9 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 21, 1999
G I
INDU!
'THE FRAGILE' SHOWS WHAT NIN DOES BEST
Cornell experiments
with subdued sound
Where is Trent Reznor's self these days? "Try to
save myself hut myself keeps slipping away," he
whispers on "Into the Void," one of the 23 tracks
on the .long-awaited Nine Inch Nails' double
album, "The Fragile." Is he turning over a new
leaf? Is he the same despondent Reznor we've
come to need and love through the journey into
the depths of the soul on "The Downward Spiral"
and the blissfully unrequited synthpop of "Pretty
Hate Machine?"
To be honest, it's hard to
tell. For every potentially
Nine Inch upbeat track like "We're in
This Together" where Reznor
Nails encouragingly - and, after a
The Fragile few spins, threateningly -
nothing records screams, "We will make it
Reviewed by through somehow," there's a
Da Arts Writer line that reminds us that
Ern PodoIsky we're "too fucked up to care
anymore" ("Somewhat
.,Damaged"). Maybe he's making fun of us. Maybe
he's laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe we're
just puppets now, unable to tear ourselves away
from his mad genius of clinical depression, using
his words like a lyrical Prozac.
Or maybe he means it. There is something
inherently truthful and forthright about Reznor's
meticulously engineered, thickly layered music.
"The Fragile" is studious in its effort to be exact-
ly what Nine Inch Nails does best: angrily plain-
tive industrial with an insistent techno underbelly
that was largely hinted at in their previous efforts.
I ~ 1
es of a hundred voices flow into deceptively sim-
ple piano melodies, instrumental tracks alternate
with catchy vocals and it all adds up to near per-
fection. The growling, wailing verses of "The
Wretched," a title whose meaning cannot possibly
mistaken for Reznor turning happy-go-lucky,
scratch and claw at the sublime. "It didn't turn out
the way you wanted it to," he explains, and sud-
denly "The Fragile" crystallizes not into a letter to
his thronging fans but to himself. The second disc
sees the anthemic "Starfuckers Inc." calling an
unnamed rock star "a shallow little bitch," and the
remainder of the track could as easily be about a
mystery egotist as Reznor poking fun at himself.
To be fair, there are a lot of similar sounding
tracks on "The Fragile," but that too is a trick that
Reznor has pulled out of his bag before; in his
case, it's more the tool of a symphony composer
rather than a mundane, repetitive, burned-out
rocker. He gives us thematic consistencies and a
complete work in lieu of moldy, poorly construct-
ed music. He gives us a thumping bassline that
gives anything he's done before, from "Closer" to
"Get Down Make Love," a run for its money. He
gives us an outlet for all those despondent little
voices in our heads.
And if Reznor doesn't give us his self, he tries
to give the closest thing to it. He spent five years
between albums trying to get his hands on it this
time. Perhaps one day he'll find it and, at last, turn
everything we know about what music can be on
its head.
It wouldn't be his first time.
It's kept in the background on the first disc, slith-
ering around the guitar and Reznor's snarls, but on
the second disc the slow, twisting electronic ele-
ment of madness rears up and builds to a desper-
ate crescendo. At once stomach-turning and heart-
breaking, "The Fragile" insanely attempts to one-
up "The Downward Spiral" by leaping out of the
realm of Reznor's one-man train-wreck of a psy-
che and into the real world with songs like
"Starfuckers Inc." And just as insanely, it suc-
ceeds.
Embracing the quiet-loud-quiet trick of records
past, Reznor creates some of the most beautiful
music this side of white noise. Screaming chorus-
Former Soundgarden frontman Chris
Cornell's trademark howl stands as one
of the most memorable, if occasionally
grating instruments of the grunge era.
Cornell tames his voice a bit for about
half of his solo debut, "Euphoria
Morning," appropriately employing it at
some of the disc's most climatic
moments. These moments arrive in the
handful of songs on which Cornell opts
for pleasantly subdued arrangements -
there's a lot of acoustic guitar here, as
well as keyboards, organs and even clar-
inets.
This approach seems to encourage
Cornell's melodic inventiveness, as
tasteful little bursts of melody are subtly
shifted forward.
Cornell continues
to utilize his
knack for crafting
Chris Cornell the colorful chord
progressions that
Euphoria Morning were so crucial to
A & M Records Soundgarden's
Reviewed by distinctive sound,
Daily Arts Writer but the big sur-
Brian Egan prise on this
record is how he
is able to apply that gift to putting con-
temporary spins on highly popularized
songwriting styles.
