®f?p Sailg ©ar Hrrl
Bardo Pond’s Album
Hypnotic, Essential
Rockers, let’s chat about an album which
will push you that much closer to tossing
out your lame this is not a Fugazi t-shirt t
shirt and honing that hashish habit.
If I ever said that I’d given Philadelphia
more than a passing nod aside from cheese
steaks and Zipperhead, color me a fibber.
However, I’m sure that singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan (aka Robert Zimmerman) had
this very situation in mind when he penned
hisl964Top2o
hit, “The Times
They Are a-
Changin’,” be
cause indeed,
they are a
-and
Bardo Pond is
| BARRY SUMMERUN]
Music Review
Barlo Pond
High Frequencies
(Matador Records)
A+
such the catalyst. Never has the Pa. license
plate prophesy been more true than in this
instance, for you do, in fact, have a friend
in Pennsylvania, and it is High Frequencies,
the third lull-length from this cheeba-rock
quintet coming from the city of brotherly
love.
If you're a smart one, you caught the
first and/or second album and you’re fa
miliar with the pond of bardo, a sucking
whirlpool of swirling drone. However, if
you’re a bit...shall we say, “special,” then
try this experiment/head game: go into
any south campus rest room and hum,
starting with a low pitch, and then slowly
and “col glissando” increase the pitch up
wards until you hear the sinks rumble with
you and echo about the room.
Try next to match the natural frequency
of the toilet bowl, and then perhaps the
urinal. Not only was that entertaining in
itself, but you’ve also gleaned the basic gist
of the Bardo Pond’s first two albums’ maj
esty. Now, forget all that, because the third
album marks anew direction sans the
white noise of albums past.
Imagine this, you: suppose I was to put
the Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Sessions on the
turntable, and then what ifl ran that through
some heavy digital delay and light distor
tion, and did I forget to mention that I was
listening to the result in that mysterious
echoing stair step cove outside the design
studio at NCSU?
Envision all that, or you could dig this
new Bardo Pond album because that’s ex
actly where it’s at. Put me in a hammock
with an ice cold pitcher of Luzianne and a
newspaper over my eyes in mid-May lis
tening to either of the aforementioned hyp
notic set-ups and look! You’ve made a
white boy with a toothy smile. And you too
can be that happy white boy.
JUMANJI fP6)~
’BRAVEHEART(R)
WHITE SQUALL (FS-131
IBEP OF BOSES IPO
‘ * w wmmmmmmmi mm ■
! m IKhMinSL. j v &Jh K . j
Carmichael auditorium
I APRIL 14-7:30 PM j
1 STUDENT DISCOUNT TICKETS ON SALE ONLY AT THE CAROLINA UNION 1
(CHARGE BY PHONE 919-814-4000 1
[ PRESENTED BY CELLAR DOOR/CAROLINA UNION ACTIVITIES BOARD M
You know, I couldn’t begin to explain
to you why the hammock is essential be
cause I’m not a leisure critic perse, and I’m
not really know if the tea has to be Luzianne
or not, or heck, even if it has to be iced for
that matter.
But you give me the rocks, and I’ll chisel
out track by track why this Bardo Pond CD
is what’s down, cold-kicking it Moses
style. Here’s some highlights plus the defi
nitions of words in the song titles which I
didn't know (definitions paraphrased from
1974 edition of Webster’s New Collegiate
Dictionary).
From the get-go, like three minutes of
sonic monotony drones before the massive
power-chord dirge-riffage of “Limerick”
even kicks in, oh hell yes. “Tantric (per
taining to the later Hindu scriptures usu
ally dealing with the worship of Shakti)
Porno” dreamily waits until whupping up
on you with lumbering distorted exclama
tion points. Bardo Pond pulls out the psy
chedelic album’s proverbial sitar for one
song, adding further spice to the churning
dish that is “Wank.” “The High Fre
quency” reminds this one of early seven
ties rockers Jade Warrior, what with vocal
ist Isobel picking up her flute for one of the
relatively few times on the album, what
with its prominence on the earlier two
records.
