== ISSUE 206 ==== CONSUMABLE ONLINE ======== [April 12, 2000] Editor: Bob Gajarsky E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com Managing Editor: Lang Whitaker Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann D. 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, Matt Fink, Krisjanis Gale, Jade Hughes, Paul Hanson, Scott Hudson, Jianda Johnson, Steve Kandell, Dave Kemper, Reto Koradi, Robin Lapid, Wes Long, I.K. MacLeod, Al Muzer, 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: Jeremy Ashcroft Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription information is given at the end of this issue. ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright Consumable and their author(s). ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' REVIEW: No Doubt, _Return of Saturn_ - Niles Baranowski REVIEW: Chumbawamba, _WYSIWYG_ (What You See Is What You Get)_ - Wilson Neate INTERVIEW: UnAmerican - Christina Apeles EVENT REVIEW: South By Southwest (SXSW), Austin, Texas; March 15 -19, 2000 [Part 2] - Joann D. Ball REVIEW: Braid, _Movie Music Vols. One and Two_ - Andrew Duncan REVIEW: Various Artists, _Music From The Motion Picture The Million Dollar Hotel_ - I.K. MacLeod REVIEW: Nash Kato, _Debutante_ - Jeremy Ashcroft REVIEW: Ween, _White Pepper_ - I.K. MacLeod REVIEW: Tara MacLean, _Passenger_ - Paul Andersen REVIEW: The Posies, _The Best of the Posies: Dream All Day_ - John Davidson REVIEW: Rockapella, _Rockapella 2_ - Paul Andersen REVIEW: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, _Furnace Room Lullaby_ - I.K. MacLeod ERRATA: Crowded House TOUR DATES: Fiona Apple / Eels, Ben Folds Five, Robert Bradley's Blackwtaer Surprise, Bush / Moby, Ani DiFranco, Filter / Veruca Salt Goldfinger / U.S. Crush, Handsome Family, Kelis, Korn, Liquid Soul, Lit / Radford, Loud Family, Magnetic Fields, Mix Master Mike, Ian Moore, Oasis, Splender / Vertical Horizon, Sally Taylor Tonic / Third Eye Blind, Union Back Issues of Consumable --- REVIEW: No Doubt, _Return of Saturn_ (Interscope) - Niles Baranowski Gwen Stefani of No Doubt is on the cusp of her fourth decade and seems to be feeling her age. While _Return of Saturn_ does have a few moments of uptempo abandon, it is a maturation of the awkward, confused sort that only aging pop bands undergo (see the most recent records by Pulp, Kenickie and Supergrass). It's definitely not as brassy as _Tragic Kingdom_ and its lyrics tend to swing towards the docile, or at least the domestic. There's no misinterpreting a song title like "Marry Me" or lyrics such as "I always thought I'd be a mom." Even when she's back to her single girl life, there's still a note of obsession and jealousy to these lyrics, pining for exes or staring down the competition. _Return of Saturn_ starts out on a typically new wave note with "Ex-Girlfriend," which treats dejection as a foregone conclusion and features lite-rap breaks that make it clear Stefani's been listening to a lot of Blondie recently. After this bustling opening salvo, though, the album mostly settles into a reverie of mid-tempo ballads and starry-eyed sighs. As catchy as it is, there's something unsettling about hearing No Doubt do a song as slickly sappy as "Simple Kind of Life," where Stefani's voice never hits the squeaky peaks of emotion that were her past trademark. Without these trademark tics, a song like "Life" could be almost any female fronted band gunning for pop radio. This loss of individuality isn't helped by the presence of producer Glen Ballard, who goes to great lengths to tone down the band's previously over-the-top antics. There are even moments when he is apparently trying to make the band into another Alanis. He helps to clean up the panoramic weepers but he seems unwilling to let the band loose. The only truly rapturous, off-the-hook moment here is "New," produced by Jerry Harrison, formerly of the Talking Heads. On this truly dizzying new-waver, Stefani longs to cling to the fresh first moments of a relationship even as they slip through her fingers. The synths dance jerkily (one of the last vestiges of ska here, incidentally) while her voice gets more and more enveloped by longing. In a moment like this, it's easy to believe she's a DIY diva. "I find myself choking on all my contradictions," Stefani admits at one point and _Saturn_ is chock full of them. For example, it's the songs where her lyricism seems shakiest and creepily co-dependent that the music feels most confident. "Bathwater" and "Marry Me" are both tough to listen to without squirming (the former features Stefani frequenting an ex-lover's tub out of nostalgia) but it helps that the former washes in a bouncy cabaret vamp and the latter is linked to a slight, reggae-tinged pulse. "Six Feet Under" sounds lively with its Orange County three-chord crunch until you realize that the band has gone massively existential, questioning life, death, the pill and any other Big Issue they can fit into a three minute pop song. Were it not so smirking and matter-of fact, it would be tedious. They manage not to seem out of their depth by keeping the music shallow and sweet as well. The album could use a few more of these toe-tappers in the gently satirical vein of "Just a Girl" but it sure doesn't lack for prom-ready songs. The lovely, tragic "Supension without Suspense" is almost "Don't Speak" caliber and "Dark Blue" thumbs its nose elegantly at a sulky, life-damaged ex-lover (Gavin Rossdale, maybe?). "Oh, maybe I'm supposed to make you feel better," she says with a hint of sarcasm. Too often, Stefani instead elects to be a willful doormat. I know that few people really listens to No Doubt for the lyrics, but Stefani makes it hard for you avoid them. When they're as egregiously domestic as "If you lived here, you'd be home by now," it's almost impossible to turn a blind eye to the fact that she's pining for stereotypes which most women in rock struggle to get away from. The dulled tone of the album -- and the pair of identity-mining tunes -- suggest that this is Stefani as she really is. Hopefully, next time someone will tell her she's more magical in her makeup, making like Cyndi Lauper fronting the Stiff Little Fingers. As it stands, _Return of Saturn_ offers thrills, but only intermittently. --- REVIEW: Chumbawamba, _WYSIWYG_ (What You See Is What You Get)_ (Republic/Universal Records) - Wilson Neate Chumbawamba's records have always stressed -- quite rightly -- that music and politics are inseparable. To do it justice then, any discussion of _WYSIWYG_ (an album that "mixes it up musically and politically" according to its press blurb) has to address both of those components as constitutive of the overall package. Three years have passed since the Leeds collective brought anarchy to the home-makers of America via talk-show performances of "Tubthumpin'," the song that -- as well as finding its way onto the _Home Alone III_ soundtrack -- launched a thousand frat parties and, for a short time, provided background music for segments on the Fox Sports channel. On the heels of that earlier Stateside success, _WYSIWYG_ is an album largely about America, its cultural ills and the many tentacles of its...ahem...corporate