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The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 2, 1995 - 13A
RECORDS
hutlnued from page u
gya
ere IAm
>lyGram Records
£lailingfromthebirthplaceofMotown,
a is out hoping that abit of that Detroit
irit will help her achieve musical suc-
s and longevity. "Here I Am" is the
Is name. "See me, love me" is Joya's
oclamation. FeaturedonherCD'scover
itI short, blonde-bleached hair, large
xped earrings and wearing a low-cut,
eeveless body shirt, Joya embodies the
ound da way girl L.L. Cool J once
orshipped in song.
Smooth, yet with a slight ghetto-edged
erceness, Joya has done a superb job
ith her debut release. "Takin' Care of
usiness," one of the 12 songs on this LP
is a mellow mood indicative of the
laxing atmosphere surrounding "Here I
i." Though its intro beats come off
>unding corny and mismatched, Joya's
ngingin "Love U All Ova" saves it from
e jaws of monotony.
However, the tougher street-beats of
3ettin' Off on You" and "Willing and
aiting" add to the slightly hardcore
ge in her voice. Hip and upbeat, "I Just
an't Help Myself"will definitely make
at five minutes you forced yourself to
t aside for studying pass like a breeze.
"Here I Am" is a highly decent debut
ork. It's that simple.
- Eugene Bowen
he Presidents of the
sited States of
#nerica
7te Presidents ofthe United
?ates ofAmerica
>pLlama / Sony
The Presidents of the United States of
unerica are a joke. No, not Bill Clinton
nd George Bush, but the band with such
long and ridiculous name, it gets really
nnoying.
On their self-titled, debut, the Presi-
entsestablish themselvesasabandwith-
ut much purpose but to have fun and to
nake cool music. They do just that, mak-
ng a fun record with tracks that make no
ense, but are great nonetheless.
Songs like "Lump" ("Lump sat alone
a boggy marsh / totally motionless
xcept for her heart /Mud flowed up into
ump'spajamas/Shetotally confusedall
be passing piranhas / She's lump, She's
mnp / She's in my head") dig into the
kushy but witty brains of the three piece
"ti-grunge Seattle band.
On "We Are Not Going to Make It,"
e Presidents sing "We are not going to
ake it /because there's a million better
ands / with a million better songs I
ingers who can drum*" and singers who
an sing."
But in fact, the Presidents can sing and
layand entertainbetterthanmany bands.
The Presidents" is filled with enough
ooks to catch a dead fish, and they do
eir thing well, even though the record
as recorded with only drums, a three-
tng guitar and a two string bass.
'Even on their coverofthe MC5's "Kick
)ut the Jams," the band still rocks hard,
nd on "Feather Pluckn" they even spoof
e Beatles' "I've Got A Feeling" into a
tupid yet fun song about chickens.
The Presidents of the United States of
erica may not be the smartest or most
ented new band around, but they sure
o know how to make a fun, catchy and
roughly entertaining record.
- Brian A. Gnatt
fer 7
e"lections
irgin Records
By now we've all heard them moaning
out how this girl they loved treated
em like dirt in "'Til You Do Me Right,"
d we've all wondered why they didn't
ust dump her instead of begging her to
change your evil ways." (Of course it
something to do with the fact that
abyface produced it.)
Now, if you buy the CD, you can ask
therquestions like why do halfthe songs
n this CD use slightly modulated '"Til
ou Do Me Right" beats? Why would
er 7 perform the fimpy-sounding
Save It Up" produced by the wack-ass
on b? And, why, on the whole, does
Reflections" sound like cow diarrhea
mparedto After 7's previous releases?
This isn't to say the CD is necessarily
d. "Til You Do Me Right" is a sweet-
s song, even if its message is as tired as
egent Deane Baker. "Cryin For It" and
Damn Thing Called Love" sound good
dthe same),too. Further, After7mem-
rs- Kevon and Melvin Edmonds and
eith Mitchell still sport the same (or
tter) vocalizing and harmonizing skillz
at launched the group to stardom. These
ys can sing the fuck out of a ballad,
hich they do constantly in this LP; that
asn't changed or departed.
What's left is the spirit of uniqueness
at was the cornerstone of the group's
xistence. Now they sound exactly like
abyface clones. All over "Reflections,"
ither they're begging some girl to go
Mad CJ Mac
[[re Game
Rap-A-Lot Records
The world of hip-hop has long been
craving something innovative, some-
thing mind blowing. The last thing
hip-hop needs is a watered down rip-
off of played-out West Coast Dr.Dre-
Snoop rap. But that's what Mad CJ
Mac decided that he's going to give
the world and he's done it to a point
where it's irritating.
The beats come from the Dr. Dre
scrap file: A drum beat with the clas-
sic West Coast high pitch keyboard
squeal. That's the basic formula for
the entire album.
But maybe that wouldn't be so ob-
vious if CJ Mac had something more
to say than how he is a true West
Coast hood, still "slangin' his thang"
(like I haven't heard that before).
