==== ISSUE 66 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [January 18, 1996] Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford, Dan Enright, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker Correspondents: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Jason Cahill, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Daniel Kane, Mario Lia, Sean Eric McGill, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner, Britain Woodman Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak, Jason Williams Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this document must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' INTERVIEW: The Bogmen - Dan Enright REVIEW: Brian Wilson, _I Just Wasn't Made For These Times_ - Eric Hsu REVIEW: Shamen, _Axis Mutatis_ - Lee Graham Bridges REVIEW: Various Artists, _Excursions in Ambience_ - Joe Silva REVIEW: Air Liquide, _Red_ - Lee Graham Bridges REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Heat_ - Sean Eric McGill REVIEW: Various, _CatCompilation II_ - Reto Koradi REVIEW: The Kabalas, _Martinis and Bagels_ - Dan Enright REVIEW: Billie Ray Martin, _Deadline For My Memories_ - Daniel Kane REVIEW: Rory MacLeod, _Self Titled_ - Dan Enright REVIEW: Fear, _Have Another Beer With Fear_ - Linda Scott REVIEW: Ben Neill, _ Green Machine_ - Daniel Kane NEWS: Jayhawks, Best Ohio Band, Popsmear, Sonicnet Chat, Mike Watt TOUR DATES AC/DC, Cravin' Melon, Cypress Hill, Godplow, Kilgore Smudge, Robbie Laws & Urban All-Stars, Letters to Cleo, Liquor Bike ERRATA The Readers Write Back! Back Issues of Consumable --- INTERVIEW: Brendan Ryan of the Bogmen - Dan Enright If you took the sardonic wit of They Might Be Giants and mixed it with the groove of early Talking Heads, you'd be close to describing The Bogmen. But you'd still be missing something, because neither band exactly describes the sound the Bogmen have developed. Lyricist Bill Campion is a major element of the band's uniqueness. He writes, for example, about human induced environmental disaster, lack of personal responsibility, quack psychiatry, a broken relationship, and the sorrow of a lovers death, with humor and a depth of intelligence rarely heard in rock music today. It's this humorous approach to such bleak subjects that makes the band stand out. This lyrical strength is then coupled to a six piece ensemble - Bill [Campion] on guitar and vocals, Bill Ryan on guitar, Mark Wilke on bass, Brendan Ryan on keyboards, PJ O'Connor on percussion and vocals, and Clive Tucker on drums - resulting in songs having intricate and engaging arrangements which complement each other perfectly. Their freshman album, _Life Begins at 40 Million_, was produced by former Talking Head, Jerry Harrison. I talked with Brendan about the influence Jerry had on the band during the recording and beyond. Consumable: Parts of the album remind me of _Remain In Light_. Did Jerry have the same influence on this recording, Brian Eno had on the Talking Heads' album? Brendan: That's my favorite album of theirs by far. I've talked to Jerry about that many times and he knows it, too. I love that album. I'm the person who should be doing this interview, because if anybody else was here they would have laughed. They know how much I like it and listen to it. He definitely did have fine touches that are heard on the record. But one thing I would have to say about Jerry - which I found to be a huge positive, we were a debut band signed more for our following, I think, than our music. The record company showed interest in us because of our following. So, here comes a guy who's made huge amount of records. He came in and I think we were all a little bit nervous. I was ready for him to turn everything around and make it "Jerry Harrison and the Bogmen." And he did have a strong input on some songs. We listened and worked it out - and in that sense, yes, he did have his hand in the music and the arrangement, just like Brian Eno did. But there were songs he didn't even touch. I mean, on a few tracks on the record he said, "You know what guys? I don't think that song needs anything. I think it's fine just the way it is." For me, that showed he wasn't this huge ego that wanted to change everything to the way he liked it. He let the Bogmen go down on the record as themselves. He made us listen to each other more, "You're walking over this bass line, you're walking over the guitar line, lets try to clear everything up." and he definitely did improve things. Brought it up a notch. C: How does the songwriting/arranging work in the band? B: We are definitely a collaborative band. We're a six piece, so obviously some people are more important to the songwriting than others. Usually it starts with music first and Billy puts his lyrics to it. But it has also gone the other way. He had songs that were already finished - lyrics, arrangement, chord structures, melody, everything - then we just put our parts to it. So there's a few different methods. C: Whatever makes the best song? B: Right, whatever makes the best song. Nobody's feelings get hurt. I mean, we're musicians but we're also friends first, so we have no problem telling each other if something doesn't work or if it's a great idea. There's no power struggle. By the time everybody has their parts done, it definitely sounds like the Bogmen. No matter who came up with