10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 12, 2002 I ._. .. .. -0 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES NATHANIEL MERRIWEATHER LOVAGE: MUSIC TO MAKE LOVE TO YOUR OLD LADY BY 75 ARK RECORDS By Steve Cotner For the Daily You think you don't know this guy, but you do. Here's a hint: Watch a Gorillaz video and focus on the fat dude. That's Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, the seldom-seen producer behind the animated supergroup. But don't be fooled by appearances - the cartoon caricature doesn't give any hint of the Automaton's artistic subtlety, and neither does his sleazy bachelor persona Nathaniel Merriweather, seen on the cover of his most recent effort, Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. In Lovage, the Automator accomplishes something admirable: he has found the middle ground where humor and beautiful music meet and shoot the breeze. It's an odd conversation that develops from there. The music falls somewhere between a Paris subway and a Brazilian brothel, all seen through hip hop colored glasses; the lyrics drift from Elysian Fields singer Jennifer Charles's sexpot crooning to the unpredictable counterpoint of Faith No More's Mike Patton. The subject of the whole album is, of course, lovage. But as the name alone suggests, this is not your typical love album. Prince Paul spells out the present state of musical seduction in the intro: "Barry White used to work ... shoot, even ABBA used to work, the way I was doing my thing ... but man you put this on, the hoes just go wild." It's a self-proclaimed sonic Spanish fly, and that's where the irony comes in. Put this on with a date and she'll bolt. Imagine you're leaning in close to ol' girl when an over-the- top duo groans "you want the bitter, I am the sweet. / You want the griddle, I am the meat" It kills the mood in a way that's hard to describe. And it's a phenomenon that reoccurs every time orgiastic moaning fills the album's symphonic flour- ishes. If you're trying to seduce the opposite sex when this happens, and the girl's not a super freak, it's a moment rife with embarrassment. In the right context, though, the album is perfect. The songs have a meditative quality that makes them an apt soundtrack for dorm-room life. Despite lyrics that might rub a timid listener the wrong way, the sound is completely inoffensive - so much so that the album verges on background music. That is, after all, what a love album is about. But the Automator was up for more than making white noise on this album. When he's at his best, the songs pull subtle, relaxing elements - strings, horns and piano - into raw expressions of feeling. If this is a concept album, it is the inverse of well-known works like Sergeant Pepper's or The Wall; it doesn't strive put on a spectacular show or cover a breadth of human experience. It dwells in nothing and draws as much from a languorous lack of feeling as it does from world-weary experience. But, like Shake- speare interrupting the drama with moments of irreverence, the album juxtaposes lovesick verses with inane skits - Afrika Bambaataa explaining how to avoid funky feet on "Herbs, Good Hygiene & Socks," for instance. Rather than celebrating pas- sion, this love album trivializes it. Mingling head-nod-worthy beats with a classic foreign film sound, the Automator weaves his story together in a grand parody of love and sex - and does it well. RATING: * * * ' a 6 DAN THE AUTOMATER WANNA BUY A MONEY? A MIXTAPE SESSION SEQUENCE RECORDS By Scott Serilla For the Daily Does Dan "the Automator" Naka- mura ever sleep? Probably not. He's too busy being one of the most consistently inven- tive and acclaimed producers work- ing today and an in demand remixer for assorted acts like the Beastie Boys, Herbie Handcock, Stereolab and Depeche Mode. The man's resume is more impressive than most record collections, reading like a hot list of forward-thinking style. Classically trained as a violinist, the Automator built a reputation by masterminding the groundbreaking "Dr. Octagon" records for rapper Kool Keith and moonlighting with fellow hip-hop innovator Prince Paul as the Co-Deans of the brilliant Handsome Boy Modeling School. Last year he finally hit some long overdue pay dirt by producing the Gorillaz's self-titled debut for Damon Albarn and company. With the substantial success of that album on both sides of the Atlantic, you. wouldn't blame Dan if he'd laid back and enjoy the fruits of his labors. Fat bloody chance for a guy who's made a career of never standing still. Wanna Buy a Monkey? - A Mix- tape Session is the latest testimony to the Automator's workaholic ten- dencies. Reflecting Nakamura's trademark bizarre sense of humor, the name of the album combines Gorillaz's primate theme with Hand- some Boy's oddball celebration of comedian Chris Elliott (Handsome Boy borrowed its name and a string of samples from an episode of Elliott's extremely short-lived Fox sitcom, Get a Life. "Wanna buy a monkey?" was an infamous line uttered by David Letterman during a rare cinematic cameo in Elliott's hilarious debacle, Cabin Boy.) Building on that, this record shares the same eclectic "anything goes" feel of Gorillaz and Hand- some Boy. A seamless mix of 16 handpicked tracks from the Automator's numerous side-proj- ects and favorite artists, Monkey effortlessly blends alternative hip- hop, electronica and atmospheric indie rock. Logically these artist shouldn't be on the same record, but in the Automator's fractured genius, rappers Brand Nubian belong with laidback French neo- loungers Air, pre-Bad Boy Black Rob with the experimental rock of Tortoise, RZA of Wu-Tang's Bobby Digital persona with the ambient techno of Britain's Zero 7. But its not just placing