5 March 20, 2006 Jonas Review: Nickelback Amazon.com can't seem to say : enough good things about Nickelback's most recent album; "All the Right Reasons." My previous experi- ences with the band have left me bored out of my mind, but I decided I'd give the new album a listen anyways. The album's opening song, "Follow You Home," begins with a nifty double bass drum beat. However, this only persists for one bar, and then in comes one of those distorted guitar riffs you can hear in just about every other Nickelback song ever written. This album also features the big hit song, "Photograph," which as I'm told has some pretty deep and meaningful lyrics. All of the lyrics were written by the band’s lead singer, Chad Kroeger. The first four lines are as follows: "Look at this photo- graph/Every time I do it makes me laugh/How did our eyes get so red/And what the hell is on Joey's head?" Well, I'll tell you what, Mr. Kroeger. Your eyes are red for one of two reasons: 1) you were stoned, or 2) the camera flashed too quickly for your - irises to close your pupils, thus lighting up your reti- nas which hold red-colored blood. Deep? Nope. Meaningful? Nein. Oh and by the way, rhyming "red" with "head" is a really bad cover-up and a tes- tament to your sorry songwriting ability. While all these songs are "heavy" in their style, one song stood out as being heavier than the others. This is the 8th song on the album, "Side of a Bullet." I decided to look into this song a bit further. The chorus is: "Please God, don't let him pull it/How - could you put us through it?/His brother watched you do it." This of course is a tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, the legendary former guitarist for Pantera, who was shot to death during a concert in 2004. Well, it's certainly touching to pay tribute to Dimebag, but Nickelback could have put in more effort and written something a bit more intelligent (and maybe even rhymed "it" with something other than "it" and "it"). - Tracks 1-10 were thoroughly dull and cliché, so I couldn't wait when the final track, "Rockstar" came on. A slow groove accompanied a clean-tone guitar riff was certainly different from the bland distortion frenzy that comprised the rest of the album. Kroeger talks about the rockstar lifestyle: drugs, big houses, and loose women. Now, I'm sure all the rebellious teenagers who revel in this kind of crap interpret these lines as attacking all those stereotypical rock stars. Well, too bad. I'm thoroughly convinced this is the lifestyle that Nickelback are living. "MTV Cribs, here we come!" Quite frankly, I felt like I was missing 41 minutes and 33 seconds of my life after listening to this album. Avoid "All the Right Reasons" at all costs. Better yet, avoid Nickelback at all costs. -DAVE HARDISON Restuarant Review: La Na Interested in spicing up your life? Broadening your horizons? Check out La Na Thai-French Cuisine in Media. From the outside, the restaurant might not look like much, but inside, it's a delight. Right in the heart of Media, on State Street, it might be easy to pass right by, but if you take the time to find it, you won't regret it. The small entrance is deceiving as the dining room is a fairly large sized room full of beautiful decor. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and offers a wide variety of Thai dishes including seafood, chicken, and beef. There is also a large selection of vegetarian dishes. The names of the entrées are intriguing and the food is magnificent. From experience, I can suggest the Chicken Coconut Soup for starters and then the Evil Jungle Princess for an entrée (a delicious variety of chicken, spices and vegetables). If you're feeling daring, there are some less-than-original choices to choose from such as the Tutti Fruiti Duck, Lamb Au Siam, or Love & Passion (Roasted Cornish Hen). The meals are marked on the menu with one, two, or three peppers on indicating the degree of spiciness. So, if you can't handle too many spices, stick with the one pepper entrees. The dim and cozy atmosphere adds to the dining experience as does the friendly wait staff. The setup of the restaurant is very professional and looks like a formal dining room. The staff, however, is casual, friendly and efficient. The prices are reasonable for the quality of food. Appetizers range from $7 to $11 and the entrees range from $12 to $23. So, if you're looking for an enjoyable, but not too formal night out, try the Thai experience at La Na. La Na is located at 33 W. State St., in Media. For reservations, call 610-892-7787. -JESSIE ROWLAND [Comedy Review: Dave Chappelle After a year and half s hiatus Ee %CLS from the limelight, Dave Chappelle is back with a comedy/music tour to promote his newest adventure, "Dave Chappelle's Block Party." It's a documentary of a concert that he put on in Brooklyn, New York's Bed-Stuy section in 2004. His second stop on the tour was Upper Darby's Tower Theater on February 27. Chappelle was his usually funny and provocative self, talking about things like AIDS being a made up disease, and telling stories about how he had gotten in a fight with a crystal-meth addict. He even at one point called himself the most gang- ster man in Hollywood because he walked away from a $50 million opportunity and went to Africa. His reason for going to Africa was because his popu- larity was too crazy for him, and he had to go some- where where people wouldn't recognize him as a comedian but as a regular person. He had the crowd rolling the whole time with every joke he told. After his 45-minute set, he brought out hip-hop star Talib Kweli. Kweli's performance was solid. He performed some songs off of his new album and a few classics like " Try" and "Waitin for the DJ." It was an overall good performance, but due to the Tower's bad sound quali- ty, some of his beats sounded distorted. Up next was the incomparable songstress Erykah Badu. Even though she seemed to have strained her voice previously she did not let that stop here pet- formance. She belted out classics such as "Love of My Life," "Tyrone," and "On and On." She also had a whole lot of help from her band who played an extremely tight show. The show culminated in a performance including both Kweli and Badu performing a song togéther called "The Blast." -DAN BAER i For a man being ca ei merica's next “piano man," Robert iGonzales i is a real down to earth kind of guy. Born and raised in Wisconsin, he moved to L.A. after signing a deal with Capitol ‘Records to make his first major album, "All is Right with the World." rr | Upon talking to him, one could see why ne has such a positive outlook on life. "I get to do something I love as a job," he ioushed when asked about how it felt working with Grammy ‘Award winner producer Paul Buckmaster (who also produced arrangements for Elton John.) ‘ The fact that the ladies love him may also be a factor as to why ihe’ s successful. Students mellowed out to his smooth vocals and : piano work. He showed off his awesome skills by playing a trib- | ‘ute to Ray Charles. I have to admit, he had a way with me, bringing me up on the stage and crooning "The Sun is Rising, n which caused a huge ap] lau se from the crowd. We ee ee ee ee ee ee a ee ee ee mom I RS ¥
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers