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Vhat do these things have in common?
vn & Country," AC/DC and a
url Jam DVD ... they are all cn our
ebsite. Check 'em out.
sichigandaily.com/arts

Alf W,

MONDAY.
MAY 14, 2001

THAWED FROM MUSICAL CARBONITE

cipated return has
Weezer in the 'Green'

Tool shows metal is back

Weezer, Weezer; Interseope
y Luke Smith
aly Music Editor
tra-clever hipsters Weezer under-
ent a Frankenstein-like transformation
:tween their first two albums, dropping
te irony-laced witticisms on their
onymous debut, replacing them with
inkerton's tongue-in-cheek soul bear-
g couplets embraced by searing gui-
rs. Their five-year deep freeze has
ought about another change in the
nd's musical dynamic this time, for-
g the rock that made Pinkerton a
e e to the emo movement. It is their
w record however, that is indeed a
onster.
Titled Weezer (again) and packaged
impletely in lime green, the album
ver (which features the four band
embers just standing around) and
onymous title are obvious throwbacks
Weezer's 1994 days of yesteryear.
tey even nabbed the same producer in
e Cars' Ric Ocasek for "the Green
." This time around, the song isn't
me, or moreover, the songs are all
e same. Cuomo's formulaic tuneage
minates the ten tracks on Weezer that,
spite a rare exception, could've been
-itten off a chord chart in a "Guitar for
ginners" book.
"Gonna break it down with a brand
w sound," sings Cuomo in "Glorious
y," the ninth track on their sub-thirty
nute opus Weezer. Weezer has in fact
ned with a new sound featuring
mentary pop-chord changes and

impersonal lyrics.
Through singer/songwriter Rivers
Cuomo's autonomous dictatorship,
Weezer was nearly crushed by its uber-
personal mis-hit Pinkerton and Cuomo
adopted the role of Boba Fett, freezing
the band completely. Weezer vanished,
completely.
And now the once hip, once ironic
popsmart geek anti-heroes have
returned, slinging chunky power chords
against pop's slick mainstream.
Long gone are the distempered freak-
outs that endeared Weezer to the emo-
core movement. Emotion has
disappeared from Weezer's new album
faster than Pinkerton dropped off the
Billboard album chart. In its place are
"Oca-slick," climate-controlled
melodies and chunky guitars that made
Weezer's debut tick. Missing, however,
is the music.
Stagnant and stalemated by simplici-
ty, Cuomo has distanced himself from
the album's lyrics. Weezer's debut
album was emotionally detached com-
pared to Pinkerton, but what carried the
"blue" album was irony. Weezer was
slackjaw poprock, Pavement for the
pop-savvy. Now, Weezer is pure unadul-
terated pop, filtered right down to emo-
tional alienation.
"When you're on a holiday/Can't find
the words to say," Cuomo coddles on
the ultra-catchy "Island in the Sun,"
which is backed by a wall of reverb, and
propelled along by the quippy "hip-
hip's" which cruise along in tuned two-
part harmony. His none-too-vivid
portrait of a vacation, or a drug trip

By Erik Johnson
D~aily irs MWrite'r
The good news: After only one show
woirldwide since the summer of 1998,
Tool is appearing at the State Theater
Friday in support of Lateralis, their
third full-length album. The bad news:
It's been sold out
for over a week,
.50 and this is the
third of only four
Tool U.S. shows before
State Theater Tool heads to
Friday at 8 p.m. Europe. But don't
worry if you did-
n't get tickets:
They'll undoubt-
edly be back
sometime later in
the summer.
We haven't
heard anything from Tool, the group
responsible for "Sober" and "Prison
Sex," since 1996. That's when their last
record, ,Enima, was released. Since

then, Tool's members kept busy with
various projects, most noticeably A Per-
fect Circle, vocalist Maynard James
Keenan's 'other' band, which saw their
self-titled debut album go platinum on
the strength of singles such as "Judith"
and "3 Libras." Not bad for a 'side-proj-
ect.'
Tool also released Salival late last
year, an 8-song CD of live tracks and
rarities packaged with a video or DVD
of the band's odd, distinctive, videos.
See TOOL, Page 11

gone south is a fine example of Rivers'
distance from his "new sound."
"Photograph" makes no qualms
about Weezer's quest for commercial
success. The song is catchy and smart,
although it completely rehashes the
musical formula that "Buddy Holly"
used, right down to the handclapping. It
sounds like the "second single" and
maybe Spike Jonze will come up with a
See WEEZER, Page 11

Tool and the crazy Taco Bell chihuahua.

-,, jt
Y

CALLING FUTURE
Physician Assistants
You are invited to attend an information session on
Central Michigan University's
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAM.
Friday, May 18, 2001
At 4:00 P.M.
'6 Location Change: Lake Huron Room,
1Bovee University Center
Application eadline for 2002 is 11/1/2001!
Contact us today for a session reservation, program
information, or to obtain an application!
Contact the Admissions Office at
989-774-1730 Phone or 989-774-1853 Fax
E-Mail: chpadmit@,,cmich.edu
CMU provides individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to participate in university activities.
programs, and services Individuals with disabilities requiring an accommodation to participate
in this program should call the College of Health Professions Admissions Office.

k - 23rd Ann Arbor
Antiquarian Book Fair
Sunday, May 20th
$5 Admission
4t
a* First Editions
" *Amnericana
*Fine Printing
/ Old & Rare
Michigan Union Ballroom
(2nd floor) 530 S. State,
corner of S. State and S. University

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Benefit for the
William L. Clements Library
For more information call Westside Bookshop (734) 995 1)891C