12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 23, 2001 Eclectic music mix makes 'Hot' album for The Beta and ARTS Craig David: 'Bor to' hit U.S. shores Born To DoIt, Craig David; Wild- star/Atlantic Records By W. Jacar! Melton Daily Arts Writer Mark Hill, o step garage1 Dodgers. As this vein, the vocals. How of being acc Hot Shots II, The Beta Band; Astralwerks By Jeremy Peters For the Daily Described as a continuation of "the band's never-ending exploration into all things rock, electronic, hip-hop, funk - basically every non-polka variety of music," on The Beta Band's website, Hot Shots II is more than just a simple exploratory trip. Instead the album delves deeper, into the inner psyche of the band and their amalgam of creative influences. In a selection of tunes transfused with a trip-hop beat, illogical yet stunning combinations of vocalist Stephen Mason's lines and other instruments sampled or not, the album is definitely not for those who crave a daily dose of major-label hook-laden glittery pop. In choosing to step away from summer tour-mates Radiohead, and the current rash of MTV sensibility, Hot Shots II follows in the same irreverent direction as their past two albums, 1998's The Three EPs, and their lesser quality first major label release, The Beta Band. Hot Shots II, as the band's sophomore major label release, brings the band back online with the level of musicality shown in their first release. Though the album as a whole see what I m flows well, certain tracks prove to be To top it standouts. bonus track For example, placed squarely in contains a fr the middle of the album, "Dragon" is samples of 3 a pithy and involved song, a tightly a curiously c woven piece of the puzzle that is the rap. However album as a whole. ly connotatet On an album with languid airy Hot Shots II spaces, such as "Human Being," opposite. "Gone" and "Life," involved and Though n complicated tracks, plus sections of album is a str songs such as "Dragon," "Quiet" and the mainly S "Squares," tend to be the glue that detraction to makes what is already a strong album seems there i even stronger. or group of "Eclipse," as the final track on the final inch ov album, provides a fittingly odd end- all in the pl ing to an odd album by an odd band. sophisticatio The main lyrics of the song highlight laid down on this, and the band's taste for the absurd as well. Listen to it, and you'll Grade: A- ean. off, wha called" 'ee-flowin Dog Nig lever fre , where t s strange proves to ot for th roke of n Scottish I the sele s no over tracks to er the ed an, a part on that T the disc. Barely into his 20s, Craig David has ferentiates it already made waves on the music scene. because its The Southampton, England native female relati Courtesy of Astraiwerks became the youngest British male to the relations score a #1 single on the U.K. charts. their audienc From there, his album Born To Do It has teners not fat at follows is a sold four million copies worldwide earn- music scene, "Won," which ing him gold, platinum or multi-platinum to a genre t ng amalgam of status in 20 countries. Now David is spread attent tht's "One" and looking to add another country to that Atlantic. estyle-sounding total with Born To Do It's U.S. release. Besides "I he odd general- Even though David made an appear- and "Rewind and unlikable, ance on GURU's third installment in the sess any trac be exactly the Jazzmatazz series, most U.S. listeners are guishable fro probably more familiar with his heavily to say they're re masses, the played "Fill Me In." The song has made a little tedion ear genius from him an international star and makes two are different band. The only appearances on the 14-track album. The pop music to ction is that it first version combines elements of two- utilized at tim whelming track step garage music with David's unique ("Booty Man push you the vocal delivery. He switches the speed of whether or n ge. Perhaps it's his cadence with ease, adding some stac- platinum stat t of the subtle cato and legato notes where appropriate. short ina satt he Beta Band Ifa comparison were made, the closest rent standard match would be with Bone Thugs-N- sider to take t Harmony. "Rewind" features production from Grade: B ne-half of the Britis production team the with most dance m beat takes preceden ever, David does a gc ompaniment. This t4 self from the other t content isn't about ons. Rather it mainly .hip between club D e. Also, at least for t miliar with the U.K.'s it serves as an intros hat hasn't received ion on the other side Fill Me In" (parts 1 ,' Born To DoIt do4 Aks that are greatly m others on the albu bad songs, but they i us. David's voice an from anything else fc day but they may be ses when his lyrics ar "). The verdict is still tot David can achieN us, but chances are 1 srated market where, s, he is too much of he country by storm. Be a part of the Seeking: Student groups to perform at M EJE MAINESS during Welcome to Michigan 2001. (6000 students attended the event in 2000!) When: Friday, August 31, 10pm-2am (Groups will get a 15-20 min. slot) For more information or to sign up, e-mail pvachon@umich.edu by Friday, August 10. PERFORMANCE I4p0 TUNITV! Quirky dramedy spices up HB4 By Seth Klempner Daily Arts Writer For most television networks, it is hard to stay on the cutting edge of trends and give viewers what they want. Lucki- ly for HBO, they are not a normal televi- sion network, as stated so clearly in their motto: "It's not TV It's HBO." With their new hit series "Six Feet Under' HBO has Six Feet yet again struck Under the success that first begat "The HBO Sopranos" and Sundays at 9:30 p.m. "Sex in the City." *" Written by Academy Award winning writer Alan Ball, whose only produced screenplay was the critically acclaimed "American Beauty, "Six Feet Under" takes a hard-edged look at a dysfunctional family in the Los Angeles undertaking business. Much like "Beauty," Ball step by step strips away the facade of a seemingly normal family with every event, reveal- ing traits and characteristics that allow the Fisher family to function on a dys- functional level. Ball goes inside the personas of the family members and carefully builds relationships based on the personalities of each character, making every con- nection unique. He also makes unex- pected shifts in character actions which at first appear to be illogical behavior for them, but seem well-placed in hind- sight. A death serves as the introduction into every episode. These death scenes provide a contrast from the normal ebb and flow of the show and the family's ordeals. In each death scene, the audi- ence is unfamiliar with the character and is not introduced until the next scene, which is often a meeting between the deceased's family and the Fisher brothers, David and Nate. The series opens with the f patriarch Nathaniel Fisher, p Richard Jenkins, worn down driving his new hearse on Chri Eve when he is hit by abus, killin instantly. In his will he leaves the ly's mortician business to his two David (Michael Hall) is the experienced brother in the bus handling the financial aspects funeral home. He finds himself gling to come to terms with his sexuality and where he fits intd community. His brother Nate (Peter Kr "SportsNight") is only brought b Los Angeles after the death father. He struggles to get into the ily business while attempting to stand the behavior of the father he really knew. Add a mother, Frances Conroy is straight out of the fifties in bot classic denial and repression Qf lion, and a jovial delinquet played by Lauren Ambrose ("4 Hardly Wait"). The cast meshes well together, ing an atmosphere of life in the mi unconventional deaths. Like "Am Beauty" which provided a glimps a "typical" American family, "Sia Under" fulfills any voyeuristic fan about the life of a troubled family. "Six Feet Under" is among ics' new "Must See TV" adding 1 the HBO fire, with a prime spot "Sex in the City." Proving that the:f man series is one to watch, HB( greenlighted a second season before the premiere episode aired.