Wednesday October 11, 2006 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com ARTrS SA Ir 11 The Killers? Too bad Queen was already taken. 'Sam's Town' a career Killer 'OK, so I'm a Sclentologlst. That doesn't make me totally crazy, does it? Does it?! DOES IT?!?!' JC EV RELIABLE 'INFORMATION' BECK TELLS IT LIKE IT IS ON LATEST DISC By Caitlin Cowan Daily Arts Editor If MTV's Daria, the cynical, sarcastic cartoon teen, had been able to buy albums in the real world, she probably would have * listened to discs like Beck Beck's Mellow Gold. In contrast, his latest The Information effort, The Informa- Interscope tion, would have been more fitting for the futuristic, geometric space teen Judy Jetson. Since his debut in 1994, the musical community hasn't seen Beck deliver a real stinker. Based on the strangely off- putting but still worthy follow-up albums (of lo-fi earlier material) One Foot in the Grave and Stereopathetic Soul Manure, some had all but forgotten the quirky songsmith by the time he released his now-famous 1996 album, Odelay. Little did anyone know how musically adroit the awkward kid from Los Angeles would later become. Months later the shaggy-haired, skinny white boy was openly denouncing himself as a loser and submitting the disaffected '90s youth to feedback squalls and broken Spanish, declaring "I've got two turntables and a microphone," as if that were all any young, headstrong musician ever needed. Even after his kitschy Midnite Vultures was released to mixed reviews, he came back stronger than ever when the inimitable, dreamy Sea Change dropped in 2002. Last year's Guero kept up the momen- tum. The man simply cannot be stopped. The Information is positive proof that Beck still has plenty of whatever creative juice he's been sipping for the past decade stored in his basement. The album is a lot of chunky, clunky jewelry as opposed to the almost pretty, enameled Spanish necklaces of Guero. Like many artists today, Beck has something to say about the state of the world. But don't turn away just yet. He's managed to mix effortlessly equal parts cool and commentary to make his latest one sexy, spacey concoction. The album is definitely front-loaded, with all of the killer tracks coming before the midsection. "Elevator Music" is way better than any real elevator muzak you've ever heard in your life. "Cellphone's Dead" is a cool, outer-stratosphere jam that's sure to win over the ears and minds of Beck fans old and new. He spits lyr- ics like "Give me some grits / Some get- down shitl/ Don't need a good reason / To let anything rip" over the layers of alien synth beats, cowbells, piano licks and hollow, glassy percussion. The ethereal, ominous "Soldier Jane" and "Dark Star" deliver exactly what their titles promise - dark, militarized, cosmic meanderings that beg to be added to "still awake at 4 a.m." playlists every- where. On "Nausea" Beck recycles one of his favorite syncopated, dirty beats. The first seconds sound like a "Black Tam- bourine" remix. But who cares? Anyone who listened to Guero knows that "Black Tambourine" was fucking awesome. After a sprinkle of synthetic squeals and beeps, the end product comes out surpris- ingly fresh and even a little erotic. Even though most of the successful tracks fall within the album's first half hour, the second half, instead of flatlin- ing, makes for an ambient b-side to the album's hit-heavy first half. Songs like "We Dance Alone," "1000BPM" and "Motorcade" all meld together to create a mellow groove. While the last track, with its futuristic, "Donnie Darko"-esque spo- ken word ending is as convoluted as its name, "The Horrible Fanfare, Landslide, Exoskeleton," it's still the perfect end to this con puterized album. On the title track, Beck's thesis about the hollow state of our information- crazed world echoes clearly. "When the information comes / We'll know what we're made from / The skyline rising / Highrise eyes see for you," he warns. It seems odd that Beck, who was at least at one time the best hope of a musical van- guard for a generation, would take pains to caution his audience against the ills of mass culture, pervasive group mentalities and the death of individualistic thought. It almost sounds as if he's taking a cue from Thom Yorke. But one of the main differences between what Beck is discussing on The Informa- tion and what Thom Yorke has been proph- esizing his entire career is that Yorke is