the initial idea. C: Did working with Jerry have an impact on your live performance? B: Yeah. Especially me, 'cause I used a lot of new equipment in the studio I never had live and I got a lot of new sounds. So, when the record was done, I had a lot of sampling to do to get the sounds on the album so I could put them in the live show. I think that's true for everybody. Everybody's tried to sound a little more like the album. But, everybody agrees, our live show has a more energetic, more dynamic sound to it. C: How much of your catalogue made it on the album? B: That's one thing with a debut album. We had so much material, it took us a long time just to narrow it. There's 12 songs on the album... we have, including all the old stuff, maybe 30 or 40. We narrowed down to 18 or 17 and then, finally, we just went with 12. And since the album has been released, we have four or five brand new songs we're putting in our live set. If we tape our live show and listen back to it, I can only listen to the stuff that's not on the album, because it's new and fresh for me. And I think it's a lot more mature. The songwriting, musically is. So, we definitely continue to write all the time. We don't stop. I think that's the most important thing. If you want to be a band with longevity, you can never stop writing. C: Is the sardonic point of view wired into the band, or just this group of songs? B: That is definitely our attitude - our personality - in our lyrics. And the new songs, that aren't on the recording, are more comic. There's more humor in the new stuff than what's on the album. C: The music complements Bill's lyrics, really well. B: He's satirical in his writing. I can't really answer lyrical questions, but that's the way I interpret them. He wrote his lyrics and we all put our parts to it, but I tried to put things in I thought would go with his lyrics. And there are sounds you can hear, which just go with his lyrics. "Doctor Jerome's" a good example. We used tuba solos, we wanted to make it sound like, almost, a carousel. So we put tuba samples, french horns, trumpets, and stuff in there. C: Do you change the arrangements for the live performances? B: No. We're not a "Jam Band," we're not a big "Solo Band." We don't extend our songs too much. C: Do you rearrange them to keep them fresh? B: Actually, we do that a lot. Even if it's as little as putting a new ending on it, because we feel our ending's boring. C: And different sets every night? B: It's funny, because it drives our crew crazy. They always want to know what song is up next, because they have to get the guitars or the program presets ready. We write a set list... we procrastinate, because every show is different. If we're playing in front of 10 people, we're not going to come out with a huge, rockin' song. If it's a quiet setting, we'll start off with something more mellow. So, we change our set every single night. I don't think we've ever played - I don't want to sound like the Grateful Dead [laugh] - the same set two nights in a row. C: Do you try to read the crowd? B: Yeah, we do try to do that. It's hard when you're a six piece. Everybody wants to have a set and stick to it, because you change instruments, change programs, whatever. But, sometimes we'll have a mellow song and if it just doesn't fit, or we feel the momentum's going, we'll call it off and say, "No, let's do this other song." So, yeah. We cater to the crowd. --- REVIEW: Brian Wilson, _I Just Wasn't Made For These Times_ (MCA) - Eric Hsu The notes and ideas of Brian Wilson have ended up everywhere, appreciated more and perceived as cooler once disguised in non-Beach Boys settings: Paul McCartney's bass lines, punk-pop, John Cale, the Pixies and Frank Black, REM, even Def Leppard harmonies. And there's no question that occasionally the ideas are done better (see the Descendents' "Wendy"), but the point remains. It's amazing how much music improves for a lot of people with the subtraction of candy-striped outfits and the addition of dark shades, distortion and/or a hard drug addiction. And that's because it's impossible to hear music as pure sound since the history and social context of the music alters the listener's brain, which is where music happens anyway. So when I say that Brian Wilson's voice is a little broken and out-of-tune in this disc and that the Don Was production is slick, session-musicianly and sometimes fantastically inappropriate, that isn't meant as a knock on the listening experience. Because context is everything and the Brian Wilson myth is one of fallen child genius overindulged and constantly manipulated for commercial gain. And frankly, most people had written Brian off as a raving lunatic incapable of getting out of bed, much less making music. Even though I've hyped the "come peep at the tormented and manipulated boy genius" angle, it's good that the song selection here is generally outstanding. The songs are pulled from all across the years of Brian's output, from the early JFK-inspired "Warmth of the Sun" to the two best songs from the Wilson solo album from this decade. He sings in his "mature" voice ("mature" = lower register, ragged, old, weird and slurry, covered in flange), but his voice fits the mellowness of the songs chosen. And he's never sounded so child-like and frightened as when he ends the line "there're a lot of people