R - The Michictan Dailv - Frirn, Nlav monvhn F 'r00 v - , i is IVIIII I algal I LJaIIy - f I IUcay, IVUVCI I lut l J, Zk)U' ARTS BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES I I I Above: Le Tigre. Not pictured: Sexual tension. Le Tigre's jump to major label a success s Courtesy of Def Jam, Ow, this pepper spray is great. HALF-HEARTED VIBES 'BUSINESS' FOLLOWS IN THE FAILURE OF PREDECESSOR By Alexandra Jones Daily Weekend Editor Historically, there hasn't been a lot of effective (let alone fun) political pop music produced in the past half-cen- tury. These days, bands might drop the occasional Hail to the Thief or Louden Up Now, but few groups can combine politics and pop in a way that's inven- Le Tigre tive, free and fun. Le Tigre is one This Island of those groups, a Universal trio whose activist electro-pop will make you think while shaking your ass on the dance floor. Headed by original Riot Grrrl Kath- leen Hanna, former leader of early '90s punk progenitors Bikini Kill, Le Tigre have been recording punk-inspired dance albums since 1999. Hanna joined with zinester Johanna Fateman and erstwhile memberSadie Benning to form a backing band forher DIY electro-experimentation as Julie Ruin. Before recording their sec- ond album, Benning was replaced by the mustachioed J.D. Samson, a former mem- berofthetroupe Dykes Can Dance. Theirdebut,theself-titledLe Tigre, con- tained experimental, poppy and political tracks that were, above all else, danceable as hell; its opener, "Deceptacon," captures listeners' minds with the tenacity of aural cocaine. Since then, Le Tigre haven't quite recreated the candy-coated dance awesomeness of their debut, but they've sharpened their ability to meld politics and pop without losing their message or boring their audience. On This Island, Le Tigre found the right formula to make a great political dance-pop album. If "Deceptacon" was Le Tigre's absolute best track, that distinction on This Island goes to future electro- clash classic "After Dark." Hanna sings syncopations over a bouncy disco beat whose chorus is perfectly punctuated with echoing synth beeps. While "Don't Drink Poison" and the Ric Ocasek-produced "Tell You Now" both feature a liberal (ha!) sprinkling of gender-related rhetoric, it's J.D. and Johanna in the embarrassingly named (but otherwise kickass) "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" who dole out their first confi- dent dose of gender politics. They volley back and forth: "We're like boys, just ask her, dicks done by C.P. Caster ... I do it every night / she does it in her man suit," And "All night we've been talking to liars ... It's alright, man, it's just an inter- view / You'll never get it, I guess this shit is too new," they jeer at outsiders. Later, on "Viz" J.D. describes the freedom of dancing. " I find another butch ... We put our hands / in the crowd / and over and over we jump up and down ... They call it coolness, and we call it visibility / They call it way too rowdy, and we call it finally free." "New Kicks" combines news broad- cast, peace rally and dance anthem with an inventive beat, an infectious cho- rus and sound bites (taken from Susan Sarandon, Al Sharpton, Ossie Davis and others). They may be preaching, but this sure doesn't sound like a sermon. From the grittier electro-punk aesthetic of"This Island"totheircoverofthe Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited," Le Tigre prove that despite their move from Mr. Lady Records to Universal, they've maintained theirstreet cred and then some. If you want music for your next party, polticial rhetoric or a galvanizing combination of the two, This Island won't disappoint. I By Evan McGarvey Daily Arts Writer In no uncertain terms, the Jay-Z and R.Kelly collaborative album, The Best of Both Worlds, was a bomb. It posted horrible sales upon its initial release in 2002 and was quickly over- shadowed by a videotape containing R.Kelly engag- ing in some questionable R.Kelly sex acts with an underage and Jay-Z girl. Expectedly, the wave Unfinished of late-night jokes and slew Business of boycotts tossed the album Set Jam out beyond the realm of pop music and into the absurd. What's interesting is that all the urine jokes in the world managed to taint an album that should have been neglected simply based on artistic merit. The Best of Both Worlds was an awful album and pretty much everyone involved knew it. So why would these titans of hip-hop and R&B try and rehash pure refuse? Sure, R.Kelly staged a Rocky-like comeback and happened to put out the best album and single of his career, 2003's Chocolate Fac- tory and the dizzyingly beautiful lead single, "Ignition (Remix)," while Jigga released two career-defining albums and "retired" from rap as the self-proclaimed best rapper alive. They're two frighteningly talented, charming, savvy artists at the peak of their fame. Maybe that's why Unfinished Business isn't just a horrendous wreck of an album, it's downright mystifying. The same second-string production team, Trackmasters, who helmed The Best of Both Worlds, is behind the mixing boards yet again and nothing in their shallow bag of tricks has changed. The same decrepit horn sections, all the Indian flutes that don't sound good enough for Timbaland and all those same, glossy, pseu- do-Neptunes sonic flourishes clutter the disc's 11 songs. Most of these tracks are just simple remixes or corruptions of songs off of The Best of Both Worlds. Any listener