“Sometimes Words” is one of three
songs highly derivative (and delightfully
so, at that) of the Cowboy Junkies' lazy
formula. “ Yellow Turbin (Latin for whirl
wind)" lives up to its name, dancingaround
in heavy circles inching towards incarnate
chaos.
“Tapir [a nocturnal ungulate related to
the horse and rhinoceros] Song” clumsily
lopes along, pretty truthfiil to the image I
derive from the definition. High Frequencies
closes with my favorite piece, something
called “RM,” which might stand for
“Ripped-off Movements," since the song
seems practically based on the'Crystallized
Movements’ song“ThisDimmingToday.”
Both are fine works, might I add.
So rocker, what’s it gonna be? Another
year of punk rock moshpits and crowd
surfing assholes or will you turn on to
churning electric cathedral music? Buy this
record, fool, you deserve better.
OSGM/BEST SCORE *■*— ****** ***
LUIS ENRIQUE BACALOV
th* POSTMAN MWmhbF™
- - TMtowboas! AWowanuiMaßOoTssnOfAMow!”
2.4„.7 W. B ThumsUp!Cxothm Vfil
OSCAKI BEST ACTRESS And Wuour Ornhul!”
SUSAN SARANDON
SUSAN SCAN BBB2BS
SARANDON PENN "A Wicked, Ihlhl
A FILM BY TIM ROBBINS S FAKI!
nalM
2-4:30-7-9|3o[g gf] TOMO -
DIVERSIONS Music
Second Sandler Comedy CD Not for Children’s Ears
In recent years there has been a mass
exodus that has left “Saturday Night Live”
awash in a sea of new cast members. Phil
Hartman, Kevin Nealon, Chris Farley and
Janeane Garofalo are just a few of those
who bailed for various reasons, seeking
film careers and/or a change of pace.
Of those who fled, Adam Sandler is
arguably faring best, second only to
Hartman. Fresh from his second starring
role in a feature film and a sold-out college
and small venue tour this winter, Sandler
serves a follow-up to They’re All Gonna
Laugh At You! with his second full-length
comedy album,
What The Hell
Happened To
Me?
At his best,
Sandler can of
fer such silly,
earnest-boy
comedy that he
BRENT SIMON
Comedy Album
Review
Adam Sandler
What the Hell
Happened to Me?
B
actually comes off as one of our own ren
egade family members, an emotionally
unstable cousin, perhaps.
But if you’re familiar with him only
through “SNL” and his two juvenile film
releases, you’re missing quite another side
of Mr. Sandler, as his two comedy albums
have both been exercises in sheer vulgar
ity. Not that there’s necessarily anything
wrong with that.
The album opens with one of its stron
gest tracks, “Joining The Cult,” a hilarious
bit in which Sandler attempts to recruit a
friend into a sun-fearing religious cult, us
ing the logic that since he sacrificed by
watching the friend’s TV program instead
of Monday Night Football, the friend
should repay the favor. The first half of
What The He 11...? works quite well, with
“The Goat” offering eight minutes of ran
dom, oft-vulgar free association comedy
between several friends and a talking goat.
“The Hypnotist” travels familiar ground
with its focus on flatulence, though Kevin
Nealon’s straightman bit actually draws a
few laughs.
The album reaches its kooky apex half
waythroughwith“DoltForYourMama,”
in which Sandler plays a mother exhorting
her children to engage in a little autoeroti
rism. Strange, very strange.
In addition to the comedy segments,
there are seven of Sandler’s typically wacky
little ditties. While the majority of the
musical pieces are more slickly produced
than the offerings of They’re All Gonna
Laugh At You!, the songs as a whole are
generally a cut below Sandler’s previous
efforts. “The Chanukah Song” (previously
featured on“SNL”), and thereggae-themed
“Ode To My Car” stand out as the best
efforts.
