== ISSUE 200 ==== CONSUMABLE ONLINE ======== [Feburary 15, 2000] Editor: Bob Gajarsky E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com Managing Editor: Lang Whitaker Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Chris Hill, Bill Holmes, Tim Kennedy, Jon Steltenpohl Correspondents: Michelle Aguilar, Paul Andersen, Christina Apeles, Niles J. Baranowski, Jason Cahill, Matthew Carlin, John Davidson, Andrew Duncan, Krisjanis Gale, Jade Hughes, Paul Hanson, Eric Hsu, Scott Hudson, Steve Kandell, Reto Koradi, Robin Lapid, Wes Long, I.K. MacLeod, Wilson Neate, Mike Pfeiffer, Linda Scott, Don Share, Scott Slonaker, Kerwin So, Chelsea Spear, Michael Van Gorden, Simon West Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, David Landgren, Dave Pirmann Also Contributing: Chris Butler Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription information is given at the end of this issue. ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' REVIEW: The Cure, _Bloodflowers_ - Don Share REVIEW: The Who, _The BBC Sessions_ - Chris Butler BOOK REVIEW: _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_ - Joann D. Ball REVIEW: Mudhoney, _March to Fuzz_ - Scott Hudson REVIEW: Poster Children, _DDD_ / Salaryman, _Karoshi_ - Chelsea Spear INTERVIEW: Blue Man Group, _Audio_ - Chris Hill REVIEW: Adrian Belew, _Coming Attractions_ - Joann D. Ball REVIEW: Sarah Cracknell, _Lipslide _ - Wilson Neate REVIEW: Kid Dynamite, _Shorter Faster Louder_ - Andrew Duncan REVIEW: Various Artists, _Men In Plaid_ - Bill Holmes REVIEW: The Posies, _Live Before the Iceberg_ - John Davidson REVIEW: L.A. Guns, _Shrinking Violet_ - Paul Hanson REVIEW: The Lovin' Spoonful, _Greatest Hits_ - Bill Holmes REVIEW: Union, _The Blue Room_ - Linda Scott CONTEST: Deep Elm NEWS: Cypress Hill, Alanis Morissette, Red Hot Chili Peppers, State Song Project TOUR DATES: Beck, Frank Black and the Catholics, Chris Cornell, Dismemberment Plan, Fastbacks, Gomez, Guster, Ben Harper & Innocent Criminals, Richie Hawtin, Miles Hunt, Korn, Machine Head Morrissey / Sheila Divine, Other 99, Powerman 5000, Pretenders, Stroke 9, 22 Jacks ERRATA Back Issues of Consumable --- REVIEW: The Cure, _Bloodflowers_ (Fiction) - Don Share "When we look back at it all, as I know we will," Robert Smith sings on the first song of his latest album, "we always have to say goodbye." Twenty years and twenty Cure albums may have culminated with _Bloodflowers_, rumored (as has nearly every album for the last decade) to be the band's last gasp. Intended as the final disc in a trilogy which began with 1982's _Pornography_ and continued with 1989's _Disintegration_, _Bloodflowers_ has finality literally written all over it. No wild mood swings here... it's all down; fortunately, down is up for Smith, whose writing - diverse in other atmospheres - is effably sad and indelibly wise when he plays in a minor key. The production is full, dense, and atmospheric, and the songs don't rush themselves, but take their own bittersweet time. "I've been watching me fall for it seems like years," he sings accurately. And what singing: Smith's voice flies high over the chasm, echoing and quavering, even when the lyrics direly insist that "if it can't be like before I've got to let it end." While endings are the theme, Smith is subtle enough to let in tiny but illuminating rays of possibility: "the world is neither fair nor unfair," he sings in "Where the Birds Always Sing" -- fair enough. "Maybe Someday" even (ambiguously) allows that "maybe someday is when it all stops -- or maybe someday always comes again." "There Is No If" -- one of Smith's best ever -- admits that "there is no if -- just and," and "and" just may be enough. Recognizing that "just enough" is all that life allows is what each moment of the album gets at. "The Loudest Sound" is the evil twin of the Beatles' "Things We Said Today," because its lovers "in silence.. pass away the day." But they have more than silence; they have each other. Yet "39" is about how when one's "fire's almost cold," then "there's nothing left to burn," and the epic title track, "Bloodflowers," is the eerie, grim culmination of everything The Cure have ever done: "never die, these flowers will never die" slowly grows into its lyrical counterpart, "always die, these flowers will always die." The song is Smith's epic, and ends with our hero's pricking himself audibly, letting flowers of blood fall. When it's all said and done, I can't quite believe that we've heard the last from Smith, though there's always that risk; after all, epics live in the retelling, and while flowers fade and die, there are always more flowers to come. --- REVIEW: The Who, _The BBC Sessions_ (MCA) - Chris Butler The Who were - quite simply - the greatest band of the '60's British Beat era. On any given night, they could out-play, out-sing, out-noise, out-fight, out-fuck, out-think and out-drink any one of their contemporaries...yet they remained perpetual third-stringers behind the Beatles and the Stones...a frustrating position that despite all their brilliant efforts could only have been remedied by two successful plane crashes. And sadly, for evangelists like me, _The BBC Sessions_ is probably the last chance the unconverted will get to 'get it'. Surely with the arrival of this disc the vault is finally empty of unreleased Who material? The already-convinced will already have this stuff. The available _Maximum BBC_ (Hiwatt) bootleg offers more tracks, un-tweaked audio, and is sequenced more or less chronologically which better documents The Who's evolution from a pretty good bar band playing James Brown and Motown covers to a thundering force of nature. MCA's official version scrambles this timeline, but is much more sonically exciting thanks to producer Jon Astley's audio reconstructions. As with all his other MCA/Who catalog rethinks, hard-core fans might again sniff at Astley's tidied-up vocals, guitars to the front/drums to the rear mixes (sacrilege!) and his proven knack for gelding the raw energy of the original masters (for example, A/B his polite remix of "So Sad About Us" with the spectacular original). But here these techniques work - heavy compression boosts the ambient room noise on the older cuts giving them a thrilling presence, and skillful eq'ing on the later songs brings out instrumental parts that were buried in the bootleg's analog muck. Note that _The BBC Sessions_ is not being plugged as strictly a "live" album. The older cuts ("Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", "Leaving Here") are definitely "live" live, versus the later material's obviously reconstructed backing tracks complete with overdubs. Some of this sweetening sounds clunky (like the handclaps on "My Generation"), while the Hammond organ added to "Pictures of Lily" (!) is glorious. Other revelations are redone versions of album tracks rarely performed in concert - when stripped of their studio tricks, "Disguises", "Run Run Run" and "See My Way" are just sensational. Even the normally dumb "Happy Jack" is played with a fun earnestness that sounds more Who-ish than the original single ever did. And because this is The Who...nothing comes easy. Rumor has it that a legal challenge had been mounted over the release rights to any BBC master to prohibit this disc from seeing the light of day. I'm glad the release has happened; I'd like the legions of the uninitiated to hear what a brilliant band with a giant chip on its collective shoulder sounds like. --- BOOK REVIEW: _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_ (E. Kline Publications) - Joann D. Ball When you need to know the real deal, you've got to go straight to the source. And that's just what Eric Kline has done in _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_. Kline is the former Senior Producer for The Box Music Network, and is now the head of E. Kline Productions, a South Florida-based video production company which has delivered videos for such superstars as Mariah Carey, Alanis Morissette, Aerosmith and Gloria Estefan, and has also produced television programming for comedians Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Denis Leary. The innovative _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_ is the first offering from E. Kline Publications, which was launched in late 1999. A unique blend of audio and text, it covers a range of critical issues such as getting a record deal, working in and using radio and video, and the future of the record industry. In the lengthy book and 2-CD set which he calls "Infotainment," Kline has insightful conversations with over 40 power players from various sectors of the music industry. His interviews with recording artists, record and video company executives, media specialists, managers, producers, and others include brief biographical sketches and select portions from phone and in-person conversations. Kline's interview approach is straightforward, clear and direct, and he manages to get industry movers and shakers to share their experiences, knowledge, and expertise. And Kline also gets them to reveal just how they became power players, while also given them an opportunity to offer valuable advice for those breaking into the music business. After a brief introduction of _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_, Disc 1 starts with an in-depth conversation with pioneering rap and hip-hop power player Russell Simmons, conducted in 1998. "We had to create our own through the street," Simmons reminds listeners of the history of the format which reshaped popular music. Simmons' critical overview the development of this innovative sound and style sheds much light on issues and difficulties which are now taken for granted some 20 years after rap and hip-hop's emergence. Not surprisingly, Simmons offers the do-it-yourself approach as the best route to success for emerging hip-hop artists. And in so doing, his advice has more to do with the grass roots, up from the streets approach that has always been hip hop's foundation than with current trends in the developing Internet-based music business. In fact, when Kline asks him about the impact of the Internet on the music industry, Simmons responds matter-of-factly that "it will take a little longer than people think." Also included on Disc 1 are conversations with Les Garland and recording artists Boyz II Men and Michael Bivins. Kline's 14-minute conversation with Garland, who moved from MTV after its first six years to international music channel The Box Music Network and now runs his own music entertainment company, provides a crucial historical context for the development of music video. And Kline's free flowing conversation with Boyz II Men generates this advice to new and developing artists: "surround yourself with positive people, surround yourself with people that truly care about you and have your best interest at heart and know what they're doing." A conversation with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the only non-urban music artists included on the audio portion of the release, begins Disc #2. The band provides a brief overview of its history before explaining their sound as "definitely music made popular in the '30s and '40s which people know as swing." Big Bad Voodoo Daddy also reveals that fashion is so important to what they do because "that's the roots that this music was formed on." But the most important contribution of Kline's conversation with the ground breaking band is the acknowledgement of the level of dedication, perseverance and vision required to expose and advance a genre of music largely considered the antithesis of contemporary popular music. "Keepin' it real" is the message DJ Kid Capri delivers in his conversation with Kline. The 13-minute interview with one of the industry's hottest DJs, follows interviews with BET's "Rap City" host Joe Clair, Bay Area hip-hop entrepreneur E-40 and Houston, Texas hip-hop entrepreneur J. Prince. DJ Kid Capri is honest and straight to the point as he urges wanna-be DJs to avoid payola and polish their skills in order to make it. "In order for a DJ to get known, to be out there, he has to do a lot of parties, he has to do tapes, he has to promote himself, get some pictures,and just make yourself known like anybody else." The conversations featured in the book, which include artists Ice Cube and Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony and powerbrokers from across the music industry, are presented in an easy to read question/answer format. The conversations are also organized thematically, beginning with artist-related issues and covering management, public relations, DJ-related issues, music video, and general music business matters. And the interviews for each section are followed by an informative substantive list of essentials for that area of the industry, including "Essentials of Artist and Producer Royalty Computation" and "Essentials of Internships." _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players... Conversations With Eric Kline_ is a fresh approach to providing much needed information, context and advice for breaking into one of the most difficult but much sought after industries. Rather than focusing on the major companies and their internal structures, or offering a list of names, numbers and contacts, Eric Kline provides the real 411 that can make or break a music business career. To criticize Kline's conversations from being too focused on power players involved in rap and hip-hop, however, underscores just how rock music centered the music industry has been and how rock, pop and rock/alternative music has often been considered the only genres warranting serious examination and attention. On the contrary, Kline should be praised for channeling his insider knowledge of rap and hip-hop, hard earned from his many years at The Box Music Network and his more recent ventures in his own video production, into a tool that can benefit those seeking a career in the music industry. And the fact that he focuses on breaking into the most difficult and still woefully undervalued part of the music business in _Inside The Music Business: The Power Players...Conversations With Eric Kline_ proves that these particular hard knock lessons are really the ones containing universal value. For further information on the book - available online for $36, which covers shipping/handling - check out the website http://www.musicbizbook.com --- REVIEW: Mudhoney, _March to Fuzz_ (SubPop) - Scott Hudson Prior to the breakout success of Nirvana's 1991 debut album _Nevermind_, mainstream music was dominated by '80s hair bands and guitar gods. Music fans, by-and-large, were oblivious to the "underground" grunge movement emanating from Seattle that was about to turn the music industry upside down. At the forefront of the fledgling grunge movement was Mother Love Bone and Mudhoney, bands made up of former members of Green River. Ironically, neither would be represented when grunge went mainstream. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden would be the torch bearers of the new genre. To those who may not know, grunge's geneological roots can be traced back to Mudhoney. Mudhoney not only defined grunge, but it was the success of their first single, "Touch Me I'm Sick" and the subsequent release of their EP, _Superfuzz Bigmuff_ that generated the early interest in the so-called "Seattle Sound." Even though mainstream success eluded them, they still garnered a strong underground fan base. It was that loyal following that kept the band afloat during the '90s. The band's split from their label, Reprise, and bassist Matt Lukin's retirement makes this the perfect opportunity for the release of their compilation album, _March To Fuzz_. March To Fuzz is a 2-disc, 52 song compilation that damn near covers about everything they've released in the past 11 years. The first disc covers the band's early hits ("Suck You Dry," "Hate The Police," "Touch Me I'm Sick," "Here Comes Sickness" and "You Got It"). It also includes Mark Arm's response to Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair," with "Judgement, Rage, Retribution and Thyme." While the second disc carts its share great originals ("Run Shithead Run," Overblown" and "Ounce Of Deception"), its true value is the inclusion of classic B-sides, rare outtakes, compilation tracks and priceless covers such as Elvis Costello ("Pump It Up"), Motorhead ("Over The Top"), The Damned ("Stab Your Back") and Spaceman 3 ("Revolution"). If it's a sonic blitzkreig you're after, then look no further than _March To Fuzz_, because no one serves up Armageddon quite like the "grandfathers of grunge," Mudhoney. --- REVIEW: Poster Children, _DDD_ (Spin Art) / Salaryman, _Karoshi_ (12 Inch/Parasol) - Chelsea Spear Listening to the music of Salaryman is not unlike experiencing the industrial world of Fritz Lang's _Metropolis_ first-hand. This Champaign, Illinois foursome makes driving, melodic instrumental pieces that not only portray the feeling work-related miasma, but bring the audience into it through their ingratiating use of repetition, the slow, ascending structure of their songs, and through a deep, full-sounding rhythm. While many have been quick to label Salaryman's music as techno, there's much more to it than that. The band have a depth of sound and a cinematic approach that many electronica acts lack. The music has a nicely kalidescopic effect, and can be appreciated on many levels -- dance fiends will thoroughly enjoy dancing to the rubbery, inventive rhythm section, while headphone freaks will appreciate the multilayered production and pointed use of samples. Others, like me, who prefer a fusion of techno's greatest sounds with a more melodic, song-based approach, will doubtlessly love the album for supporting its monumental sound with a passel of sly, warped and utterly perfect melodies. Salaryman may have a hand in helping the "post-rock" trend come of age by synthesizing forms and ideas that once seemed disparate, and blending them into something unique and captivating in their own right. Meanwhile, the latest album by the Poster Children ("Salaryman with guitars" according to their website), _DDD_, is probably _Lola Rennt_ to _Karoshi_'s _Metropolis_. While _DDD_ might not change the fibre of pop music, or anything else, it's perfectly charming for what it is. This new album at times recasts the poppy approach the 'Kids favoured on _Junior Citizen_ and _RTFM_ as a direct descendant of the NYC punk scene, circa 1977. A lazy, easy comparison, to be sure, and one that would suggest the reviewer only listened to the loud-fast-and-hard Ramones tribute "Rock 'N' Roll". Some nicely Blondie-like moments float to the surface on the dreamy, twirling "Strange Attractors" and "Daisy Changed" (a reggae rewrite of "Chain Reaction" from their album _Daisychain Reaction_); the production and melodic force of other tunes, such as the ear-catching opener "This Town Needs a Fire," suggest the plight of young people who want to get out and grab some thrilling life for themselves. Other tracks, like the percussive "The Old School And the New" and "Elf," find the band expanding upon musical ideas from their previous album, _New World Record_, with a greater sense of optimism in the lyrical department. Will _DDD_ change your life? Nope, but smart people looking for a good time should look no further. --- INTERVIEW: Blue Man Group, _Audio_ (Virgin) - Chris Hill With a limited amount of space for a record review and an interview, a shortened introduction: "THX 1138", Yves Klein's "Blue Sponge Relief (1958)", PVC tubes, satirical art commentary, cacophonous drumming, intelligent humor, stunning visual effects. All this and more describe the Blue Man Group, three New York men who've combined their talents and backgrounds to create the alien entity known as the Blue Man. Even as their "Tubes" production continues its long run in three U.S. cities (New York, Boston, and Chicago), the Blue Man Group invades a fourth city in March, landing at the Luxor in Las Vegas for an extended run. A sense of the unique BMG show is communicated by the 14 track cd, _Audio_. Graphics inside the cd booklet display the BMG's unusual instrumentation: the Backpack Tubulum (an assembly of PVC tubes resembling a Bond jet-pack), Air Poles (thin tubes whipped while gripped in various positions for different sounds, not unlike plastic lightsabers), the Big Drum (self-explanatory), and the Drum Wall (a multi-tiered structure with multiple drum stations). The raw percussive power of the tubular instruments, combined with traditional guitar, bass, and drums, manages to resonate in the ears and the body; tribal rock which creates a primal response. This isn't a New Age cd, meant to lull and tranquilize. On "Opening Mandelbrot", drums burst forth in a primordial rhythm and a rock guitar enters with passion and verve. "Mandelgroove" begins with a zither sawing away, then splits into simultaneous, thunderous drums. "Tension 2" plays frantic drum rhythms against chopping and echoing guitars, like a modern "Perils of Pauline" interlude. It's difficult not to think in cinematic terms when hearing these instrumentals. "Synaesthetic" sees a "Walkabout" aborigine wandering through "The Arabian Nights". "Utne Wire Man" crosses "Ran" with "The Road Warrior": preceded by a guitar howling like a coyote in the desert, the Sword Air Poles enter as martial instruments, whipping and dancing through the air in