with the slightest bit of either S. Carter or Kells experience won't bite. Even "She's Coming Home with Me," the album's tightest song, is just "Somebody's Girl" with some charmingly sloppy flamenco guitar loops thrown into the mix. Kelly carries most of the vocal load. He puts down that distinct sing-rap over the usual topics of VIP rooms, ridiculously plush May- bachs and all those freaky girls waiting in the Jacuzzi. His charming falsetto still manages to elicit both a smile and giggle from lines like, "Move that ass slow like you in the Matrix," even when the other 80 percent of his verse feels like Chocolate Factory run-off. H.O.V.A is the most disappointing on the album. Jay-Z appears so peripheral on each song it's a wonder he shares top billing with Kelly. Cruise control is too intense a phrase to describe Shawn Carter's output on the album. Even if he is planning on coming out of retire- ment, he sounds like he's too deep on some golf course in Palm Beach to come back any- time soon. From the man who brought some of the most tightly packed narratives in rap history, listeners have to deal with lines like, "It's hot tubs, heated pools and no rules / Call your old dude and tell him he old news / Tell that fella you feel like Cinderella." These raps aren't breezy, they're just hot air. Toss in some 4 4 completely forgettable guest appearances, sub- ject matter than doesn't get anywhere beyond sweet-ass ways to enter a club with a girl on each arm and all the album amounts to Magic and Jordan playing a game of Sunday pickup and missing 10-foot jumpers. As bad as Unfinished Business is, it won't be anything more than a sloppy footnote on two fantastic careers. The real danger ahead, 20 years from now, when kids acciden- tally turn on the oldies station, hear Unfin- ished Business and start to think this is how R.Kelly and Jay-Z made music. People will seethe with aging resentment and try to talk their kids into listening to The Black Album and 12 Play. They'll dismiss their elders and thus the chance for parent-child bonding over "Dirt off Your Shoulder" or "Bump n'Grind" is forever erased. Seriously, no parent wants to miss out on that. 4 Elvis Costello shows his age By Alex Wolsky ping from every last verse. varied musical stylings, calling out Daily Arts Editor The Delivery Man was inspired by critics that lambast the singer for Johnny Cash, or that's what Costello changing his horse mid-race as deha- There's no doubt about it - Elvis wants his listener to believe. Unfor- bilitating his creative and artistic Costello is an old man. From his tunately, it's hard at least to see how ambition. Although, as he experi- penny loafers to the massive amounts the plainspokenness of the late coun- ments with classical, country ("Coun- of time spent in the Florida Keys, try singer has anything to do with try Darkness") and everything in the man's reputa- Costello's preening sensibility. between, it becomes more ingrained tion for being a Released simultanously with and Costello's long-time flaws come rock'n'roll star is Elvis Delivery Man, Il Signo follows in a into focus. His incessant lyrical inepi- dwindling. Last Costello long line of out-of-the-ordinary proj- tude, writing songs that come off as year's disappoint- The Delivery Man ects for Costello in between proper an undergrad who discovered a the- ing North didn't and I Sogno albums. Acting as the score to a bal- saurus, smothers any creative deci- dispel the rumor Lost Highway let adaptation of Shakespeare's "A sion he makes musically. that the once Midsummer Nights Dream," Il Sogno The end result with both of these great, snot-nosed finds Costello branching almost too albums is Costello feeling isolated British nerd-punk icon was softening far from his roots to make any imme- and backed into a corner by the world with age. The album - a piano-laden diate impact. At times, it comes off around him. The Delivery Man comes love homage to his wife - was a as forced experimentation done in off as prissy and uptight in his South- failure only because people chose to the spirit of branching out and think- ern environment. His backing band, view it through history's eyes. ing beyond the proverbial box. This, The Imposters, is musically very This year's The Delivery Man undoubtedly hurts the artist because tight, but juxtaposed with Costello's - similar in style and structure to it forces listeners to either criticize academic wit, the songs sound too 2002's seminal When I Was Cruel his roots ("He's not a classical man") much like they were forced. 4 i - has Costello's focus pointed in all the right directions again: slamming out guitar riffs with the spite drip- or ignore his experiments ("To be honest, I fell asleep.") Costello combats criticism of his The Delivery Man: *** I1 Sogno: ** Got a dollar, son? The Science, Technology, and Society Program Distinguished Speaker Series is pleased to present: Reinventing Eden: Science and the Fate of Nature in Western Culture Carolyn Merchant Chancellor's Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley Friday, 5 November 2004 4:00-5:30 pm Michigan League, Michigan Room (2d floor) Carolyn Merchant is the author of The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution (1980); Ecological Revolutions (1989); Radical Ecology (1992); Earthcare: Women and the Environment (1996); and Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture (2003). 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