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14 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, May 3, 1995

RECORDS
Continued from page 14
swagger of "Messed Up Again" to the
acoustic tribute to Sam Packinpah,
"Bloody Sam." It may not be brilliant and
it may not be new butitis fairly welldone,
even a bit soulful and by golly, it does not
claim to be anything more than rock 'n'
roll and that's damn refreshing.
- Dirk Schulze
Tanya Blount
Natural Thing
PolydorRecords
Resting on the median line between a
Crystal Waters disco theme and an Aretha
Franklin R&B sound, Tanya Blount's
unique and powerful singingstyle are pro-
pelling her in the right directions.
Justasnatureis composed ofavariety
of seemingly contradictory features -
gravity and inertia, carnivores and herbi-
vores, love and hate-"Natural Thing" is
composed of a variety of contrasting fea-
tures That play off of each other perfectly.
* Listen to how the party soundsof "I'm
Gonna Make YouSweat"are immediately
mellowed out by the R&B rhythms of
"Throughthe Rain" which leadsaright into
"Hold On" where the slightest hint of a
Tina Tumer-likeroughness can be foundin
her voice, followed by "No More Lies,"
which sounds like an'80s Whitney Hous-

ton song.
All 10 cuts on "Natural Thing" got it
goin' on. What's more, it's only the first
step of what will undoubtedly be a grand
climb of one Miss Tanya Blount to the
summit ultimately achieved by only the
most noteworthy R&B artists.
- Eugne Bowen
Various Artists
Cupid's RPev ge The Worlds
Most Romantic Punk Songs
Continuum Records
As all punk compilations should be,
this one is extremely juvenile. But
"Cupid'sRevenge," originally released to
coincide with Valentine's Day, is truly
sick. Ijust can't reconcile the fact that the
Dead Milkmen's "If You Love Somebody,
Set Them on Fire," a chuckle-and-a-half
jack-off tune, immediately precedes X's
"Johnny Hitand Run Paulene,"one of the
most evocative anti-rape songs ever
penned.
A teetering pattern is established: A
joke song that isn't really very funny will
follow a true exhibition of punk nihilistic
love thatconveys all the realunfunny feel-
ings of alienation, doubt,jealousy, hatred
and hard sex thatsbuzz through these mu-
sicians' heads every minute of every day.
The overriding idea conveyed by this al-
bum is that these feelings are one big
joke. Idon'tknow, anemotion thathas tra-

ditionally andromantically been portrayed
as capable of killing just isn't that humor-
ous to me.
Not much thought was put into this
project. Iggy and the Stooges' "Your
Pretty Face Is Going To Hel" 'd "I
Need Somebody 'are th1 highgs in alt
their celebracton tofself-bate and depres-
si(5n. Bu t a Stoogcs al bum is a much hbt-
ter puciase. The uoy kibbles anid bits
offered by the DIckies, the Vandals and
the Dead Milkmen are yesterday's g ar-
bage, but the Rotters' "Stevie Nicks Sit
on My Face" veers close to actual laugh-
riot territory. But overall, "Cupid's Re-
venge" is some one's mediocre, per-
sonal, kitschy bit-list. H-a ha.
-Matt Carlson
Wilco,
Sire
Last year, Uncle Tupelo, one of the
great, underappreciated bands in
America broke up, a moment of heart-
break for all who followed their four
near-perfect albums, from the near-punk
of their debut, "No Depression," to the
more acoustic sounds of their last, "Ano-
dyne." However, from the ashes has
risen Wilco, a unit fronted of Tupelo co-
founder Jeff Tweedy and dedicated to
preserving the spirit of rock 'n' roll. On
its debut, "A.M.," Wilco manages to
conjure quite a bit of the feel of Uncle
Tupelo in its straightforward songs of
love, soul, drinking and lost love. It does
not rock as hard as Tupelo's earliest ma-
terial but looks instead for a balance of
country and rock, of acoustic and elec-
tric, of banjo and guitar.
Tweedy's songs are simple on the
surface but rarely fail to hide a deeper
heart, a core of longing and pure feeling.
"Box Full of Letters" is a perfect ex-
ample of such: an easygoing number that

Ned's Atomic Dustbin explode at St. Andrew's
Oh no, not another British band! Well, maybe we can take just one more.
Especially if It's Ned's Atomic Dustbin. They may have changed their unique
sound a bit for their latest effort, Bralnbloodvolume, taking more of an electronic
direction, but don't you worry, they still rock! The dynamic duo of Ned's bassists
Alex and Mat works wonders for the low-end lovers in all of us and spacy gultarilt
Rat has tightened up his guitar sound to blow away even the toughest California
punk rocker. Best of all, their wonderful pop melodies still shine through the high.
tech rumble and crunching guitar sound. Catch one of their super high energy
shows Tuesday night at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. The lads are bound to shake
things up quite a bit. The all ages show starts at 7:30 when special guests
Orange 9mm open things up. Call 961-MELT for details and ticket info.


