DEC. 19,1995
PAGE 7
CHEWIN' THE FAT WITH THE FOOD FREAK
International Delights; best value this side of Baghdad
Michael Hess
StaffWriter
We all know the trial
and tribulation it is to find a
good meal these days. Many
of us who eschew the cafete
ria in pursuit of the higher eats
find ourselves in a smorgas
bord of possibilities. This
isn’t always an easy task.
However, there is one place
where the hunger-hounded
can find sweet solace. Inter
national Delights, located at
740 Ninth Street, is a restau
rant with an uncommon con
cept. With foods from Spa
ghetti with Meatballs to Baba
Ghanouj, its goal is to provide
international chow with a
Middle Eastern flair to the
Durham community. The
The food, atmosphere
and service are swell...
International Delights
is an eatery you'll be
proud to patronize.
store is pleasant, clean and clev
erly decorated' with an assort
ment of pictures of the wonders
of the world along the wall. The
employees are friendly and
quick.
There are always a few pa
trons, but the store is never
(I’m not daring, so sue me) for
$3.45. International Delights
isn’t as fast making food as, say,
McDonalds, but your stomach
will thank you for waiting. My
sandwich was hot and the veg
etables and meat were fresh and
tasty. The unusual inclusion of
sour cream and vinegar, while
disqualifying any claim to the
sub being a cheesesteak, mag
nified the flavor and added
plenty of twang. Eat as many
as you can before the govern
ment tries to outlaw it My com
patriots ordered a Italian Sub
crowded. The final touches are
the Middle Eastern music waft- (also $3.45) and two 6yros
ing through the air and the 3- ($3.99 each). They indicated
Zakieh Labada and his mother serve up wholesome
goodness just a few blocks away.
Manoj Viswamthan
foot water bong adjoining the
drink machine. To sample the
wares of this fine establishment,
I ordered a Philly Steak Sub
similar bliss with their meals.
Drinks cost 85 cents each; re
fills are 50 cents, but if you get
the Extra Large drink for $1.25
you never need one. This place
is a hungry high schooler’s
dream come tme. The food is
delightful, the atmosphere and
service are swell and the place
is just down the street. This
is an eatery you will be proud
to patronize.
The Smashing Pumpkins: Day and Night
Vinay Shastry
Entertainment Editor
Melon Collie and the In
finite Sadness, the third album
by The Smashing Pumpkins,
was finally released, much to
the pleasure of their devoted
fans who considered Pisces
Iscariot just a collection of old
material. This double CD
opus may very well be the last
we will hear from The Smash
ing Pumpkins, though; prob
lems with all members of the
band made this their hardest
album to produce, and a
break-up looms on the hori
zon. Consequently, Mellon
Collie and the Infinite Sadness
may be their most complete
endeavor, combining the en
ergy of their first album, Gish,
and the catchiness of their sec
ond, Siamese Dream.
The first thing to strike the
listener is the sheer variety of
style on both discs. The mu
sic evokes stronger emotions
than ever before, and paints
vivid pictures of lyrical senti
ments.
“lily (my one and only)’’,
a track about a shy peeping
tom who gets arrested for
stalking, comes across light
and innocent, just as the
stalker feels. Anger and rage
dominate in “tales from the
scorched earth’’, and the mu
sic reflects the mood with a
fast tempo and distorted vo
cals. The Smashing Pumpkins
keep their subtle musical
style, though, “we only come
out at night” sounds like a
light-hearted, catchy tune at
first, but is actually a piece
about self-deception and reas
surance.
For once. The Smashing
Pumpkins decided to include
a lyric booklet with the double
album. This puts an end to
heated disputes about what
Billy Corgan is actually sing
ing.
Like every album. Melon
Collie and the Infnite Sadness
has its bad points. Corgan re
peats chorus lines to the point
of absurdity in some songs
("bullet with butterfly
wings"), as if he thought that
one profound statement could
last for a whole song. In most
cases, however, the songs read
like poetry, and the music
sounds as though it were writ
ten to fit the lyrics, not the
The songs read like
music, and the music
sounds as though it
were written to fit the
lyrics.
other way around. The over
all effect is a better-sounding
rhythm that actually brings the
words alive and puts them on
the same level as the music.
Billy Corgan’s vocal
performance is excellent; he
expresses more emotion
with different intonations
and volumes. In “xyu”, he
sullenly chants and screams
the lyrics. This is a harken
ing back to their live perfor
mances, where the real
emotions of the pieces are
conveyed.
Melon Collie and the In
finite Sadness is an ambitious
turn in The Smashing Pump
kins’ possibly short-lived ca
reer. It pushes the standard
formerly set by their first two
albums. It has a darker over
all tone, and is highlighted by
heavy-hitting pieces through
out both discs. A few of the
songs were musically disap
pointing, namely “tales of the
scorched earth”, which is
vaguely reminiscent of Bio
hazard and other heavy metal
bands. But songs like “beau
tiful” and “thru the eyes oi
ruby”, which are more three-
dimensional, make up foi
those shortcomings. All in all,
you’ll find more diamonds
than coal in Mellon Collie ana
the Infinite Sadness.