capitalist ideology. Musically, _WYSIWYG_ is brilliantly eclectic and accomplished, incorporating a cappella numbers, country tinged ballads, hip hop beats, melodic folk tunes, and rock. And lyrically, _WYSIWYG_ is very clever. Complete with the now-standard Chumbawamba word plays, puns and acerbic wit, the songs cast a wide, razor-barbed net from which very few people appear to be exempt. Politically, however, when you listen to the content of the lyrics you get the sense that the Chumbas certainly aren't half as radical as they'd like you to think. At times they sound quite reactionary -- especially when it comes to gender and sexuality -- and at other times, they're embarrassingly simplistic, albeit in a charmingly anachronistic way. From minimal, sampled inter- and intra-song fragments to complete songs, _WYSIWYG_ bashes its listener over the head with the outdated notion that popular culture is a uniquely American enterprise. Since cultural dependency is a target of Chumbawamba's musical cabaret-style critique, how odd then that they should build their album around the musical styles and other cultural materials of the nation they're attacking, thereby simply reinscribing it as the dominant global paradigm. "Jesus in Vegas" is a punchy song to jump around to and would make a great single. Unfortunately, however, it's a product of the "wow, just think, what if Christ came to capitalist America, let's write one about that!" school of lyrics. Similarly, the beautiful folk/country pastiche "Celebration, Florida" is a musical and vocal success but in the lyrics the Chumbas ever so earnestly tell us all about the Disney community as...you'll never guess...a metaphor for America! "Dumbing Down" serves up more of the same, albeit disguised in a great '60s Petula Clark pop sound. But it's not just in the realm of popular culture that the Chumbas identify America as the Great Satan. Even militarism, attacked on "Smart Bomb," is coded "in American" with its funky Village People-esque sound and its Pentagon jargon. OK, the US does have a habit of weighing in as Global Cop but there's more to it than that. I guess that British militarism just isn't as sexy as American militarism; we Brits don't have that accent, the wacky characters, the buzz words or the right soundtrack music. In short, our militarism doesn't make for such good pop songs. "I'm Not Sorry, I Was Having Fun" critiques the debacle of Woodstock 1999, albeit only in terms of its commercialism and lack of politics. Oddly enough, it glosses over the sexual assaults that took place. Still, the song does feature one of the finest lyrical flights of fancy which has Rush Limbaugh squaring off against Britain's finest Marxist actor, Ricky Tomlinson. "Pass It Along" hones in on US corporate culture of the Gates variety, bemoaning the loss of an authentic, face-to-face model of community at the hands of evil communications technologies among other things. With its repeating motif of Madness' "Our House," it seeks to evoke some kind of traditional values and community, but what that means at this historical juncture is left unclear. While one of the brief interludes, "Moses With a Gun," takes aim at a really worthwhile target, Charlton Heston, the "best title" award goes to "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Jerry Springer." This brings together Giuliani's favorite artist Damien Hirst and the king of trash TV, with the latter ending up in formaldehyde. "Shake Baby Shake" has great horns and exquisite vocals but, unfortunately, opens up the can of sexist worms that gnaw away at Chumbawamba's purported radicalism. Focused on American women, this song has a female vocalist slag off other women without pausing to consider the social and material pressures that might make them "buy into" an inadequate vision of femininity. "She's Got all the Friends" goes after UK female media bores who write society columns as well as slumming US rich girls. This time the vocals even have a catty lilt. But who cares? Is this important? All this song does is re-run the '60s notion of feminism and the militant left being at odds. But things get particularly tricky with "I'm Coming Out." Having picked on pointless, ineffectual targets, the Chumbas turn their self-righteous critical eye to sexuality and pick on a couple of dead people, namely Freddie Mercury and Rock Hudson. Again this is a fun, catchy song but the rhetoric of "outing" in the lyrics, as well as its "explication" in the liner notes, is indistinguishable from the kind of homophobic rot you find in the English tabloids. This is particularly ironic in view of the sentiments expressed in their earlier song "Homophobia" from _Anarchy_. Shame on you Chumbawamba. Having said that, they do knock themselves out with their lovely, a cappella rendition of the Bee Gees' "New York Mining Disaster." Never trust an album that not only prints the lyrics but then explains them to you at length. It shouldn't take that much work. To revive an old joke, How many anarchists does it take to change a light bulb? Or to slag off pitifully easy targets? --- INTERVIEW: UnAmerican - Christina Apeles You may have not heard of UnAmerican yet, but you will. This quartet of Brits are releasing their self-titled debut album next month on Universal Records with twelve tracks reminiscent of sixties Americana, yet right in line with such contemporary acts such as the Jayhawks and Wilco. UnAmerican is Steve McEwan (founder and lead singer, formerly of World Party), Matt Crozer (guitar), Pete Clarke (bass) and Tim Bye (drums). If you are looking for intelligent, sincere song writing sans the image-conscious demeanor of recent English bands, UnAmerican offers a classic sound without all the attitude. While doing a string of interviews in New York, Consumable met with the singer Steve McEwan and drummer Tim Bye, to talk about the impact of American music in their lives, the state of music today and preparation for their album's release and upcoming tour. CONSUMABLE ONLINE: There's always a story behind the naming of a band, so why UnAmerican? McEwan: We're in England and we make music that's sounds quite American. We love American music but we're not American. It's just a great name for encapsulating what the music is about, British people making music that sounds American. CO: So how is it with all the great acts that have come out of England, your biggest influences American artists like Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and Paul Simon? McEwan: The only English bands that we have been influenced by are American-sounding, like Led Zeppelin. And there's the Beatles, who were really influenced by American rock 'n roll. Bye: Nothing English has ever really been a big influence on our band. CO: Most of the music that has been popular in the States from Britain have been electronica acts, Brit Pop bands and alternative rock bands like Bush or Oasis. How do you see UnAmerican fitting into the current musical landscape? Bye: What we do as a band, no matter what trends there are in music, whether it's the heavy rock stuff or the pop stuff, it is not really a case of us fitting in. It's really a case of no