I 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 7, 2004 ARTS al THE MAN IN THE MASK MULTI-FACED RAPPER RETURNS ON NEW LPt By Hussain Rahim Jknn$Jt Y°~ Daily Arts Writero Music REVIEW tk** x 0 Courtey0o1 osUiLlaionUJ Norah Jones with a guitar. Canadian songwriter can't inspire on latest Much like the supervillain with whom he shares his namesake, there is no stopping MF Doom. Previously known as Victor Vaughn, he is currently operating under the moniker Madvillain with fellow dastardly evil-doer and underground producer extraordinaire Madlib. Both MF and Madlib are known for their skills behind the boards, but for their latest release, Madvil- lainy, MF took charge of the Madvillain vocals and Madlib took the Madvillainy production helm. Stones Throw The result is akin to the most drugged-out Marvel comic never published. There are 22 tracks on this collaboration (there are also 22 pages to a comic book), and many of them run for a minute or two, with few tracks actually adhering to traditional song structure. MF doesn't let things like choruses and bridges get in his path. The haphazard structure of the record feels like Madlib and MF recorded as much of a song as possible and fled before their secret lair was discovered. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the album was leaked on the Internet well before it was released. As a result, many songs - some of high quality - were dropped and completely new ones were recorded. Fortunately, forcing some last-minute creativity turned out pretty well. Between sampling "Street Fighter" sound effects, old film noir clips and whatever else he could get his hands on, Madlib fits MF's oddball style. On a few cuts, Madlib takes full control and goes the solo instrumental route. Lyrically, MF Doom is as sharp as on his last By Amos Barshad For the Daily MUSIC REVIEW *1 Be wary of record covers that lack a prominently featured name and a track listing. At times, this can be a red flag, indicating an Elizabeth artist trying a lit- Anka Vajagic tle too hard to be difficult. Eliza- Stand With beth Anka Vajag- the Stillness ic's debut, Stand of the Day With the Stillness constellation of the Day, suf- fers for this reason. The Canadian songstress recruited a crew of ver- satile local musicians to provide complicated orchestration, similar to Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. The difference is that Conor writes good songs. The album is a dense and intense listening experience. Vajagic's sparse lyrics, alternately yelled or whispered in a fairly unique husky baritone, don't do much to lighten the load. On "Where You Wonder," when the drums pick up and the guitars kick, it's a relief from the droll repetition and there is hope that the album will veer into the "good" kind of experi- mentation. Soon enough, the song resorts back to Vajagic's quiet, bored whisperings. This is a unique pop record because it doesn't rely on the bass-guitar drum setup and yet the songs here fall too easily into a for- mula: down-tempo, moody orchestra- tion and spare, accusatory lyrics, with slight, intermittent crescendos. Vajagic's fans, in defense, might describe her as raw or uncompromis- ing. While these are good buzz words to throw around, they also offer a clue as to why this music fails to capti- vate. By focusing on being different and abstract, Vajagic has lost focus on writing quality songs. This album is amnbitious, no doubt, and Vajagic should get credit for trying. But it seems that her songs have gotten lost amid her ambitions, floating in a sea of strings and cymbals. Nobody defeats Victor Von DOOM. project, Vaudeville Villain. Although the drive-by lyrical assault of the tracks doesn't allow for the same absorbing type of story raps as on Vaude- ville, it's simply difficult for MF to be anything but fun. With lines like "Got lyrics like the church got 'oh lords' " and "Egads! He got enough style to start three fads," MF keeps things witty and fun. "Figaro" serves as the album's lyrical banger. Madvillainy is strong, but many of the songs end just as you really get into it. Underground rap music is often labeled as overly conscious. Too frequently, the genre is labeled as only talking about the stars, moon and going back to Africa. That being said, Madvillainy is easily as comical as anything ever released by Redman or Ol' Dirty Bastard. With an endless supply of quality projects and bizarre offshoots, MF Doom is assuming the role of hip-hop bizarro Kool Keith and it might not be long before we get a Dr. Octagon. Jazz trio 'Bad' covers eclectic musical styles By Andrew Horowitz Daily Arts Writer When The Bad Plus made their major-label debut with 2003's These Are the Vistas, the piano trio instant- ly became the talk of the jazz world. These Are chal- _ lenged the con- The Bad cept of jazz by Plus boldly trespass- Give ing into rock and columbia pop idioms. The trio managed to create an album that defied genre classification, with spirited originals and mean rock cov- ers that included Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The trio then spent the year ruthlessly touring, appearing everywhere from the pres- tigious Village Vanguard to The Bowery Ballroom, New York's indie haven. Exciting some and inciting others, The Bad Plus became a quick success