unison. "Drumbone", urgent and speeding, could fit easily on the "Run Lola Run" soundtrack. Regardless of whatever visuals spring to mind, _Audio_ manages to stand as a work unto itself, aside from the BMG stage show. Taking a break from the pre-production chaos in Vegas, the three founders (Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink) sat down for a phone interview with Consumable. Like the merging of their individual selves into the character of the Blue Man, the interview was conducted seemingly with a singular entity, as three different voices spoke for the whole. CO: So you haven't had your first performance yet? BMG: Nope, March. Our first preview is February 24th and not even half the show is cued yet, so we're going to get cued and ready to go about the day before the audience gets here. CO: So it isn't the "Tubes" performance that you've been doing for a decade plus? BMG: No, it's about half and half. We've got the signature bits from that show, the stuff that we feel like we almost have to do, because we still like it so much. But we've got a lot of new stuff, inspired by the work we did on the album, plus some new character stuff. CO: Do you ever see a travelling road show? BMG: We're really determined to figure that out next, after this. We're thinking that a lot of the experiments we're doing in this show will help us understand how we could possibly take it to a tour situation. There's still a lot of things that we'd have to solve. It takes a lot to get it all in place, which is why we can't just go out and go on tour, and set up in one day. It takes us two weeks just to be able to get to the point where we can actually run through the bits. Until we can figure out how to tour, we're hoping that some of our fans will find their way here. CO: What's the stage show like, for people who are just hearing the album? I read that there really isn't a plot, per se. Is it improvisation? What's a typical show? BMG: There's isn't a plot, but it does have sort of a shape to it. Maybe one way to describe it, is that the Blue Men come out, and there's an element of improvisation in that they actually look at the audience. There isn't a fourth wall. They come out and they LOOK at the audience. They don't play with them the whole time, but they lead them through what we might describe as a post-modern, freaked-out ritual. And it combines all different kinds of mediums and crafts and images. It's a cultural stew of influences. Then there's another side that we didn't even hint at on the album, and that's the comedic element. We don't think of ourselves first and foremost as comedians. We try to establish an element of seriousness to the show, before anything funny happens, but that actually helps make it a better kind of humor. It's not trying really hard to be gaggy, but it does happen, and that's another element for people who haven't seen us. It's a very deadpan, Buster Keaton, not trying too hard, kind of humor. There's also a collision between the ancient and the modern. We play big drums, not just with big sticks, like a world beat band would do, or kodo drummers, but we play them with electronic signs, where the Blue Man rips an L.E.D. sign off the wall, and starts smacking at a 6' drum with it. And that kind of sums up the aesthetic...futuristic and ancient at the same time. CO: There really is a sexless, modern, futuristic look to the character. BMG: Yep. Perfect. Thank you. And we try to extract the ego out of it, so that he can look at the world with fresh eyes, in either a naive way or a very knowing way, depending on what the situation is. CO: So it really frees you three up, if it's a distinct identity, aside from the three of you? BMG: Absolutely. And also, it not just frees us up, but I think it makes the work more profound, too. CO: So, for the show, is it going to be you three guys doing all the shows, or are you bringing along understudies? How does it work? BMG: We have a troupe of Blue Men. We're not the only ones. And it's important, especially in a show like this. Like on a day like today, we had to be out in the audience directing, we had Blue guys on stage, and then after we got the lights set, WE got on stage, so we were sure to be able to do it. Typically, we'll open the show. But we'll also start rotating one at a time out, so we can watch it. The new Blue Men are great, and they have the luxury of being able to practice and rehearse nothing but the show all day, whereas we have to direct and think about lights and sound and all the other elements that go into making it happen. So we've actually really enjoyed having a larger troupe. And it's not about us. It's not about us, it's not about our personalities, it's about the Blue Men. There have always been multiple Blue Men. And that's what the project's always been about. The very first public event had eleven people who were blue - men and women - and the project has just gone from there. So we've been joking around recently, like on our EPK (Electronic Press Kit) that we're the founders of the Blue Men, meaning we FOUND the Blue Man, but the Blue Man is everywhere. Part 2 of this interview will appear in next week's issue of Consumable. --- REVIEW: Adrian Belew, _Coming Attractions_ (Thirsty Ear) - Joann D. Ball Adrian Belew has been an extremely busy man in the months since his last release, _Salad Days_. Among the varied projects Belew is currently constructing are a new studio record, a collection of unreleased tracks, and the second volume of an experimental guitar series. And, and all of this is in addition to his contributions to a new King Crimson CD. Rather than keep all of this musical productivity to himself, Belew has chosen to give the listening public a sneak preview of the songs and sounds that flow from his brilliantly overactive mind. On _Coming Attractions_, Belew reveals the energy, enthusiasm, and the range of instrumental innovations that drive his creative process. _Coming Attractions_ opens with "Inner Man" and "Predator Feast," two tracks from his soon to be released studio effort. On "Inner Man," guitar wizard Belew leads his aggressive power trio on a sonic assault that expresses the anger and rage within that is usually hidden from the world. And the song is propelled by drum samples taken from his most commercial solo record to date, _Mr. Music Head_. "Predator Feast" is another industrial strength aggro number, but here Belew transforms his guitar into a flame thrower over machine sounds-turned-drum loops by Ken Latchney. Both of these killer cuts suggest that Belew's year 2000 offering is bound to expand Belew's fan base and should reap great commercial rewards. For those who are intoxicated by Belew's brand of classic power pop, though, Belew offers "117 Valley Drive" which features his sometime band mates the Bears. Switching gears yet again, this Beatlesque number is followed by "Inner Revolution" and "Time Waits" which were recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1997. These two live cuts will appear on the upcoming live record _This Is A Pencil_. Also included on _Coming Attractions_, are several tracks from an upcoming box