matter what's going on in a scene, there's always gonna be room somewhere. We're a four-piece band not using electronics playing rock n roll. CO: You've obviously been received well in London clubs since that's how you were discovered. Is there a large audience for your brand of Americana? McEwan: Bands such as Wilco and Jayhawks, they all have a following in England. There's a magazine called Mojo, they love that kind of stuff and that's probably where we're coming from so yes there is an audience. Trouble is to be a huge success in America, what tends to happen is England kind of slates you, they crucify you because you've had success in this country. CO: Your album is first being released in the States. Obviously, the goal in mind is to break' here, but why not launch the album at home then take it abroad? McEwan: The thing with America is it's so big and can cater to a lot more kinds of music, whereas London is very small and it all happens very quickly so you have to get on radio, you got to get in a couple of magazines, you have a hit and then it's all over within a week. You can't get in a bus for a year and tour in England. You can get around it in three weeks. The thing is in England you have to hype it up and be trendy, it's very fashion land. CO: It's apparent your music comes first before image which is very refreshing. Bye: We're not trying to be fashionable. We haven't set out to create a new image or create a new scene like that, we've just set out to make music and play songs, which is really what it's always been about. McEwan: I just want to move people in some way so I really believe in the songs and I think they're good enough to move people and I think that's what really counts. CO: You can't ignore that packaging of a band is a fact in the industry. Bye: If people are into you for your songs, chances are they're gonna be into you longer. If people are into you for your image or because what's hip at the moment, you're not gonna be cool or hip for your whole career because things change. McEwan: During that Brit pop thing, there were so many bands that kind of like came and disappeared once the Brit pop thing was all over. Now it's a dirty word. Those that (still) exist are the ones who have changed their sound completely like Blur who sound more like Pavement now. CO: Your music is very passionate and the lyrics have a nice story telling aspect to them that you don't hear a lot of these days. McEwan: The kind of things I've grown up with listening to are Bob Dylan and Neil Young or Joni Mitchell... really emotionally kind of wrenched kind of stuff and it's obvious that's what I try to do. When I write a song and you get that kind of, I can't describe it, that tingling feeling, you know you're onto something and that's what I try to capture. A lot of other people I know who have done really well in England write very formulaic songs. Let's get a topic, a first chorus, it's produced, it's always slick and sells a lot of records. Good luck to them but I can't write like that. CO: What was your experience working with such talented session musicians as Jim Dickinson, Barry Beckett and David Campell, who have worked with legendary artists like Ry Cooder, Boz Scaggs, Dylan and Roy Orbison. Were you intimated at all? Bye: The guys were more intimidated by us. McEwan: There's Jim Dickinson and he's this character who's played on everything, I mean the Stones, played with Dylan and all these people, but he doesn't know anything about music really. Basically we'd ask him to play a C chord, and he'd say, I don't do chords. He'd be like shaking when we'd play the song. All these guys have been doing this for years but are now in their sixties or late fifties. Bye: They were wondering why young guys from England wanted them on our record. McEwan: They've been doing a lot of producing but probably haven't played on a record for awhile. Like Barry Beckett did a ton of stuff in the seventies, and again while we were recording he'd say, I haven't done this in a while guys, so stick with me here while I get my chops back together. He was great. David Campbell, Beck's dad, was amazing. He did the string arrangements. He's a genius. CO: The album was produced in Memphis. How did it feel being in a city rich with music history? McEwan: It was fantastic, it was great. Memphis is very blues-oriented and although we're not a blues band, just the fact that all these blues legends recorded there, it was amazing. We were there for three months but it's quite conservative. There's not that much to do. It would get to one o'clock in the morning and we'd be ready to party but there would be nothing to do. CO: There is so much in your bio about older influences, are there any current bands that you are inspired by or share a sense of camaraderie? McEwan: There's Wilco and the Jayhawks, and there's Gomez but they're doing something slightly different, more blues than rock. The whole music industry has become so professional now that very few things are less heart and soul. With the whole corporate machine, I think the innocence is gone. In the sixties and seventies it was all about the music and not just radio play. Bye: That's what I was saying earlier about image and scenes. Bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles, they weren't aware that they were starting a whole new scene, they were just doing it. They weren't making a conscious effort to say okay, this is our image this is how it's gonna be. They just wanted to play their music and that's why, to me, it was all so good because that was there #1 objective, not oh we've got to go down to the gym and get our muscles up or we've got to do this or do that. Play music and make it sound good, that's how it should be, it really is that simple. CO: Can you talk about the transition from playing with World Party to forming UnAmerican? McEwan: After the World Party thing I wanted to get my own band together and it took a while because you don't want to be with a bunch of wankers. You wanna be with a group of people that are really nice and easy to get along with and can be friends and be really good musicians as well. I met Matt first, who was playing with a really dodgy band and his guitar playing is really different than mine, completely on the edge, he never plays the same thing twice, he's on another planet. And no matter how much we rehearse, when we get to the gigs, he plays something completely different whereas I am much more disciplined. I make sure everything is in place, things like that. I got a hold of him and he was really up to it. Pete I saw was in another band and he had a great stage presence then we had this other drummer, but he had a bit of a wobble and went off his trolley two days before the first gig and Tim came in and saved us from a huge embarrassment. He learned the whole set in one day. CO: What was your experience playing with World Party; did it give you a good grounding? McEwan: It was really brilliant, I was just really young in my early twenties touring America in these huge shows. We toured with the 10,000 Maniacs on their last tour and it was really great... playing those venues and seeing America