Page 6 - The Lion's Eye October 10, 2001. $06 Features ¢6¢ Rockin’ & boppin’ tunes By ERIC MAYER and JENNIFER RUFO Staff writers “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” By Brian Eno and David Byrne In a recent interview with Uncut Magazine, Brian Eno spoke about the creation and innovation of his latest record, "Drawn from Life." During the interview, Eno - discussed his own work ethic, the important movements in music today, and the success of Moby's "Play." For those unfamiliar readers, Brian Eno is one of the most innovative musicians in the last century. His solo recordings predicted the future genres of ambient and modem techno, with such heralded releases as "Music for Airports." His writing and production credits during the 1970's make up a body of extraordinarily before-its- time music, the most notable of which including his work with David Bowie, Roxy Music, and the Talking Heads. His mention of Moby's critical and commercial smash "Play," is for unsurprisingly comparative rea- sons. The album shares many motifs and ideas with 1981's "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts," a record Eno created with ex-Talking Head David Byme. The use of vocal samples and eastern folk songs interspersed with dense percussion and electron- ic instrumentation is the central concept employed on "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts"; each song is based around several spoken word recordings. Moby mim- icked this trick with "Play," as exampled by such popu- lar tracks as "Natural Blues" and "Porcelain." Though Moby continues to receive much acclaim for his inno- vation, many older critics feel that the true credit belongs to Eno and Byrne. These critics include Eno himself. On page two of the"My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" liner notes, a list of "VOICES" is detailed. In this list, the samples used in each song are explained. The first track, "America is Waiting," for example, has this description: "Unidentified indignant radio. host, San Francisco, April 1980." "America is waiting for a message of some sort or another," reads the opening line. The music surround- ing the radio host's voice is both noisy and stumbling, a perfect augmentation for the text read. The drumsand . bass seem to attack the listener in oceanie waves: rising suddenly yet quickly fading into a regrouping tension. A lone guitar pops up in this wilderness of noise to hammer out a quick, metallic-sounding R&B riff. The overall effect is a feeling of computerized obscurity, the sound of robotic machinery coming to life with an assured and furious voice as its instructor. The experimentation on "Ghosts" is best explained oy the combination of the individual styles of Brian Eno and David Byme. David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads, worked. with Eno on that band's most influential album, "Remain in Light." There is a similar attitude taken towards instrumentation on "Remain in Light" and "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts," characterized by Eno's dense and multi-textured production and Byme's sense of songwriting and ethnic rhythm. Similar as these albums may be, therein lies a central, intended difference: "Remain in Light's" music begets the vocals, while "My Life's" vocals beget the music. The conceptual elegance of "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" is just one record in a long line of late-70's recordings that fused the electronic sounds of Germany with the rhythm and blues of America and Britain. Brian Eno spearheaded a remarkable number of these highly influential albums, a primary cause for Eno's seminal status among musicians and composers. After ~ "Ghosts," Eno would continue to be an active musical force as U2's producer, creating records like "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby." With or without new Eno records, Eno continues to be an active musical force simply through the power of his influence. New albums by Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Aphex Twin have all displayed roots in Brian Eno's unique brand of conceptual music. O-town? Oh yes! The “Liquid Dreams” tour Unless you're not into the whole 'boy band' scene, you have probably heard the song "All or Nothing" being played on various radio stations and thought it was awe- some. This lovely ballad is performed by O-Towm, yet. another pop boy band, from ABC's hit TV series "Making the Band." One thing that sets O-Town apart from the rest is that they are five average guys from various nooks and cran- nies of the country with talent and dreams. As a faithful follower of the television show, "Making the Band" (I never missed an episode), I was anxious to see what would ‘happen to hess people when fame came their ways. The band's first single was a hit, entitled, "Liquid Dreams" and I was beside myself waiting for their first self-titled album to hit stores January 23, 2001. It was - well worth the wait. Soon after the album's release, O-Town embarked on the "Liquid Dreams Tour" and hit Philly's Electric Factory in March. They put on an enthusiastic show, but it was clear that they were still in the beginning stages of "a great