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MUSIC
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Do Make Say Think — Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
Someone once told me that bad things always happen in three's. Whether this is a commonly held belief, I cannot be sure, but I approached Do Make Say Think's fourth album, which is consequently divided into three parts according to the hymns' of the title, with a little bit of trepidation.
Thankfully, the album is easily the best out of DMST's small catalog. The thirds flow well into one another, with the 'Winter' phase being the most thunderous and the 'Country' and 'Secret' hymns having more pastoral traces. The most hauntingly beautiful moment of the album occurs when the murky brass of "Ontario Plates," which completes the 'Country' portion, flows into the enigmatic climbs and falls of "Horns of a Rabbit." I applaud the direction DMST is taking with this album - the curse of threes be damned.
Phil Torpey
KJHK DJ
2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Sundays
Grade: B+
Clay Aiken - Measure of a Man
Though it's a decent effort from a kid who is full of heart, ultimately there is nothing creative or memorable about this album. Everything here has been done better before. Regardless of how many votes he earned, the second runner up to the most recent popular prime-time spectacle is no American Idol. Aiken is simply a collection of American desires. He is the misguided myth of stardom without artistry made manifest. The very presence of this album points to a larger problem in the music industry as a whole. The labor is no longer to create quality music - it's about fabricating catchy music. Marketability has replaced ability. We've forsaken our once-wholesome pop musical diet of folks such as Prince and Lauryn Hill for folks like Aiken - the musical equivalent of cotton candy and M&M's three times a day. Aiken, however, is not to fault. We've all seen him - he has a charisma that America evidently wants. Sadly, he is a
product of an entertainment culture that values the glamorous, the dramatic and the ostentations above all that is honest and creative. A long time ago a brother named Moses asked his followers to stop worshipping false idols. Thousands of years later, I doubt we've learned.
Satisfy your pop appetite with these delicious tunes instead. You can find several of these used around town and save yourself some money, too: Basement Jaxx Kish Kash (2003), Goapele Even Closer (2002), Donnie The Colored Section (2002), Citizen Cope Citizen Cope (2002), Res How I Do (2001), Zap Mama A Ma Zone (1999), Maxwell Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996)
—Cornelius E. Minor, II KJHK Host of "Voice Activated"
9 p.m. - 10p.m. Tuesdays Grade: D
Pierre Barouh — Saudade -
Un manque habite
Pierre Barouh is one of a small group of immensely talented French singer/songwriters of the 1950s and '60s. What separates Barouh from the Gainsbourgs, Piafs and Aznavours is the fact that he is still alive, active, running a record label and releasing great new music in a variety of styles. This new two disc CD, however, is a collection of early works, ranging from 1960 to 1963. The tracks are all beautifully written and voiced French pop and all contain the heavy Brazilian influence that made Barouh famous in the francophone world. This collection is a great way to become acquainted with Barouh, one of the classic French pop singers.
—Chris Shively
—Chris Shively
KJHK Host of "Superdisco
Galactica"
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays
Grade: A-
DJ Frane - Electric Garden of Delights: Beats to Blaze to Volume 2
DJ Frane has his priorities in order. After coming up in the Los Angeles underground hip-hop scene of the early '90s, Frane began producing beats for local emcees. Mainly, though, he made music for those who wanted to listen.
Having grown up surrounded by West Coast funk and the rap that often used those bass-heavy grooves as its foundation, DJ Frane got a sense of hip hop reflective of mild temperatures and convertible tops. On his latest album, Electric Garden of Delights, Frane targets pot-smokers, to put it bluntly.
"I imagine people sitting around and smoking to it," Frane said when I spoke with him by phone from L.A. In this era of single-based albums, releases are seldom defined in terms of a broader goal that encompasses each track. "I think albums are functional," the 27-year old says. Given the theme of cannabis, function might seem out of place to some, but sample-based pieces such as "Synesthesia" are apt to make MCs salivate. The album can be heard as either blueprints or an entire edifice, and Frane's delicate layering of instrumental and vocal samples makes the sound-scape lush without crowding it.
"I don't like to force an agenda on the listener. I'd rather create a cerebral space that's a stage for other people's thoughts." This attitude is a credit to both the artist and his instantly admiring listeners. The wealth of samples Frane uses to create new music defines his range and borders simultaneously, assuring that only Indie labels such as Los Angeles' City Massive can release his recordings without facing litigation. Nevertheless, there is no hint of disappointment or desperation for stardom when speaking to the still-young producer. Whether herbally induced or not, the equanimous approach is refreshing and so are the results
- Sam Hopkins
KJHK Host of "Transglobal Underground"
9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Fridays
1. SHINS, Chutes Too Narrow
KJHK TOP 30 ALBUMS
2. ALIAS, Muted
3. INCREDIBLE MOSES LEROY, Become The Soft.Lightes
4. BASEMENT JAXX, Kish Kash
5. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, Transatlanticism
6. CODEBREAKER, Two
7. CLEM SNIDE, A Beautiful EP
8. TIKI OBMAR, High School Confidential
9. SLACKERS, Close My Eyes
10. BOOKS, The Lemon Of Pink
11. TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS, Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead [EP]
12. ELBOW, Cast Of Thousands
13. 90 DAY MEN, Too Late Or Two Dead
14. MATES OF STATE, Team Boo
15. CLEARLAKE, Cedars
16. MIDWEST PRODUCT, World Series Of Love
17. CHEMICAL BROTHERS, Singles '93-'03
18. YO LA TENGO, Today Is The Day [EP]
19. DJ FRANE, Electric Garden Of Delights
20. MARS ILL, Backbreakanomics
21. KID KOALA, Some Of My Best Friends Are DJs
22. LUNGFISH, Love Is Love
23. AESOP ROCK, Bazooka Tooth
24. SUN KIL MOON, Ghosts Of The Great Highway
25. SOILED DOVES, Soiled Life
26. KINGSBURY MANX, Aztec Discipline
27. FINISHING SCHOOL, Destination Girl
28. BOOKS ON TAPE, Books On Tape Sings The Blues
29. DEAD LOW TIDE, Dead Low Tide
30. MOJAVE 3, Spoon And Rafter
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26 jayplay
thursday, november 20, 2003