set of rarities called _Dust_. An overview of songs Belew has written or co-written in the past twenty years, it includes a demo version of King Crimson's "People" and a reconstructed version of an alternate version of "Bird in a Box" from _Mr. Music Head_. And rounding out this 12-track sneak preview is "Animal Kingdom," an experimental track of African percussion preformed on guitar to the accompaniment of an acoustic drum kit. Unlike other projects, however, there is no projected completion or release date for the second volume of the experimental guitar series of which "Animal Kingdom" is a central part. Yet again, Adrian Belew is generating some of the most intriguing and interesting popular music available today. Always blurring categories and genres by freely experimenting and developing new approaches to song and sound, Adrian Belew is a prolific musical genius whose work is always fresh and progressive. So enjoy the sneak previews on _Coming Attractions_ and be sure not to miss any of the full length feature releases! --- REVIEW: Sarah Cracknell, _Lipslide _ (Instinct) - Wilson Neate Since joining Saint Etienne in 1991 and adding a crucial ingredient to the sound of a band who surely rank among the more influential British acts of the last decade, Sarah Cracknell has emerged as one of the most enduring and classy female vocalists in UK pop today. While too much of the mid-90s was taken up with Brit-Pop hype and while Blur and Oasis fought it out in the not entirely dissimilar English tabloid and music presses, Cracknell's full-time outfit quietly went about their business crafting their own, more sophisticated, more intelligently referential and infinitely more danceable soundtrack to a post-house, nascent Cool Britannia. Indeed, Saint Etienne not only pre-dated Brit-Pop - enjoying the dubious honor of having Oasis open for them on one tour - but they will undoubtedly outlive it. When bandmates Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley took time out in 1996 to set up their own label, Cracknell took the opportunity to record her solo debut _Lipslide_ (which came out in Britain in 1997, albeit with slightly different tracks). As Cracknell commented in an interview in the English press, this project was in part motivated by being tired of "people assuming that I was just a frontperson for Bob and Pete, that I was a puppet, that I didn't do any of the real work." Bearing in mind her songwriting abilities as evidenced on Saint Etienne's 1994 _Tiger Bay_ ("Hug My Soul" and "Marble Lions"), even by the time of its original release _Lipslide_ was already long-overdue. Given the quality of her work thus far with Wiggs and Stanley, it's not surprising that Cracknell's solo release should be such a successful outing. _Lipslide_ covers both well-trodden and uncharted territory. On the one hand Cracknell offers solid and smooth, polished pop in the Saint Etienne vein, albeit without the ironic, sometimes rough-edged, off-beat or experimental dimension of the trio at their best - there are no Rush samples here, no occasional dub dabblings and no sampled movie and television snippets. On the other hand, she makes a convincing case for her own, autonomous musical identity both as a co-writer of all the songs and as the producer on two of the most impressive tracks on the album. Sarah Cracknell achieves a finely tuned musical collage that effortlessly straddles the dance floor and the cold light of day with its attendant ups and downs, usually on the barometer of romance. _Lipslide_'s cocktail of dance grooves and melodic, playful pop blends clubby exuberance and morning-after melancholy. The more upbeat side of the equation is well represented by tracks such as "Desert Baby," "If You Leave Me," "Anymore," and "Coastal Town," with their driving Euro-disco beats. At the same time, songs like "4 Months 2 Weeks," "Home" and "Goldie" attest to the more introspective, comfortably mournful side of Cracknell's vision. The melancholy melodies are complemented by Cracknell's wistful vocals which, in turn, foreground the mood of lyrics that frame eloquent snapshots of unremarkable, everyday emotional states. While her songs often comprise familiarly banal and mundane dramas of expectation, remorse, loss and longing, Cracknell renders them with an uncommonly evocative touch. Like Morrissey without the irony or the whingeing, or like a less beat-laden version of recent Everything But the Girl, Cracknell shows that there is life beyond the dance floor - it may not provide fun or even particularly colorful raw material but, in the right hands and given the right vocal treatment, it can still make for great songs. The defining aspect of this record is perhaps Cracknell's ability to craft music that manages to be simultaneously retro and now, moving in and out of styles and bridging epochs without missing a beat. Like her work with Saint Etienne, _Lipslide_ reflects an updated 60s pop-art sensibility that recycles and recontextualizes forms, cheerfully constructs clever pastiches and nods to a past generation of musical coordinates at the same time as it taps into the current dance sounds that have permeated the best pop music of the last few years. Where Cracknell differs is that her musical collage is shorn of pop art's camp and irony that Saint Etienne left largely intact on albums like _Foxbase Alpha_ and _So Tough_ (on which you could occasionally almost hear Wiggs and Stanley winking at you as they slipped in another clever reference). On _Lipslide_ Cracknell takes the opportunity to declare her musical influences more openly and sincerely than before, not simply by reference but by carefully fashioning songs that turn citation into a sustained stylistic recreation of the feel of the originals. Not surprisingly, her coordinates are well-rooted in the 60s - Françoise Hardy, Burt Bacharach, Joao Gilberto, and Dusty Springfield. Particularly outstanding are the songs that invoke the music of the latter two. "Oh Boy, the Feeling When You Held My Hand," on which Cracknell is accompanied only by guitar, recreates the understated and yet melodically memorable bossa nova stylings of Gilberto. "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop Now" - both of which Cracknell produced - are standout affairs that rediscover a particularly 60s British pop sound and pay loving homage to Dame Dusty, all the while managing, as the cliche goes, to be . . . well . . . timeless. The second of the two, a lilting, waltzy minor masterpiece with strings, harmonies and piano, is the real winner here. While "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop Now" in particular attest to a finely honed retro sensibility, Cracknell's variations on 60s pop go beyond imitation or faddish interest to reinvent her sources in a contemporary context. But then Sarah Cracknell has a peculiar link to that period with which she continues such a productive flirtation. In 1967 - owing to the fact that her father was a first assistant director to Stanley Kubrick - a newly born Cracknell was screen tested for the part of the Star Child in _2001: A Space Odyssey_. Kubrick decided he wanted a stranger