Page 10 - The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, February 19, 1998
Brownie Mary bares it all in new album, Naked
by John Amorose
stuff loiter
What a long, strange trip it's been.
Last year at this time, Brownie Mary
was hounding up and down the
eastern seaboard, packing every
quaint venue and college campus
along the way. With their fierce live
shows and relentless touring, the hand
amassed a veritable army of ravenous
fans, starving for new material.
But as Dylan so rebelliously
mumbled, "the times, they are a
changin'." The days of playing beer
gardens and coffee-shops may soon
be over for Brownie Mary. Following
bands like The Clarks and The
Gathering Field, Brownie Mary
signed with Blackbird Recording
Company, a subsidiary of Flektra
Records, and released their major
label debut Naked. Finally, the rest
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Do you know your Black History?
In recognition of Black History Month, The Association of Black Collegians is sponsoring a
Black History quiz to test your knowledge of notable people and facts related to African Ameri
can history. Quizzes will be checked for correct responses and a winner will be randomly drawn
from the number of correct entries received. In order to be considered for the drawing, all ques
tions must be answered correctly. The winner will be announced in the Collegian and will receive
a $lO.OO gift certificate to the bookstore. All entries must be submitted to the Counseling and
Advising Office, First floor, Reed Bldg. no later than Thursday, February 26, 1998.
Circle the correct response.
. Who is regarded as the first major poet of the Harlem Renaissance?
a. Antoine Williams
h. Claude McKay
c. Gwendolyn Brooks
Who was the black world heavyweight boxing champion between 1937 and 1947?
a. Joe Louis
b. Sonny Liston
c. Muhammad Ali
What year was slavery abolished?
a. 1814
h. 1960
c. 1865
In what city was the first game of the National Negro Baseball League played in 1920?
a. Pittsburgh
b. Raleigh
c. Indianapolis
Who is the author of Color Purple?
a. Alice Walker
b. Whoopie Goldberg
c. Toni Morrison
Who was the first black justice on the Supreme Court?
a. Clarence Thomas
b. Thurgood Marshall
c. Johnny Cochran
Who was the first black person ever to win an Oscar?
a. Denzel Washington
b. Cicely Tyson
c. Hattie McDaniel
Who was the first black woman astronaut?
a. Dr. Mae C. Jernison
b. Dr. Jocelyn Elders
c. Dr. Emma Henderson
Which amendment gave blacks the right to vote?
a. 13th
b. 14th
c. 15th
of America gets to hear what
Pittsburgh has been talking about for
Naked starts off in vintage Brownie
Mary fashion with the up-heat toe
tapper "Like I Really Do." With the
lead singer Kelsey Barber's
With the exception of
Be the One," which was
copied and renamed from
their first album, ...Naked is
a complete bore.
sensuously-gritty vocals, coupled
with Rick Jaques' titillating guitar
solos, Brownie Mary lays all of their
cards on the table—and entices the
listener to move on.
Return to Counseling and Advising Office, Reed Bldg
The title track is probably the most
amazing of the album. Kelsey
unleashes her Madonna-esque vocals
over some funky bass riffs that open
and close the song. Naked is
definitely a more mature song then
Brownie Mary is used to putting out,
and it shows that they have indeed
grown as a band.
But unfortunately, as is true in life,
every silver lining has a cloud, and
the album certainly has its share of
those. Many of the remaining songs
are carbon-copied, jingly-jangly
twang, a sound that has been beaten
into the musical ground by the
majority of artists today. With the
exception of "I'll Be the One," which
was copied and renamed from their
first album (it was originally called
"Bitch"), Naked is a complete bore.
The songs become progressively
less imaginative, settling for sappy
tracks about relationships and love.
Don't get me wrong, there is
definitely room for these songs in the
world of music (ask Matchbox 20),
but using such blatantly cliched one
liners as "Say You Want Me" and
"Blind Obsession" is patronizing to
their loyal fans.
What once separated Brownie
Mary from the musical deluge from
Pittsburgh was the raw, animalistic
nature of their sound. But with Naked,
the band has surrendered this sound
for a more politically correct and
chart-friendly format, and it's a damn
shame.
On my classed-I'd-skip-to-go-see
them-scale, Brownie Mary receives a
three out of five, because they do put
on a great live show and hopefully
they'll play mostly older tracks.
For those of you interested in seeing
Brownie Mary, and are of age, they
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Brownie Mary (from left to right: Rich Jacques, Mark Rajakovic, Kelsey Barber, and
Ron Bissell) has just released its second album, Naked.
will be performing at Calimari's for a
21+ show on February 26.
Opening for them are labelmates
Everything, promoting their
upcoming March release
"Supernatural." These guys are just
plain wild. They combine serene
vocals with horns, guitars, bass, and
an array of keyboard, moog, and
organ sounds. Their music is indeed
a feast for the senses, and I imagine
they put on an amazing live
performance. Combine that with the
energy and cavorting of Kelsey and
the rest of Brownie Mary, Calimari's
should be jamming on the 26th.
10. Who was the first black secretary of state?
a. Andrew Young
b. Clifford Alexander
c. Jesse Jackson
11. What was the name of the first black professional basketball team, organized in 1923?
a. The Renaissance
b. Harlem Globetrotters
c. Wave
12. Who was the first black to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
a. Martin Luther King, Jr.
b. Desmond Tutu
Ralph Bunche
13. What was the name of the fi
Samuel Cormish
in 1827?
a. The Black Free Press
b. The Courier
c. Freedom Journal
What court case reversed the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision?
a. Brown vs. Board of Education
b. NAACP vs. Alabama
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
What was the last state to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. day?
Mississippi
b. Pennsylvania
c. Arizona
Who was the first black woman elected to congress?
a. Carol Mosley Braun
b. Shirley Chisholm
c. Louisa May Alcott
What was the first black greek fraternity established in 1906?
a. Omega Psi Phi
b. Alpha Phi Alpha
c. Kappa Alpha Psi
Who was the civil rights advocate, who refused to move to the back of the bus in
Montgomery,
Alabama?
a. Rosa Parks
b. Sojourner Truth
c. Lorraine Hansberry
19. Who founded the first historically black college and university (HBCU)?
a. Marcus Garvey
b. WEB Dußois
c. Booker T. Washington
20. What year was black history month first observed?
a. 1965
b. 1976
c. 1867
George Washington's Birth
Honor
our first
president
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black newspaper published by John Russwuvm
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