THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 20,2003
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 11
Any Given Thursday
by John Mayer
Reviewed by Steve Vockrodt
svockrodt@kansan.com
How can music consumers tolerate "musicians" who completely and totally rip off other contemporary artists? The release of John Mayer's live double-album Any Given Thursday (he even had to do a spin-off of a movie title) proves there must exist a market for shameless cop-off artists.
In the his-
In the history of rock music, there has consistently been a ten-year rotation where new genres evolve and usher in new
Contributed art
artists and dispatch old, retired genres of music. For instance, Nirvana made quick work of the '80s hair bands with a new creative form of music that paved the way for countless alternative acts.
Since then, rock music has been operating in the creative red. John Mayer's blatant copying of Dave Matthews and consumers' outgoing response to it, is stunning to say the least. Mayer even goes so far as to give the listener a constant reminder throughout the live album of how desirable he is to high school girls by plugging constant crowd screaming that almost does the listener a favor by drowning out the music.
On the album are several tunes that even casual Mayer fans probably have studio versions of on their purchased album or on their hard-drives. Also apparent are several instances of mimicking Dave Matthews in terms of vocals and musicianship, along with totally uninspiring lyrics in songs such as "Your Body is a Wonderland."
An unimaginative cover of The Police's "Message in a Bottle" does nothing to dispatch the overriding theme of a lack of originality in the album. At least by choosing such a well-known hit by a band that was creative in its own time, and then trying to perform is as Mayer imagines Dave Matthews might, Mayer invokes plenty of narcissistic high-pitched crowd screams that the albums producer makes sure not to leave out, even if it compromises the quality of the recording.
Dave Matthews Band fans that might have their interest perked by a musical clone in John Mayer probably do not need to rush out to buy Any Given Thursday; they probably have many similar songs in their own Matthew's catalog. Hardened Mayer fans might enjoy having the album
as a scream track to follow along with because inventive music was obviously not the aim with the album.
GRADE:F
We're A Happy Family, A Tribute to the Ramones by various artists Reviewed by Nate Harold nharold@kansan.com
We're A Happy Family, a tribute to the Ramones, is an appropriate gesture to honor the New York band that forever changed rock'n' roll.
Unfortunately, the album is too weighed down by an abundance of halfhearted and underdeveloped covers to be a fitting tribute.
The album kicks off with an unexpectedly mellow take on "Havaana Affair" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This wandering, spacv cover is
Contributed art
a fine attempt of putting a unique spin on a Ramones song, but comes off as disappointing, lacking the urgency and energy of the original. The same can be said of the bulk of the tracks, like Rob Zombie covering "Blitzkrieg Bop," Offspring with "I Wanna Be Sedated," and Marilyn Manson with "KKK Took My Baby Away." But there are exceptions.
Eddie Vedder, backed by the Seattle band Zeke take on "I Believe in Miracles," creating the standout track on the album. The band stays true to the original, coming off with an incredibly fierce, no-holds-barred sound.
Despite these few glimpses of hope, this tribute album falls short. Too many lackluster covers and some unnecessary reworking of these simple pop classics hamper what should be a fitting thank you to one of America's greatest bands in history.
Vedder, lacking his trademark baritone mumbling, sounds like a modern-day Joey Ramone, giving the song and the Ramones the tribute they deserve. Other positive notes include a surprisingly appropriate translation of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by Pete Yorn and a shockingly accurate, punk rock version of "Beat on the Brat" by U2.
GRADE: C
KJHK Top 10
1. POSTAL SERVICE ... Give Up
2. TALIBKWELI ... Quality
3. XIU XIUA ... Promise
4. MOVING UNITS .. Moving Units
5. ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM Antipop Vs. Matthew Shipp
6. ERLEND OYE ... Unrest
7. GI JOE KILLAZ ..GI Joe Killaz
8. NADA SURF ... Let Go
9. REWIND 2 ... Various Artists
10. APES ... Street Warz
Carlin uses cynical, crass humor to entertain crowd
George Carlin may keep getting older, but his material does not follow suit.
Monday night, Carlin entertained the audience at the Lied Center with a mixture of old and new material. He addressed the audience, and warned them that half of the show would be taken from his previous HBO special, Complaints and Grievances, and the other half would be from his upcoming HBO stand-up special.
Carlin is known as one of the crudest comedians around, adding multiple expletives to make a serious matter humorous to all.
Carlin's complaint bit, taken from his last HBO special, involved whining about everything from people who pay for a pack of gum with their credit card to guys named Todd and Tucker.
The strongest portion of the show was the final third, when George displayed two of his finest talents: complaining and critical thinking.
The best parts of Carlin's complaints were his transitions from complaining about one group of people to the next. In one instance, he said, "Here's another group of people who should be locked in Port-A-Potties and lit on fire." The transitions of course got more vulgar, to the point where I could never print them in this publication and expect to keep my job.
For example, Carlin got a reaction from the audience when he spouted for 15 minutes on suicide.
In other situations, one would have to be a serious Carlin fan to laugh. I found it hard to laugh when he went on a tangent, spouting off about cancer, and, for the most part, the audience had a similar reaction.
Carlin unleashed some new material
REVIEW
Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
to close out the show. He explained to the crowd his ability as a visionary. The concept for the first enema was an example of the eerie and random thoughts he had while he was alone. Ideas such as who first thought of shooting liquid up another person's rectum is exactly what makes George Carlin who he is.
Second, Carlin is so successful because he really does not care what anyone else thinks. His in-your-face attitude combined with the ability to make topics such as death and terminal illness humorous is something that you would never expect.
First, George Carlin is the best representation I have ever seen of that little voice inside your head that only speaks when something is really ticking you off. He'll take all of those everyday pet peeves that everyone experiences and shed light on it with language not suitable for children.
I came away with two conclusions about the show.
All together, the show was well worth the ticket's face value. In an era where so many people seem uptight all the time, it's fun to hear from the thorn in their sides.
Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., junior in journalism
Carlin unreashed some new material