ends beauti- fully with 20 seconds of only Albarn's soulful vocals. Another great moment on the soundtrack is My Bloody Valentine's remix of Lush's "Sweetness and Light." The opening track from Lush's legendary 1990 debut album gets the trademark My Bloody Valentine treatment: impossibly chaotic guitar feedback mayhem, scrambled drum beats, oodles of sonic alien sounds and the dreamiest processed vocals you've ever heard. To say the remix gives dynamic intensity to Miki Berenyi's fragile voice and the band's usually soft sound would be a huge understatement. Other highlights on "Splendor" include a light-drum and bass remix of Slowdive's "Shine" and Everything But The Girl's "Before Today," adding rhythmic complexity to these two absolutely serene songs. Air's "Kelly Watch The Stars," gets a funky mix while early 1990's British shoegazers Chapterhouse get a dub reworking of their song, "Mesmerize," and London Suede's 1996 romance tune, "Chemistry Between Us," gets a fresh remix by Lionrock that respects Brett Anderson's vocals enough not to mess with them. In addition, New York house music producer Armand Van Helden's internationally loved hit, "Flowerz," counts as the dancefloor scorcher on "Splendor." The songs from Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers are also included to give the soundtrack some commercial marketability though they sound a bit bland in comparison to the other songs on the soundtrack. There really aren't any boring moments on the soundtrack at all, even for listeners biased against either alternative rock or electronica. Time, effort and a lot of thought were put into the compilation of this soundtrack by Astralwyerks, currently the most exciting record label in America. If the film ends up being popular with the right demographic segments, this soundtrack could be a huge success, similar to "Trainspotting." If the film bombs, it might not sell too well, and that would be a wasteful shame since this soundtrack is a wonderful all- around listen with numerous moments of bril- liant collaboration between many talented artists more interested in being musically inno- vative than commercially successful. Entombed embraces new sound with 'Same Difference' One time Death Metal band Entombed's new album, "Same Difference," brings the band's music to its logical conclusion since the group's flirtation with bluesier, Rock N' Roll sounding music two albums ago on "Wolverine Blues." In short, "Same Difference" owes more to MC-5 than Venom. Although on the surface this may seem like a Metallica "Load" maneuver destined to shun away older fans, Entombed has actually succeeded better at making the change to a blues based rock band. The band's choice of blues riffs and grooves is well done and there are plenty of meaty and ballsy numbers throughout the album. "Addiction King" and "Kick In The Head" are great **** examples of this as they groove Entombed and rage massive- ly. much abandoned his subterranean growls to sing on most of the tracks. The man's singing voice, roughened up no doubt by years of Death Metal style screaming, posseses the timbre of a blues singer who has been to hell and back - a characteristic that well suits the group's current style. Bonus tracks of the band covering the likes of Black Sabbath, King Crimson and MC-5 were included, possibly as compensation to American Entombed fans as "Same Difference" was released outside the US. earlier this year. Megadeth gets risky Same Difference Roadrunner Records Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Adlin Rosli The biggest surprise of all is that vocalist L.G Petrov has pretty Blues adds 'Xtra' on 'Acme' For a white boy, Jon Spencer has soul. Lots of soul. And on"'Xtra Acme USA" it shows. This 74 minute double LP/CD is pure Blues Explosion, all excerpted from the band's most recent release, "Acme." Through 19 tracks, the Blues Explosion, with Spencer at the helm, takes listeners on a Xtra Acme USA Matador Reviewed by Daily Music Editor Gabe Fajuri voyage through the new sort of blues and soul that the JSB has been exploring ever since its inception. From the opening chords and downbeat of "Wait a Minute," in which Spencer croons about how he likes "Apple pie and Eskimo pie," the record, despite being made up of non-album mater- ial, grabs your attention. It's not-until the 6th track, "Get record, but don't slow its momentum at all. The next number on the disc, "Bacon," picks up where the record begins - with wonder- fully eccentric guitar riffs and vintage Spencer wailing all set to the perfect beat. The addition of a 70's disco-style string section on the song makes for an especially interesting combination, which is offset nicely by a pounding rhythm section, pro- viding a rock-solid beat. Scratchy guitar noise as only the Blues Explosion helps round out the song, and characterize the entirety of the record. And so the record goes. The rest of the tracks are just as musically interesting as "Bacon," if not more so. Much of "Xtra Acme USA" was changed or remixed for inclusion on this record, making for fascinating soundscapes. The talents of Moby, Jim Dickinson, Money Mar, and Andre Williams, to name a few, were enlisted to expertly re-shape tracks like "Blue Green Olga," "T.A.T.B.," and "Heavy." As an old Showbiz adage states, "Always leave 'em wanting more." That's exactly what "Xtra Acme USA" does after a brief spin of the record. Don't be prejudiced by the B-side and remix tag , t bd ' '' a MegadethI ing track, "Insomnia," has some string sonics on it and is not dissimi- lar to klezmer or gypsy music mixed with heavy metal. "Wanderlust" also has a simi- larly experi- Risk capitol Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Ted Watts line this disc carries. It has absolutely no trouble standing on its own. While this record may only made up of leftovers from the "Acme" sessions, it'll be sure to make you sign up for a full sized portion of the main course. The disc serves as a perfect introduction to the band, and you'll be ready for a second hearty helping of JSB soul-rock before "Xtra Acme USA" leaves the stereo. mental aura, although leaning more towards the James Bond theme than Eastern Europe. The band still indulges in embarassingly obvious topics on tracks like "Prince of Darkness." And the band, in spite of the changes, doesn't sound all that dif- ferent than it did five or 10 years ago. The guitars still wank although they are lower in the mix, the Ij themes are watered down but are recognizeable holdovers from the band's history. At the same time, there's something still slightly mag- netic about the band's sound, and it's less offensive than it used to be. As a bonus, there's a bit of vide on the CD. Unfortunately, it's horri- bly self serving interviews about the band's progress instead of a music video or live track. Just ignore it if you're not a big fan. Megadeth persists. If you're ever going to listen to them, do it now before they begin their inevitable slide into VH-1's Where are They Now?l Old," that the usual JSB flair for unexplored musical territory kicks in - barnyard sounds, including a rooster, donkey and horse, get mixed in with the bass, drum and guitar sounds of the band. Other moments of weirdness punctuate the Pickett hits grooves with 'It's harder now' Don't call it a comeback - Wilson Pickett refuses to adhere to Wilson Picke It's Harder Now Impulse Reviewed for the Daily by Alisa claeys that worked for today's music standards that many comeback artists obedient- ly follow. While many musicians attempt to mod- ify their style to keep up with modern trends, Pickett keeps the same style him with hits like "Mustang Sally." In "It's Harder Now," not much has changed since Pickett's earlier days. There still exists the authentic blues sound that gives the feel of a live recording, not something pre- mixed on a synthesizer or over-pro- duced by a studio design. Pickett's passionate effort, refusal to conform and guts are the main thing this album has going for it. "Outskirts of Town," "Soul Survivor," and "Stone Crazy World" all show promise, but none of the tracks are as foot-tapping as his older hits. Bega's 'Mambo' blends genres Somewhere in between the swing revival and the so called Latin inva- sion lies Lou Bega and his current hit "Mambo # 5." Following in the footsteps of "Mambo..." is his debut release aptly titled "A Little Bit of Mambo. " The real strength of this album is its diversity. It manages to combine a traditional big band sound with its "It's Harder Now" may not be a classic, but it definitly carries itself well and shows Pickett in fine form still after 35 years of being in the business. We can only wait and see what Pickett has left to share with the world. Whn lcnw ? ive ik ett o - - 'rn~