career. When word got out that they 1 were coming back in September, I convinced my awesome, saintly guy Dan to come with me. The show was much different and more refined compared to the one in March. Svala opened for them after the prayer. Her perform- ance was average, but all I have to say about her 3 is that she is an Icelandic Britney Spears. The boys had improved since the last time I saw them. Their show had much more energy and crowd interac- tion. At one point, each member sang a separate song. Jacob sang a part of "Come Together" by the Beatles and threw in some Michael Jackson dance moves, including the infamous "moonwalk." Ashley Angel played the piano with the guys around him singing another ballad, "Baby, I Would" that sent the crowd of girls screaming for their favorite band member. In "Love Should Be a Crime," Ashley and Jacob pulled “out their guitars and strummed the catchy tune, another aspect at which O-Town is different from the other ‘boy bands," they play their own instruments. At the end, in an encore presentation, the band per- formed their hits, "Liquid Dreams" and "All or Nothing." : These guys are great, and well worth the price of a ticket with their awesome smiles and powerful songs. They are down to earth, and very real people. Help them out and buy their sweet new single, "We Fit Together," also on the Dr. Doolittle 2 soundtrack. It's perfect for a romantic, candlelight dinner. So in the words of Dan Miller, "Love, peace, and chicken grease!" Lab Survival Guide By JONATHAN LEONHARD Staff writer can get for free, This installment of the PC Lab Survival - Guide is dedicated to my favorite topic, utilization. As Penn State students, you are offered many servic- es that go unsaid, such as web space or free dial-up service. I have noticed that these services, while read- ily available, go unused. My first thought was that students wanted to pay for things they but this went against the "poor college student” model that many of us portray. So the other conclusion was that they simply didn't know “about them. Well, the objective of this issue is to edu- cate the student body to some of the services offered to them. That way, our services offered are utilized. : 1) Web-based training. Perhaps the best kept secret in Penn State, these web-based tutorials teach many technology concepts, programming languages, operating systems, and applications. All you need is . your user ID and password to gain access from any- where. The tutorials are anywhere from 5 hours to 10 hours each, or more. You can take them at your leisure, and the site will remember where you left off if you quit and come back again. Web-based training can be accessed at http://wbt.cac.psu.edu/ 2) Personal Web Space. Penn State offers. every student, staff member, faculty, and club free web space for a web page. This page can be used to put anything an individual wants to express on the web for all to see (with some legal restrictions). In order to procure your slice of the web space, you must first pass a 5 question on-line test to make sure you understand the rules and terms of your web space. After that, your request is submitted, and in 3 business days you have your space! Now all you need to do is learn HTML. But wait! There's a web-based training topic on beginning HTML. Now you can see how these things fit together. Anyway, your Personal Web Space can be accessed or attained at http:/per- sonal.psu.edu/ 3) Free Dial-up Access. Student are entitled to free dial-up service at any Penn State Campus. This means you can connect to the internet, get your email, IM your buddies, or download files without having to pay AOL, MSN, or any other Internet Service Provider (ISP). This service is only available while you are a PSU student, so take advantage of it while you can! All you need is a computer with a modem, and a phone line. Stop by Computer Services for a CAC-PAC (a cd-rom) and an Internet Connection Guide. CAUTION: Make sure the num- ber you call for dial-up is in your local calling area, otherwise you will be Shurged by the phone compa- ny! 4) Free Microsoft Software. Finally, as a PSU student, you pay a computer user fee. Ever won- der where that goes? Among other things, it finances PC and software purchases, including free Microsoft products for you. By this liscense agreement, you are entitled to keep a copy of Office 2000, Office XP, Frontpage 2002, Frontpage 2000, and Office 2001 for MAC. These titles are yours to keep, but you must register them, and they are only good for 2 "clean" installs. Also, you are entitled to borrow a copy of Frontpage 2000 for MAC, Windows 98se, Windows Millenium, Windows 2000 Professional, and Visual Studio. You may not keep these, and they must be returned within 2 weeks. To get the software, you must contact Computer Services for an appoint- ment...no drop-ins. You can email jgl115@psu.edu to set up the appointment. I hope this has given some insight into the many services that Penn State offers its students. With a little looking around, you may be able to find many, many more. Questions? Comments? Ideas for the next installment? email jgl115@psu.edu.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers