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6 Thursday, August 31, 2000 The Newsboys Go Disco; Elastica's Return Not Worth 5-Year Wait Big L The Big Picture ★ ★★★ On February 15, 1999, Big L was found face-down, with nine bullets in his face and chest, at the Church’s Chicken on 139th Street near his Harlem home. The hip-hop world was immediately disgusted at the waste of the life and career of an up-and-coming emcee. The shooting allegedly resulted from beef over a death some say L set up. A year and a half later, L’s murder suspect is behind bars, and The Big Picture, a posthumous showcase of L’s work, has been released. The music isn’t exactly radio-friend ly, but the beats allow L’s lyricism to shine. Unlike Eminem, who needs Dr. Dre’s beats as an anchor though his lyrics are already tight, L is strictly about his words, and not the beat’s catchiness. No Timbaland, no Swizz, just really raw, hard-core, undergroundish Roc Raida and Primo stuff, which L flows over with wit, sharpness and accuracy. Hip-hop fans should buy this album just for one thing. In one of the best freestyles ever, L raps: “A while back I used to hustle/ Sellin’ blow in the park/ Countin’ G stacks and rockin’ ice that glow in the dark ... Fuckin’ punk, you ain’t a leader, what? Nobody followed you ... Before I buck lead, and make a lot of blood shed/ Turn your tux red, I’m far from broke, got enough bread and mad hos/ Ask Beavis, I get nuttin’ Butt-head.” The Big Pictures guest artists are most notably L’s D.I.T.C. (Diggin’ in the Crates) crew members Fatjoe, A.G. and O.C. Others include Tupac, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Kool G Rap, Stan Spit and female newcomer Remi Martin. L’s most popular single, “Ebonics,” is also included: “My weed smoke is my lah/ A key of coke is a pie/ When I’m lifted, I’m high ... Cars is whips/ Do You Have Hayfever/AUergies? North Carolina Clinical Research is seeking participants for a medical research study who meet these qualifications: Eli S ible Participants will receive at no cost • Are 12 years of age or older study-related: physical examinations, • Have a history or diagnosis of allergies EKGs ’ lab tests ' aller gy , skin testin 6 and • Symptoms may include: Runny Nose, Congestion, Sneezing, stud y medlcatlon ' 38 wcll as Itchy Nose and Eyes ' reimbursement for time and travel. For more information call (919) 881-0309 B:3oam to spm weekdays. After hours please leave a message. North Carolina Clinical Research-Dr. Craig LaForce and Dr. Karen Dunn, hoard Certified in Allergy and Immunology. HEALTHY FOOD >f * f where m| else c ■fcrrSdLjPw y° u 9 et of mjp 9 rams F Try our new 2g menu! ’ mmmmmmmmmmmam ' ■. < • Sneakers is kicks...” You get the picture. The video for “Holdin’ It Down” is cur rently rotating on BET. It’s a fun track that introduces L’s style, music and crew to those that just don’t know. L, after Biggie and Tupac, might be the biggest loss hip hop has suffered due to violence. Hip hop doesn’t necessarily condone violence, as some may con clude from the recent catastrophe at The Source Awards, where fights shut down the show. Unfortunately, that’s how the stakes go down when people let their insecurities and beef consume their abil ity to act sensibly, eventually affecting people like L firsthand. By Shindy Chen Newsboys Love Liberty Disco •kick 1/2 The definition of eclectic, the Newsboys’ Love Liberty Disco combines gruff vocals with strains of uplifting music, focusing on the concept of uni versal love in true-to-disco-era fashion. Diversity is key: the medley of songs avoids blending into the background, and the exploration of the disco sound doesn’t monopolize the album. The sound of tentative, ethereal strings and guitar chords piques interest in the opener “Beautiful Sound” and draws out the Aussie accent of lead singer Peter Furler. Since the Newsboys’ previous lead singer,JohnJames, left the group, it has evolved considerably, breaking away from the classic Newsboys Christian rock of the 1996’s Take Me to Your Leader and 1998’s Step Up to the Microphone. Highlights on the new album include “Beautiful Sound,” “Say You Need Love” and the title cut, “Love Liberty Disco.” For listeners appreciative of the disco sound, the latter two songs evoke flashbacks of “Saturday Night Fever.” They capture a neo-disco sound with DIVERSIONS Etc. copious hand-clapping and gruff vocals. The track “Say You Need Love” is stel lar in its combination of descriptive imagery and smooth strings. But compared to its spontaneous beginning, Love Liberty Disco