8 - The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, November 29, 1995 RECORDS Continued from Page 5 Birdbrain Bliss TVT Records in'e listen to Birdbrain and you're assured that it's all coming to an end. The whole grunge thing is seeing its apocalypse. Bad music will make it all come crashing down. Birdbrain is surely the seventh sign. Amen. Birdbrain are an amalgam of every band you'd never want to mix to- gether. Their sound is prototypically loud, crunchy and distorted. They worthlessly attempt to employ vocal harmonies a la Alice in Chains, and hopelessly fail. With each new song, you hope for something fresh, but are always left with a cheap Seattle cover; thus the entire album takes on that "I swear I've heard this somewhere be- fore" feeling. Finally, boring, non- sensical chord progressions and choppy lyrics serve as a mark of Birdbrain's true musical talent, or lack thereof. What's worse are the lyrics. It seems as if every band needs to prove how philosophical they are, so as to come off as intellectual. Birdbrain doesn't disappoint. For example, "Home- town" brags, "We are the dead; this is how we have been bred/ we cannot escape our fate/there will not be more put on our plate." Draw your own conclusions. Birdbrain looks like a group of high school dropouts; they write like a group ofjunior high drop- outs. So when did cover bands start get- ting record contracts? Birdbrain got one. Maybe this will serve as that finai warning to the record producers; that the well is running dry and a new formula is sorely needed. Let's hope so. - Brad Haywood Onyx All we got Iz Us Def Jam Records "I'm thinking 'bout taking my own life/ I might as well/ 'Cept they might not sell weed in Hell/ And that's where I'm goin''cause the Devil's inside me/ They make me rob from my own na- tionality." Rapped by Sticky Fingaz in "Last Dayz," this excerpt exemplifies Onyx's somber mood in "All We got Iz Us." Wrapped in a cover shrouded in gray and black shadows complete with a blood-dripping "X" and a coined mask meant for Halloween night, the CD inside contains 11 songs and four interludes all as tight as the faciAl expressions the Onyx members Oooh. Birdbrain are like, so cool. make on their bald heads. No song on this LP breaks from the depressingly woeful, yet critically hon- est, mood Onyx creates on this CD. From beginning (the skit "Life or Death" where Onyx tries to convince a man to commit suicide) to end ("Walk in New York," the title alone is depressing) Onyx presents a most sobering portrait of life the likes of which haven't been seen since 2PAC's "Me Against the World." In keeping with the blue mood they created, Onyx members Sonee Seeza, Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz have calmed down considerably. If you're expecting something as acid-crazed as "Slam," keep looking. All the beats here are pure lay back, blunt up and nod yo' head inspired. Perhaps the most noticeable change in Onyx's rapping style is its more enunciated, logical structure. Never- theless, Onyx still preserves its off- beat, grungy rapping form while not going overboard with it too often. Best of all, Sticky Fingaz is now more literate. So, instead of just hearing "Nguh! Nguh!" you actually get some English out of the man. I'm telling you, it's never too late for Hooked on Phonics. - Eugene Bowen Masta Ace incorporated Sittin' on Chrome Capitol Records Masta Ace is no rap scene newbie. Some may remember this Brooklyn native when he performed two cuts on Marley Marl's "In Control, Vol. 1." Others may remember his debut al- bum, "Take a Look Around," which featured hit singles like "Music Man" and "Me and the Biz." Still others in the know may have realized that Masta Ace participated in the creation of the "Crooklyn" soundtrack title song alongside Special Ed and Buckshot. If you didn't know any of this, that's alright. You can experience Masta Ace, and the rest of his crew grouped under the title Incorporated, in his third album "Sittin' on Chrome." While Masta Ace continues to utilize heavy bass both in his music and in his voice which led many to label him West Coast, he staunchly proclaims himself East Coast, body and soul. Ace is right. After a single hearing of this LP, no one in his right mind would find even an inkling of gangsta rap in it. What you find instead is a healthy dosage of tight lyrics spit to the tune of beats somewhat more musical in na- ture. Cuts like "U Can't Find Me" and "The I.N.C. Ride" feature cut-and-dry rapping following a simple formula of rhythm and rhyme. With hard bass, tight lyrics and a touch of almost eerie mysticism, "The B-Side" is another must-hear cut, as is the title track where Masta Ace's East-Coast style forms an uneasy union with a child-sung refrain. "People in My Hood," a song which brings Masta Ace even closer to a socially conscious rap style that he has been slowly but steadily approach- ing over the years, is a stark, realistic and bluntly told tale about poor neigh- borhoods' residents. Anyone from the 'hood will identify with Masta Ace's stories about these people, their se- cret lives, lies and relationships. "Sittin' on Chrome" also features a variety of interludes which, instead of being listed separately, are attached to the ends of some cuts (e.g. "Turn It Up," "Ain't No Game"). True rarities, these interludes, while incorporating a very minimal amount of adult language and content, remain very funny breaks from some ofthe more serious cuts. The one exception is the interlude which concludes "Terror." Here the vulgarity is rampant, but it's still funny. "Sittin' on Chrome" isn't yourstan- dard pro-blunt, pro-ghetto attitudes release. On the same token, it isn't a highly instructive CD; Masta Ace ain't out to be anyone's teacher or preacher. What this 16-cut release focuses on is Ace's opinion-free observations of life. He won't tell you what to think or what to do; those decisions he real- izes are yours alone to make. - Eugene Bowen Various Artists Inner City Blues Motown Records Few R&B artists ofthe past or present can match in sheer musical genius the work of the late Marvin Gaye whose untimely death over a decade ago cre- ated a void no one to this day has been able to fill satisfactorily. Now, some of today's most well-known R&B, gos- pel, pop and rap talents have teamed up in the hope that, if