14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 8, 2000 'Pama Swod' ~ltsDramas LIVE PILL THRILLS Since 1993, the Boise, Idaho trio Built to Spill has recorded 4 superb albums, each full of shinmering melodies, oracular lyrics and passages of exquisitely over- dubbed guitar. "Live" shows that the band - guitarist- singer Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson, drummer Scott Plouf and touring member Jim Roth on rhythm gui- tar - can hold its own on stage as well as in the studio, stretching songs like "Broken Chairs" and a dead-on cover of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" to epic proportions (19 and 20 minutes, respectively). Jam-happy listeners will no doubt be pleased with the traces of Young's finer moments with Crazy Horse or Television's brand of punk-influenced improv in Built to - Spill's lengthier guitar workouts. But as every indie-savvy record buyer Grade: A- knows, guitar noodling can grow tiresome faster than that little girl in Built to Spill the Pepsi ads. Thankfully, Martsch Live and company think horizontally as well as vertically. They're not out to CoutesyufWarnertBrotes Warner Brus. show off their chops so much as how casual, seemingly random blasts of guitar feedback heard Reviewed by one can be endlessly creative with throughout the album begin to add up to something bril- Daily Arts Writer feedback and distortion and how liantly dark and shadowy after a few listens. Christian Hoard exhilarating guitar solos - the kind On "Randy Described Eternities," the darkness is pal- good live rock music is built on - pable, with Martsch's voice drowning in a wave of distor- can coexist with well-crafted alterna-rock songs. tion in between eerie spells of low-key noodling. And, speaking of the songs, they're great. Martsch has Martsch's perfectly plaintive promise to "be perfect from a gift for burying delightfully catchy (if understated) , now on" finds an apt counterpart the lyrics to the Halo melodies under quirky guitar flourishes, and his Lian Benders' "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain," treatel Gallagher-meets-Neil Young vocals sound appropriately here to a 7-minute-long cover. If we're not quite sure what wistful (and appropriately Neil-like on "Cortez") without - or whom - Martsch is singing about, it's worth noting ever grating on the ears. Though the charming "Car" is the that we do, in fact, care to find out. And finding out is part sweetest track on the album, the way its lyrics juxtapose of the reason "Live" is worth listening to: It's an album the trivial with the somber (Martsch needs a car, his girl chock-full of great guitar workouts that only momentarily needs some serious help) mirrors the way in which the obscure layers of emotional depth. Capcon is known for its 2D fight- ers, but has produced some 3D prod- uct for variety. The shadow of their past (read: "Street Fighter") has made expectations for the company's Grade: B- fighters quite Plasma high. And in PDsa spite of some Sword very good gaines For Dreamcast like Powerstone, CapCom Capcom has fall- Reviewed by en short of the Daily Arts Writer mark in more Ted Watts than one 3D fighter. "Plasma Sword" is a good effort. It utilizes a traditional Capcom HUD look, from multi-hit combo counter to special attack power bar. It then mixes in some 3D features like a sideways dodge function and a moving camera. Unfortunately, the advances found in most new fighters, or even the unique innovations of "Powerstone," aren't here. The characters are less than gleaming, the utilization of the Z axis is minimal for the year 2000 and there is nothing new in gameplay. "Plasma Sword" is basically an old type fighting game with a little more modeling. Play mechanics mirror those of 2D fighters and it continues the story of the game "Star Gladiator." This should be more than enough for some people to enjoy the disc. But for some reason, it falls short as a new 3D fighter. If you expect anything earth shat- tering, you will be disappointed. GLADIATOR Continued from Page 12 the Colosseum. the film runs a little too long, with a noticeable lag in the latter half resulting from rambling speeches about power and wickedness regarding the Macbeth-like desceni of Commodus rather than real action. Scott, though, won't let his audience hang as he sharply builds tension between the relationships of Commodus and his torn sister Lucilla (Connie Nelson). And c'mon, what would a gladiator film be without one final climactic battle? "Gladiator" is an impressive summer blockbuster - a decent story, solid act- ing, loud effects and all-out grandness. Though it's not "Spartacus," it'S definite- ly a welcome return to the arena as "Gladiator"is a film that sets the bar early on in a summer with dinosaurs, mutants and a big wave yet to come. nowam -,- n courtesy of Dreamworks Joaquin Phoenix In "Gladiator." It Im S&S Public Relations, Inc. HIGH-TECH PR FIRM Chicago area high-tech PR firm seeks May Graduates. Great opportunity to enter a high-tech PR firm. *HANDS ON TRAINING *FAST MOVING ENVIRONMENT E-mail: stevel@sspr.com Aply now at the aw Library *non-Law Students eLaw Students eS.I. Students Ap2ply in pe~sron Room 8-180 in the Law Library's under- ground addition, 8-noon and 1-5 Monday through Friday. AA/EOE MISSION Continued from Page 12 for the soundtrack, consisting mainly of heavy guitars and Rob's growling voice. These, as in every other Zombie tune, are driven by booming percussion and backed by electronic noise and group shouts of encour- agement from an invisible support- ing cast. After "Scum of the Earth" come two impressive tracks from less pop- ularartists. The first is "They Came In" by the recently forgotten Butthole Surfers. "They Came In" is a blend of guitars and electronically enhanced instruments and vocals, a combination which works well for the band. The following track, "Rocket Science" by The Pimps, is a gritty, fast-paced declaration of indepen- dence and is a commendable piece of music from little-known artists. After starting off with five fairly good songs, the album falters and never quite recovers. Tracks from the Foo Fighters, Chris Cornell and Buckcherry are uninspired and leave much to be desired. Mediocre tracks from under.x- posed artists like Apartment 26, Diffuser and Tinfed do little to make up for the failure of some of the album's big names. "Not My Kinda Scene," a Radiohead-like offering from Powderfinger, leads the small group of pleasant tracks that close the soundtrack. "Carnival," a trippy melody from Tori Amos, follows and an instrumental from Brazilian tarist Heitor Pereira closes. While "Mission: Impossible 2" does offer some worthwhile music, it burns itself out after only 20 minutes and barely coasts from there. A few highlights do not fully com- pensate for the album's failure to sustain the listener's attention and boredom may set in well before the end of the disc. As a result, Powderfinger, Amos and Pereira@ cheated out of an opportunity to impress new audiences while main- stream artists are given even more publicity. It's a shame, but sometimes that's how the music industry works.