was an amazing experience. CO: Our readership is mostly in their early twenties to mid-thirties. What kind of response do you anticipate from an audience that recalls your style of music as rock music their parents listened to in their time, versus this age of hip hop, electronica and so forth? Bye: I think if they're into good songs, they'll like it. The style of the music is almost secondary to the songs. McEwan: There are teenagers who just love Bob Dylan so there's a new generation of people that are looking back and discovering old music and realizing that it's not old at all, it has a life and a strength and a depth that maybe a lot of new music doesn't have. So I hope they listen to us because we have that spirit. CO: The album is being released here in April and you'll start touring the States immediately. How is the band preparing for these upcoming events? McEwan: Lots of greens and vitamins. Actually, we've been doing a bit more recording to have the second album ready. We've got a studio in the tower of a church and it's really lovely and we do all our rehearsing and recording in there and that's what we do when we get back until we tour. It's perfect because it's stone and there's no houses around so you can make as much noise as you like. You can go completely bonkers except Sunday morning of course. Consumable sends belated birthday greetings to drummer Tim Bye and bassist Pete Clarke who celebrated their birthdays on March 11 while in New York. Further information on UnAmerican and tour information can be found on their aesthetically-pleasing website at http://www.unamericanonline.com . --- EVENT REVIEW: South By Southwest (SXSW), Austin, Texas; March 15 -19, 2000 [Part 2] - Joann D. Ball With listen.com lined up as one of South By Southwest (SXSW) Music's major sponsors, it was no surprise that the Internet was a hot topic and feature at this year's conference and trade show held at the Austin Convention Center during business hours on March 16-18th. The Music section of the SXSW website (http://www.sxsw.com) offered online registration as well as details about the music festival, conference and trade show. The site also featured an Online Registrants' Directory which facilitated the networking process by listing the names and affiliations of all conference registrants who wished to be included. The availability of such vital information online certainly made it easier for registrants to schedule their activities and networking plans before arriving in Austin. While the Internet certainly facilitates networking, nothing can replace personal interaction. Perhaps that's why newcity.com and garage.com wisely promoted their websites and offerings with tins of breathmints in the overflowing bag of freebies that all conference attendees received. A copy of Magnet Magazine, the CD sampler "A New Viking Invasion!" featuring powerpop from Sweden, and a multipurpose writing pen/container of bubbles advertising an evening with the Japan Not For Sale Allstars were among the various items included in the free canvas goodie bag. Although free promotional items were also available at many of the exhibitor booths, information was the main priority at the dot.com dominated industry trade show. On-line music companies like San Diego/Carlsbad, California-based spinrecords.com (http://www.spinrecords.com) demonstrated their websites and explained their services. The House of Blues used a comfortable lounge area to promote its live music Internet site (http://www.hob.com). And Internet-based Spike Radio (http://www.spikeradio.com) webcasted from a crowded booth that featured DJ's spinning cutting edge techno, house and dance musics. The proliferation of Internet-based music and entertainment companies evident at the trade show was also a popular topic at conference panel discussions. And the significant interest in all things Internet related expressed by panel attendees and presenters was often related to serious concerns about recent and anticipated mergers and consolidation within the radio, records and media industries. One of the first noteworthy discussions of the issue took place at the "Internet Radio: Small Stream or Mighty River" session moderated by Bob Ezrin of Enigma Digital. A well informed panel featuring Pam Long, Senior Producer of the recently launched online entertainment outlet icast.com, and movers and shakers from Spike Radio, spinner.com and Jeff McClusky & Associates made it clear that Internet radio has tremendous potential to transform the music listening experience. While panelists were quick to point out that Internet radio has yet to generate profit and is largely kept afloat by venture capital, they were nevertheless optimistic about its eventual commercial viability. Panelists also suggested that Internet radio's future success stems from it being more receptive and responsive to listener feedback and its ability to provide greater programming variety than conventional radio stations. The panelists main message, however, was that Internet radio is still a work in progress with new approaches and technologies constantly addressing valid questions about access, sound quality, availability, content and delivery. Another noteworthy discussion of the Internet revolution took place at the "Making Noise on the Net" panel, where musician and MTV favorite Thomas Dolby (now using the surname Robertson) discussed his new company Beatnik and provided insights about the potential of online music making and distribution. And at the packed session "Artists Only," Public Enemy visionary and rapstation.com founder Chuck D. and other musicians commented on how the Internet and merger issues effects artists and performers. Unfortunately, Chuck D.'s optimism and enthusiasm about the Internet's potential is not yet the norm in urban and hip-hop circles. The untapped potential of cyberspace was all but ignored at the "Spreading Urban Music Nationwide" panel which emphasized instead traditional street level marketing and promotional approaches. And even though online music publications were only briefly discussed, the "War Stories: Writing About Music Then & Now" provided an informative and entertaining overview of how music journalism and criticism has also changed during the past three decades. Deputy Editor Evan Smith of Texas Monthly moderated an distinguished panel featuring award winning music journalist and myplay inc. Editorial Director Ben Fong-Torres, Rolling Stone Online writer and former Creem Magazine staffer Jaan Uhelszki, New York Times music writer Ann Powers, Rolling Stone biographer Stanley Booth and freelance writers John Morthland and Ed Ward. The panelists freely shared stories about travelling with bands, the ethical dilemmas involved in music journalism, and more recent industry practices that limit access to artists for interviews. Despite the various challenges, long hours and relatively low pay, the distinguished writers all agreed that a genuine appreciation and love of music was remained the main inspiration and primary motivating factor for their work. Other important Internet-related discussions and presentations, however, took place outside the Austin