Page 6 — LION’SEYE — November 11, 1993 Entertainmentss Album Review Exquisite Sounds From the Story By Jaime Wentworth One of the most amazing contributions of the year to contemporary folk is the second album by The Story called The Angel In The House. The duo, made up of acoustic guitarist Jonatha Brooke and percussionist Jennifer Kimball, backed up by drums, electric guitar (played by David Levine), bass, and sometimes horns, offer some of the most stunning vocal arrangements recently recorded as well as lyrics to match. The album is a suite. All of the songs center around life experiences: love, death, memory, hate, happiness, despair, laughter, longing...and food. The voices of Brooke and Kimball are soft and musical in themselves. The music is unpredictable. They experiment with a slight Latin beat on “Missing Person Afternoon” and create a subtly tribal rhythmic soundscape in “At the Still Point,” which brings to mind the ebb and flow of the tide and ships sailing out to sea.”It's on the top current of love's final breeze/ there at the still point, that’s where I'll be.” Hailed as the number one song of the week on public radio station WXPN 88.5 is the masterpiece of the album “So Much Mine,” a sweet song about a mother watching her daughter grow up. Still, this song is outdone by the title song, “The Angel In the House”, a smooth haunting melody about dreams and the fear that keeps us from turning them into realities. Also worth mentioning is “In the Gloaming”, an ethereal madrigal sung a cappela that beckons for lost love and recalls the memories of it. To be offered such a beautifully engineered piece is a privilege for any listener pining for music that doesn’t insult the intelligence or assault the ears. Though it took the second album to make the breakthrough, The Story is on the road to continued success in the future. Their third masterpiece is eagerly awaited. HAPPY THANKSGIVING The Lion's Eye Staff Do not try this at home! What might look like outdoor games at Delco is actually a class in hor- ticulture. * Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Stern Reigns On South St. By s. cohoon Immensly popular nationally syndicated morning radio personality Howard Stern came to Tower Books on South Street in Philadelphia on October 23 to sign copies of new book Private Parts, which currently tops the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list. Up to twenty-five thousand people waited in line for a personal audience with the self-proclaimed “king of all media.” Even Jay Leno, who appeared that night in Atlantic City, showed up to say hello to Howard and the crowd.The crowd was ethnically diverse as well as being almost equally divided between men and women. Often fined by the FCC, the non politically correct “first amendment poster child for the nineties” airs his comedy /news show locally weekdays on 94.1 WYSP FM from six am until approximately eleven am, or until whenever he decides that he is finished. The self-proclaimed “prince of fifteen cities” (the number of cities that he is syndicated in ) is currently working on a pay-per-view cable special to air on New Years Eve. A River Runs Dry ~ By Emmanuel Seabrooks Actor River Phoenix collapsed early Sunday morning, October 31, outside The Viper Room, a Sunset Strip nightclub in West Hollywood at about 1a.m. Hereportedly fell to the ground after just exiting the club with friends, and went into convulsions. Paramedics (who were called by his brother) arrived and rushed Phoenix to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:51a.m. At this time the cause of death is under investigation. “The exact cause of death will be detemined by the coroner,” said an official. Although the autopsy was performed the very next day, officials were still unable to confer the cause of death. Is It Grunge or Great? In ‘Alternative’ Land By Mike Jamison Remember when you first heard the opening chords to the song “Alive” and thought,” Wow, it’s different, but I like it!”. Remember when you heard that the group who had crafted that and many other brilliant songs, Pearl Jam, was from Seattle, and you thought, “Wow, they're from Seattle; they must be grunge!” Remember when you thought grunge was cool, and you thought, “Wow, now I can be just like Pearl Jam and make millions with almast no practice and a cheap guitar!” Do you remember al this? Yeah, well forget it. The buzz word for the 90's is “grunge”, and over the past year and a half, the other buzz word has been “Pearl Jam”. The Seattle quintet, whose debut album Ten has sold five million copies, were as reluctant to accept the spotlight as they were reluctant to fall into any one category. Were they grunge? Were they metal? Were they pop? Were they bandwagon jumpers, as fellow Seattlite Kurt Cobain suggested? As they began work on their new album, Pearl Jam found themselves in the middle of an identity crisis, with the media and themselves. Pearl Jam’s new album is called Vs., or Five Against One, or Pearl Jam, it depends on which pressing you buy. People usually talk about bands redefining themselves at about their fourth or tenth album, but on Vs., Pearl Jam has done just that. Always a rhythm- based band at heart, the band has shed its grunge labeling and is now relying more on the rhythm section of bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Dave Abruzesse to define the group's, dare I say it, “groove”. Yes, Pearl Jam has relied on rhythm and groove to create one of the most accomplished musical and stylistic statements of the year. Led by singer/lyricist Eddie Vedder and his voice-as-instrument vocals, Pearl Jam firmly establishes itself as the voice of angry youth, whether Vedder likes it or not. The band’s range is given the full spotlight on this album, from the driving guitar funk of “Blood” to the touching acoustic folk of “Daughter”. Guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready form a two gun assault which leaves no room for bloated soloing, but creates spaces where their guitars intertwine and become one, such as on the album’s best cut, “Animal” . Throughout the album their ‘communication and understanding of each other dazzles, and serves as a reminder that a group doesn’t need a guitar god to succeed. Grunge was cool when it lasted, but really, what was grunge? At its heart, Nirvana was and is a punk band. Soundgarden is heavy metal. Mudhoney is thrash-pop. And at its heart, Pearl Jam is hard rock, plain and simple. All these bands are called “alternative”, another buzz word, because they address death, love, politics, loneliness and other taboo subjects that Poison wouldn't touch with a ten foot spiked heel. But being punk, or heavy metal, or hard rock is fine, as long as its done with heart and commitment. When listening to Pearl Jam’s new release, another few new buzz words come to mind: Damn Good! No Takers For ‘Sex’ And Lies’ in the Library By s. cohoon Most students do not use many of the resources which are provided by the Penn State Delco Library, according to Sarah Whilden. Students can check out videos overnight free of charge. Along with many educational movies, the catalogue contains mainsteam movies ranging from Raging Bull to Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Another resource which students do not utilize fully is the library’s compact disc collection. The collection, consisting mostly of jazz and classical music, is on display in plastic cabinets River Phoenix was in the middle gum of filming a Fine Line Features film Dark Blood that was nearly complete. Phoenix also sang with a band called § Aleka’s Attic, which was to have appeared in the Interview With a Vampire. Phoenix is best known for his portrayals in movies such as Explorers, £8 Sneakers, Running on Empty, and who | could ever forget his early role in Stand | = By Me. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Running on Empty in 1988 as well. River Phoenix, 23, was an intense ane Yemen are wale ron missed. 17th, 12:30 - 1:20. LOE J SO near the computer area in the library. Compact discs may be listened to on headphones in the library as well as being checked out. According to Whilden, “Circulation is down,” for the compact disc and videotape collections. She says that this is probably due to lack of knowledge on the part of students that these items may be taken home. Many popular and current, and past, periodicals are on display in the library for on site reading. Next time you are in the library, why not check out some of these underused resources? After all, your tuition is paying for them. "Phil Giordana Jazz Band performing in the Main Lounge November ng 4
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