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111 Harmonics Unleash Christian Rap; Portable Vents
IU Harmonics
Take lico
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The Christian rap duo 111 Harmonics
varies the music on Take Two, its first
album after its 2000 debut with An
Octave Above the Original. Some songs
boast car-shaking bass while others
infuse Spanish guitar, maracas and
trumpets, making for an atypical rap
album.
The duo might be Christian rappers,
but the songs don’t shove God and
Bible verses in your face. With a laid
back style, the band comments on faith
and destiny and mentions God tactful
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While the music behind the rhymes
is inventive and fun, the lyrics often fall
flat. Some of the defining characteristics
of rap music - sex, drinking, drugs and
fun - are, as to be expected, absent from
the album. Most of the songs have a
freestyle quality, and the lyrics seem
poindess and don’t branch out.
In fact, one lyric is laugh-out-loud
funny - beginning a song with
“Playdough’s the name.” Singing
“Playdough” with a hard-core, serious
delivery was pure comedy in itself. But
compound this delivery with the fact
that it’s impossible to take a guy named
Playdough seriously.
Outkast they’re not, but the creativi
ty exhibited by 111 Harmonics is remi
niscent of the originality produced by
the southern rappers. Tempo and style
vary throughout the LP, making each
song different.
And while these songs might use
similar techniques, the duo occasional
ly infuses Spanish-tinged styles that
sound as different from the purely
American tracks as they do from each
other; the rhythms of “Destiny” and
“San Jose” both boast a Latin feeling,
but each keeps its own individuality
that sets it apart from more standard
fare like “The Crowd is Standing.”
“Destiny” showcases the album’s
other side, one infused with Spanish
rhythms. The song is also more spiritu
al than other songs, eloquently express
ing the duo’s opinion that they were
called by God to sing. Rapping
“Speakin’ parable not fable cause eter
nally the truth is the only thing that’s sta
ble/ A call that many have had but few
have chosen,” they touch on
Christianity without forcing it upon the
audience.
And like “The Crowd is Standing,’’
the album’s title track features a driving
bass beat with superior lyrics, following
the more traditional concept of rapping.
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Behind the chorus of “Take two and
manana give a call, the questions asked
and answered yes y’all/ A double dose,
pill from the ill prescribed, your phar
macist to assist in catching the vibe,” the
music has catchy repetitions. But the
random sound of a guy screaming along
with a chain saw adds too much to the
mix.
A purely instrumental album might
have been even better than downplay
ing the music with less-than-stellar
lyrics. It’s easy to imagine more talented
rappers doing the instrumentals justice
and making great songs out of the inven
tive rhythms.
Although the sounds and a few lyrics
are creative and refreshing, the majority
of lake Two is inferior rapping with supe
rior beats.
By Kristen Williams
Zoo Story
Come Out and Play
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Invite your friends because it is
indeed time to Come Out and Play - play
“name that influence.”
As unoffensive as possible, this album
is easy on the ears. But anything can be
easy on the ears if you’ve heard it or
something ridiculously similar to it
enough already.
Opening with Creed-esque power
chords and whining, lilting vocal
stylings that lack only the sincerity of
Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, Zoo
Story sets a precedent that continues
throughout Come Out and Play.
Perfectly mirroring the musical
trends, pop-rock stars and one hit won
ders of the past 15 years, this album
might serve a better purpose than car
music. You could potentially use it as a
crash course for friends who have been
living under a rock or out of the country
since Counting Crows’ August and
Everything After hit the charts.
You could also use Come Out and Play
for some serious nostalgia. “Chasing
Zen” was melodically made to remem
ber those late summer evenings in
smoky concert halls when you were 16
years old, your arm around your best
friend and a Schlitz in the other hand.
Lighter anyone?
For folks who remember the early
’9os, “Star” sounds like an unreleased
track from U2’s The Joshua Tree, hitting
and missing all the way through. The
track is a testament to the fact that these
boys have forgotten the cardinal rule of
becoming an international pop-rock star
- give the people something new. No
matter how hard you cling to the under
DIVERSIONS
belly of the bandwagon, you’re still
clinging to the underbelly of a band
wagon.
Not to say that Come Out and Play isn’t
without merit Zoo Story executes its
imitations well, managing to recreate
the feel of the genuine articles without
embarrassing themselves.
At its best, melodically and techni
cally, the members take a hint from
Radiohead’s The Bends, Travis’ The Man
Who and the kind of destructive rock
that surfaced on the soundtrack for
“Empire Records.” The track “If I
Could Dream Like Francis" is evidence
that if you’re going to cheat off someone
else’s paper, it’s always wise to turn your
eyes toward the smarter kids in the class.
While it might not have originality, one
can’t say that Zoo Story doesn’t have
taste.
This album is perfect for schooling
those special exchange students who
spent their adolescence listening to
French rap. But be careful blithely
applying tracks like “M” to just anyone
you consider musically illiterate. Even
people who think The The is just a typo
will still be driven mad, shivering in the
comer and repeating phrases like: “Oh
God, who does that sound like? 1 know
it, wait, hang on ...” over and over
again.
Yet, there is hope for Zoo Story, and
it lies in the track “(((Intermission))).”
Irony is always a strong musical state
ment, and it’s more than fitting that Zoo
Story’s redemption lies in its
“(((Intermission))).” Part Renaissance
madrigal and part acoustical moment of
honesty, this short track holds the
brightest ember of what could save Zoo
Story from itself - itself.
See, Mom wasn’t lying when she
told you to “just be yourself and every
one will love you.” But when you’re
trying to become an international pop
rock star, that’s something else entirely.
The timeless advice to “learn from
your elders” followed by the showbiz
credo “get your own gimmick,” is ...
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That’s the thing about this album
and, if you want to get technical, about
life. You can shuffle by, taking hints
from others and failing to keep your
eyes on your own paper, but honestly,
will you be able to deal with the result?
By Brooks Firth
Portable
Only if You Look Up
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Underneath that hard masculine
facade, the pseudo-tough act Portable
has plenty of feathered edges.
On Only if You Look Up, the band’s
sophomore LP, Portable asserts angry
rock angst but doesn’t quite manage to
cover up its soft side.
In a conglomeration of guitars, bass
and drums, the album starts with a bang.
In track-long rounds of imitation, the
four-piece band sometimes plays like a
fluid blend of Fuel, recent Collective
Soul and Our Lady Peace.
But Portable’s emotionally volatile
pump makes it not quite this and not
quite that. The band might produce
echoing chords of familiarity for the lis
tener, but most often the album’s sound
is symptomatic Of I-just-can’t-place-it
syndrome.
Yet clearly, Portable is rock. These
boys can be tough, and they’re not
afraid to show it - the roughened rock
boy image seems to be their musical
ideal. At the same time, though, the
band members demonstrate a penchant
for letting tenderness seep through at
the oddest moments.
Opening with the intensely building
musicality of “Never Small,” the album
immediately demonstrates that
Portable is tight. There’s just the right
amount of buildup to the vocals, which
come in at the ideal crescendo. And the
bridges, contrasting with the harsh,
elaborate feel of the remainder of the
tune, are musically muted to showcase
vocalist Chance’s striking crooning
skills.
There is a notable fluidity to
Portable’s sound. Tracks flow into one
another, producing a continuously
invigorating album that is emotionally
explosive.
Rhythmic rock ranting dominates
“A Man Destroys,” grinding out a sort
of kiss-off that culminates in shouts, not
singing. “Left” is almost painfully rage
filled and is the one track on the album
that that could be considered overkill.
But these boys have the sweet, sad
song style down as well. With “Given,”
Portable launches into a flawless melan
choly melody that ebbs behind
Chance’s slightly whining words. The
vocalist/musician opens with a simple
piano melody, an anthem for his sensi
tive side, and the tune gives to rock a
slightly sweet dusting of musical sugar.
“Come in From the Cold” exempli
fies the nostalgic boy ballad. Similarly
soft and introspective, “Suffocate,”
begins with lyrics like those on Nine
Inch Nails’ The Fragile and eerily Kom
esque instrumentals. “If you can’t
breathe, then I can’t breathe; let’s suffo
cate together,” Chance whispers.
And if you’re doubting the existence
of lovelorn sappy singing boys, just take
a moment to listen to “Last Song,”
which proves Portable consists of pup
pies rather than pit bulls.
Only if You Look Up is a bit manic,
drawing elements from various rock
and alternative bands to form a familiar
yet new sound. The band, chameleon
like, has managed to imitate some of
the best facets of different rock acts
without playing poser. Initially,
Portable’s style might seem mired in
madness, but don’t be fooled by the
quartet’s macho stance.
Underneath, they’re just big softies.
By Michelle Jarboe
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Thursday, April 11, 2002
dive
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Bush had Bjork, Tori Amos and the
Lilith Fair crowd furiously taking
notes when she released her 1985
masterpiece, Hounds of Love. The
album is set into two distinct halves,
Side one holds the best pop songs
she ever permed (“Cloudbusting,”
“Running Up That Hill”). But it was
the daring dream sequence of side
two (“The Ninth Wave”) that
cemented the album’s status as the
best the ‘Bos had to offer.
■ Annie Lennox, Diva When
The Eurythmics broke up in 1990,
most critics believed that Dave
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silenced all who previously believed
the passionate front-woman favored
style over substance. Rarely, if ever,
has anyone captured the double
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■ “Labyrinth” Jim Henson’s
musical comedy cast David Bowie
next to future Oscar-winner Jennifer
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huggable Muppets. This movie
inspired my first crush (Connelly), my
dog’s name (Ludo, after the cuddly
giant) and hours of fantasizing about
the Muppets in my closet who were
ready to take me to the goblin castle.
Michael Abernethy can be
reached at
mabernet@email.unc.edu.
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