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Reviews of new releases from Felicity, the
Muffs, KPSU and Drinking From Puddles.
Former punk-pop icons the Muffs lost their claim to punkness
a few years ago (methinks it was the Fruitopia commercial),
but kee-rist, now they've given up the pop ship, too. Alert?
Alive? Hardly. This plodding blob of an album sounds more
like the bleeding sigh of a soul dying without a fight. At
least, that's what one is forced to think after straining
to find a single hook in Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow's
tedious swamp of torpid power-balladry. Why bother writing
songs if there's nothing in them to make a single ear prick
to attention? From song one ("I Wish That I Could Be You"--keep
wishing) to unlucky song 13 (the more fizzle-than-fizz "Jack
Champagne"), there's nary a catchy intro, memorable chorus
or even a single trademark screech. Hell, the sluggish tempos
couldn't even outrace a Quaalude-loaded tortoise. Do these
cats need a quick pick-me-up? Because heaven knows I do after
suffering through this damnably dull record.
John Graham
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Various
Artists
KPSU's
Stereo Sound Adventure
(self-released)
Various Artists
Drinking From Puddles
(Kill Rock Stars) |
If fish swim in schools and lions run in prides, what's the
collective name for the sheep-in-suits who dictate radio airplay?
Answer: An enema. No, wait a minute. That's what they need,
not what they are. Thank goodness, then, for the independent
broadcasters who flush out the leftovers these tin-eared,
graph-paper-brained corporate asses call music.
KPSU's comp showcases 18 local acts. Sound quality is charmingly
lo-fi, staving off the dyspepsia caused by over-produced
alt-rock's artificial flavor. Standout moments include the
tinkling techno of Rollerball's "Vern," cabaret chanteuse
Kaitlyn Ni Donovan's soft-pop ditty "Via Vie," the hormonally
pumped punk of God Hates Computers' "Pheromones" and the
Dickel Brothers' plucky honky-tonk tune "Lonely Tombs."
Drinking from Puddles chronicles Brandon Lieberman's
KBOO show of the same name, upping the ante with 22 internationally
known artists. You won't want to miss intense performances
such as Come's brooding acoustic version of "Hurricane,"
the crescendos of "Cacophony #A" by Scotland's Prolapse,
the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce's fuzzy take on "Lucky Jim,"
Madigan Shive's shivering cello on "Snowfell Summer," Crackerbash's
shrieking "Song for Lon Mabon" and spoken-word priestesses
Nicole Panter and Lydia Lunch discussing their bizarre love
lives.
Both albums highlight independent radio's greatest gift:
the chance to discover new and unique voices.
John Graham
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Various
Artists
Felicity
Soundtrack
(Hollywood Records)
Of related interest: Jewel, Rick Astley, Pottery Barn
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Now that Felicity has successfully negotiated the beers-and-tears-slicked
bank of her freshmen year as a college buttinski, it's time
to evaluate the music that propels her. Anyone who's ever
watched even just one episode of this Warner Brothers television
spectacular knows that when Felicity goes, she often goes
slowly--in a serious of gratuitous, uncertain, slo-mo tracking
shots. I'mmm crossiiiinggg tttttthhheee strreeeett innn aaanotherrr
dummpppyy sswweeattterrr, she emotes. Small surprise that
the soundtrack to her life at a New York university is a gooey,
sticky-sweet thing, like when the CO2 abandons the syrup in
a soda fountain. Roughly a third of the 15 tracks are by Sarah
McLachlan or people who sound like Sarah McLachlan; another
third come from would-be Bush-wackers. There are a few relatively
pleasant surprises, such as Aretha Franklin's cover of "Bridge
Over Troubled Water" and French futurists Air. But this is
not the college rock you grew up with. In fact, the closest
thing to a nod toward classic college radio is buried near
the end of the recording when Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush
chime in stoically. They appear just before the CD-ending
"Felicity Theme," 1:15 of fantastically unapologetic
treacle.
Mac Montandon
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Willamette Week | originally
published June 30, 1999
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