Convention Center. On Thursday evening, British-based music and music technology company Dig PLC hosted a hip and lavish pre-launch party for its new MP3-GO products. MusicStore combines a CD player, digital jukebox and Internet music gateway and connects to both home stereo systems and personal computers, while SoulMate is a user-friendly portable MP3 player that makes it easy to download music from the Internet. Given the impressive presentation for both the new product line and the related online global music network (http://www.dig-Music.com ), its only a matter of time before Dig PLC starts a revolution in how music is played, recorded, listen to and managed. The following afternoon, the newly formed Indie Alliance also promised to make a major impact on the music industry. Emphasizing a positive, artist-centered approach to the music business, the Indie Alliance informed and entertained industry professionals, artists and others at a crowded, festive and very friendly launch party. The Indie Alliance plans to cover all facets of the music industry, and includes Boulder, Colorado-based Ariel Publicity, Artist Relations and Cyber Promotions (http://www.arielpublicity.com) among the eight dynamic independent companies that have come together to do music business the right way. In the past decade and a half, South By Southwest (SXSW) has grown from a premiere music conference and festival to incorporate separate film and interactive components as well. The official website is already promoting the SXSW 2001 film, interactive and music conferences and festivals, scheduled for March 9-18th. In the meantime, though, registrants at this year's event can continue networking online using the Online Registrants' Directory or by participating in ongoing online discussions of SXSW 2000 events. And all visitors to the SXSW Music section of the website can take advantage of direct links to band websites such as those belonging to VHS or Beta (http://www.vhsorbeta.com ) and the YoungBlood Brass Band (http://www.youngblood.brassband.com ), the two brilliant unsigned acts which I was greatly impressed by. --- REVIEW: Braid, _Movie Music Vols. One and Two_ (Polyvinyl) - Andrew Duncan Sometimes things just never die and sometimes things just should not die. Luckily for Braid, it's the latter. For fans of the Champaign-Urbana, Ill., quartet, there is no question that _Movie Music_ is the ultimate wet dream, featuring two CDs worth of rare and hard-to-find songs. Unfortunately, a 400-word review cannot justify the importance this collection has on the indie-rock world. _Movie Music_ is a concept that had grown with the band throughout their seven year existence, beginning in 1993. With only three full-length releases under their belt, much of the band's recording history came from a vast development of seven-inch singles and compilation appearances - many are now out of print. Both CDs come with a gazillion pictures, beautifully written commentary and song descriptions, as well as printed lyrics. _Volume One_ tracks the linear progression of the band's seven inch and split seven inch releases beginning with "Sounds Like Violence," a song from their "early years" that immediately displays the band's trademark of using emotional extremes. Robert Nanna and Chris Roach have the ability to flawlessly change from a melody to screaming at the top of their lungs. Both can be on the verge of falling apart melodically, but manage to come back together and sound good at doing it. "Motion Light," "(Strawberry Ann) Switzerland" and "I'm Afraid of Everything" is a sobering melancholia that bursts into a schizophrenic frenzy of pounding drum beats and chugging guitars that are part angular rock and part driving hardcore. It is a rarity a band can accomplish this transition without the blink of an eye and never sacrificing quality to do it. Songs like "Fire Makes the House Grow" takes a little getting used to and sounds like a down tuned Descendants song, but certainly does not create a sour note for the other tunes, especially with gems like "You're Lucky To Be Alive," an unreleased song that resembles what The Promise Ring is successful at today. _Volume Two_ acts more like a collective mix of Braid songs that explores more with their experimental side. "Elephant" clearly demonstrates this with the help of Kate Reuss on vocals that swirl around plenty of angles and hooks to coincide with stints of linear hardcore. "Eulalia, Eulalia" is an expressive song that really pulls the band together as a whole. The list goes on, including four previously unreleased songs and a cover of the Pixies' "Trompe Le Monde" and The Smiths' "This Charming Man," along with four other cover tunes. Simply put, this is a creative, conceptual masterpiece that will forever be a part of documented history. --- REVIEW: Various Artists, _Music From The Motion Picture The Million Dollar Hotel_ (Interscope) - I.K. MacLeod It appears the artists gathered together to work on the soundtrack to Win Wender's latest work were far from being various. The U2 extended family and a member of the film's cast are the creative force behind this soundtrack. There is no argument that the relationship between the German filmmaker and the Irish band has been mutual and fruitful over the years (see _Faraway, So Close!_ and _Until the End of the World_), but with several top notch soundtracks under his belt (hear _The End of Violence") this 16-song collection comes off as being rather subtle and unobtrusive. Produced by Hal Wilner and recorded in Dublin, at times you can get washed up in the emotional tide. The MDH Band is a collective of U2 regulars, like Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, that are more than capable of drawing the listener into the music. The problem is there is never a long enough instance of intrigue to make you want to continue with the ride. Milla Jovovich tries her hand at Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" but ends up making his original vocal delivery sound like worthy of The Three Tenors. It turns out the final cut is the only song with an obvious pulse. "Anarchy in the USA," an updated Spanish version of the Sex Pistol's anthem, features Tito Larriva on vocals with the MDH band backing him up at full throttle. It sounds a little out of place and phase with the rest of the soundtrack, but then again I haven't seen the film yet. "Never Let Me Go" is a solid Bono original that slowly gains its pace and form like it was being requested in a smoky lounge in California. "Falling at your Feet" sounds much like a delicate music box that builds nicely into a soft pop song. The last of Bono's solo outings is a half-baked tune called "Dancin' Shoes" and has him possessed by the Fine Young Cannibals to a less than satisfactory effect. "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" features Salman Rushdie lyrics culled from the pages of his book of the same name and is a more than worthy single for a band that has spent twenty years in the big leagues of the music business. "Stateless" is another new U2 track that acts like a direct link to the bands sound from over a decade ago. Zooropa's "The First Time" blends