8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 31, 2000 we-I Vapor Transmission, Orgy; Reprise Borders and Boundaries, Less Than Jake; Fat Wreck Chords By Gabe Fajuri Deily Arts Editor Little in this world is constant. Certain things, however, can be taken for granted. Campus will always be under construction. The sun will always rise in the East and set in the .West. The world will continue to turn. 31y Stallone will continue making worthless movies. And after seven years of existence, to that list can be added the fact that Less Than Jake will always put out solid, rock and roll records. Eight weeks of recording in Los Angeles led Less Than Jake to produce its newest release, Borders and Boundaries. The wait, for the most part, was worth it. From the album's opening bass riff on "Magnetic North" to the closing power chord of "Faction, Borders and 9oundaries delivers exactly what LTJ fans have come to expect from the band: Punk rock meshed with ska 'grooves that are louder and catchier than anything else on this side of the globe. Borders and Boundaries showcases what the Gainesville, Fla. six-piece is all about - songs that deal with life in the suburbs ("Mr. Chevy Celebrity"), life on the road ("Hell Looks A Lot Like L.A."), drinking ("Malt Liquor Tastes Better When You've Got problems") and straight up punk rock ("Bad Scene and a Basement Show"). The band shines through on the record's first ten tracks, hitting high points on the power ballad "Look What Happened" and "Gainesville Rock By Neal Pais For the Daily City," a song complete with finger tap- ping and ultra-overpowering trombone lines. Sing-along choruses litter the record's landscape. Trying to ignore riff-punctuated lines like "You're on your own/Can't make it through this world all alone/Is this thing on at all?" (from "Is This Thing On?") or the prevalent harmonies, '80s guitar lines and rock vibe of "Gainesville Rock City" is nearly impossible. Put the disc in your car stereo and your head is des- tined to bob while windows shatter and your speakers get blown out. Unfortunately, the intensity of the first two-thirds of the record diminish- es slightly on songs like "Bigger Picture" and "Last Hour of the Last Day of Work." Even so, the most mediocre material on Borders and Boundaries translates into raw energy in a stereo. Luckily, the band pulls it all back together on "Faction," record's closing track, gathering together the ska beats, horn lines and thick sound it's built a reputation on. Pop in Borders and Boundaries and prepare to pump your fist in the air. These days, the ever-cheapening music industry has become crowded by IQ-deficient 'artists' who take the easy road to success by pillaging classic tunes of their so-called heroes. Orgy, on the other hand, has managed to bring New Wave and glam rock back onto the musical scene without practic- ing the same sort of musical mutilation that their peers do. Their latest brainchild, Vapor Transmission, takes listeners on a fantastic retro sci-fi trip while exercising a respectable degree of originality. Okay, the group did cover New Order's classic hit "Blue Monday" on their [platinum-plus] freshman album Candyass, yet this time around the quintet from Southern California has risen above the muck of much of today's harder rock. Much of 1ajpor Transmission:s sound is still tinged with bassist Paige Haley's self-proclaimed 'death pop' (coined after their debut album), yet the present album mainly seeks to tackle the issues of a futuristic, computerized culture. Orgy even accents some of its tracks with a dis- tinctly Orwellian flavor; "Opticon" drills in its motif of mind control and paranoia and the album's gem (and current single) "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)" contains undercurrents of futuristic individualism and propaganda. Singer Jay Gordon's Anglicized vocals give the album a very palatable '80s flavor which lends itself to the band's desired sound. After all, Orgy did seek to pay homage to '80s icons New Order on their first endeavor. Some of the other noteworthy tracks on the album include: "Saving Faces" and "Chasing Sirens." While most of the tracks on Vapor Transmission belong to the harder retro set, awash with thrash- ing guitar riffs and trippy, synthesized sound bits, "Eva" shows that Orgy isn't just some soulless rock band. The song is a touching tribute to Orgy producer Josh Abraham's late mother. It is marked by Jay Gordon's constantly morphing voice; the native Californian manages to stretch his vocals into a Cure-like Anglo-drawl in order to pay his earnest respects to his friend's mom. While many rock fans may scorn Orgy for their somewhat tacky glam image and unconventional sci-fi 'pop-metal,' this group's sophomore album certainly rises to meet any open-minded listener's expectatiotfs. If it's trite, talent-devoid music that you sec you won't be hard-pressed to find what you i looking for at the music stores. However, if y want a medley -- no, an orgy of creative: n sound.