8 /CRITICS' CORNER CAPITAL TIMES
November 23, 1992
Reviewer gives the dirt on new Alice and Chains
Rich "The Dickster" Howarth
Capital Times Staff
The Dickster's album ratings are based
on a five "D" scale.
OUR TIME IN EDEN
10,000 MANIACS
Ah, the soothing voice of Natalie
Merchant. She's probably the best female
vocalist in the industry today, and
definitely the appeal of the Maniacs. She
could sing nursery rhymes from Mother
Goose and make the top ten.
Our Time is the third effort for the
band, and although it contains some great
songs like "Noah's Dove," "These Are
Days," "Tolerance" and "I'm Not The
Man," it is not their best effort.
If you're a Maniacs fan, you might be
disappointed. DDD 1/2
Loud rock 'n' roll: how Sweet it is
Ed Paukstis
Special to the Capital Times
Zoo recording artist Matthew Sweet
proved to his audience that rock 'n' roll
can be therapeutic when he performed at
Club Met in Harrisburg on Election Night.
The pale-faced, flu-stricken singer
made his way to center stage, by way of
escort, almost 45 minutes late with guitar
in hand. The rest of his band followed
close behind.
After a brief one or two chord sound
check and a false start, Sweet and his
band, who have played with such
underground musical legends as Richard
Hell and Marshall Crenshaw, let loose on
the Beatlesque, soul-searching song
"Divine Intervention," and then hooked
the crowd with the jangly guitar-driven
song, "I've Been Waiting."
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GOOD AS I BEEN TO YOU
808 DYLAN
He's been playing his guitar for thirty
some years and he's not about to stop
Good As I Been To You is typically
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Dylan, full of folksy guitar and raspy
vocals. There's no denying that Mr. Dylan
is a great lyricist and guitarist, but Good
sounds just like any other Dylan album.
Good sports 13 new songs that all
sound like you've heard them a hundred
times before. If you're only going to own
one Dylan album, don't let it be this one.
DD
PEACE AND LOVE,
INFORMATION SOCIETY
I've got one word for you--techno. It's
Mary Divney, associate director of Zoo
Entertainment, said that Sweet had
canceled an interview with WTPA (93.5
FM) and refused to use his voice, even to
communicate with his band and crew.
Despite his condition, he delivered a well
rounded, ear-deafening performance.
"We usually don't play as loud as this,"
said Sweet's manager Russell Carter. "I
think that Matthew was trying to
compensate for his voice by playing twice
as loud and not talking during the day."
"After the first or second song, I
thought my ears were going to bleed," said
Matt Homovich, a senior electrical
engineering technology major. "Right
then, I knew this show was not going to be
mellow."
Highlights of the evening included a
bluesy version of "Girlfriend," the title
track from Sweet's current album, and the
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the latest music craze that's sweeping the
nation, and Information Society is no
stranger to the world of techno.
Peace and Love is the Society's third
effort, and it is definitely happening. The
album features electronic beats and
samples that combine to form a type of
music you would swear was created by a
computer. In fact, track 12 is computer
data and not a musical selection at all.
Peace is very danceable and worth
several listens, trust me. DDD 1/2
DIRT
ALICE IN CHAINS
If you like your music hard and fast,
you're gonna love the latest from Alice In
Chains. Forget about "Man in the Box,"
that Alice doesn't live here anymore.
Driving, wailing, high-energy guitar
leads provide the fuel that keeps Dirt
burning hot--RED HOT. And the vocals
aren't that bad either. In fact, they're great!
INC.
seminal country stomping of
"Evangeline," and the emotional ballad
'Winona"--both of which are reminiscent
of vintage Neil Young.
Sweet surprised the audience with two
cover songs during his encore: L7's
"Pretend We're Dead," and the Beatles'
"She Said She Said," which includes the
lyrics "I know what it's like to be dead"--
most appropriate considering his
condition.
Although Sweet's lyrics can sometimes
be depressing and deal mostly with self
doubt, heartbreak, and indifference to
religion, his music does combine hook
Swimming through
Black Water is a joy
Bonnie Etzweiler
Capital Times Staff
Joyce Carol Oates has taken a story
from the headlines of yesterday,
transplanted it into today and created a
masterpiece of suspense, wonder and dread
with the book Black Water.
The following excerpt is both page one
and chapter one:
The rented Toyota, driven with
such impatient exuberance by The
Senator, was speeding along the
unpaved unnamed road, taking the turns
in giddy skidding slides, and then, with
no warning, somehow the car had gone
off the road and had overturned in black
rushing water, listing to its passenger's
side, rapidly sinking.
"Am I going to die?--like this?"
The above speaker is Kelly Kelleher.
The story is told from her viewpoint. She
is "the one, the girl" chosen by The
Senator to accompany him on this fatal
meeting with black water.
Kelly Kelleher represents the ideal
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"Them Bones," "Dam That River,"
"Sickman," "Dirt," "Down In A Hole,"
and "Hate To Feel" are the cream of Dirt .
Call it what you like--heavy metal,
rock 'n' roll, death metal--Dirt will rock
your f***ing world. DDDD 1/2.
AMERICAN STANDARD
MARY'S DANISH
Mary's Danish are no amateurs to the
world of college radio. American Standard
is their third release in three years.
This time around, they're backed by a
lot of industry big-wigs. Wow, they
recorded at George Lucas' Skywalker
studios. Sorry, but that doesn't make
Standard any better.
The vocals of Julie Ritter and Gretchen
Seager give this album a unique sound
indeed, but 13 songs is all I can take. Two
songs that really shine on Standard are
"Killjoy" and "Porcupine." For best
results, listen in moderation. DDD
melodies and harmonies, with blues-based
guitar and occasional "grunge" (distorted
guitar) which makes them a lot easier for
his audience to digest,
Sweet said that his next album could
be a departure, rather than a continuation
of "Girlfriend" because of his infatuation
with grunge.
Carter added that Sweet has a wide
range of musical interests, including
country, funk, psychedelic, folk and
classic rock 'n' roll.
"I don't know what the key to longevity
is," said Sweet. "But I hope to stay in the
business for quite some time."
American girl who is witty, bright and
brave but also hopelessly entangled in
dreams of romance.
We learn about Kelly's background by
following her to the brink of disaster only
to be whisked back in time and brought
forward again and again. Each time we
come one step closer to an end we dread
but know is inevitable.
The Senator is the hero Kelly has
always admired but never expected to meet.
She always refers to him as "The Senator."
She never refers to him by name or sees
him as a normal person with bad points
only good.
Rarely have I been as intrigued by a
book as I was with Black Water. I was
fascinated by the number of angles and
devices Joyce Carol Oates uses to jerk us
from, and lead us back, to the black water.
This story takes an intense look at the
final hours of a young woman's life and
the underlying cultural values that lead her
to her death
If you only have time to read one book
for pleasure this semester, try Black Water
by Joyce Carol Oates.
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