nicely into the mix and is also given a reprise by Daniel Lanois a couple tracks later. As U2 finish up their new album in the studio, this soundtrack should be all that is needed to hold their fans attention in the next few months. --- REVIEW: Nash Kato, _Debutante_ (Loosegroove) - Jeremy Ashcroft For a band supposedly ruthlessly ambitious in their pursuit of rock star fame, Urge Overkill's former members have been conspicuously absent from the record racks since their demise some three years ago. There was a one-off charity show in 1997 featuring guitarist Nils St Cyr in place of the by then departed King 'Eddie' Roeser, and Ed himself has recorded demos and toured a little with his Electric Airlines and Kimball Roeser Effect projects, but no new albums to enjoy - until now! Evolving from the buzzing of a guitar amp - evoking the mechanical noise that opened UO's most successful release, 1993's _Saturation_ - the first track, "Zooey Suicide," bursts out of the speakers with a sinuous feedback guitar riff and strong beat. Lyrics too - and of the following track, "Queen Of The Gangstas," - are of the same kind of camp adventure/spy story fiction spun on UO's "Sister Havana." The poppy "Octoroon" follows, like many of the songs on the album, featuring the bright vocal backing of Veruca Salt's Louise Post, though her finest moment on the record is possibly on the next track "Cradle Robbers" -- a cautionary tale of middle-aged man's lust for younger women. "Blow" is the album's first ballad, opening with acoustic guitar and with a rich organ backgroundÅ like the rest of the album, really nicely produced by (ex-Tori Amos associate) Eric Rosse. Influences come from many quarters, and in the case of a small boy then still called Nathan Kaatrud, the soul records played by his babysitter gave him a real love for that genreÅ proof enough being this album's title track, "Debutante". A low, low bass line, together with street-corner whispers sets the scene, sounding like something the O-Jays would have been proud of, then despite the later rock riffing the track oozes soul. It's the album's stand-out track, and a particular delight for fans of the older UO in that it marks the return of "The Supersonic Storybook's" Lynn Jordan technicolour vocal backing, plus the lyrics were penned by Blackie Onassis. Via the riffy "Rani (Don't Waste It)" and Mexican brass of "Los Angelena" comes the ultra-smooth "Black Satin Jacket"Å a track that shows that Nash doesn't really need to cover Steely Dan (which he does on a forthcoming soundtrack album anyway), he can write his own Steely Dan songs, complete with swirling electric piano and multi-layer harmonies. The lyrics are also intriguing "on my back like a black satin jacket -- they really hate me, you ought to know". After the slightly-Beatle-esque "Pillow Talk" comes a song that first debuted at the 1997 charity show mentioned earlier (incidently, the guitarist of that night, Nils St Cyr plays lead on this album too) -- "Born In The Eighties" though presumably the lyric has been recently brought up-to-date with its reference to MP3s. In view of the '80s being very much the era of the yuppie, the song also features the great line "fax the hippies, we've arrived!" Finally, the album closes with another song debuted at that gig, "Blue Wallpaper," which is that strange combination of sounding slightly downbeat but hopeful at the same timeÅ like many of the great Urge songs. In conclusion I really like the album and I'm sure both Urge Overkill fans and anyone else willing to give it a listen will be delighted too. On the evidence of this, plus the fantastic cover of William Bell's Stax tune "Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday" available as a free download at http://www.nashkato.com , who knows, the next Nash album just might be the great soul album that Urge often aspired to. I can't wait! --- REVIEW: Ween, _White Pepper_ (Elektra) - I.K. MacLeod When you find the word mature in a Ween review, it is usually prefixed by 'im-'. That is all about to change with the release of their seventh and most consistent album to date entitled _White Pepper_. A dozen original songs co-produced by Chris Shaw (Public Enemy) are delivered in a lively and organic band format, with the help of Claude Coleman (drums), Dave Dreiwitz (bass), and Glenn McClelland (keyboards). You will not find the same vocal treatments, f-words, and general wackiness that were showcased in last year's sonic travelogue _Paintin' the Town Brown_. Well, at least not in the same excess. "Exactly Where I'm At" starts out with a Pod-era drum beat and then transforms into pure Ween pop. The first single is called "Even If You Don't" and has a jab of Paul McCartney and a slab of Sloan all wrapped into one package. What would you do if you were trapped on a deserted island? Dean and Gene would say "Bananas and Blow," which features the addition on female background vocals over a Jimmy Buffet-esque party jam. You can just imagine the band clad in Motorhead shirts in a suburban garage in New Hope when the riff-heavy "Stroker Ace" and the grunge of "The Grobe" come barreling out your speakers. The creepy "Ice Castles" is another in a long tradition of deranged instrumentals that the band pulls off with such ease. "Pandy Fackler" might be worthy of a parental advisory sticker, but it might send children into their parent's record collections to dust off an old Steely Dan album to see if they ever had a dueling pedal steel and organ in the mix. The surprising "Stay Forever" will have you doing a double take. This could be a Savage Garden-size hit for the band, but I let's not get too carried away. Towards the end of the release, the roots rock of "Falling Out" might help you shedding a tear or two in your beer for all the good love gone bad. The duo of Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo have always out-performed their own limitations and have only been limited by their collective imagination. Whether it was lack of studio space in the early days or the absence of a full time drummer on the road, the talent and vision of the brothers Ween could shine through it all and has manifested in a dedicated and cult-like fan base. The love/hate relationship the listening public may soon end, with sensitivity and beauty coming out on top. It looks like marriagedom and parenthood have softened the edges and are responsible for displaying a new side of Ween. Of course, I am exaggerating a little here. There are two sides to every story and once you have walked through the drug-induced haze and or stepped in the alcohol soaked carpet that makes up their unique sound, there is no turning back. --- REVIEW: Tara MacLean, _Passenger_ (Capitol) - Paul Andersen Like many of us in the music journalism field (yes, we can be lazily affected by comparisons and labels -- sorry, but it's true, and I'll admit it), the first thought that came to mind as I slipped this in the CD tray was, "Hmm, must be another Sarah McLachlan." After all, both are Canadian, and she spent a few years on the Lilith circuit. So much for being lazy (though if I *were* still labeling, Aimee Mann comes to mind). Tara MacLean