8 -The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 12, 2002 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES 0 0 CARL COX GLOBAL LON DON-SIRE RECORDS By Jeremy Kressman Daily Arts Writer Carl Cox is one of the biggest names in electronic music. Ever since breaking onto the UK scene back in the late 80's, Carl Cox has been building a reputation as the world's greatest DJ. One only has to witness a live performance to see the ferocity of a Carl Cox set - his tendency to use three turntables, his preferences for a ' distinctive style of hard techno, and his playful sh o w m a n sh i p usually whip most crowds into a frenzy. Global is a compilation of previous Cox material as well as a showcase for some of his more recent collaborations. Not only is Global an exhibition for many of Cox's favorite styles like deep, soulful house and edgier techno, but it also an excellent example of his many years of mixing experi- ence. Yet the mix is never defined by any obvious preference. Instead, Carl Cox moves in and out of a variety of genres. The first several tracks start us off with a few house appetizers. "Turn it Up" is a vocal house journey, and "Kick Back" provides a tech- house hint of where the album is headed. By track 4, Global is clearly headed to Techno Land. Cox spends most of the rest of his CD showing off his techno prowess. Only once in a while does he catch you off guard with an off-kilter selection. "Simula- tion" is pure new-wave revival. Think of this song like that crazy relative we all have th at -only STEPHIN MERRITT EBAN AND CHARLEY ORIG. SNDTRK MERGE RECORDS By Keith N. Dusenberry Daily Music Editor Date someone long enough and you'll notice that you can complete the cycle of happy-to-bored-to-sad- to-frustrated and back again multiple times in any given week. Get really good and you'll wind up doing it a few times a day. Develop a relationship with Stephin Merritt's soundtrack to the film "Eban and Charley" and you'll run through the circuit six times injust over half an hour. The film depicts, apparently, the troubled and socially "inappropriate" homosexual relationship between a 29 year-old ex-soccer coach and a 15 year- old boy. Its soundtrack reveals the tension between experimentally influenced background music and melodic kitsch pop. The results are something akin to aural manic depression. This album represents Merritt's first release under his own name. But not surprisingly, the best songs on this album resemble Merritt's work under his Magnet- ic Fields project. They are the pop songs with melody and wit, delivered by Merritt's foghorn voice and backed with quirky instrumentation. "I wish I had an orchestra behind me. / ... an orchestra can tell you pretty stories but this little ukulele tells the truth," sings Merritt over a jaunty uke strum. It's clever and simple, but not easily discardable. Merritt's voice projects earnestness and a pathetic, yet heartening, dignity even when singing silly lyrics over toy pianos, such as he does on "Tiny Flying Player Pianos." Though the majority of the lyrics are an intentionally inflated discourse about baby grands going to sleep, when Merritt moans the ending refrain, "Oh, if only I could sleep," you feel for him despite yourself. However, this is not always the case. "Poppyland" and "Water Torture" are disposable pop songs with higher aspirations. "Poppyland" gets weighed down in reverb and deliberately sloppy vocal double-tracks that do nothing but distract from an otherwise pass- able Magnetic Fields song. The obvious nonchalance of "Water Torture" comes through in its endlessly rhyming and fatuous lyrics, making it the more attrac- tive of the pair. Just to give the album some claim to gravitas, and further fool with listener emotions, two sad songs crop up. "Some Summer Day" with its Western tinge and morose melody, and "Maria Maria Maria," mix- ing melancholy and longing, complete the showcase of Merritt's diverse compositional abilities. Unfortunate are the tracks of abstract incidental music, which fulfill a purpose in the movie but stand to only disrupt and divert the soundtrack album. These conceptual compositions consist of odd instru- mentation laid over boringly repetitive structures. On a whole, they come off as pitiful attempts at Mark Motherbaugh's creations for the Rushmore sound- track. Merritt's most grievous offense in this genre is ?1 Eban & Charley r 41 r It Vx m seems to pop out of the w oo d w o r k every now and then at a fami- ly reunion. He amuses us for a while, but we probably couldn't stand him if we saw him more than "Stage Rain;' whose "music" turns out to be even less exciting than its title. The track is literally almost seven minutes of ambient rain shower noise. Though destined to be the talk of certain New York circles, this song tenders nothing innovative and could fit on any of the "natural sounds" tapes long-proffered at yuppie day spas. Pretentious indiscretions aside, Merritt's album should hopefully place his name on the list Holly- wood looks to for musical assistance. However, given what it implies about his emotional stability, it will not help him in the personal ads. RATING: * * once a year. Ultimately, Global is a "sam- pling" of the future of DJing. As producers and DJs increasingly try to out-fox one another using obscure limited release offerings and white-labels, the strength of a DJs mixing will shine through as their true source of talent. With a DJ as experienced as Cox, expect him to lead the pack. RATING:**k' * BEN KWELLER EP PHONE HOME ATO RECORDS BREAKING REcoRws STAR SYSTEM * ****CLASSIC * * * **GREAT TIf you missed a week of BREAKING RECORDS *FAIR check the archives at * * SUB-PAR www.michigandaily.com * WORTHLESS By Gina Pensiero Daily Arts Writer You can tell what genre Ben Kweller's release EP Phone Home is going to be just by looking at the cover art. Poor quality shaggy sort of puzzled looking guy spells indie rock. His voice and musical style are a cross between Ben Folds and Steve Malkmus. He kind of looks like a cross of them too. The happy-go-lucky power pop, which fluctuates between being heavily based in guitar riffs and reliant on piano work, sounds great, especially on the first two songs "Launch Ramp" and "How It Should Be." Just about every song has cheesy background vocals too, which is always a plus. "Don't bother me / when I'm watching Planet of the Apes on TV / That's how it should be. / That's right. / Sha-sha-sha-doop," is a typical lyric. The rest of the release basically follows this construction and it works for the most part, assuming you haven't gotten really goddamn sick of all the indie crap that is practically the new, smarter and hipper emo. As a warning >;kthough, Kweller's website reports that he's going to be opening for Dashboard Confessional in the coming year, though none of the songs on EP Phone Home can really be pigeon-holed into the emo niche. The only thing that really throws off the album is the third song, a sleepy countrified number called "Debbie Don't Worry Doll." Something about this track just doesn't flow with Kweller's style. Maybe it's the harmonica. Kweller will be releasing a full album, Sha Sha, come March. But if you want to give him a try before that hits the stores, EP Phone Home is a nice and cheap way to get a taste of him - though a taste of him might be all you need. RATING: ***k 9 , ' _ _ Camp Counselors & Instructors Needed Camp Walden in Cheboygen, MI, a coed summer camp. 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