image and she didn't get the part. But that close-call perhaps suggests how, from the outset, Cracknell has always had one foot squarely in the middle of 60s pop culture, the other stepping toward the future. Although some have criticized _Lipslide_'s lack of depth, bemoaned its saccharine quality and even faulted it for being as weightless as the backing music for 60s/70s British shampoo commercials, they really seemed to have completely missed the point - this is pop after all, and beautifully done at that. --- REVIEW: Kid Dynamite, _Shorter Faster Louder_ (Jade Tree) - Andrew Duncan Back with Philadelphia's finest, _Shorter Faster Louder_ is Kid Dynamite's latest that offers yet another solid collection of songs with little transformation. Ascending from the now-defunct East Coast hardcore populous Lifetime, Dan Yemin and Dave Wagenschutz continue their ideology with Kid Dynamite. While in Lifetime, the band believed in keeping the songs short and to-the-point, catering to the short attention-spanned generation of today. Kid Dynamite is no different. Clocking in at a hair over 22 minutes, Shorter Faster Louder feels more like one epic song than 18 bursts of hardcore. Ranking in popularity with other aspiring hardcore bands, including Snapcase or Boy Sets Fire (they recorded a split EP with Kid Dynamite for the Sub City label), the band takes pieces from mid-'80s influences like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits with their anthemic, social hardcore and adds to the structure elements of pop-core attitude. The band has the chops and dexterity to remain consistent in such a fast-tempo environment. However, the downfall is that there is little diversity between each song, keeping the album dry and later lacking the intensity that began the album. Their first full-length on Jade Tree was a great re-introduction into the hardcore scene, but as time goes by, the band needs to dig deeper into their style, which comes across more clearly and intensely in their short live sets. --- REVIEW: Various Artists, _Men In Plaid_ (Bullseye) - Bill Holmes Bullseye follows up last year's excellent Klaatu tribute with another winner, once again featuring a Who's Who of Contemporary Pop Bands. Rollermaniacs, having seen their heroes suffer the torture of VH-1's _Behind The Music_, can now revel in a newly issued Greatest Hits collection and this enthusiastic homage. But even if you hated the Rollers -- and I just KNOW many of you did -- you'll be surprised at how many great songs are buried beneath the plaid exterior. Maybe "S-S-S-Saturday Night" doesn't carry the same cultural weight as "My G-G-G-Generation" to you, but for millions of fans across the world, The Bay City Rollers were their Beatles. To say that The Flashcubes launch this record like a rocket would be an understatement; Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin rip into "Wouldn't You Like It" like Keith Richards and Mick Taylor circa "Brown Sugar". Although no one else blows the roof off quite like that opening track, there are several other solid contributions. Gary "Pig" Gold sounds like he's been a closet Gripweed for years; this "Rock And Roll Love Letter" can stand proudly alongside The Records' version. There are TWO versions of "Saturday Night"; Anton Barbeau adds his trademark left-of-the-dial approach while The Dipsomaniacs attack the song with a fever pitch. Tom Davis and Jeremy handle the mellower cuts equally well, while the appropriately named Squires Of The Subterrain dial in from the basement. Other standouts include Ed James' one-man-band take on "You Make Me Believe In Magic"; this performance will have people running to the store for HIS record. And both Reptopia and Fudge chose to take some liberties with the bubblegum pop songs, and their arrangements result in two of the standout cuts. Of course, not every cut bears repeated listening -- for me, The Bobbies' version of "Let's Go" was devoid of energy -- but beauty is in the ear of the beholder. _Men In Plaid_ features a solid collection of bands who treat the songs with some reverence, but also have a lot of fun with them. That's the way music used to be in the Rollers days. Some of these bands are old enough to remember, but the others probably had to be told. And the little girls still understand. ( http://www.bullseyecanada.com ) --- REVIEW: The Posies, _Live Before the Iceberg_ (Badman Recording) - John Davidson Despite putting out some of the most admirable power pop of the '90s, one of the many Seattle-area bands that never made it to sales nirvana was The Posies. Then again, most bands signed during that grunge gold rush never amounted to much more than a '90s equivalent of Donna Summer: acts so tied to a fad that when the fad dies, so does the artist. Things are never quite that simple, yet sadly, many talented musicians from the grunge era are never going to get a big label shot again. As a more recent example, the relative sales failure of Soundgarden's Chris Cornell solidifies the pessimism that lurks at the executive level in the music business. However, some artists never waited for success to happen, and that wisdom has paid off in great dividends (i.e. income stability and more of a "career" in rock music.) Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the creative duo behind the Posies throughout their ten-year existence, never sat still when it came to exploring their musicianship. Widely known for their participation in the relapse tours of pop heroes Big Star, they also have an extensive track record of collaboration with many other upstart West Coast bands. They've played tribute albums, toured extensively, and this past year, Stringfellow even hit the road as part of the backing band for R.E.M. Their lasting career is not a tribute to odd luck; rather, it's an example of how talent can carry a load that fickle fandom simply can't. Still, their years as Posies are their stock trade and lasting legacy. As a legacy, the band probably won't be remembered as much for their style as for their ability to re-work the promise of Big Star within the guise of more aggressive, 90s rock. Often intimately baroque at their roots, by the end the Posies were leaving that precocious sound for a more punk-inspired, emotional fireworks. This transformation most surely alienated some of the earlier fans, but the band seemed intent on turning up the volume both in the studio and in the live setting. So, it comes as no surprise that _Alive Before the Iceberg_ is a relic of the Posies cranking it up at the expense of delicate, flowery showmanship. _Alive_ captures the band in Spain on their last tour supporting their swan song _Success_, and the twelve songs are representative of that album more than their career. Both Auer and Stringfellow sound weary throughout (elaborated to great extent on Stringfellow?s engaging liner notes), and the effect comes off as somewhat sloppy but full of passionate energy - in a sense, a live show that's not canned or reworked to sound like the studio version. The insecurity of "Please Return It" burns with the howled line "There has to be an upside!" and the bitter "Everybody Is