travels a road that is highly eclectic, bringing ingredients of folk, pop, a bit of jazz chanteuse and an ethereal world stew that is befitting of her upbringing. Born on Prince Edward Island in Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces, not exactly your standard hotbed of future pop music stardom, MacLean was brought up by parents who were, well, pagans living in a log cabin, until they became born-again Christians, but of a hippie variety, who constantly moved throughout the world, with time spent in England, the Caribbean and Canada's west coast. This upbringing has had its effect on her music: nature, myth, unity and eternal chaos are explored lyrically, and there is an undeniable spirituality that infuses this disc. Which is not to say that it is all love and happiness and peace signs. Songs like "Jericho," which leads off the disc, sway towards the spiritual, as does "Jordan," but further along the content gets earthier ("Poor Boy"). But it is the swirling "Divided" that best displays MacLean's unique vision. With quiet electronics and a killer hook of a chorus that will stay in the brain long after, it is a higher ground view of the dividing lines between people. "Come let faith be your garden/Always changing always still/Still breathing," she sings, asking that you "check your weapons at the door." Maybe not your standard pop fodder, but it is nice to come across someone with a wider view. And besides, it's got a damn good beat, too. --- REVIEW: The Posies, _The Best of the Posies: Dream All Day_ (Geffen) - John Davidson It takes courage to wander the ruins of power pop, to walk the line between the insanely catchy and the hummable but strangely hip. There's little room for error as the very embrace of pop music is an acceptance of short-attention fickleness, a willingness to induce memorable singsong that ultimately may repulse. Even the greatest songs fear the trappings of a mirthful hook, knowing that mystique and beauty can easily fade at the altar of indulgent repetition. Yet bands like the Posies keep coming and going, pursuing brittle pop dreams in the face of inevitable career oblivion. The Posies rose above of the soul-scorched metal scene in Seattle with a revved-up, modern version of everything the Zombies couldn't quite put their finger on. Signed to DGC after a home-produced album sold well in the Pacific Northwest, the band delivered a precocious major label debut in 1990. The bright guitars, Hollies-styled harmonies, and bittersweet tales of _Dear 23_ garnered immediate attention, but the glow was only temporary. After all, DGC had also recently signed Nirvana, and it was only a matter of time before the Posies and the rest of the country were swept away by the deluge of grunge. It was a cruel fate of timing, and two albums later (1993's _Frosting on the Beater_ and 1996's _Amazing Disgrace_) the Posies and Geffen parted ways. _The Best of the Posies_ is an adequate summarization of the band's output for DGC, with some rarities thrown in for good measure. Kicking of with "My Big Mouth", an ebullient tale of regret set to jumping acoustic guitar, the band seems young and playful despite the sad lyrics. It's easy to see the early charm that got the band signed to the big time, but as the album progresses, the chronological sequence of songs unwinds the Posies' maturing disillusion, culminating in the raging "Everybody Is a Fucking Liar" (from _Amazing Disgrace_.) Few artists have been so blunt with their frustration on the label's own nickel. Yet the bulk of the album is content to lay out what the Posies did best: pour out hook after hook and somehow back it up with enough squall to bleed the soul. Big Star has always been a reference point (what with lead Posies Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer backing the reformed Alex Chilton/Jody Stephens cult fave on relapse), and the first half of the album pouts with many nods to that esteemed prickly pop, even including the soaring "I Am the Cosmos" cover that was previously vinyl 45 r.p.m only. "Solar Sister" was a hit that never happened, and one of their last official releases, "Please Return It" begs to be heard as well. Even "Going, Going, Gone" deserved better than the one-off territory of the _Reality Bites_ soundtrack. In fact, by the time the album concludes with the wigged out guitarscape in "Flood of Sunshine," it's obvious that one more talented, fairly unique band has fallen to the hands of diverging trends and impatient A&R types. Or maybe not. The Posies released a live album this year on the tiny Badman label, and a four-CD boxed compendium of rarities spanning their entire career is coming in the next few months on an indie as well. That's not bad for a band that parted ways three years ago. Better still, it's a testament to the fine songwriting that simply won't leave your head. --- REVIEW: Rockapella, _Rockapella 2_ (J-Bird) - Paul Andersen If your only exposure to Rockapella is from those omnipresent commercials for Folgers and Almond Joy, please suspend whatever negative feelings you may have gained from hearing them too much, and open your mind to what the human voice can do, on its own, by itself. The liner notes state that all the sounds contained within this album were produced by "the voices and appendages of Rockapella," but you will swear that ain't so after hearing the amazing things this five-member group can do with the most basic of musical instruments, the human voice. Of course, having a human percussion machine (in the form of Jeff Thacher) doesn't hurt things. Thacher used to amuse himself as a child by making up sounds for the toys he was playing with, and now as an adult he continues to make up sounds, only the toys have been replaced by a shedful of percussion instruments. It has been said that fans come up to him after shows to see if there is a hidden tape recorder or something else that might explain what he does. The only magic is what he can do with his voice and body. Unlike a lot of a cappella groups who do *sans instrument* arrangements of other people's songs, Rockapella writes their own material. Melodically rich and surprisingly swinging (thanks to Thacher and bass voice Barry Carl, who make a fine rhythm section), the songs on _Rockapella 2_ are mainly relationship-oriented, which at least to me keeps it in the tradition of the doo-wop street corner image that I've always had in my mind. Of course, a lot more goes into it than a group of guys under a street lamp. The current single is the album's only cover, a version of Squeeze's "Tempted" that, if there is any justice in the world, should shoot up the charts. In a lot of ways, the current wave of boy bands (think Backstreet Boys) are a marketed version based on what Rockapella does naturally, without the trappings of image and manufactured cuteness. Needless to say, groups like Rockapella (and others, like the Blenders and the legendary Persuasions, who have kept a cappella alive) totally blow them away. "Tempted" is a perfect example of what these five do. They manage to stay quite true to the original, including the vocal go-rounds before the choruses, yet using words instead of