out there hurting and it really scares me". He also sounds genuinely playful on "Wonderful", which is not a bad idea, but I'll stick to the box set version since the real kick of the song is in the godlike precision of the harmonies which really enhances the fairytale-ness of the surprisingly good Van Dyke Park lyrics. The point is Brian still has a lot of personality, which can't be said about the arrangements and playing. The good sounds come from a refinement of the original ideas in the songs (altered "Caroline No" milkbottle beat, big warm piano sound on "This Whole World"), and the atrocious come from straying too far (the nightmarish flute solo on "Caroline No"). This is true even when the performance is good, for instance the backup singers sing soulfully, but that doesn't really fit with the BW program. The arrangements are slick, but in _Pet Sounds_ orchestras have a real distinctive voice, and these sounds are anonymous. I really doubt Brian had much input on this album. Just the fact that he sings out of tune is a dead giveaway, since he used to be a maniac for in-tuneness (thus Mike Love's complaint "Who's going to hear these mistakes, the ears of a dog?" that named _Pet Sounds_). If you're only a fan of peppy _Endless Summer_ Beach Boys, skip this. If you're a fan of _Pet Sounds_ and on, this is worth a listen. If you are a _Smile_ fanatic, you have already purchased this disc. If you are a reflexive BB hater, this disc may not convert you unless you are only familiar with candy-striped bozos carrying surfboards. That might have been the best result of the documentary this disc is attached to: introducing people to the more thoughtful and mellow side of Brian Wilson. In the end the documentary was a bit of a letdown for me, except for the music, which, as I said above, is really enjoyable for socio-econo-political-voyeristic reasons. "This Whole World" is a real polished gem, "Do it Again" was charmingly retro even in 1968 and is in retro-overdrive in 1995, and "Melt Away" and "'Til I Die" are stunning, beautiful songs by any standard. If you're running Audiodeck 2.5 or a comparable Audio CD player, program it to cut off the flute solo in "Caroline No" and skip the curiosity-demo "Still I Dream of It", then sit back and relax and feel the dissonance in your head as the frustrated, drug-and-age-ravaged, developmentally-arrested child-man genius sings, "and when I go everywhere, I see love, love, love" and means it. --- REVIEW: Shamen, _Axis Mutatis_ (One Little Indian/Epic) - Lee Graham Bridges The Shamen's founding member, Colin Angus, had this to say about their new album, _Axis Mutatis_: "The shaman is an archetypal hero, the outsider at the center of the world. And at the center of the world, at the intersection of all possible worlds, is the Axis Mutatis." However, to say this is the defining Shamen album, or the culmination of the Shamen's work, is quite inaccurate. More than any other album the Shamen have done, _Axis Mutatis_ is one that sympathizes with all kinds of causes - independence for Hawaii, legalization of hemp for use in industry, the unfairness of Britain's "Criminal Justice Act", the promotion of the psychedelic culture and (of course) various aspects of Shamanic culture. Frankly, the lyrics could use a little work. There are some bands that can pull off being so-called "political bands," that is, bands that can address political issues in their music. Whether or not the Shamen are capable of this I cannot say, but they didn't quite pull it off this time. It seems as though this is not the fault of the lyrics themselves but their structure, which (in songs with lyrics) is arranged with the music in a way that seems just a little too direct, as if there is a heavy emphasis on the lyrics. This made this album a bit tedious. Ex-Soul II Soul member Victoria Wilson-James loans her talent to the album, and indeed there is a marked change in vocal style with _Axis_- but it is just another changed aspect of the Shamen that might make many fans long for the old days. The instrumentals serve to de-emphasize the sloppy lyrics, making them the strong point of the album. The Shamen need to realize that they don't have to make a statement in addition to the music - the music is the statement. Many of the instrumentals are fantastically ambient and soothing, yet energizing, transporting one to the depths of the cosmos. "S2 Translation" is probably the most interesting piece on the album because of the way it was constructed. The MIDI sequence was created by the use of data from "the amino acid characteristics and the DNA coding for protein S2, a receptor for serotonin and other tryptamines." This incredible feat was accomplished through the use of a computer program devised by Colin. The title Axis Mutatis refers to "the tree of life," which links earth to the spiritual realm. Even though the album's concepts are not well-executed, they are rather interesting. For more information on the Shamen and _Axis Mutatis_, check out the Shamen's home page NEMETON at [http://www.drci.co.uk/drci/shamen]. _Axis Mutatis_ is an average album from the Shamen, but I would only recommend it for devoted Shamen fans - everyone else, please refer to _Boss Drum_ or _En-tact_. --- REVIEW: Various Artists, _Excursions in Ambience, The Fourth Frontier_ - Various (Astralwerks) - Joe Silva