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Show R4 - THE BEAT - RED FEB25- - 1999 blues SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY, THE jar . CANyONS by BRIAN WATTS byMATTTHURBER you've ever seen "Revenge of Nerds," you probably some of the prerequisites for reaching full-o- n nerd actualization. From the obnoxious laugh to Bf the masking tape between the glasses, nerddom is definitely back in fashion. In case you're oblivious to the consumers demands for nerdness, just watch an episode of "ER" featuring Anthony Edwards, or " the revolutionary comedy whose main character exhibits stereotypical attributes. But to be a band of nerds in a punk rock culture is, by now, a little too cliche to say the least. For Southern California's punk outfit, All, all the geekdom is set aside when the band picks up their instruments and starts rocking out. This year. All is on the road in support of their critically acclaimed album, Mass Nerder which is the epitome of a 1980s punk album, tracks in combining 16 31 minutes. On the band's album, there's none of the glorified guitar solos or studio filler, it's just Aor- - r?WW"' i Sunny Day Real Estate How it Feels to be Something On Sub Pop ...... i, (out of four) iling Sub Pop Records has been in dire need of a big seller for quite some time A: "Rush-more- punk from start to finish. And in traditional All spirit, the band returns with new such as "World's On Heroin" and "Romantic Junkie." While a lot of people recall the members of All from another punk outfit, The Descendants. The current lineup includes old-scho- Flag drummer, Bill Stevenson, Chad Price on vocals, Stephen Egerton and Karl Alvarez who played in two popular punk outfits in Salt Lake City during the 1980s, The Massacre Guys and The Bad Yodelers. k has been the subject numerous conspiracy and the cause of much paranoia for many people. Their fears, usually unfounded, are sometimes justified. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the CIA sponsored a and drug experimentation program called MK Ultra. The program was later shut down after a Senate subcommittee investigation. Often times popular music has been accused of a similar function. It has even been alleged that Mick Jagger once said that the music of the Rolling Stones' was calculated to drive young people to sex. While the music of the 60s and early 70s obviously involved drug experimentation, obvioas "drug music," has gone underground, often under the guise of pop. Perhaps the band MK Ultra, which takes its name from the discontinued CIA program, best exemplifies this recent phenomenon of pop bands with dark under- The CIA Don't be fooled by imitations The members of All are hardcore elitists. Since The Descendants are considered one of the forefathers of punk rock, it's only appropriate that All would carry a lot of those early punk ethics and recording styles which were big in the 1980s. With an underlying rawness and tight sound, the band currently maintains a relatively large underground following and has played several larger music festivals as well. Although they're not as big as Rancid and don't have comedic videos like Green Day, All has enjoyed a little success from a short stint at Interscope Records, which released their breakthrough album Pummel in 1995. Nowadays, the band feels more at home at Epitaph records and has a heavy touring itinerary throughout the year. After a short reunion in 1996, which excluded Chad Price in order to make room for Descendants frontman, Milos Aukerman, the band took some time off to work on other various projects. While Price spent the months away from All singing for a country western outfit, Aukerman returned to his biochemist life back East. But it wasn't long before the guys wanted to get back to recording some of the fastest punk rock since the 1980s, which wasn't littered horns or overproduced rhythms. The themes in All's latest albums are just the same as they were ten years ago, when Allroy Sez came out. It's either odes to ending up on the friendship tip with the perfect girl, or hilarious renditions of what caffeine-junki- nerds think about e politics. On Mass Nerder there are even apologetic anthems like "Silly Me." The album examines everything from the band's weak status when it comes to interpersonal relationships to the perils of pro- crastination. On All's current tour with Less Than Jake, the band has been playing a genuine mix of old and new material with the occasional Descendants' songs thrown onto the list. Not bad for a couple of aging guys who work a lot harder than the Offspring or other punk bands that care more about album sales and less about the punk ideologies stemming from the 1980s. "so-calle- Results of Mind Control and Drug Experimentation? MK ULTRA AND SUNNy DAy TUESDAY, MARCH 2 D V 8 mind-contr- bellies. John Tyler, guitarist for MK Ultra, sums up what they like. "Bands like Spoon, Built to Spill you know...People who are taking pop music and really f ing with it." good example of this practice is the song "Sunday," a fairly innocuous pop song, musically. Lyrically, however, the listener is A bombarded with lines like,"0 Sunday! Screw you and your yawning parks." This new breed of musicians are ambitious as well. MK Ultra has their own