- look for Vapor Trnsmission. Grade: B Al! Reh By Gautam Ba Daily Ars Writer Grade: B+ i Attack ofthe Manfish; The Fifth Quarter Kings By David Enders Sil Arts Writer 'Need something different for your aIIloween party tonight'? Try the debut C1''from The Fifth Quarter Kings, a loyal band that combines everything from ska to rap to bagpipes to that oh- so-popular Limp Bizkit sound. And to keep party-goers in a monster mood, the Title track is "Attack of the Manfish," a ska ballad about a prom date hijacked by a.swamp creature. The Kings are an eight-man conglom- eration who self-produced the disc, ylyicb works pretty well any other day of tjj year as well. They begin with a nor- mal ska lineup (a pair of trombones, a trumpet, guitar, bass and percussion) and add a DJ, rapper and vox, giving the band has a truly unique sound. Most of the tracks are melodic and catchy, espe- cially "Liquor Store" and "Projectile Vomit." Perhaps even more frightening is the song about a projectile vomiting sorori- ty girl: "She looks good 'til she's barfing on your shoes," enter the blackest sound- ing white rapper ever for the last three verses and it might be an instant under- ground classic. Thank you, Bono. It's about time. Time for arguably the best rock band on the planet to release a rock-solid record. And U2 finally has. The world will breath a deep sigh of relief. Still licking their wounds from the uninspiring Pop release of 1999, U2 returns to the gutsy, guitar driven songs that elevated the Dublin-based foursome to superstar status just a decade earlier, Though the album is filled with Brian Eno's gratuitous synthesizer work, the Edge's guitar steals the show. Even Bono's crafty lyrics take second place as his voice shows signs of age straining to reach his trademark falsetto notes on "Wild Honey" and "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out of." In the footsteps of "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Zoo Station," the album's leadoff track, "Beautiful Day" nobly sets the tone for the remaining ten tracks. For fans of the first single, be warned, this album will command your attention through its entirety. Drummer Larry Mullin, Jr. returns Grade: B+ . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ;L ,,.... The Least Worst of Type O Neqati Type O Negative; Roadrunner Records By Justin Mann Daily Arts Writer Long-haired heavy-metal rock st satanic cult'? Get out the Lithium bec Type O Negative is coming out with th "greatest" hits -- on Halloween "of days. The title of the new albun Least Worst of? i'pe O Negative says you need to know. Fourteen cheery sat ic songs that are sure to put a sm e your face. A- lead singer with a"de voice, some decent guitar riffs and do right depressing lyrics characterize t very very odd group of musicians, The opening verse of "It's '" Enough," "With my blood, time, swa and tears/ My goal is to dissolve fears/ Self-imposed imprisonment/ this way feels she must repent," isplen depression for me. With song titles lovly as "Everyone I Love is Dea "Black Sabath (From The Satan Perspective)" and "Everything Dies,"it hard to imagine this cd not being a ch° topper. 1, on the other hand, don't to disturbing sounds, like those of'Ty Negative, in my music. As with mc people, I enjoy listening to music th either relaxes me or pumps me up, b never do I look for music that makes n just want to cry. If you are looking f music to scare people knocking on yo door this Halloween, then definitely loc into Type 0 Negative. I VisualAudio, State of Bengal; Six Degrees By Neal Pais For the Daily Sam Zaman a.k.a. State of Bengal certainly brings something new to the table of underground electronica/dance with his VisualAudio. However, State of Bengal is anything but obscure: The London-based genius has opened for Bjdrk, remixed the tracks of Massive Attack and recorded with legendary Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His presence on the Asian dance circuit looms large in his chosen home city, but is also quite prominent in his native -Pakistan and India. In his first solo endeavor, the Pakistani-born DJ has taken Far Eastern music and pushed it ngt into the mainstream; sitars are jux- "taposed with synthesizers and sunny Bengali vocals are mixed with an array of clubland beats. Visual Audio contains such lush and hypnotic tracks as "Chittagong Chill"and "Taki Naki" which entice lis- teners with tablas, saxophones, violins and Eastern-style percussion. Track one .on the CD effectively establishes a dis- tinctly Indo-Pakistani sound, yet this quickly gives way to a host of other influences. The album also inventively showcases aboriginal dirges, sweet Middle Eastern melodies and, of course, Zaman's own skills on the turntables on such tracks as "Hunters" and "Red Earth."What results from such a diverse recipe of cultural flavors and vastly dif- ferent instruments is a magnificent soup of danceable psychedelia, ambience, blues and space rock. Visual Audio is indeed very difficult to define due to all of its collective elements, so it is best to simply take heed of the advice that Sam Zaman poses on the inside cover of his album: "Open your minds, prepare your senses and let your journey begin." Do this and see that Visual Audio is truly this artist's medium of choice. Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, Original Soundtrack; Posthuman Records Andrew Klein Daily Arts Writer Do you remember when the music in horror films was scary? Maybe not, it's been a while. But who can forget the high tinkling piano anxiety of the original "Halloween" or Tubular Bells in "The Exorcist"? Or what about everyone's favorite two-note theme? And no, dude, I'm not talking about that new Blink song I'm talking about "Jaws." The score writers for those old movies knew how audio could enhance the visual in produc- ing fear amongst the viewers. Today, the idea is "Score - who needs a score? I'll just get the most popular bands I can find and get them to con- tribute some songs to a soundtrack that has the potential to sell millions!" Blair Witch 2 is a perfect example of this logic. Or illogic. The soundtrack consists of today's hottest metal bands including P.O.D., System of a Down and Rob Zombie, as well as many up and comers. This would not be a flaw if the purpose of the album were to be a compilation of this genre. However, it is not. It is a soundtrack to the follow up of" The Blair Witch Project," one of the most successful low budget horror films in history. But if you try to think back to the music in the first "Blair Witch," you might be stumped. There was no music. The film used natural sounds to produce fear and that is part of the reason why it was so scary. The rustling of an ani- mal, which in the context of the movie is interpreted as a ghost, is much scarier than the screams of PO.D. But the soundtrack's not a total loss. It raises sonic interesting questions about the ways music produces fear. One of the faults of this album is it's insistence on rhythm. When trying to produce scary music, rhythm should not be a focal point, as it is one of the most comforting things a human being can be in the presence of. It is the irregular pattern that produces anxiety. Every song on the BW2 sound- track has a steady rhythm, hence not much fear value. Many of the songs such as Rob Zombie's "Dragula" begin with terroriz- ing natural sounds but then turn into looped samples that stir about as much fear as watching "The Blair Witch Project" after you know it's fake. Other Grade: C+ Grade: A- songs, like System of a Down's "Mind use the always reliable jump-out-from- behind-the-door method of fear by mov- ing from soft to loud suddenly. However, just like slapstick comedy, this kind of fear leaves the audience as soon as it is over. Marilyn Manson's "Suicide is Painless" may be the album's only truly scary song and that is because of its simplicity. And it's subject. The song's soft and dissonant piano lead guides Manson's always creepy voice to whisper about the benefits of sui- cide. If this is the future of movie sound- tracks then we should truly be scared. Bring in the Fuego, Ultra V; RCA By Sarah Rubin For the Daily Grade: D Stankonia, Outkast; La Face Records Juan Manuel, Plastilina Mosh; Virgin Records 3y Chdlstlan Hoard )aily Arts Writer Plastilina Mosh are not a dance band, for do they make electronica, per se. But what they've taken from both dance and lectronic music is energy - the sort that noves bodies and a very different sort hatCdrves young auteurs like Alejandro Zosso and Jonas (the Monterey, Mexico eclecticism: Parts of Juan Manuel will sound good on a car stereo or a dance floor, parts of it should be heard through headphones, parts of it are throwaway nonsense. So, is this groundbreaking or stupid? Will it still sound cool in five years'? Who the hell is Juan Manuel ? Like Beck now and Prince 15 years ago, PM are too into sounding oblique and frag- mented to hip us to any definite answers, but suffice to say that their music is absorbing enough to make the By Dustin Seibert For the Daily In the short yet flourished history of Hip-Hop music, there has never been an artist or group who has successfully accom- plished what Outkast has. They have released three albums, switching their persona to suit a completely different "theme" on each one and did so without losing their fan base, actually gaining many more fans along the way. In a genre of music where change is adamantly shunned, how have they pulled this off? And does their new album keep their success moving at such a high speed? Damn. A brick wall. To understand Stankonia, Outkast's fourth foray into their own special blend of musical madness, one has to understand This album is not entirely without its, high points, though. "B.O.B." (Bombs Over Baghdad), the - first single, is proba- bly the catchiest; tune on the record: with its rapid-fire4 lyrics and beats. - "Ms. Jackson," anf ode to the elder woman, is a nice positive addition to the record. "Humble Mumble,' the aforementioned track featuring Andre 3000's baby's mama, is my standout track on the record. The mellow Think Abercrombie & Fitch-bac ground music. Think Volkswagen-con mercial music. Think Somebody-ask the-name-and-you-can 't-remembei- music. '0 And the winner is ... Ultra-V Clich nondescript and yet immensely likabl this RCA spawn is sure to dazzle th ambiance of Dawson's Creek of yo local Gap. These guys are cute, in a po ish/ rock-ish/ funk-ish kinda way. With a tight union between the bas guitarist and drummer, Ultra-V prdduce a solid beat that is totally dance-worth) Everyone can find something app in the band's fast tempo and repetv lyrics. You could picture them in a club o on a warm-up tape. Their album is alsi mild enough to be great Friday pre-part: chill tunes. Bring in the Fuego, the group's' lates CD, is an eclectic compilation of'rois ,m- r:.n-~~ -,1-