Despite all its heavy Windham Hill cum rain stick sensibilities, the Public Radio affair known as Echoes is also one of the few national outlets for those who seek deep ambient satisfaction. That is unless you're close enough to some Urban club-scape that actually harbours a house of techno that either has an low BPM area or is daring enough to sponsor an evening's worth of the electro-dub stuff. If neither of the preceding options aren't available, then finding a way to grasp what's out there might be a bit tricky were it not for collections like these. As difficult as it may be to to make an album's worth of sometimes barely pulsing electronics and endlessly looped rhythms sans lyrics, Astralwerks continually manages to compile enough of the engaging moments ambient techno has to offer, without dispelling the listener's interests into the cosmos. Which is more than can be said on occasion for some of the more well appointed artists of the genre - take heed Sir Richard Twin. With a nod to the liner notes, the tracks (ten total) are indeed steeped in enough and echo and delay to consider the treatments as vital and or integral to the pieces herein. But what appears more crucial, however, are the bracing mix and variety of sound smatterings pasted here and there that draw your attention. It would be a near silly exercise to attach a particular description to a few of the samples, (check out the shuddering Doctor Who-ish burst of distortion that runs through Far Out Son Of Lung's "Cow") but they are often the key elements; the hook; the drives much of the track's personality. Previous _Excursions_ have rounded up the bigger names in the field as well as the lesser knowns, but much of _The Fourth Frontier_ dwells more towards the latter. Research indicates that Flying Saucer Attack's "Instrumental Wish" is not indicative of their general style per se, but it's a well sussed addition for it's inclusion of some last minute indie-space guitar that's far more attention grabbing than what's recently to be heard from garage guitar wiz Thurston Moore. The "Sonic Lullaby" edit (that clocks in at 8:04 mind you) by Me-Sheen is probably just a hair or two shy of infringing wholesale on Kraftwerk's shtick circa _The Man Machine_, but the execution is so blissfully on target, it's far more tribute than rip off. The spare but rumbling synth intro to Luna Sol's "D.I.A.P.O.W" sets up a tremendous otherworldy atmosphere that turns around to slyly introduce and deftly blend in a handfull of ultra-appealing organic sounds. Even Ben Neill hands in an alluring bit that teams up some groovy bass work with some neat lost soul of Miles Davis horn abstractions. And while I'm surprised that the the Astralwerks folks didn't nab a moment from someone like U-Ziq (who's definitely a feather in their current roster) to relpace the one of two less gripping spots here (777's "Fay Deau Deau", for instance, continues to show how off-center and dull their approach can be), they recoup enough of the ambient verve overall not to require the benefit of his name recognition. For those who aren't hardcore enough to seek out obscure white label resources or a bored with the brutish, hit or miss-ness of Profile Records _Best of Techno_ collections, _Excursions in Ambience_ once again delivers an elegant survey of the sea of ambience. --- REVIEW: Air Liquide, _Red_ (sm:)e) - Lee Graham Bridges "To use the machines, and not be used by the machines"--this is the policy under which Air Liquide operates. And although _Red_ follows some fairly basic dance music maneuvers, Air Liquide show off a little of this ingenuity in this creation. Two men run the operation: Walker and Jammin' Unit. It is known that Walker studied electronic composition and the University of Cologne, and produced hip-hop and house records until the studio went bankrupt. Walker later formed Air Liquide with Jammin' Unit, who still remains a bit of a mystery. So they put together _Red_, a record that would perform well on or off the dance floor. The best songs are faster and very catchy ("Interactive Warlords", "Ex-Stasis", "Live in New York - part 3", "MP3"), with slamming, scratchy samples repeated over constant, irregular backbeats (somewhat similar to, but not nearly as loud or eccentric as much of Aphex Twin's _I Care Because You Do_). Other tracks ("Der Laufer", "Live at Ultraschall - part II", "Theme From Robot Wars") are even more skillfully designed concerning the arrangement and variety of sounds presented, and also make for interesting listening. Yet other tracks are not conceptual, experimental, or dance-oriented/"fun" in their nature, but just tedious ("If There Were No Gravity", "Tanz Der Lemminge II"). Overall, though, this is a fine offering--Air Liquide presents us with an "enhanced" dance album. Besides, we can't deny the functional aspect of _Red_ - and the unique qualities apparent to the discerning ear make _Red_ an important statement as well. Not your usual ride - trip, trip, that is. --- REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Heat_ (Warner) - Sean Eric McGill I suppose it would be foolish to expect anything less than a good soundtrack from a Michael Mann film. After all, this is not only the guy who turned Miami Vice into a hit not just on television, but on radio as well - not to mention a man who had the ability to put a