these diverse artists next to one another that takes Nakamura's genre-bend- ing to a whole new level, it's the ceaseless flowing of every track into the next, creating a true long- play mix that you could actually imagine the Automator creating at his own incredibly hip party. The effect is coherence and continuity that is essential to pulling off Mon- key, proving that good music tran- scends all the petty sub-classifica- tions and labels that we force on it these days. While lacking the blast of big beat acts like Chemical Brothers and Paul Oakenfold or the scratch- ing finesse of underground DJs like Mixmaster Mike and Kid Koala (who helps out with a couple tracks here), the Automator man- ages to hold his own as a DJ through his careful selection of choice material and his usual flair for reworking beats. Unsurprisingly, veterans of other Automator side-projects, De La Soul and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, both tragically under- rated, are standouts here, as is Handsome Boy offshoot Lovage's funky "Stroker Ace." Up-and-com- ers Dilated Peoples and X-ecution- ers, both currently enjoying some breakthrough success, also help round out the party - proving that Nakamura's truly got an ear for tomorrow's trends. The problem, if there is one, is that there isn't any brand new material and as with all compila- tions there's the possibility of over- lap in your collection. But for those new to the Automator and his partic- ular brand non-pretentious ultra-hip tunes - make Monkey your personal primer in ahead-of-the-curve trendi- ness. What's next for the tireless super- producer? The Automator is alleged- ly back in the studio working on Handsome Boy's second record, col- laborating on a project called "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" with Prince Paul and Dust Brother Mike Simpson and producing tracks for fellow genre-bender Beck's follow- up to Midnight Vultures. No rest for the wicked. RATING:***k 9 YOUR POP MUSIC SENSIBILITIES ARm SHARPER THAN JOiN DAILY ART:: BREAK THE CYCLL SVEN VATH IN THE MIX: SOUND OF THE SECOND SEASON COCOON RECORDS By Jeremy Kressmann Daily Arts Writer Would anyone believe me if I said Sven Vith dee- jayed in front of an audience of two million fans? Rivaling any show here in the U.S., Vsth deejays each summer at Berlin's Love Parade for millions of Euro- pean techno fans. Vith also has an annual summer res- idency at an event called "Cocoon Club" at superclub Amnesia in Ibiza where he showcases the latest in hard techno artists, himself included. Sound of the 2nd Sea- son is a mix by Vith that showcases some of the best tracks from this past summer's substance-filled revelry on the Mediterranean's biggest party island. Sven has divided his work into two discs that both aptly describe the Ibizan party cycle. The "Noche" disc throws down some hit-me-hard-with-your-glowstick style techno typical of the nightly "Cocoon Club" event. This disc especially smacks of its Detroit her- itage. Many of the tracks would be right at home any weekend at Motor Lounge. The 13 tracks describe a sound that sits astride both the characteristic Detroit sounds of artists like Richie Hawtin, as well as more heavily produced European fare. Sven Vdth is a master at maintaining the hard sound typical of European techno, while creating a distinctly highbrow aura about his work. "Betty Ford" is abrasive and harsh - sort of like the kind of substances that would place one in the clinic of the same name. Other samplings like "Escape from Nowhere" are the equivalent of a Rothko painting: Simply constructed yet sophisticated at the same time. The second "Dia" disc is designed with the after hours listener in mind - something a little more mel- BREAKING RECORDS STAR SYSTEM * * * * * CLASSIC * * *GREAT V If you missed a week of BREAKING RECORDS * *FAIR check the archives at www.michigandaily.com * * SUB-PAR * WORTHLESS 0 SAEN VATH IN THE FMX 0 , ' D. ,o low to soothe your nerves and help you come down from the previous night's insanity. Vath's work reaches its apex on this disc. The CD is a subtle tour de force of breezy Ibizan techno-ambience. "Flat" echoes with restrained warmth. It feels like a dreamy, fuzzy, mechanical memory - the soundtrack to artificial intelligence. "Lydia to the Edge of Panic" hums with airy sprinklings of distorted static electricity - snap- ping, crackling, and popping across your conscious- ness. What Vith's album does is blend the two essences of the Ibizan experience - the excess and energy of Ibizan nightlife with the subtle melodies of the morning after. RATING:** * * , NATIONAL LAMPOON IS BACK! ANOTHER LEGENDARY Golden Gate Xpress, San Froniso State University "YO5; STICKY '"" miNUTE FUNNIEST OF ITA" THING SINCE -Cal State Hayward oneerSCED BREAD" UMBC Retriever - "wson University Towerlight "RYAN c IS F nA C" Boston College Heights -I EER A MN WjtME" -KLSU-FM, Looisiann State University V , s K, UNIVERSITY FOUNDED BYI OF PENNSYLVANIA BEN FRANKLIN - 1740 PENN TOP FIVE REASONS TO ATTEND THE SUPER SIX e CHAMPIONSHIP: 5. A good reason to yell "ROAD TRIP!" and get off campus for the night. 4. See Mike Cammalleri light up the scoreboard. 3. Chance to drink green beer at "The Joe" (only if you're 21, of course)!I 2. You can call MSU goalie Ryan Miller a "SIEVE!" 1. Cheer on your Wolverines to the 2002 CCHA Championship playoff title. L v MICHIGAN ] a 1 S U M M E R S I D E U P CCHA CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND FRI., MARCH 15 " QUARTERFINALS SEED #3 VS. SEED #6 " 4:00 PM SEED #4 VS. SEED #5 " 7:30 PM Summer SessionI May 20-June 28 Summer Session II July 1--August 9 12 Week Evening Session May 20-August 9 " Comarehensive Range of Courses St AC 6*SMFNL SAT., MARCH 16 *SEMIFINALS* fik I