Take "Preaching The End Of The
World," a song that is inescapably a
power ballad. And by power ballad,
we're not talking Hootie and the
Blowfish, we're talking Bread or
Cheap Trick. Or even better is the
bluesy, piano-based "When I'm
Down," which recalls (seriously) the
enduring work of Elton John and Billy
Joel from decades past.
Such categorization is admittedly a bit
unjust when Cornell is thinking outside
the box with such compelling results,
but on the as yet unmentioned other half
of "Euphoria Morning," a single label is,
disappointingly, all too applicable. As
some might have guessed, that label is
"grunge,' and on songs like "Mission"
and "Wave Goodbye," besides coming
off as anachronistic, these songs simply
feel forced. All this results in sludgy,
repetitive tunes with hooks that lose their
power after only a few bars.
These numbers are certainly unlikely
to spark feelings of nostalgia for the
early '90s among listeners, and their
inclusion on "Euphoria Morning" is
indeed perplexing, given that the songs
that eschew the conventions that have
served Cornell for the past decade are
invariably so much stronger. The most
positive spin that can be put on
"Euphoria Morning" is that hopefully, as
Cornell continues to come in to his own
as a solo artist, he will continue to reach
towards more liberating songwriting for-
mats, ones that are capable of producing
music of its own time. Otherwise ...
well, nevermind.
'Mr. T lts hard with Alcatraz' --- ----
Known as the "Dumb Little Band" from Berkeley,
California, the Mr. T Experience have been cranking
out thoughtful punk
mm
The Mr. T
Experience
Alcatraz
Lookout! Recoros
Reviewed by
Daily Music Editor
Gabe Fauri
rock for over a decade. They've
released several records in the
past few years chock-full of
"Songs About Girls." But on
"Alcatraz," MTX has concocted
more than just simple love songs
set to a pop-punk beats and
power chords.
Opening the album is "I
Wrote a Book About Rock and
Roll," a scathing jab at music
critics. With an up-tempo beat
and trademark MTX wit-filled
into the first half of the record - "Naomi" and
"Emily." While both test lead singer Dr. Frank's vocal
range, a few tests on the musical palate prove both num-
bers definite pleasers.
Other female-inspired tracks help keep the band near
the path of muse-inspired music. "Two of Us, "Re-
Activate Your Heart" and "I Feel For You" all fall into
the same category as other MTX classics like "Even
Hitler Had a Girlfriend" and "Tapin' Up My Heart."
"She's My Alcatraz," nearly the record's title track, is
a throwback to MTX's last record, 1997's "Revenge is
Sweet and So Are You." It has a chorus simple enough
to memorize after one listen, yet enough substance in
the verses to hold the attention of those of sound mind.
Perhaps the best number on the record, "Tomorrow is
a Harsh Mistress" sums up the band's slight divergence
from the territory that's helped it fill in a certain niche
in the punk rock community, and set it apart from most
other derivative rock in general.
Brikhas DDeeparture'
A. lulls with simple beats
rics, it sets a perfect tone for the rest of the record.
Expectant fans can heave a sigh of relief in knowing
that the tone of the album includes some trademark
'lMTX girl-inspired rock. Two such numbers fit nicely
The song's catchy-as-a-cold guitar hooks offset the
thoughtfully penned lyrics nicely: "Tomorrow is a harsh
mistress/That I don't want to wake up to."
With "Alcatraz" in the stereo, the future doesn't look
nearly so bleak.
Aril Brikha's debut album does
away with notions of techno music
as aggressive, bone-crushing, relent-
less pounding of dark industrial
sounding drum-machines. Though
Brikha's techno sound still relies on
the traditional pairing of synthesiz-
ers and drum machines, the outcome
utilizes sparse arrangements of sim-
ple rhythms driven by subdued
basslines and modulating symphon-
I.
Diverse
Harper proclaims what he believes with music
Ben Harper is God, both musically
and topically. His latest release, "Burn to
Zhine" reigns over
Ben Harper
Burn to Shine
Virgin Records
Reviewed by
Fte Dove
For the Daily
any other
year's
of this
major
releases and is
heavily concerned
with issues of the
religious sort.
Record store
managers often
have a tough time
finding a way to
classify the genre-
defying Harper,
but they should
Criminals can't rock. From 1993's rela-
tively light "Welcome to the Cruel
World" to the bold 1997 release "The
Will to Live," Harper's music has
become increasingly harder.