Clannad song into _The Last of the Mohicans_ and have it come out well. So, it's no surprise that the soundtrack to _Heat_ is full of great music. The real surprise is where that music comes from. Scored by Elliot Goldenthal (who receive an Oscar nomination for his work on _Interview With The Vampire_), and featuring artists like Passengers and Moby, the soundtrack for _Heat_ consists mainly of music that is either straight-out ambient or pretty damn close almost the whole time. In other words, it's like the soundtrack to the best episode of Miami Vice that was never made. Of the twenty-one tracks on the album, eleven were scored by Goldenthal (three of those featuring Kronos Quartet). The remainder of the tracks, from Michael Brook's "Ultramarine" to Terje Rypdal's "Mystery Man" all capture the look and feel of _Heat_ perfectly, providing a great background for the action in the film - which is really the bottom line when it comes to soundtracks in the first place. The album's highlights outside of the Goldenthal score (which is quite good, by the way) include Lisa Gerrard's "Las Bas" and "Gloradin," as well "Ultramarine," "Mystery Man," and "Last Nite," also from Terje Rypdal. The best track on the album would have to be "God Moving Over The Face of the Waters" from Moby, a track that can bring forth an incredibly amount of inspiration, even when it's playing over a death scene, as it does in the film. There are low points, but only two of them. "Always Forever Now" from the Brian Eno/U2 collaboration known as Passengers and "Armenia" by Einsturzende Neubauten both don't seem to work right, but for different reasons. "Always Forever Now" seems like it was added simply because of the names behind it, and "Armenia" is simply annoying. But perhaps the real success of the album goes to Mann himself. He knows firsthand how to capture the spirit of a piece of film with a piece of music, and is willing to take risks that other directors wouldn't. For example, anyone who has seen the film will notice that there is no "rousing score" anywhere on the album, even though there is a five-minute gunfight. The reason for this is that, quite simply, a rousing score set in the dead center of the rest of the music on this disc would seem hopelessly out of place. Of course, it's only fitting that in the film, there isn't a rousing score, either. The five-minute gunfight is done totally without music, giving it a realism that is hard to ignore. --- REVIEW: Various, _CatCompilation II_ (Control-Alt-Delete) - Reto Koradi No need to worry, this has nothing to do with Christmas songs sung by cats. The cat is the sign of C-A-D, a Houston based organization with various activities for the proliferation of American synth pop, with the involvement of well-known bands like Information Society, Cause & Effect, Anything Box or Red Flag. _CatCompilation II_ is a sampler that features tracks by some of these bands, as well as lesser-known ones. It feels sort of strange when the music style that was once a whole new revelation reveals feelings of nostalgia, and you realize that almost 15 years have passed since the great days of New Order or Depeche Mode. But it is good to see that most of the current bands try to go beyond those standards, and work with new influences. Information Society give a perfect example of that, weaving industrial noises and goth keyboard lines into the classic synth pop pattern. Many of the contributors draw from dance/techno. "House Not Made With Hands" by Machine In Motion, with its dance beat and the extremely catchy melody, is fully in the trend of (European) hits, only that it is of much better quality than those. Should be a smash hit! Another highlight is "Strictly Digital" by Talent Mafia, where the title almost says it all: digitally processed vocals and an irresistible, electronic sound that approaches Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Anything Box also contribute a very interesting track, with some drum sounds, and band member Dania is also present with a solo track, featuring beautiful vocals and experimental keyboard sounds. Others stay closer to the tradition, but all tracks are at a very high quality level. E. g. Forgiving Iris deliver wonderful vocals, and also Turning Keys wrote a melody that could make Human League or Erasure jealous. Even if synth pop is not a current trend, this sampler is a lot of fun to listen to, and a great way to get an overview of today's bands. And in a time where music styles get recycled all the time, why not make '96 the year of the synth pop revival? You can start right in your living room, with _CatCompilation II_. Bands featured: Information Society, L.E.D., Channel 69, Anything Box, Seven Red Seven, Dania, Machine In Motion, Division Of Beat, Forgiving Iris, Still, Cosmicity, Turning Keys, Talent Mafia, Release, Elizabeth, Realtime. More information about getting this release and about C-A-D in general can be obtained from CADInfo@aol.com. $1 from each sale goes to support of HIV/AIDS victims. --- REVIEW: The Kabalas, _Martinis and Bagels_ (Leppotone) - Dan Enright Here in Northeast PA, a large cross-section of the population has roots in central Europe. This is best reflected by the local PBS Station's decision to program a show entitled Pennsylvania Polka every Saturday evening and the proliferation of Polka Bands at