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CD REVIEW Pearl Jam crafts new sounds “RIOT ACT” Pearl Jam ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK How different can an alterna tive-rock band be? The formula for the genre is straightforward: a singer with a ragged, forceful voice; a simple, powerful drum beat; and electric guitars that kick into dis tortion on the dramatic choruses. But Pearl Jam hasn’t always adhered to the typical method. The band has had its punk mo ments, such as on “Spin the Black Circle,” but it has also crafted countrified times, such as “Off He Goes,” and moody, almost-emo songs, sueh as “Wishlist.” “Riot Act,” the band’s new al bum, is undeniably Pearl Jam, and Eddie Vedder’s guttural voice is unmistakable above all else. “Ghost” is the essence of Pearl Jam, with a dirty guitar tone, rough-sounding drums and a winding guitar solo, me same goes for “Save You,” the album’s only full-group songwriting effort. Although “Riot Act” is often fa miliar hard-rock territory for Pearl Jam (which is by no means shabby territory), it shows several signs of the band stepping outside grunge boundaries again. “Thumbing My Way” and “All or None” recall the more subdued Pearl Jam of “No Code” and “Yield.” Drummer Matt Cameron pulls out the brushes to create an airy percussive effect on the songs and proves he is capable of the ul traquiet dynamics he never got to play in Soundgarden. Cameron is perhaps the biggest contributor of the sonic depar tures on “Riot Act.” He only had one co-writing credit on “Binaural,” Pearl Jam’s 2000 al bum and Cameron’s first studio al bum with the band. But on “Riot Act,” he wrote three songs. “You Are,” which he penned, features a scratchy staccato guitar and a deep, AC/DC-sounding snare drum, creating a thick backbeat for the band to coast on. Cameron also wrote the lyrics and music for “Wanted to Get Right,” which contains an unpre dictable Vedder vocal rhythm and a ringy rhythm guitar playing harmonics. “Cropduster,” another Cameron song, however, is closer to standard Pearl Jam craftsman ship - which is still well above the average in rock music. Taking his role as front man to the extreme, vedder wrote a third of the album himself, with the ex ception of “Love Boat Captain," a wistful love song he co-wrote with keyboardist Boom Gaspar. Vedder, as always, peppers his lyrics with vivid imagery. On “Green Disease,” he sings, “And like weeds with big leaves/Stealing light from what’s beneath/Where they have more/Still they take more.” On the bluesy “1/2 Full,” which sounds like a kickback to the “Ten”-era song “Deep,” he cyni cally sings, “Don’t see some men as half empty/See them half full of... “ Vou can guess the rest. A spoken-word piece with sung choruses, “Bushleaguer,” as the ti tle should imply, seems to be a caustic criticism of our nation’s president. Vedder says, “Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike/Drilling for fear. Makes the job simple.” And then he uses base ball terminology to effectively make a point about the hand-downs politicians receive when their dads are prominent figures: “Born on third; thinks he got a triple.” “Riot Act” is Pearl Jam, and it’s rock music. But it’s far from stat ic. The band explores new tex tures and, as always, keeps its dy namics fluid. Pearl Jam knows how to make a fresh approach to its music while still sounding like itself. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com From left, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Eddie Vedder and Matt Cameron | make up Pearl Jam, which recently emerged from the studio with a dynamic new I album. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK BRIEFLY D’Angelo subdued during Sunday arrest RICHMOND, VA. (AP) - R&B singer D’Angelo had to be subdued with pepper spray after he resisted arrest on misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving and other counts, police said. Chesterfield police said they went to D’Angelo’s suburban Richmond home after a con frontation he reportedly had with a woman at a gas station Sunday. The singer cursed at the woman and spit on her after he cut her off in his sport utility vehicle, police said. D’Angelo resisted police as they tried to arrest him Monday and had to be subdued with the spray, Maj. James B. Bourque said. The singer was released on his recognizance pending a Jan. 15 ap pearance in Chesterfield General Court. Bids on Eminem house hit $1 million WARREN, MICH. (AP) - Bidding for one of Eminem's boy hood homes has surpassed $1 million on an Internet auction site. The modest Warren home, list ed on eBay since Thursday, was appraised at $91,000. Bidding opened at $120,000, and by Tuesday afternoon, the high bid was just over $1 million. "It's just amazing the response we’re getting," said Sebastian Lucido, a Utica attorney who bought the house with Roland Fraschetti, a Macomb County commissioner and real estate de veloper. Eminem’s uncle, Todd Nelson, sold the house this month for $45,000 to Lucido and Fraschetti. The 1,300-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was built in 1940 and has been in Eminem's family for at least 50 years, Fraschetti said. v. vwm Audioslave CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 case can on “Like a Stone,” “Hypnotize,” “What You Are” and “Gasoline.” Cornell is even given the lead guitar in “Getaway Car,” one of the more Soundgar-den-es que songs. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, whose legendary work spans decades, back to the creation of rap label Def Jam, and whose most recent production credits were on System of a Down’s 2001 album, “Toxicity.” Rubin has also worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, and rap per/poet Saul Williams, develop ing a penchant to be involved with more creative projects. Cornell’s influence on Audioslave bears the mark of “Euphoria Morning” more than of his contributions to Soundgarden, which might be disheartening to grunge fans. But Cornell’s vocal contribution is superb, and is much more musi cal than his screaming, which was overused on Soundgarden’s last studio album, “Down on the Upside,” from 1996. Because Audioslave rarely falls into the habit of overdubbing vocals, it has the potential to be incredible in concert. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hptmail.com We II help you get your college degree. The Army National Guard offers you the Montgomery Gl Bill,Tuition Assistance as well as extra state benefits. Most Guard members serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year. Go to college and still have time for a life. In the Army National Guard, YOU CAN! SOUTH CAROLINA ! -800-GO-GUARD • www.l-800-GC-GUARD.com c Bunker makes bigotry funny CHARLES TOMLINSOI GAMECOCKMIXEDITOR@HOTMAIL.COM The joke’s always on the narrow-minded father in “All in the Family.” He’s an irritable bigot; he talks down to his clueless, defer ent wife; and he calls his son-in law “meathead.” But Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O’Connor, found popularity on ‘70s television as he sat in his worn-out chair in his Astoria liv . mg room. Any time I hear Archie sing in his Queens brogue, “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played,” my eyes light up. I know I’m in for a half hour of nothing but laughter. And when Edith screeches, “And you knew where you WEEEER RRE then,” the grating sound seems like heaven for my eardrums. Archie, however, wasn’t so nice about Edith’s vocalizations. He once said, “Listen, Edith, I know you’re singing, you know you’re singing, but the neigh bors may think I’m torturing you.” Archie Bunker was an intol erant man with a skewed world view, and believe it or not, that’s what made him funny. Maybe that’s because I always know how Archie will react (and not just because I’ve al ready seen all the episodes on Nick at Nite). How he’ll flip out when he sees the picture of his niece and Lionel, the son of the Bunkers’ black neighbors, the Jeffersons. Yes, “The Jeffersons” was a spin-off of “All in the Family”; so were “Maude” and “Good Times.” I can also predict how Archie will react anytime Michael Stivic, his “meathead” son-in r law, brings up atheism. 11 And when it comes to religion, Archie said it best: “God don’t make no mistakes. That’s how he got to be God.” Some of my friends, however, don’t find Mr. Bunker to be so funny. One of my friends called him a bigot and followed it with a couple of expletives. I have to agree — yes, he is an intolerant bigot. A character as politically incorrect as Archie would never see the light of mod em television. But, as creator Norman Lear pointed out, the joke in every episode inevitably fell on Archie. Edith; Gloria, his daughter; and Michael al ways came off as the smart ones, while Archie was the bumbling idiot try ingin vain to make Caroll O’Connor his point, played the Audiences infamous Archie laugh at Bunker in the him, not ’70s CBS sitcom, with him. He made outrageous state ments that no one in their right mind would agree with: “Jesus was a Jew, yes, but only on his mother’s side.” And he tried to defend President Nixon when speak ing with Michael: “He didn’t lie! He just forgot to tell the truth!” And he told Mike: “You’re th? one who needs an American history lesson. You don’t know anything about Lady Liberty, standing there in the harbor with her torch out high, screaming out to all the nations of the world: ‘Send me your poor, -your deadbeats, your filthy!’ “ Sammy Davis Jr. once made a guest appearance on “All in the Family,” and his exchanges with Archie were some of the funniest the show ever saw. Archie: “I think that, I mean, if God had meant for us to be to gether, he’d a put us together. But look what he done. He put you over in Africa, and put the rest of us in all the white coun-' ix ica. Davis Jr.: “Well, he must’ve told 'em where we were because somebody came and got us.” Archie’s endless malapropisms also made him the butt of the show’s jokes. He just couldn’t say things right. Here . are some examples: ♦ Cuisini: zucchini ♦ Groinocologist: gynecologist ♦. Menstrual show: minstrel show ♦ Terlit: toilet ♦ Trampaloon: trampoline ♦ Weirdwolf: werewolf One particular conversation with Michael sums up Archie’s mixed-up speech. Michael: “You know, you are totally incomprehensible.” Archie: “Maybe so, but I make a lot of sense.” O’Connor died June 21,2001, but his politically incorrect hu mor will live in infamy as long as “All in the Family” reruns grace Nick at Nite every evening. Tomlinson is a third-year print journalism student. His column appears Wednesdays in The Mix. PICK UP YOUR COPY OF _ __ HIV/AIDS Orasure TESTING I No Needles No Blood r _ ___ Quick and Easy j NOV. 25 1 Oam-5 pm t Russell House Room 203 & 204 * Contact: Maurice Williams 777-1835 ^ 777-8248 W> World AIDS Day: 1 Program held on Dec. 2 at 6pm ! on the State House Steps i ;‘.T , I f Sponsored by: Health and Wellness ■w .-ajjf - ■—I Iita I.