instruments to move the song forward, they impart even more meaning to the lyrics of Difford and Tilbrook, adding yearning to the equation in this questioning of the pitfalls in the road to monogamy. Stylistically, Rockapella goes from the Latin-tinged "Doorman Of My Heart" to the classic doo-wop of "Where Would We Be?" with stops in between that reflect the many faces of pop music. And for those fans that want it all, there are two Folger's commercial tracks tacked on at the end. Hey, ya gotta pay the bills, right? --- REVIEW: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, _Furnace Room Lullaby_ (Bloodshot) - I.K. MacLeod It won't take long to see and hear what Neko Case is all about. The cover shot is a faux crime scene where she plays victim to a brutal attack. Her music is revisiting the rich heritage of the old and neglected style of country music that is chalk full of brutal honesty. Her vision is tried and true and her expertise is revealed in her unmistakably enchanting voice. It haunts the airwaves with every passing syllable and can equally trigger a tear in your eye or get you into your dancing shoes. Her solo debut came out of nowhere in 1997 considering her playful pop-punk background in a trio called Maow. She claims her first love was the country and western music of her Virginia birthplace, so you can look at this phase in her career as a return to her roots. _The Virginian_ featured originals sandwiched between her various takes on countless country classics to the delight of many listeners. She was aided by a bevy of beaus and this time around her boyfriends include John Ramberg (guitar), Scott Betts (bass), Joel Trueblood (drums), and a little side action by the shadowy Brian Connelly (guitar). The opening numbers, "Set Out Running" and "Guided by Wire," are all the evidence you need to fall head over heels for this belle. "Porchlight" and "We've Never Met" not only feature the one and only Ron Sexsmith and his side kick Don Kerr (Rheostatics), but are two of the most emotionally packed songs that have graced my stereo in awhile. The straight ahead honky-tonk of "Mood To Burn Bridges" has non-stop momentum and southern swing, while the heartfelt "Twist the Knife" reveals Neko's vulnerable side without giving up too much control of her surroundings. The currency of "Bought and Sold" is an epitaph for a broken down heart through countless cases of dejection. The album comes to a close with the stark "Furnace Room Lullaby," whose melancholy melody was constructed in part by Bloodshot labelmates Dallis and Travis Good of The Sadies. As long as you are not satisfied with what passes as "new" or "alternative" country, this CD will be sure to please. Neko Case is a cowboy's dream and _Furnace Room Lullaby_ is more likely to get stolen from a jukeboxe this year than any of Shania's back catalog. --- ERRATA: > Crowded House was incorrectly identified as an Australian band in Issue 205; they are actually from New Zealand. --- TOUR DATES: Fiona Apple / Eels Apr. 15 Pompano Beach, FL Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Apr. 17 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium Apr. 18 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Apr. 20 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle Apr. 21 N. Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues Ben Folds Five Apr. 15 Rochester, NY Rochester Inst. of Tech's Clark Gym Apr. 16 Ithaca, NY Ithaca College (Ben Light Gym) Apr. 18 Albany, NY Palace Theatre Apr. 19 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Robert Bradley's Blackwtaer Surprise Apr. 18 New York, NY Shine Apr. 19-20 Boston, MA Karma Lounge Apr. 21 Philadelphia, PA TLA Bush / Moby Apr. 17 Jonesboro, AK Arkansas State University Ani DiFranco Apr. 15 Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium Apr. 17 Santa Barbara, CA Arlington Theatre Apr. 18 Los Angeles, CA Universal Amphitheatre Apr. 19 San Diego, CA Open Air Theatre Apr. 20 San Luis Obispo, CA Rec. Center At Cal. Poly. Filter / Veruca Salt Apr. 15 Beres, OH Baldwin College Apr. 17 Philadelphia, PA St. Joesph's University Apr. 18 Worchester, MA The Palladium Apr. 20 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom Apr. 22 Scranton, PA Scranton Cultural Center Goldfinger / U.S. Crush Apr. 18 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel Apr. 19 Philadelphia, PA Theater Of Living Arts Apr. 20 Old Bridge, NJ Birch Hill Apr. 21 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance Handsome Family Apr. 16 Baltimore, MD Ottobar Apr. 17 Chapel HIll, NC Local 506 Apr. 18 Raleigh, NC Kings Apr. 19 Athens, GA Tasty World Apr. 20 Nashville, TN The End Apr. 22 St. Louis, MO Side Door Kelis Apr. 15 New Haven, CT Yale University w/Wyclef Jean Apr. 17 Durham, NH University of New Hampshire w/Wyclef Jean Apr. 19 Montreal, QUE Cabaret Apr. 20 Toronto, ONT Phoenix Apr. 21 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Korn Apr. 15 Nashville, TN Gaylord Entertainment Center Apr. 17 Little Rock, AR Barton Coliseum Apr. 18 St. Louis, MO Kiel Center Apr. 19 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena Liquid Soul Apr. 15 New York, NY Tonic Apr. 22 Chicago, IL Virgin Records Lit / Radford Apr. 19 New Orleans, LA House of Blues Apr. 20 Panama City, FL Club La Vela Loud Family Apr. 16 Cambridge, MA TT the Bear's Apr. 17 New York, NY Knitting Factory Apr. 18 Washington, DC Metro Cafe Apr. 19 Carrboro, NC Go Rehearsal Apr. 20 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse w/ Magnetic Fields Magnetic Fields Apr. 20 Atlanta, GA The Variety Playhouse Apr. 21 Athens, GA The 40 Watt Mix Master Mike Apr. 15 Brunswick, ME Bowdoin College Apr. 16 Kingston, RI URI Apr. 17 Durham, NH University of New Hampshire Apr. 18 NY, NY Irving Plaza Apr. 19 Boston, MA Middle East Apr. 20 Worcester, MA Clark University Ian Moore Apr. 14 Ashville, NC Be Here Now Apr. 15 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre Apr. 16 Chapel Hill, NC Cat's Cradle Apr. 18 Athens, GA 40 Watt Apr. 19 Birmingham, AL Zydeco's Apr. 20 Biloxi, MS Upstairs/Downstairs Apr. 21 New Orleans, LA Tipitina Oasis Apr. 15 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre Apr. 16 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre Apr. 18 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre Apr. 20 Detroit, MI State Theatre Apr. 21 Akron, OH U. of Akron Splender / Vertical Horizon Apr. 15 E. Stroudsburg, PA E. Stroudsberg University Apr. 17 Buckhannon, WV WV Wesleyan Apr. 18 Pittsburgh, PA Lafayette College Apr. 21 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance Sally Taylor Apr. 15 Aspen, CO Double Diamond Tonic / Third Eye Blind Apr. 15 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Apr. 16 Fayetteville, AR Barnhill Arena Apr. 17 Warrensburg, MO Central MO Multipurpose Apr. 18 Normal, IL Breadon Auditorium Apr. 20 Columbus, OH Palace Theater Apr. 21-22 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Union Apr. 16 Columbus, OH Al Rosa Villa Apr. 19 Erie, PA Sherlock's Apr. 20 Bayside, NY VooDoo Lounge Apr. 21 West Warwick, RI Station --- 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". 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