church/firehouse picnics and weddings. The same must be true in Moline, Illinois - the home of this quartet. The instrumental line-up gives the first hint of what's been digitally encoded in the enclosed disc; not one, but two accordians (an instrument that's unfortunately scorned as a musical aberration, everywhere) played by Scott Morschhauser and Barry "The Wolfman" Wolf, saxophones (soprano and tenor) from "Nervous" Neal Smith, and trap set/frame drum rhythms by "Mr." Joel Dick. These four gents have bent to the task of combining traditional central European songs like Freilach HaShlishi, Peeschoo Lee (fast and slow versions), Freilach HaRishon, the Russian Waltz, and Russian Sherele [I can't be certain these are the correct spellings for the songs, since they're pretty much smartasses - as you'll see] with originals that feature some "Weird Al-esque" lyrics and attitudes. "Planet of the Apes Polka," for example. They've condensed the movie's plot to 17 lines, summing the moral of the story to: "Our future seems to look pretty funky/If drop the bomb we must/You'll heed my warnings this I trust/We'll have to put the kibosh on the monkeys." Or, "Death Takes an Ibuprofen." As the reaper watches humans living longer and looking younger, these guys note: "Once the mirror was your friend. Smile now and it's not the end. Your age is causing misery. Hide it with plastic surgery. You can beat it. You can last. Wrinkled gray hair now is past. Losing chess with Igmar Bergman. Look it's death taking an ibuprofen." The "BunzuvSteil Polka" is a lament about what happened to the narrators home life after his wife got "bunzuvsteil" - "There's men lined up around the block/I point my ears like Mr. Spock/To hear these dogs bark/like a wiskered seal./I can't believe this frightning view/They're like caged lions at the zoo/Since my baby got the bunzuvsteil." And then there's "Get Maj!" which starts as a dirge, then asks, "What do you think you're soaking in? *male voiceover: Relax, it's Palm Olive... What do you think you're soaking in? *female voiceover: Is it mild?... Male voiceover: More than just mild, it soften your hands while you do the dishes!... *female voiceover: Dishwashing loation!?..." [this ends side one] followed by - before it was cool - the theme from "Underdog." There is one "serious" song amongst the 18, "Wall Marrt Polkaa." It warns against the homogenization of small towns by chain stores; "My home town was famous for Italian restaurants. The mom and pop eateries and the lucious food they'd flaunt. Now the restaurant chains have become the local haunts. They're serving up the bland and this is what you want? Local business, local profits that's what makes us all smart. It's not worth the lousy service. Why don't you do your part?" If you dislike accordians, then stay as far away from these guys as you can. But, if (like me) you're a fan of Weird Al and 3Mustaphas3 this is a worthy addition to your collection. And, according to the manufacturer, this Lepp*o*phonic Long Play Stereo Microgroove disc may be played on monophonic reproducers without any adverse effect on the disc or playback system. But, they warn, the full dimension of binaural sound will only be recreated on a properly equipped hi-fi system, matched with a pair of stereophonic speakers. Purchasers are assured that because the recording is fully compatible, there's no need to fear it becoming obsolete in the future... These truely indie, madcap musicians can be contacted on the World Wide Web at http://www.panix.com/~vision/kabalas.html --- REVIEW: Billie Ray Martin, _Deadline For My Memories_ (Sire) - Daniel Kane Two adjectives familiarize the listener with Billie Ray Martin: experienced and talented. Born in Germany and with a London background, Billie Ray Martin is a Nineties soul queen, as our generation's Techno/Garbo, as the Marlene Deitrich of dance. The former lead singer of Electribe 101 (best known for the house/soul sound of songs such as "Tell Me When The Fever Ended"), reaches new heights with her solo debut, _Deadline For My Memories_. "Your Loving Arms," released in England in 1994, reached the British Top Ten, with sales in the 200,000 range, also faring well in the clubs in the States. To me, an intriguing facet of the artist is the range of lyrical creativity, from the triumphant "You and I (Keep Holding On)" to the narrative "Hands Up and Amen" to the accusatory "Imitation of Life" to the chronicled love of "Your Loving Arms." "Space Oasis", an intriguing track, evokes images of a sleeping satellite that awakens to the patrons capturing the magic of the night while the sultry "We Shall Be True" doesn't hesitate to get to the point: "...there is me, there is you, and we know what to do..." This is highly recommended for anyone into the soul and house dance sound. --- REVIEW: Rory MacLeod, _Self Titled_ (Bazillion) - Dan Enright This album, a collaberation between Rory and his producer Juliann France, took a while to grow on me. Bass-y and bleak, it struck me at first as another of those angst ridden whine fests - but there's more going on here. Rory performs almost all the instruments so this is clearly a personal project/statement from Providence, Rhode Island. It's a scathing look at the people and places Rory hangs around. It starts with his observation in "I Know How You Are"; "You just don't like it