record company, Artichoke Records, and their own now. While Sunny Day Real Estate was never a huge seller, they are talented and have provided Sub Pop with album that they can push without feeling stupid. How It Feels to be Something On is Elliot Smith stirred in a cup of Fugazi. The band plays the musical ingenuity and skill of Fugazi, but e when this inventiveness is infused with a fresh dose of depression, the result is an album that, on completion, makes the listener feel like they've been asleep for the last 45 minutes. Highlights include the album opener, "Pilliars," featuring a beautiful melody line which is mimicked by a bassy, round guitar; How It Feels to be Something On, which destroys the traditional style of songwriting with Its multiple parts and bridges and "The Prophet," one of the few tracks on the album that doesn't make you want to kill yourself, is a musical ride through lyrics that refuse to stop building. Despite the melancholy mood that pervades the album, How It Feels to be Something On is a very impressive album for its complex and beautiful music alone. Add good, unpretentious lyrics on top of the awesome music and you've got an album that you'll grow to love. You may have to listen to it three or four times, but it will eventually get its hooks in you. post-grung- verse-chorus-ver- MK Ultra The Dream is Over Artichoke (out of four) f hen John Vanderslice says know I'm a bit f ed up," I Live For," you believe him. Especially after listening to the two tracks that come before the statement. The Dream is Over is a psychoanalyst's dream. Vanderslice has it all: paranoia, a need for conflict and a fabric fetish. Unfortunately, the uninventive melodies become more and more monotone as the album progresses, leaving the listener torn between a desire to hear Vanderslice's unusual themes and the wish that his voice would cease. The main problem with MK Ultra is that the lyrics don't mesh with the music. Both aspects are well organized and interesting, but when the two elements are brought together it's like trying to push together two magnets that have the same polarity. Occasionally it does work, as on the title track "The Dream is Over," which features an simple, but textured acoustic guitar part as its backbone. Another track that succeeds, "What I Live For," has such inventive music that it doesn't matter that the melody lives on a completely different musical planet. If MK Ultra can figure out a way to better integrate their lyrics with their music they will put out some great stuff, but on The Dream is Over, they fail to pull the whole package together. "I in "What 7 The Black Crowes By Your Side Columbia (out of four) Sunny Day Real Estate is prime property. recording studio, highly unusual for a band that is just starting to blossom. They even ask a lot of their members. The classified ad that Tyner answered before joining the band read: Band seeks experimental guitaristtour bus. MK Ultra will open for the elusive band Sunny Day Real Estate on Tuesday, March 2. Sunny Day Real Estate was formed in 1992. They released two singles before the release of Diary, their first full length album. That entire year, the band did only one interview and distributed one photo of themseven-inc- h selves. Two members of Sunny Day Real Estate, Nate Mendel and William Goldmith joined the Foo Fighters in 1995. Now, however, the group has reformed and released How It Feels to be Something On. MK Ultra and Sunny Day Real Estate hooked up after members of MK Ultra heard the solo album by Jeremy Enigk, frontman for Sunny Day. The members of MK Ultra liked what they heard on Enigk's album and decided to get in touch with Greg Williamson, Sunny Day's manager, who would eventually MK Ultra's The Dream Is Over. The sounds of the two bands will make for an interesting combination. Sunny Day Real Estate's music seems more appropriate with MK Ultra's lyrics and vice versa. These bands are sure to be participants in the shaping of popular music for the next decade. This is a good time to catch them because the atmosphere at DV8 allows for a good view and a good time. ass hris Robinson sums it all up in the closing track of By Your Side. "All there really isIs virtue and vice." If rock and roll can be considered a vice, then The Black Crowes are an embodiment of virtue and vice. By Your Side contains everything that you have come to expect from a Black Crowes album. The obligatory slow number, "Welcome to the Goodtimes," does a nice job at breaking up an album that almost falls apart due to too much energy expenditure. "Heavy" is a Led Zeppelin style shot at a love song and "Kickin' My Heart Around," is so good and familiar that you feel like you should know the song already. Unfortunately, no song on By Your Side rises to the level of the early Crowes classics like "Remedy" and "She Talks to Angels." Several years have come and gone since The Black Crowes first hit the scene, and Chris Robinson looks no healthier and the band shows little sign of improvement. The Black Crowes have once again made an album that Is a blast to listen to, but a chore to buy, as there are no stand out tracks. Still, when the album comes to an end you have to admit that you had a good time. RCDrovimmi eontlnumd on pap RS... ; |