counseling his audience from the inside of a bomb shelter. His is the voice of the paranoid legions of the future, a voice that has made him a cultural paragon. Beck, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be quite so worried. The overwhelming feeling the he crafts on The Information is that he knows how quickly our speed, efficiency and infor- mation-crazed age could go awry. But he's not letting it get the best of him. Instead, he's drawing on what has become a common idea to create an uncommonly strong album. By Abby Frackman Daily Arts Writer Vegas-based quartet The Killers had a good year in 2004. They lit up the music scene with their * * hugely popu- lar debut, Hot The Killers Fuss, with lead Sam's Town singer Bran- Island don Flowers making the ladies swoon with his dreamy vocals, stylish duds and, of course, that eyeliner. Now two years later, we have the synth-heavy follow-up, San's Town, in which Flowers and gang have ditched their pretty-boy looks in favor of a scruffier, dirtier image. Their appearance may have improved, but the music is a significant down- grade from their debut.' The album's first single, "When You Were Young," is a showy mixture of crashing drums and tight guitar licks. Flowers' obses- sion with good-looking boys (recall the "boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend" from Fuss's "Somebody Told Me") continues as he sings about a "beautiful boy" who "doesn't look a thing like Jesus." His voice is thin and quivery through the whole song (and most of the album), a trait that was thankfully absent on Hot Fuss. The song certainly grows more appealing after repeated listens, but Flowers's odd vocal presentation is unattractive and distracting. Pumping bass and heavy, pro- pulsive drums make "Sam's Town" a solid opener. The danceable beat and layered vocals are a welcome addition that help mask that ever- present Flowers quiver. The sen- timental violin at the end adds a nice touch, as does the back- ground noise, presumably from Sam's Town casino in Vegas. The work of producers Alan Mould and Flood (Deoeche Mode, U2) is most evident ooh "For Reasons Unknown" and "Bones." "Reasons" is dark ana haunting, reminiscent of Depech' Mode circa 1990's Violator.'But the lyrics are repetitive and lame ("I pack my case / I check my face / I look a little bit older / I laslk a little bit colder"), which shed$ the track of most of its appeal. "Bones" is better by comparison, and the varying tones and styles of the vocals should be enougl to hold attention throughout, but there's one bone that should be picked (pun intended) wQh Flowers regarding this song/He claims that he "never had solI" but on Fuss's "All These Things That I've Done," Flowers repeat- edly blurts that he's "got soul." Maybe the recording of Sam's Town caused him to lose it. The end of "The River is Wild" has Flowers doing his best Jin Morrison impression as he reciJes some sentimental piece about headlights while piano softy accompanies him. The U2 sound is alive and well on "Read My Mind," with lush orchestration nd catchy keyboard lines, but that~s not necessarily a good thing.: _ Bookending Sam's Town -gre two ridiculous filler tracks, "Enter- lude" at the opening and "F it- lude" at the album's close. Flo'vers sings "It's good to have you wjth us even if it's just for the day";on "Enterlude" while the whole band joins in on the same line on"Fait- lude." These tracks are pointless and embarrassing, with lyrjes drawn straight out of Mr. Rogers book on polite manners. ,.d Hot Fuss boasted several obvi- ous hits, daring lyrics and a front man with style. Unfortunately, with Sam's Town the band loseof all of the above. In an interview with NME magazine, Flowers claimed that Sam's Town is '"one of the best albums in the past 20 years." Ha. The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation takes great pleasure in announcing Fall 2006 Fellowship Awards to University of Michigan graduate student: Mr. Paul Podsiadlo H ertz Chemical Engineering freedom to innovate Mr. Podsiadlo is one of 15 Hertz Foundation Fellows chosen from a field of 688 applicants to receive a five year Graduate Fellowship Award of up to $240,000 in the Applied Physical, Biological or Engineering Sciences. The Hertz Foundation would like to extend its congratulations to University of Michigan for attracting this Fellow to their graduate program. See www.hertzfoundation.org for more details.