in music
on disc this month
U. COLLEGE RADIO CHART
1 Breeders, Last Splash (4-AD/Elektra)
SPONSORED BY SONY
2 Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream (Virgin)
3. Unrest, Perfect Teeth (4-AD/Elektra)
4. King Kong, Funny Farmer (Drag City)
6. Smog, Julius Caesar (Drag City)
5. Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Fluidum (Free)
7. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville (Matador)
8. Flaming Lips, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (Warner Bros.)
9. Stereo Lab, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (Elektra)
10. Tsunami, Deep End (Simple Machines)
Chart solely based on college radio airplay. Contributing radio stations: KASR, Arizona State U.; KALX, U. of California, Berkeley; KLA, UCLA; KUCB, U. of Colorado; WVUD, U. of Delaware; WRDU, Drexel U.; WUOG, U. of Georgia; Indiana; NDVA, North Carolina; NRU, U. of Michigan; NVUY, Newark U.; WXYC, U. of North Carolina; KTRU, Rice U.; WIDB, Southern Illinois U.; KTSB, U. of Texas;WTUL, Tulang U.; WUVT, Virginia Tech; WAKE, Wake Forest U.; KCMU, U. of Washington
Key to Ratings: ★★★★★= John Nirvana
In Utero (Geffen)
★★★★
If you were afraid Nirvana would rehash grunge with their latest, fear no more. The musical genre which proved there's more to Seattle than
bad weather appears to have died unceremoniously on the second side of In Utero.
Side A is basically what you'd expect. The first, and best, single is "Heart-Shaped Box," a typically harsh tune combining untamed bass and lead guitar.
But on side B, Nirvana gets weird, exploring laxatives and endorphins in "Pennyroyal Tea," and ecto-skeletal plasma in "Very Ape."
In Utero isn't all cutting edge — if you try, you can almost hum along "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to the grisly "Rape Me." Still, Nirvana has surpassed its gravelly riffs and bizarre lyrics, proving itself inimitable. Smells like new music. Stuart Miller, The Washington Square News, New York U.
★★★★= Paul ★★★= George ★★★= Ringo ★= Yoko
★★★3.5
The Pet Shop Boys Very (EMI)
The Pet Shop Boys' latest is yet another declaration of their unnatural love for disco.
At times a more modern musical current creeps into the duo's trademark dance-pop salad, but they generally stick with their tried-and-true recipe of synthesizer melodies, honey-tongued backup singers and Neil Tennant's somewhat anemic vocals.
Ever an acerbic critic of moral frailty — perhaps best witnessed in "West End Girls" and "It's a Sin" — Tennant adopts a cheerier tone on Very.
It's quite a surprise to hear him exult "I feel like taking all my clothes off / And dancing to the rite of spring," in the song "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing."
The CD is pleasant (albeit dated), but ultimately the hooks aren't sharp enough and the lyrics aren't interesting enough to excite non-devotees. Kelly O'Donnell, Daily Bruin, UCLA
Tripping Daisy Bill (Island Red)
★★★
The elderly gent (Bill?) on the cover of Tripping Daisy's debut appears frazzled. Is it a mild case of heartburn, or is he also disappointed
with the last few songs on an otherwise solid release?
Most likely the latter.
But the album falters during the last two songs, which seem like filler compared to the rest of the album.
What Tripping Daisy lacks in profound lyrics ("everything is good until it's bad" and "nowhere takes me to nowhereland"), it makes up for with a lively, compelling sound.
And Bill? He'll feel much better with a bit of antacid and a doctoring of the disc's finale. Buy it if it's on sale. Lisa Marie Rovito, The Post, Ohio U.
Ren & Stimpy
You Eediot! (Sony Wonder)
★★★★
If you own the talking Ren and the farting Stimpy dolls, you simply must add You Eediot! to your proud collection.
From the Abbey
Road cover-art spoof to the Burl Iveson-acid madness of "Happy, Happy Joy, Joy," the cat litter-loving pair offer a hilarious collection of bizarre jokes and subtle parodies on their CD debut.
You Eediot! features not one, but two versions of the opening music, the Muddy Mudskipper theme and a multilingual commercial for New International Log.
However, the album's dazzling triumph is an extended ad for the board game Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence.
Sample: "Use your common sense / Before you let it flow / Find a place to go / Just don't whiz on the electric fence."
When the jazzy/bluesy tunes exceed two minutes the jokes wear thin, but Ren & Stimpy fanatics will covet this CD, if only to mix the shorter, funnier bits in with the tunes at the next big campus party. Ken DeMoor, The Miami Hurricane, U.of Miami
Front 242
05:22:09:12 Off (Epic)
When a band revamps its sound, the end result is usually hit or miss. In Front 242's case, it's the latter.
★★
On 05:22:09:12 Off
(alphabet-numerical code for Evil Off), the band comes across as fragmented and incoherent. Industrial fans who cut their teeth on previous 242 albums like 1988's Front by Front may be confused or even disappointed at the new direction, driven by female vocals and new musicians.
From the techno-fueled "Gen Ecide," to the aggressive, ranting vocals and crashing sounds of "spool," the album drifts like a ship without a sail. While tracks like "Skin — Mix @" are pure 242, Off is mostly muddied with lofty techno dance rhythms and metal-descended noise à la Nine Inch Nails.
Front 242 should be commended for trying to breathe life into the increasingly tedious world of industrial, but save your money for the band's early releases on Wax Trax records. Damon Cline, The Lumberjack Northern Arizona U.
in the studio
- Shrouded in secrecy, MTV staples Beavis and Butthead are in the process of recording an album. No word yet as to whether they will actually play their instruments, or if the CD packaging will be fireproof.
- Industrial/techno producer and engineer Flood (Depeche Mode, U2) has been busy lately. Having recently worked on the upcoming Nine Inch Nails album, he's now co-producing industrialists Nitzer Ebb's follow up to Ebbhead. The Nitzer Ebb project will also feature drum work by former Pixle David Lovering.
- Guns N' Roses is working on an album of punk covers, tentatively titled The Spaghetti Incident, for November release. The question begging to be asked: Can Axl and Company do justice to the Sex Pistols?
Huh. Huh. Huh. Huh.
- Piano virtuoso Tori Amos is finishing up work on her self-described "after-puberty" album – as opposed to the girlish point of view on her successful debut. Tracks range from simple piano arrangements to pseudo-industrial diatribes against God. Yikes. Look for it in January. Rantz Hoseley, Dally Evergreen, Washington State U.
CDs on parade
More releases we didn't have room to review
Police (box set) A&M, 9/21; Curve, Virgin, 9/21; Scorpions, Polygram, 9/21; Melissa Etheridge, Polygram, 9/21; De La Soul, Tommy Boy, 9/21; Machines of Loving Grace, 9/21; Jimi Hendrix (re-release), MCA, 9/28; Lemonheads Atlantic, 10/05; Digital Underground, Tommy Boy, 10/05; B.B. King, Virgin, 10/05; Swervedriver, A&M, 10/05; Def Leppard, Polygram, 10/05; Ramones, MCA, 10/12; Dead Milkmen, Hollywood, 10/12; Pearl Jam, Epic, 10/17; Crowded House, Capitol, 10/19; Cure, Elektra, 10/22
"Everybody and their dog is waiting to see how bad my ass gets shot off on this thing."
- Garth Brooks on the frustrations of his lonely fight against the sale of used CDs
OCTOBER 1983
U. Magazine
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