if it's strange, you don't want to have to use your brain." This is followed by an angry rant in "Now that I'm Down," "You say money's tight/you won't help me get right/You talk about pain/you don't know about pain/ you think it's a game... I see you on tv, i see you in the cafes/talking about the people you've saved..." then, his voice dripping with venom, he continues "Now that I'm down, Fuck me!" His mocking of the "Local Pop Hero" is just as sharp. Describing a guy that's more about style than substance, he describes him (in a sarcastic tone of voice); "I want to be a local hero/I want to set my sights on zero/I wnat to make you love me/I want to feel you touch me..." "Dr. Fine" lambasts the medical profession "Voodoo priest/zombie minions/on the wall, the shadows lurk/the hand is sure/the knife can cure/zombies echo every word/they say, "scalpel... suture... you think you're sick now/tell him to cut it out/you think you're better now/you'll learn to do without/you think you're sick now/here's somthin' for the pain/you think you're well now/it's running through you vein/you think you're sick now/you think you're better now/you think you're sick..." The album continues with songs titled "Man With the Largest (brain)," "All Fires Are Beautiful," "The Kids Pay Twice," and "Lie So Good." Rory has a unique songwriting style that mixes some strong pop melodies and tight grooves with minimalist structures and jazz, sometimes in the same song, a technique which works to emphasize the points he's trying to make. Couple this to lyrics both sarcastic and bitter and you have an album that stands alone. And, he doesn't appear to give a shit how unpopular the views are - someone HAD to point these things out. With bands falling all over themselves to sound like their favorite recording act, or sign a contract based on the styles of others before them, Rory is a unique breath of fetid air. He's got a really bad attitude. But when I looked around my town, I noticed the same things that were pissing him off lurking here. It was kinda scary... Rory and his label can be contacted at: Bazillion@aol.com --- REVIEW: Fear, _Have Another Beer With Fear_ (Sector 2) -Linda Scott Punk may be dying, but don't tell that to Fear. After ten years' absence, Fear is back again with _Have Another Beer With Fear_, a raw, aggressive punk album. In the late seventies, Fear was one of the most influential punk bands on the LA scene. Original band members were Lee Ving (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Philo Cramer (guitar), Derf Scratch (bass) and Johnny Backbeat (drums). The band's defiant, nihilistic attitude was captured on Director Penelope Spheeris' vintage film _The Decline of Western Civilization_. The essential Fear album is their debut recording _The Record_ with searing rock 'n' roll that broke down the musical boundaries of their generation. Fear was noted for their fever- pitch live appearances, with their most famous being a Saturday Night Live appearance where band and fans in true punk style created a sea of slam dancing and utter chaos. In the early eighties, band changes saw Scratch replaced by the Red Hot's Flea, replaced by the Dickies' Lorenzo. In 1985 Fear released _More Beer_, an album with nothing really new to say. A drummer change brought Nina Hagen's Spit Stix to Fear. But nothing new really happened and _More Beer_ was the last album until now. Unfortunately, _Have Another Beer With Fear_ breaks no new ground. The band experience seems submerged and subdued. The music is the same driving, thrashing punk beat with some interesting details. With or without lyrics, the songs seem pretty much the same. None really stands out as a possible single with the exception of "I Believe I'll Have Another Beer". The album's beer theme is in the title and four tracks: "Drink Some Beer", "Beerfight", "Free Beer" and "I Believe I'll Have Another Beer". This third Fear album probably suffers from the big punk problem - the music needs the band and the audience together. If you like basic punk, you'll like this album. --- REVIEW: Ben Neill, _ Green Machine_ (Astralwerks) - Daniel Kane What do you get when you combine the methodology of the electronic dance underground and a marriage of technology with convention? A performance by Ben Neill. With his "mutantrumpet," an originally developed device combining a conventional trumpet with synthesized sound, Ben's _Green Machine_ propels the listener to a sonic jungle in several phases--birth, mutation and decay. Thunderclaps, beating drums, bells, synthetic insect life--all are included in a fascinating array of tracks made possible by the mutantrumpet. According to Kyle Gann's "It's a Jungle" the rhythm and system established and employed by Ben Neill are not coincidental as one would probably presume a jungle atmosphere to be: "...all of Neill's rhythm, visual and audio tempos, and fundamental bass tones were related to the numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9...implicit in _Green Machine_ was the Renaissance fantasy that even the jungle manifests a hidden numerical order." As a mutantrumpeter, Neill, now curator of "The Kitchen" (new art, dance and music) since 1992, encourages interactivity with the audience during performances, letting audience members become involved with the lit segment while he mutantrumpets to the