story, attracting listeners for- eign to the small jazz community. A year later, the trio has released a follow-up, Give. The album begins where These Are left off. Rather than risk their sound, The Bad Plus creat- ed basically the same album all over again. The originals are - for the most part - fun and quirky, dab- bling in different genres and coming across as in your face. The cover selection is, yet again, bizarre, including Ornette Coleman's "Street Woman," The Pixies's "Velouria" and Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." The album seems to be held together not by the strength of the music, but by the personalities of the musicians themselves. Rock-shuffle "1979 Semi-Finalist" begins the album on a low note. The song lacks any hint of direction and wanders on a little too long. The steadfast harmony and mid-tempo rhythm doesn't help the cause very much either. The Cuban-tinged tion that allow the listener to under- cessful PC role-playing franchise "The Crocodile Hunter" Through the stand what the fuss is all about. The could be ported to consoles by trans- first stages fthis uninteresting, literary-inspired "Frog and Toad" is forming it into an action/adventure fuxturisticre-pangae, gamners playful and altogether enjoyable as game. Instead of an enormous invest- fight des f sters mutated by bassist Reid Anderson matches Iver- ment'in a highly intensive role-plai that son's inquisitive melodies with environment, players.navigated a man- destroyed the WOrld. The gae curiosity and charm. ageable 10 hour game that more accu- not be any simpler ormore s The Pixies "Velouria" contains rately met their console experences. ward if it tried. It i a bi . moments both pleading and beauti- But the sequel, "Ba'dur's Gate: Dark 4h.gh . &ug.and destroy ful. David King's stomping bass cou- Alliance 2;'does not live, up to ts everything thacomes cos your pled with Iverson's Ravelian muted predecessor. tinkering is captivating. "Neptune Graphicaly, theaedoes not look Unlike the orginal. (The Planet)" similarly illustrates the nearly as good as the first.Ta whih featured more p edd. trio's assertive sensitive side. "DrkAliance" was one of the better.game pla.y - "Brotherhood o While These Are the Vistas was looking.gameson bohXboxand.....Steel" is basically like a .ngia. exciting for its musical implications, butthe secndinstallmentis otnearly.straight line and hitting mitated: Give is much more questionable. At .as intesting. For a f they s what point does The Bad Plus simply Gate franchise, "Dark Aliane.2"..s. ..vn. the puzzles y become a novelty act? If they want to still approachable, and players can does not take too much thought or continue receiving the attention mane ..er.chara.ers:through.sev- ti.e either, but, then .,the they've garnered, something has to .eral interesting ho~urs of geplay. The game is very easy on the whle change. It won't be long before The game can be an enjoyabledve.o, U.less you fancy yourself the. Bad Plus are no longer considered but it is unfort.naely no m hbete Steve Irwin, stay cla o B. te. cutting-edge, and when that time than the many other RP aable hood of SteeL ** comes, they better hope they're not today. *** -.Char.es Pradis simply considered bad. 'The Missing' revitalizes the Western "Cheney Pinata" follows, bringing an almost surreal aspect to the record- ing. The tune can't really be taken seriously and seems like a joke from the start. Pianist Ethan Iverson does- n't have the technique of Chucho Vald6s or the Latin edge of Tito Puente. and comes off flat. Give isn't bad, though, despite its rough start. There are a few composi- tional gems and moments of inspira- I By Ryan Lewis Daily Arts Writer the world of film. So when a notable gunslinger film comes along, it deserves all the recognition it'.'.i receives. Enter The Missig "The Missing." Columbia One of Ron Howard's darkest projects, this film has many of the old genre qualities At one time considered the most important and influential genre, Westerns, especially good ones, have now become a veritable obscurity in with enumerable novel nuances. Similar to John Ford's unforgettable "The Searchers" "The Missing" chroni- cles the journey of Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) and his estranged daughter Mag- gie (Cate Blanchett) as they search for her kidnapped daughter. Laden with pathos and filmed in classic Hollywood style, it's as good as any the genre has seen in a long time. The new DVD package, however, is a more hit-or-miss experience. Complete with the requisite digital sound and pic- ture quality, it is noticeably devoid of any commentary tracks. Two of the main features - outtakes and deleted scenes - are neither funny nor informative, and it's understadable why is was absent from the final cut. The latest rage for DVDs seems to be short, behind-the-scenes featurettes. This set continues the trend with six of these, two of which are unnecessarily boring. Having them all in one com- bined feature would have been the smarter, less cumbersome thing to do. The last two features - Howard's commentary on various Western history films and his home movies - deem the rest almost forgivable. They are both neat and entertaining, giving the audi- ence an insight into the director former- ly known as Opie.