Brownie Mary goes Naked
by Dakota Dinncn
staff writer
It doesn’t matter how much money
you’ve got. It doesn’t matter if you’re
broke or not. It doesn’t matter how
much you can shell out... you’ll buy
it; once you’ve heard Brownie Mary’s
Naked. Brownie Mary and their long
awaited album come out of the Pitts
burgh alternative scene. Since the
release of Naked, the entire nation has
been able to take a bite out of this
Brownie.
The lead singer, Kelsey Barber sings
that once you’ve seen her naked, noth
ing will matter anymore. She sings
you will see right through her, but her
voice and lyrics (all of which she had
a hand in writing except for one song:
Memphis) are more likely to turn your
head. With the fierceness of the feral
screams of Gwen Stefani and the
smoothness of Jewel’s lullaby sing
ing, Kelsey sings about would-be ro
mances, self-reflections, America’s
Tim O’Brien with Professor of Women’s Studies and English Diana Hume George
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collapse under the superficial pressure
of the media, and inspirational
changes that people sometimes have
to force themselves through.
The guitar-centered mix of pop,
folk, and hard-core rock that back
Kelsey up is created by her three band
mates Rich Jacques (guitars, e-bow,
backup vocals), Mark Rajakovic
(drums, percussion) and Ron Bissell
(bass).
■Most of Brownie Mary’s songs start
out like a quiet mouse; and while
some stay rather content, others rage
out like they have just mutated into a
rabid rat, like “Butterfly.” This track
starts out gentle like its light-winged,
harmless namesake, but morphs into
a hard-hitting, louder creature: more
like a yellow jacket searching for an
arm to sting. The man that the band
describes in the song goes through a
general metamorphosis of his own,
and breaks out of the “cocoon” that
his family has smothered him in.
“Say You Want Me” opens with a
.Hl<appy JHLolidUys
bagpipe that gives a Celtic tinge to the
ballad about self-struggje. “Mem
phis” begins with the scratching
sound of vinyl as if the song were
being played on a record, and then
proceeds with a calm, folksy acous
tic guitar.
While these tracks with guitar
strikes floating across dreamy echoes
are quiet, they are also mixed with
songs like “I’ll Be the One” that make
abrupt jumps into some hard-core
rock from the get-go. Perhaps none
of Brownie Mary’s work has ex
ploded into the forefront of the na
tional alternative scene, but they have
definitely slid quietly into some well
deserved national recognition.
I enthusiastically recommend the
album Naked by Brownie Mary. It is
available at local record stores. If you
would like more information on
Brownie Mary, look them up on The
Blackbird Recording Company’s web
page at www.blackbirdusa.com.
From tike Beacon
Features
Tim O’Brien speaks at Behrend
by Jon Stubbs
features editor
Renowned author Tim O'Brien
spoke to a crowd of students in the
Reed Lecture Hall at Penn State Be
hrend last Thursday. He read a few
selections from his book The Things
They Carried which is a collection
of stories about the author's own ex
periences in the Vietnam War.
O’Brien admits that some of the sto
ries contained in The Things They
Carried are true while others are "true
lies." O'Brien chose to read one par
ticular section from the book tilled
"Ambush," which he confessed he
doesn’t do too often because it is
somewhat difficult for him to read.
___
ry’s latest release, Naked, is available on Blackbird CDs and cassettes
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Thursday, December 10, 1998 - The Behrend College Beacon -Page 7
Mr. O'Brien went on to discuss the
inspiration for the first chapter of his
latest book. Tomcat In Love. The story
he told about he and his buddy,
Herbie, was almost word for word
with the first chapter. Tomcat In Love
marks a departure from his past
works, which are primarily about
Vietnam. After about an hour of read
ing his works and explaining his ap
proach to his writing, O’Brien opened
the floor to questions. One Behrend
student asked, "Would you give up
your writing to have never gone to
Vietnam?"
"Yes, absolutely," O’Brien an
swered. "But I think I would have
been a writer anyway." Afterwards,
the author signed copies of his new
Announciho
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side of Reed 117.
Corresponding opinions seemed to
be held by most of the students who
attended: "1 enjoyed it very much;
he's funny and he is a good story
teller,” Dakota Dinnen, 01, English.
"This reading has capsulated such
a range of emotions... I’m completely
amazed and entirely impressed with
his sophisticated story telling ability,”
Kristi McKini, 07, English.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I re
ally enjoyed it,” Tracie Abbott, 05,
English.
"He seemed real down to earth. He
didn’t have his head up his ass like
most writers do," Steven Marroni, 08,
English.
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