one person can't fill that hole, maybe a slew of them can. No, they can't. But, at least they tried. And the resulting album is not all that bad; there's even a real gem or two among the 10 songs presented in "Inner City Blues." Take the title track, per- haps best-known by its subtitle "Make Me Wanna Holler," which opens with a two-minute musical selection reminis- cent of "Superfly." In covering this, one of Gaye's best-remembered songs, Nona Gaye has done a first-rate job in re-creating the exact same soul-deep feeling of anger, sadness and depres- sion Marvin himself used to carry this song to the top and beyond. Unfortunately, Boyz II Men didn't follow that same formula in singing "Let's Get It On." Performing to a faster, hipper beat, these Philly na- tives have turned one of history's greatest lust-songs into something more reminiscent of "I-like-you-Do- you-like-me" childhood crushes. BIIM is highly harmonic and smooth in their delivery -exactly what "Let's Get It On" is not meant to be. It's meant to be slightly rough, gruff and a tad-bit off-key. It's supposed to be a song an everyday guy would sing to get someone for the night, not what a balladeer would use to woo a life- mate. It must be for this reason Madonna was chosen to sing "I Want You." While no one could represent this song's raw sex sentiments better than Madonna, who sang it at one-third it's original speed, I am still left wonder- ing if just maybe Motown could have found someone more musically in sync with Gaye and less in sync with Hustler magazine. After all, Motown did get the very beautiful and talented Lisa Stansfield to do an outstanding remake of "Just to Keep You Satis- fied." Even more ingenious, though, was the choice of Stevie Wonder to sing "Stubborn Kind of Fellow." It would take a man like Wonder - a musical legend in his own right - to appreci- ate the genius of the man whose mu- sic he performed and translate that appreciation to us. Greater apprecia- tion for Gaye's legacy is shown by Digable Planets in their three part tribute "Marvin, You're the Man." We can listen to "Inner City Blues" again and again - skipping the one or two flop cuts and constantly re- playing the better-tuned songs - hop- ing to regain, if for but a moment, the feeling that only a man like Marvin Gaye could instill. But, when it's all over, the truth that was never really forgotten slams upon us like a ton of bricks. He's gone, and he's not com- ing back, ever. And, none like him will ever be. "Inner City Blues" isn't perfect, and even if it were, it would not in a million years be able to make up for the loss Gaye's death brought. But it is at least a sincere attempt. - Eugene Bowen New York quartet Lotion sets their rock machine in motion tonight at the Blind Pig Rock critics agree that Lotion Is a way-cool foursome hailing from the Big Apple. After that, opinions on just how to classify their emotional, impressive music differ, although hints of Sonic Youth, Sugar and REM can be heard on their releases "Full Isaac" and their brand-new follow-up "Nobody's Cool." Whatever influences are detectable in their music, the result is eclectic and delectable; Lotion's appeal is such that the band numbers among its fans one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, the eternally hip hermit Thomas Pynchon, author of such classics as "V" and "Gravity's Rainbow." Pynchon is such a big fan of the group that he wrote the liner notes to "Nobody's Cool." He writes of the band's sound, "Between the metal anthems and moments of tonal drama, the darkest of surrealist lyrics ... may also be detected the weird jiving sense of humor of a cruise combo, even an allegiance to the parameters thereof." Check out this literary rock tonight at the Blind Pig. Doors open at 9:30; call 996-8555 for more information. The Bottle Rockets The Brooklyn Side TAG/Atlantic Bottle Rockets leader Brian Henneman has long been a vital part of the St. Louis-area country- rock scene once ruled (and defined) by Uncle Tupelo, which recently split into Son Volt and Wilco. But the Bottle Rockets capture neither the bleak, austere beauty of the former band nor the good-natured country-pop charm of the latter. They don't have to, because the Bottle Rockets emerge on "The Brooklyn Side" with a hard-rock- ing, heavy-riffing, trashy roots-rock sound all their own. This is the ulti- mate blue-collar bar band, best heard with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Originally released in late 1994 and re-released this fall, "The Brooklyn Side" contains 14 stellar tales of life on the wrong side of the tracks. Henneman sings in a gravely holler about a loser auto-parts sales- man "watching Sunday sports in his boxer shorts" ("Sunday Sports"), a hipper-than-thou goth girl who "likes Dinosaur Jr. but don't know why" ("Idiot's Revenge"), a dilapi- dated car whose "life was over 50,000 miles before it ever got to you" ("1,000 Dollar Car") and a small-town cop in masturbatory ec- stasy over his new speed-trap toy ("Radar Gun"). Henneman delivers his songs with warmth and understanding, devoid of smarmy Mellencamp-style ro- mance. He reserves his wrath for conservative cost-cutting politi- cians in "Welfare Music," a dobros-' and-all acoustic country tune in, which Henneman describes a young welfare mother abandoned by her. partner who's "still chasin' women and drinkin' beer" while she listens to the "angry fat man on the radio" spew right-wing rhetoric. Henneman's also a fine guitarist. leading a potent band. The Bottle Rockets manage to blend Lynrd,. Skynrd-style southern rock and an earthy rootsiness into an engaging, mightily rocking country-rock:hy-. brid. They'll be coming around soon enough to a bar near you. - Jennifer Buckley Here we see Onyx. The four very young, attractive and hairy members of the Bottle Rockets share a good chuckle. p Student Projects Showcase Past showcases featured many services now found on the World Wide Web, including the Internet Public Library, Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach, Art Image Browser, numerous digital library services, and much more! Come see and try out what's new ... before the rest of the world does. You'll be impressed. Would you like to be a Daily art critic? Then call Emily at& 763-0379. , P.. Don't Miss it at the Cool CooI f . lL 9V8jJ 1, . . I