But that's not it. The title track is not
some delicate campfire tune characteris-
tic of the artist, but rather a boot-
stompin', cowboy-hat wavin' country
jam. The avant-garde charade continues
with "Suzie Blue, a dainty ragtime tune
that trots along to the accompaniment of
album guests, the Real Time Jazz Band.
The jack-of-all-trades Harper can do
grunge too: "Please Bleed" assaults the
Harper devotees need not fret. Tracks
such as "The Woman in You,' "Two
Hands of a Prayer,' and "In the Lord's
Arms" all feature Harper sweetly singing
at a whisper and strumming his
Weissenborn. The scarcity, however, of
acoustic tunes on "Burn to Shine" com-
pared to his previous work does not limit
the record. It only makes them that
much more valuable.
In this secular era where the Y2K bug
is feared more than a possible apoca-
lypse, it's good to hear somebody out
there who believes in something. It's
also good to hear a band that can play the
Aril Brikha
Deepartuei
Transmat
Reviewed by
Daily Arts Writer
Jason Birchmeier
brand of sensual
ics.
"Deeparture
In Time" seems
a logical release
in the slow revi-
talization of
Derrick May's
Detroit-based
techno label,
Transmat, rec-
ognized globally
for its heavenly
electronic music.
time a pro-Jesus record sold a few mil-
*e this latest release under the gospel or lion copies to the 20-something crowd? listener with sonic guitars and wailing pants off of any other act on the s
Christian section. When was the last That's not say that he and the Innocent lyrics about God. today.
Zgote launches former Traveler s solo blues career
cene
John Popper is a blues man living a rock star's life.
Always has been, always will be, and that doesn't seem
John Popper
Zygote
A & M Records
Reviewed by
Philip Maguran
For the Daily
to bother him at all. Throughout
his career he has always
remained true to his roots, com-
posing and performing true
blues music with great enthusi-
asm, energy, and skill.
In his first solo effort (a career
to run in parallel with Blues
Traveler, not instead of) Popper
shows offjust how impressive he
is as an individual, producing an
album of equal, if not superior,
about every song, but it feels a lot more fresh than thed
last Popper release, "Straight on Till Morning, with
Blues Traveler.
Several songs stand out, including "Home," "How'
About Now," and "Lunatic." As a general trend,
Popper is at his best crooning a ballad over an acoustic.
guitar progression, and the album does a lot to show-
case that talent.
Slow, vocal driven tracks outnumber drum and
guitar driven ones by a noticeable margin on this
album.
In "Zygote," Popper has launched his solo career
with an album that fans will want to hear. A lot of this
will stem from the fact that there is very little differ-
ence between this and a Blues Traveller album, but a
lot of it also stems from the fact that John Popper is an
extremely talented and polished musician.
Brikha's album keeps with this tradi-
tion, sounding more like a sound-
track for a long candlelit night of
poetic incense-hazed bedroom
romance than an overcrowded,
sweaty rave in the seedy ghettos of
Detroit.
That, of course, doesn't mean
Brikha's techno won't make you
want to dance. It's just more likely to
make you want to dim the lights,
strip, crawl into your bed and appre-
ciate just how sexy a surround-sound
stereo system with a huge subwoofer
can make you feel.
The 68-minute album includes
eleven tracks that don't stray too far
from a very simple formula: loop a
smooth bassline and slowly fade
multiple synthesizer loops into the
rhythm track. This may sound like
something a monkey could do, but
when the right knobs are turned, the
right filtering is done, inhumanly
serene sounds are chosen and the
timing is precise, the finished prod-
uct is a beautiful thing. With the
exception of a few lackluster tracks,
Brikha comes the closest to making a
beautiful thing anyone outside of
Northern Europe has accomplished
with the exception of Plastikman,
Theorem and Moby since the golden
age of techno.
Unfortunately, this album isn't the
best soundtrack for all occasions. As
a soundtrack for driving, it will lull
you to sleep or send you into the
absentminded depths of an endless
daydream.
As a soundtrack for anything
involving deep intimacy - conver-
sation, lovemaking, meditation,
essay composition - it will work
wonders.
The simplicity and mind-numbing
repetition with faintly detectable
variations makes this music the
equivalent of having the interior of
your bedroom handpainted by Mark
Rothko. It makes simplicity sublime
for those who appreciate this form of
art.
quality to the best that Blues Traveler has to offer.
The format remains the same: a lot of acoustic gui-
rs, typical Popper vocals, a harmonica solo in just
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