winds up languidly. What comes later can’t mea sure up to the album’s initial glory. Instead of the droning of “Surrender All" and indistinguishable lyrics of “Fall on You," the album would have benefit ed from a few energetic songs placed near the conclusion. The CD’s length should also be a consideration when a consumer is debating whether to pay full CD price for 35 minutes of entertainment. The Newsboys, as a Christian/ pop/altemative group, appeal to their audience by using a first-person point of view in their lyrics and aiming their emphasis at the individual. Christianity, although ultimately the focus of each song, is a subtle influence - perhaps the band is trying to reach out to both secular and religious crowds through its omission of direct references to God or Jesus. The album avoids a preachy, holier-than-thou take, instead stressing the universal love embraced by the disco era “that unites us all.” By Kit Foss Elastica The Menace ★ ★ 1/2 When Elastica appeared in 1995, the band’s smart, sexy, self-titled first album rocketed past Oasis to become the fastest-selling debut in the U.K. But that was five years ago, and a lot has changed since then. Britpop has been all but dethroned by electronica in England, and most people in the United States probably only vaguely remember “Connection,” Elastica’s stateside hit. It’s been five years of silence from Elastica while the music world passed by, with only the peep of an EP in 1999 to remind fans that the band still existed. After the stress of various member comings and goings (there are six now, instead of four) and vocalist Justine Frischmann’s much-publicized breakup with Blur frontman Damon Albam, you could say that Elastica deserves a break. But five years is a long time to wait for a sophomore album from a band that isn’t exaedy integral to the state of modem rock. It’s tough, even for fans of the group’s debut, to retain interest through such a dry spell. Moreover, new inductees won’t find anything too special on The Menace. The band has dismissed much of Elasticds melody, leaving more angular pop-punk and adding dreamy dirges. It’s not a revolutionary musical step, and it’s certainly one that a band doesn’t need five years to take. Plus, it sucked all the fun out of things, with sassy pop songs largely replaced by dissonance and layers of synth noise. The group still retains enough of its derivative New Wave sound that it’s easy to see why Elastica brought the band Blondie comparisons and two copyright infringement lawsuits. And Frischmann’s petulant, English accented vocals still drive the album; she has the kind of voice you just know comes from a sexily pouting mouth. But she uses it too often to snarl idio cies like “See you later alligator” or the silly acrostic of “How to Spell Elastica Man” (“E - extra special,” and so on). There are a few bright spots, notably the irresistible punk hooks of the all-too brief “Generator” and the hushed con fessional of the ambient “My Sex.” But the music seems awfully uncom plicated to be the work of six musicians, and then there’s the less-than-inspired decision to close the album with a cover of Trio’s “Da Da Da” (Yes, it’s that song from the Volkswagon commercial). Coens' 'Blood Simple' Anything But Bv Jeremy Hurt/. Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor “Blood Simple,” the first film from the Coen brothers, is complicated. Though its themes are more straightfor ward than those of . -.mowe. the duo’s later, infamous “Fargo,” its crime-noir “Blood Simple” story twists and ★★★l/2 CATC-CfifTOlC 967-9053 300 E. Main Street • Carrboro | 31TH DJ POLO ($10) | 2SA HOBEX. 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Alkaline Trio SHOWS (3 GOI Room 4: 9/6 Ulu 9/12 Claire Holley 9/16 HAN BENNINK& EUGENE CHADBOURNE 9/17 RICHARD BUCKNER 9/20 Selby Tigers, Radio 4, Sorry About Dresden 9/22 Jennifer Nettles 9/24 Joan of Arc 9/30 Vandermark Five @ The RITZ: 11/12 BEN HARPER" @ KINGS In Ralelah: 11/17 MIKE WATT" ($8) @ the Brewery: 10/11 7 SECONDS" ($10) “Advance ticket sales at SchoolKids (in Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh). For Credit Card orders CALL 919-967-9053 -■ WEsvsmßm -ajjfcgK jBl i r||gj v ip I s e life# raff \ y* Former Squirrel Nut Zipper Tom Maxwell turns in an impressive solo debut on the self-released Samsara. While The Menace has its shortcom ings, Elastica is still an original in the post-millennial music spectrum - no one else seems to be rehashing New Wave punk right now, or at least not in quite the same way. Perhaps future (and more