a Fucking Liar" encapsulates the gutter of any failed relationship. However, _Alive_ also serves to exacerbate the weaker songs in their catalog (most notably "Start a Life" and "Broken Record"), and you have to wonder why they got included on a forty-seven minute disc. There are better songs to choose from, although give Badman credit for adding the boozy Cheap Trick cover "Surrender." What may be the best part of the disc is the fact that it has appeared at all. Tiny upstart Badman finagled a way to release this live document, and if the big labels in the industry had any clue, they would realize that there is a huge demand for live music. Take one look at the bootleg industry, and you'll see that there is plenty of money to be made. It's well-known that most artists are in favor of releasing their concerts as opposed to letting bootleggers make all the money. With the cost of manufacturing going down and a cheap form of distribution (the Internet) becoming more and more viable, it's hopefully only a matter of time before acts in new millennium will be churning out approved live material and other studio scraps. _Alive Before the Iceberg_ is proof that the future is here, serving as a raucous farewell letter to Posies fans everywhere. Check out http://www.badmanrecordingco.com for more information. --- REVIEW: L.A. Guns, _Shrinking Violet_ (Perris) - Paul Hanson Who asked for this? Who the hell called up Perris Records and said, "Please Mr. Record Exec, give one of my favorite 80s band that never had much of a commercial success ONE MORE CHANCE." Why do I want to find this person? Simple. I want to say thank you. Yes, thank you for giving yet another reason to the music industry to respect the bands of the '80s. There were talented acts and none less so than L.A. Guns. Yes, they initially rode the Guns-n-Roses ticket to recognition (Tracii Guns was in Guns-n-Roses at one time, before _Appetite for Destruction_) but they promptly drove that stigma away. By the time they hit their radio success with "The Ballad of Jane," the band was loaded with success of their own making. It becomes evident quickly that this is a band that wants to stake a claim in the music industry, not as a has-been '80s band, but as a legit band in 2000. The songwriting here is structured around writing a "song" in the traditional sense. There's an intro followed by a verse followed by a chorus followed by a verse. These are songs, not 4 minute ear candy for radio. This time around, sex is, once again, at the forefront of this band's collective mind, evident with the first track, "Girl You Turn Me On" and later with "Big Lil' Thing." It's immediately evident that Guns and company are out with a vengeance. Gilby Clarke's production is crisp and clean, yet not so much that this sounds slick. Vocalist Jizzy Pearl proves he is talented, toggling between a distorted vocal style and a more 80s style screech. "Shrinking Violet" continues the momentum with a tight musical interplay between drummer Steve Riley and bassist Stefan Adika. Some nice harmonies add to this track. The stellar tracks, though, are the Led Zeppelin "Kashmir"-ish "Decide" and all-out rocker "Big Lil' Thing." At a mid-tempo plod, "Decide" showcases the magic of this band. Drummer Steven Riley provides a solid backbeat. "Big Lil' Thing" is an up-tempo rocker with yet another chops workout for Riley as he provides slick fills throughout the song. Could it have been recorded and released in the '80s? Possibly, but I doubt the band of then could have pulled it off as well as the 2000 version of this band. This record easily re-captures the band's groove from their debut release of long ago. _Shrinking Violet_, is a return to form for this band. --- REVIEW: The Lovin' Spoonful, _Greatest Hits_ (Buddha) - Bill Holmes With their induction to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just around the corner, what better time than now to celebrate the artistry of The Lovin' Spoonful? They weren't icons like The Beatles, tough like The Animals or cute like Herman's Hermits. But they were one of America's best answers to the British Invasion, and like their West Coast cousins The Byrds, had their roots firmly planted in traditional folk music. Though Dylan and Hendrix and McGuinn and Sebastian prowled the same small Greenwich Village neighborhood, each took different steps towards the future. For Sebastian and mates Zal Yanovsky, Joe Butler and Steve Boone, the music was as much of a melting pot as the neighborhood. Mixing swamp blues, country, rock and R&B together, the Spoonful were staples of AM radio from 1965 through 1967. With hits like "Daydream," "Do You Believe In Magic," "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind," "Rain On The Roof" and "Summer In The City," the band created an influential form of American music that was as commercially successful (their first seven singles were top ten hits!) as it was unique. That success helped open the doors for bands from...well, The Band and Credence Clearwater Revival to The Jayhawks and Wilco, thirty years down the road. Buddha continues to mine its catalogue and treat listeners to pristine, digitally remastered versions of classic records. This collection clocks in at over an hour and features twenty-six tracks, and the sound is fabulous. Sebastian is validated as a great vocalist, and the guitars, Zal's in particular, shimmer and bite in a way car radios could never have appreciated. Overall, the colorful instrumentation, unconventional harmony arrangements and pure joy of the music jumps out of the speakers with a freshness and vitality that confirms the timelessness of the material. John Sebastian, of course, went on to enjoy solo success with his easygoing material, and later got his career (and wallet) recharged with the popular theme from "Welcome Back Kotter". Even now, while he is touring with NRBQ or playing solo acoustic dates, the crowd will invariably ask to hear the classic Spoonful material more frequently than his later, lesser known work. And unlike many rock and roll survivors who downplay their past successes, Sebastian will thank the crowd for asking, and then light up the room with some of those chestnuts. And he'll smile along with them, because he knows all too well that even a newer song like "Tar Beach" speaks of the same days in New York as "Summer In The City," all those years ago... --- REVIEW: Union, _The Blue Room_ (Spitfire) - Linda Scott Union won the best new band award from "Metal Edge" in 1998. With _The Blue Room_, Union releases its sophomore effort (not counting a live album). When you hear this traditional rock and roll band, you wonder how can these guys be so good so fast? Check out the band members for the answer: Bruce Kulick, ex-Kiss lead guitarist, on guitars and vocals, plus John Corabi, ex-Motley Crue on vocals and guitar. Between them there is twenty years of experience. Kulick performed with Kiss for 12 years and was let go when the original Kiss reformed for a makeup covered reunion. Corabi was with the Crue till the original band re-formed there. It must be some consolation that Union sounds better than either of