delight of the listeners. --- NEWS: > Gary Louris, Merc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O'Reagan - formerly, along with Marc Olson, known as the Jayhawks - will begin recording their first album without Olson in March. The new band name (and new lead singer) has not been decided yet, but Louris noted that "There may be someone else in the band, but not someone who's Olson-like or a substitute." > A "Best Band in Ohio" competition is being sponsored by Nmuto and Zerone Audio Labs. The winner will receive 40 hours of studio time in Fremont, Ohio, plus 1000 copies of their own release. The entry fee is $50 / band. For more information, contact yostie@aol.com or call 419-332-5667 > New York City's Popsmear magazine has been giving back something to their subscribers - freebies. All the stuff that you've heard about from the labels and 'zines - postcards, club passes, posters, stickers, etc. - is given away randomly to the magazine's subscribers on a rotating basis. For subscription rates and any other information, contact them directly at popsmear@sonicnet.com > Coming up on Sonicnet's chat schedule: Jan. 23 Revelation Records (8 pm), Feb. 8 Das EFX (8 pm). Sonicnet can be accessed on the World Wide Web at www.sonicnet.com > Mike Watt will be playing bass for Porno for Pyros' upcoming Australian tour dates while the band searches for a new permanent bassists. Watt plans to record a new album later this year; his slated live album for early '96 has been postponed indefinitely. --- TOUR DATES AC/DC Jan. 20 St. Petersburg, FL Dome Jan. 21 Miami, FL Miami Arena Jan. 22 Daytona, FL Ocean Center Jan. 23 Atlanta, GA Omni Jan. 25 Houston, TX Summit Jan. 26 Austin, TX Erwin Center Jan. 27 San Antonio, TX Alamodome Jan. 29 Phoenix, AZ American West Jan. 30 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond Cravin' Melon Jan. 19 Knoxville, TN Flamingo's Jan. 26 Chapel Hill, NC Cat's Cradle Cypress Hill Jan. 27 Phoenix, AZ Mesa Amphitheater Jan. 29 San Antonio, TX Live Oak Civic Jan. 30 Austin, TX Music Hall Jan. 31 Dallas, TX Bronco Bowl Godplow Jan. 19 Morgantown, WV Nyabinghi Dance Hall Jan. 20 Huntington, WV Drop Shop Jan. 21 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony Jan. 22 New York, NY Under Acme Jan. 23 Wilkes-Barres, PA Mantis Green Jan. 24 Boston, MA The Rat Jan. 25 Philadelphia, PA Upstairs At Nick's Jan. 27 Baltimore, MD Memory Lane Jan. 28 Richmond, VA Twisters Jan. 30 Columbia, SC Rockafellas Jan. 31 Myrtle Beach, SC Mr. Yuk's Kilgore Smudge Jan. 21 Boston, MA Mama Kin's Jan. 24 Philadelphia, PA JC Dobbs Jan. 25 New Castle, DE The Coda Jan. 26 Rockville, MD Manny's Jan. 27 Virginia Beach, VA Skully's Robbie Laws & Urban All-Stars Jan. 19-20 Portland, OR Moosehead Jan. 21,28 Portland, OR Harrington's Jan. 24,31 Portland, OR Key Largo Jan. 26-27 Gresham, OR M&M Lounge Letters to Cleo Jan. 31 Columbia, MO The Blue Note Liquor Bike Jan. 26 Cincinnati, OH South Gate House (with Omatic) Jan. 27 Cleveland Heights, OH Grogg Shop Jan. 28 Detroit, MI Shelter Jan. 29 Kalamazoo, MI Club Soda (with Doxie) Jan. 30 Toledo, OH Whit's End --- ERRATA: In the final issue of 1995, we said that "we're the oldest music publication on the Internet". As our own Dan Birchall pointed out, as a multi-person reviews 'zine, this is true (yes, older than Addicted to Noise and Vibe), but there are some mailing lists and band-specific publications - such as Queensryche's _Screaming in Digital_, which Birchall edits - which predate us by more than 2 years. --- The Readers Write Back! Just a note you let you know that I bought "Saturday Morning" and it is the most awesome CD I have ever heard. The renditions of the old 70's cartoons is just too great for words. I saw Bush here in South Florida is October and they sang the "Goolies Get Together" and it brought back some great memories. Thanks for turning me on to these tunes. - John T., Florida I was a big fan of Anthrax with Belladonna but was always left wondering how great they could be with a quality singer. I got the answer with the_Sound of White Noise_ and that has been further strengthen by _Stomp_. Now I dont think I'll be pulling out their old cds anymore - if I ever take _Stomp_ out of my cd player - S.M., Oregon Just wanted to thank y'all for keeping me in touch with the music scene in all my travels of '95. You've hooked me onto Dance Hall Crashers, Echobelly, Tarnation and Garbage and exposed me to countless other bands that I would never have heard of through the mainstream press. The majority of my new-music buying is guided by this e-mag and a Canadian print mag called Impact. Keep up the excellent work. I look forward to another year of insightful and honest reviews by your conglomeration of reviewers. - Gary P. Houston, TX --- To get back issues of Consumable, check out: FTP: eetsg22.bd.psu.edu in the directory /pub/Consumable ftp.etext.org in the directory /pub/Zines/Consumable Gopher: diana.zems.etf.hr Engleski Jezik/Music/Consumable or Hrvastki Jezik/Glazbena Rubrika/Consumable (URL) gopher://diana.zems.etf.hr:70/11/eng/Music/Consumable http://www.westnet.com/consumable/Consumable.html (WWW) http://www.westnet.com (CIS) on Compuserve Notes: GO FORUM (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC 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. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===