timely) albums will deliver on Elastica’s potential. By Ashley Atkinson Tom Maxwell Samsara irk-k-k Tom Maxwell’s Samsara expertly combines roots rock, blues, swing and jazz to create an exciting and refresh ingly unusual album. Maxwell, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, has compiled an album that deftly delves into multiple musical genres. Backed by members of the Zippers, Samsara showcases exceptional musicianship paired with excellent vocal harmonization. catches like strange plumbing. Originally released in 1985, the film now returns to theatres as a remastered director’s cut. Is Abby (Frances McDormand) sleeping with Ray (John Getz) to coerce him into killing her husband Marty (Dan Hedaya)? The plot starts winding immediately, rendering this important relationship unclear from the beginning. We don’t get a feel for either lover’s per sonality until well after Marty hires a P.l. (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill the cheating couple. By that point we ought to care for and fear for diem, but we don’t. This problem is a result of the Coens’ gift for hilarious vernacular dialogue - which often conveys essential informa tion in a realistically roundabout way - combined with the initial half-hour’s fast setup. Subversive social satire is a Coen hallmark. In “Blood Simple” the satire isn’t subversive - the interaction of intel ligent people with stupid people, for instance, is played just for laughs. McDormand witlessly babbles in bed; her lover asks her if she ever gets tired. “Yeah,” she replies, uncomprehending. “Sometimes. Uh-huh.” Fifteen-year-old low-budget films usually display bad deterioration, but thanks to a top-notch restoration job, “Blood Simple” looks sharp. Still, tell tales make plain the film’s cheap indie nature: oddly precise editing, poor light ing, touched-up grain. - Friendly Barber Shop Tfl > oc < C \ !) 942-6921 m 108 E. Main Street • Carrboro ■ c.jJT Hours: M, TANARUS, Th,FB-6, WB-1, Sat. 8-4 vsiMiammumiimmimMMm Liquidation Sale A man a m price illl /alia J Clothes & Shoes U TAKING YOU TO CLASS IN STYLE! "mti * drcsscs JfV. • skirts * shoes • scarves • hats 968-0365 • jewelry HOURS; * belt s Mon-Thurs 10-6:30 * s? ifts Fn-S.it 10-7 'tights Sunday 12-5 135 E. Franklin St. Chapel Hill * Between Bank of America & Salon 135 Sails ®a r One of the opening numbers, “Uptown Stomp,” features lively trum pet and saxophone lines that mesh per fectly with Maxwell’s grainy voice. In “If I Had You,” the earthy voice of Holly Baddour magically harmonizes with both Maxwell and die airy piano accompaniment. Samsara also successfully keeps an exciting energy flow. Maxwell’s song lineup blends fast-paced swing with country-western ballads, never once los ing the upbeat mood of the album. “Flame In My Heart” plunges whole heartedly into a country twang, and fea tures wonderful acoustic guitar picking that is unfortunately dominated by the vocal harmonization between Maxwell and his wife, Melanie. Samsara is a complete album, offer ing a full plate for the musical appetite. Impressive musical ability waits at every turn, making the album a great pick. By Karen Whichard Usually the director’s cut of a film is longer than the original. Often directors use this phrase to reinstate peripheral scenes for the sake of making deleted footage available. But Ethan and Joel Coen have made few additions to this newly restored print of their debut -t and many sub tractions. They’ve excised “some of the boring stuff,” as anew introduction states, in the interests of cutting to the plot’s chase. And what a chase it is. After the ini tial confusion over who’s screwing whom and who’s screwing whom over, the smart, allusive script finds traction and runs. A crime occurs, and everyotte thinks someone else is responsible. Perhaps none of them is right, or all. • It’s not a whodunit - the audience knows who - rather, as with “Fargo,” it is a character study. Because the plot, though outstanding, remains conven tional, much weight is placed on the actors’ shoulders. i Each performs admirably; the young McDormand’s uncanny mix of feminine vulnerability and equally feminine strength seems destined for success. Sb do the Coens, their superb imagery and squirming tension in hill swing. It’s sat isfying to see a picture brimming wid promise and to know that promise ha; since been realized. The Arts & Entertainment Editor cai be reached at artsdesk@unc.edi
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 31, 2000, edition 1
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