RADIOHEAD
Continued from page 10
we'll go into rehearsal, and that's when
the songs become Radiohead songs and
we start chopping things up and chang-
ing things," O'Brien explained.
"The Bends" is a terrific album,
with songs that are much stronger than
those on "Pablo Honey." From the shim-
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mery, galactic opener "Planet Telex," to
the title track to the "Buzz Clip"-ed
"Fake Plastic Trees" to the Nirvanaesque
"My Iron Lung" (for which the band put
out an EP last fall) the record finds the
band exploring many different sounds.
Songs like "High and Dry," "Nice
Dream" and "Bulletproof ... I Wish ..."
shimmer and float dreamily into listen-
ers' ears, while tunes like "You Do It To
Yourself," "Bones" and the aforemen-
tioned "My Iron Lung" will definitely
start moshpits in concert. Influences on
the album range from the Beatles, U2,
Nirvana, the Pixies and Radiohead's
commercially-neglected contemporaries
the London Suede. All in all, it's a very
British-sounding album that still remains
unique amongst the many British bands
getting airplay today.
And though the recording of "The
Bends" occasionally tried the patience of
Radiohead's members, the experience
was overwhelmingly positive. "After
being on tour for 18 months, you get a bit
crazy, your head starts to do funny
things. Those weeks of rehearsal in the
middle of the Oxfordshire country, just
the five of us, we realized why we are
doing this in the first place. It was a won-
derful time."

Tweedy delivers casually in his mellow
voice and which almost drifts by without
revealing the depth of emotion contained
within its lines. "That's Not the Issue,"="I
Thought I Held You" and "Too Far
Apart" mine similar veins with equal
impact. If whatever other Tupelo co-
founder Jay Farrar is working on comes
out nearly this well, the breakup of the
band may result finally in celebration
rather than mourning.
- Dirk Schulze

:2 .

Sweaty Nipples
Bug Harvest
MegaforceRecords
It's not often that a band can blend el-
ementsofmetal,industrial,and purerockin a
combination that is even mildly appealing.
Moreunusual,is whenabandcandoallofthis
on their first release. And, when it soundsas
good as Sweaty Nipples do on their album,
"Bug Harvest,"you know you've got some-
thing special.Ranging fromthe solely instru-
mental, "Saloonatic," to the rip roarin' "De-
mon Juice,"Sweaty Nipples pmve to the li
tener that though many worthwhile song
have bothkick-assmusicandlyrics,songscan
have either one and still do just fine.
Aband ofsixmembers,SweatyNipples
use their two guitars, two drums, and two
basses to their best advantage, emphasizing
accuracy andcompositionas wellasdistortion
andspeed"Labrador"incorporatestraditional
metal enthusiasm and brings with it the kind
of riffs that leap out of the mix like
gangbusters. Their industrial contributio
amusing blends of odd sampling and sour
effects, only make their music more unique
and enjoyable. Though at times it's hard to
find any deeper meaning in some oftheirlyr-
ics,"Eyetoothmagnetchills the spine -Your
itchy fingers throw rocks anddimes,"whocan
argue with others, such as, "Drink beer, be
iee?"
Perhaps the mostunusualtrait aboutiBug
Harvest" is its little surprises. One track, hid-
den between "Inside,"and "Knuckle Farm,"
manages to combine "Are You Sleepin4
Brother John?" with sounds in the back-
ground of a child receiving an unwanted
tattoo.Thisuntraditional weirdness is exactly
whatmakesthebandsoappealing. Younever
knowjustwhattoexpect,otherthanthatwhat-
everitis,it'sgonnabegood.
-LisenHanvin
The Nields
Bob On the Ceiling
The Neilds Records4
Spin Doctors meets the Cranberries.
Enough said.
-Brian A. Gnatt

BIOTECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIPS
The Biotechnology Training Program at Rutgers
University is actively seeking applications for
admission from individuals interested in obtaining
a Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology-related fields. For
additional information and/or application
materials, please contact the Bio-technology
Program, Department of Chemical & Biochemical
Engineering, P. O. Box 909, Piscataway, NJ 08855-0909
(908) 445-5517. Rutgers University is an Equal
Opportunity-Affirmative Action Institution.
MINORITIES AND WOMEN ARE
ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

Wilco's new album "A.M." continues where Uncle Tupelo left off.
" " .
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