the two reunion bands. _The Blue Room_ is first and foremost a classic rock album but with a touch of metal, a touch of blues, and some terrific lyrics. The band claims as its influences the giants of rock: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Aerosmith. Some songs are distinctly Beatle-esque, both in the music and the lyrics. Most are just the heart of the great rock bands pounding behind Union's backbeat. The album leads off with "Do Your Own Thing," the first single. It's so catchy, it'll play in your head all day. Jamie Hunting on bass and Brent Fritz on drums are standouts on this number. "Everything's Alright" is one of those with The Beatles' influence. Great harmonies and backing vocals on this one. Kulick shows his guitar wizardry, and Corabi sounds great. A standout cut! "Dear Friend" is Kulick's lyrical and vocal tribute to Eric Carr, friend and Kiss drummer, who succumbed to cancer in 1991. Kulick says goodbye to his bandmate, and the song moves on with him to a rocking finish. In yet another style, "No More" is an angry song from Corabi on social issues such as school homicides, the environment, etc. Corabi has a young son and is disgusted with the state the world is in. This kind of social indictment isn't often seen anymore on rock or other albums. Corabi snaps out the lyrics, drums and bass emphasize and Kulick pounds it all home. An exceptional end to the album. There haven't been many true rock albums lately, but _The Blue Room_ is in the classic rock style. If you have been missing rock, it will be coming around on February 22 with _The Blue Room_'s release. When Union tours in support of their album, why not check them out? They are playing clubs, so you get an inexpensive rock evening, and you get to meet and greet the band after the show. Just seeing the legendary Bruce Kulick would make it all worth while. Stand by for that single, "Do Your Own Thing," and visit the band at: http:\\UnionAsylum.com --- CONTEST: > Deep Elm Records will be giving away a sampler CD to three randomly chosen people who answer several music questions on the label. Check out our main page, at http://www.consumableonline.com for a link to the contest. Members of Consumable Online and their related family are not eligible to enter. --- NEWS: > Cypress Hill will be releasing two different versions of the first single to come from their _Skull & Bones_ album, each boasting special guest appearances by different artists. The song is called "Superstar" and is a cautionary tale aimed at starry-eyed youngsters getting into the music business. "(Rap) Superstar" contains excerpts from interviews with Noreaga and Eninem while "(Rock) Superstar" contains excerpts from interviews with Everlast and Chino Moreno (Deftones) discussing the problems they've countered in the course of their respective careers and their advice to naive beginners just getting started. > Alanis Morissette will be making her theatrical stage debut, between March 24 and April 2, performing pieces of the critically hailed The Vagina Monologues at the Westside Theatre in New York City. > The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be releasing their latest long form home video, _Funky Monks_, on DVD on February 22. Originally released on home video in 1991, _Funky Monks_ captures the creation of _Blood Sugar Sex Magik_. > The State Song Project is gathering together modern renditions of the official songs of the fifty states, with the final result being a Volume 1 compilation album. Cash prizes will be offered up to $25,000 along with continuing royalties to winners. For further information, check out http://www.statesongproject.com . --- TOUR DATES: Beck Feb. 18 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre Feb. 19 Washington, D.C. Patriot Center Frank Black and the Catholics Feb. 19-20 Madison,WI The Annex Feb. 21 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall Feb. 22 Minneapolis, MN Quest Club Feb. 23 Sioux Falls, SD KC Hall Chris Cornell Feb. 16 Columbia, MO Blue Note Feb. 18 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Feb. 19 Rochester, NY Harro Ballroom Feb. 22 Providence, RI Lupo's Feb. 23 Long Island, NY Vanderbilt Dismemberment Plan Feb. 18 Los Angeles, CA Fais Do Do (w/ Juno) Feb. 19 Las Vegas, NV Expresso Roma (w/ Juno) Feb. 22 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill (w/ Juno) Fastbacks Feb. 19 Seattle, WA Sit-n-Spin Gomez Feb. 18-19 San Francisco, CA Fillmore Feb. 21 Portland, OR Aladdin Feb. 22 Seattle, WA Kink Kat/Showbox Feb. 23 Vancouver, CANADA Richards Guster Feb. 18 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa Feb. 19 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room Feb. 22 Vail, CO 8150 Club Feb. 23 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theater Ben Harper & Innocent Criminals Feb. 18 Columbia, IL Blue Note Feb. 19 Kansas City, KS Uptown Theater Richie Hawtin Feb. 18 San Francisco 1015 Folsom Feb. 19 Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Miles Hunt Feb. 18 Long Branch, NJ Gemini Lounge Feb. 19 New Brunswick, NJ Melody Bar Korn Feb. 18 Lakeland, FL Lakeland Civic Center Feb. 19 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena Feb. 21 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena Feb. 23 Dallas, TX Reunion Arena Machine Head Feb. 18 Columbus, OH Al Rosa Villa Feb. 19 Detroit, MI Harpo's Feb. 20 Chicago, IL Metro Feb. 22 Suaget, IL Pop's Annex Feb. 23 Madison, WI Barrymore Theater Morrissey / Sheila Divine Feb. 17 Pittsburgh, PA Metropol Feb. 19-20 Boston Avalon Feb. 21 Portland, ME State Theater Other 99 Feb. 23 New York, NY Mercury Lounge Powerman 5000 Feb. 15 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Feb. 16 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel Feb. 18 New York, NY Roseland Feb. 19 Worcester, MS Palladium Feb. 20 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Feb. 22 Pittsburgh, PA Metropol Feb. 23 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's Pretenders Feb. 19 Vancouver, Canada Orpheum Theatre Feb. 23 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre Stroke 9 Feb. 18 Towson, MD Recher Theater Feb. 19 Philadelphia, PA TLA 22 Jacks Feb. 16 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall Feb. 18 St. Louis, MO Gargoyle Feb. 19 Columbia, MO Expo Center Feb. 20 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom Feb. 21 Madison, WI Dane County Hall --- ERRATA: Last week's issue mistakenly included a reference in the Lambchop review to San Francisco Music Club; it should have read American Music Club. Thanks to Jim F., who first pointed this out. --- Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest music reviews publication on the Internet. To get back issues of Consumable, check out: WWW: http://www.consumableonline.com To subscribe to Consumable, send an e-mail message to consumable-request@westnet.com with the body of the message stating "subscribe consumable". To unsubscribe, send a message to the same address stating "unsubscribe consumable". Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online, 409 Washington St. PMB 294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===