And you know that Mr. Mac has
definitely run out of rhymes when
you hear the last track, "I Can't Stand
a Rat," an entire song that disses
women.
I will give CJ Mac this, although
he's not doing anything new, or espe-
cially creative, he doesn't sound all
that bad.
As he spills his basic boring boast-
ing rhymes, his voice does sound
pretty nice. And he pulls it off espe-
cially well on track four, "Come and
Take a Ride," which has a smooth
lazy beat - perfect for sunny day
cruising.
As for the 20 second moment of
silence for his "homies lost in the
prison system" - maybe if he used
those 20 seconds to come up with
something original, he wouldn't need
it to fill time on his album'.
All and all, Mad CJ Mac needs to
take a nap, 'cause this album is tired.
- Kimberly Howitt
T.J.IKirk plays vibrant music
By Kimbe ft Howltt
For the Daily
T.J. Kirk, got their name from
Thelonious Monk, James Brown,
and Rohsaan Roland Kirk. So, natu-
rally when going to see their con-
cert one would expect to hear Monk,
Brown, and Kirk covers, which is
damn hard to pull off. But that
wasn't exactly what you got.
Yes, they play Monk, J.B., and
Kirk, but they play them fused to-
gether, all at the same time.
Mo' Better Hippies
The Buffalo, N.Y. quartet moe. will be
jamming away with their upbeat and
funky hippie-rock at Rick's American
Cafe tonight. They've played with the
Spin Doctors and Widespread Panic,
and now there here in Ann Arbor to
play just for you. moe. will be playing
some of the great tracks from their
latest album "Headseed" that will be
sure to entertain. Their funky bass,
wah-wah guitar and vocal harmonies
will have you on your feet. Be sure not
to miss this show, because the band's
crazy freeform jammin' will definitely
make each show unique. If moe.
doesn't sound appealing, at least you
can chill at the bar and watch the
game. Cover is $3 and the show is set
to begin at 9 p.m. For more info, call
Rick's at 996-2747.
T.J. Kirk
7th House
September 29, 1995
T.J. Kirk Is just happy to be here.
A song like "Shuffle Gate," which
is a combination of Monk's "Shuffle
Board" and Brown's "Water Gate,"
throws you for a serious loop. Right
when you are getting into a hype
J.B. drum beat, they change it up.
The next thing you know, you're
bobbing your head to a jazzy Monk
bass line. It's done in a way that is
so slick and smooth that you're not
quite sure how it is that you got
there, but you don't care 'cause you
like it.
The best thing about seeing T.J.
Kirk live is the fact that the band
doesn't take themselves at all too
seriously.
Unlike the opening act, Blue Dog,
a group of young music students,
who seem to have graduated from
the Kenny G School of Music, T.J.
Kirk has a sense of humor. When
you're covering legends like Monk,
Brown, and Kirk, you can't be se-
rious, because realistically it can't
be done.
Musically they have skills, but
this is the type of band that needs
to be seen live and not heard dead
on CD.
The laid back, all thrills, no frills
way they play is straight up fun.
Watching the drummer is a show
in itself. His style is strictly raw
and improvisational. The drums he
chooses to hit, and the times he
chooses to hit them, seems totally
haphazard. He makes it look as if
it's a big joke that just happens to
sound perfectly funky. And his
huge sarcastic grin just reaffirms
that.
You might have trouble figuring
out exactly who is playing bass
until you realize that Charlie
Hunter is feverishly moving his
crafty hands over an eight string
guitar - playing bass and guitar
simultaneously.
I must admit, that one of my fa-
vorite parts of the show was when
they busted into an Ozzy Osbourne,
Black Sabbath, Heart medley. It was
then that I knew that these boys
have some serious roots. That in
itself was worth the nine bucks,
T.J. Kirk is about a good time
regardless of what the audience is
doing.
In fact, this particular audience
was so lame that no one even moved,
and when John Scott played his gui-
tar while lying down on the floor,
pretending to be asleep, it was ob-
vious that he was ripping on the
crowd.
My advice to you, is that if you
have a chance to see T.J. Kirk live,
take advantage of it. Just make sure
that the crowd is hype. One gets the
feeling that seeing this band play
for a bunch of washed up yuppies
just isn't the right vibe.
.1
..rte..
AMM
.AMM
CS FIRST BOSTON
C
H3UPPORT
ITIES
CS First Boston, a leading global investment bank,
Analyst program. Positions are available in the In
is recruiting for its Financial
vestment Banking and Fixed
Income Divisions. All
presentation.
PRESENTATION:
Thursday, October
5
Michigan Business '
Kresge - Room 132
4:30pm
INTERVIEWING
Investment Banking
Tuesday, January 9,
Emerging Markets
Tuesday, January 23
University of Michigan Seniors are invited to attend the
,1995
school
0
SCHEDULE:
1996
3, 1996
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