The oddly assaulting “Steve
Polychronopolous” mainly seems like an
excuse to randomly curse, while Sandler’s
nonsensical ode to grandmothers, “Dip
Doodle,” slips into borderline irritation
and proves that substituting gibberish in
the place of lyrics only works so many
times.
Despite the NC-17 language on his two
comedy albums, Sandler has strong family
ties that run throughout his work, popping
up in not only his songs, but also his films.
While “Billy Madison” and “Happy
Gilmore” both streamlined Sandler’s hu
mor by reigning in and restricting his lan
guage, they also helped provide some genu
inely funny moments. One is often forced
to think more creatively when there is
some sort of limit to the cursing that can
take place—witness Sandler’s verbal back
hand of Bob Barker (“The price is wrong,
bitch!”) in “Happy Gilmore.” On What
The He 11... ? Sandler seems out to gamer a
personal reprimand from Bob Dole.
While the album lags a bit behind the
pace of his debut effort, What The Hell
Happened To Me? ultimately provides a fair
number of laughs.
Sandler’s so-odd-you-have-to-laugh
Eat here
downtown OP WB’II
next to hl " "PuppED'C DELIVER
varsity I tLII t-lxD 969-7265
pizza
carrboro
' easy access
carry-out
I ‘TWO THUMBS UP!”
One of the most important films
JsSfek ever ma de about the
HHK African American experience.”
~ MICHAEL MEDVED, SneoJt Pwieu’s PBS TV. New York Post
* - y' i W Al Freeman, Jr. Phylicia Rashad Leon
JLjg? itfTteS'Afe- Once Upon a Time...
* •# lb When We
& Were Colored
rSSuc |/I|Pth fpcl wrxtvLmv.MxyEzmwmmm ionmm wwb i wki ci* mutiimimwii*•
ncrvnts. MWitir(llUMlK*B>aSaWßSWllKlinilAW<liaWfWMllKliniraw
(C H F T. A F X') STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 12
GREEK
9
Step Skous &
AOA
tickets $lO in AdvAhcE |h
962-1449
(it Uixiotv Box
Vis\ & M Astrci>Kcl
SPONSORED BY
Alpha Phi Alpha iM
Fraternity, Inc.
WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM
Carolina Union Activities Board
I' j|| and
humor and over-the-top energy save sev
eral of the weaker bits. The bottom line, of
course, is that if you blush easily at the
mention of goat genitals or masturbation,
this album’s not quite in your age bracket.
■HP m n#
FREAK
6
After Pfcrty
SfcturJ&y, April 13
■y'
AuJitonW
Kr UNC-CUpel Hill
<Ws open kt 6 |>h%
sUv shots Lt 7 pin
AFTER PARTY folUmy
tU sUv In CltncUel
(colly ID Kfflrd,
Jkttetors will U i*mJ)
Thursday, April 11,1996
.
A THU LINE BETWEEN LOVE & HATE K
L Dhr 1:00, 3:20. 7:OB. 9:30
SGT. BILKO m
t- D 1 =■ 5=26, 7=M. =2 4
ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN 2 (;
PNy 1:10, ;10. B:10. 7:IN j
FAITHFUL R]
PcNy lill. lilN Bill. 7:15. Nilß u
EXECUTI VE DECISION M
k P—f
Pally IKW. 3:45, 7:00,9:40
THE BIRD CAGE [R! CIS
> Pally 1:08,3:30,7:08,9:30 .
A FAMILY THING iPG^gT
. Daily 1:15.3:35. 7;15,9:35 .
OLIVER & COMPANY m
. Patty 1:10,3:10, 5:10,7:25 .
HOMEWARD BOUND II [G]
t Drily 1:20.3:20, 5:20, 7:20 .
MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS El
. Dally 1:Q, 3:40, 7:10,9:45
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL Efrßl
. nightly 9:10
GIRL B |R]
9