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EE BACHMAN-TURNE OVERDRIVE BTO's Greatest I JOHN COUGAR MELLENi Scarecrow m meli! Mm 4b ether brave k Cra Islai Vis MCi iritj" DUTC j [PEOPLE PLAC Higher Learnii barely makes ti SOUNPADVlCg STEPHANIE SONNENFELD Asst. Features Editor HIGHERLEARNING Various Artists kk (out dl four stars) While John Singleton hoped to bring a realistic light to collegiate racial problems in his newest endeavor, Higher Learning," the movie soundtrack fails to deliver any sort of exlitement. For a movie that wants to seriously address racial problems, the "Higher Learning" soundtrack is basically a straight R&B, rap-oriented CD. For niirntr (V?atvi fVin rrr%r\ or sua.I lci a, ali ay an ay 11 uixx liic gcuciic, overexposed sound of Ice Cube's "Higher" as well as Mista Grimm's Situation: Grimm." Not only do these songs sound like every other Coolio and Snoop Doggy Dog song, but they ite monotonous and boring. Most definitely listen to Raphael Saadiq (of Tony! Toni! Tone!) on "Ask jf You." It's a perfect mixture of'70s?sque groove merged with a 1990s sound. If you like that, then you'll like "Higher Learnin/Time For Change" Dy The Brand New Heavies. There's a strong bass influence that really is impressive. In addition to these tracks, rocker IrfATJUBBBi I m ;ES WHATNOT] i? soundtrack he grade Liz Phair shows that "Supernova" isn't just a one-hit wonder. Phair's contribution, "Don't Have Time," is bluesy and most definitely a welcome change from the rap-dominated album. Tori Amos delivers a great rendition of REM's ballad "Losing My Religion" with her well-known passionate crooning. Yet, the other Amos song /-?t\ im it n n 11 i. . on tne ujj, _ouiieniy, reany grates on the nerves. One can only take depression for so long. Rage Against the Machine puts out a good effort with "Year of the Boomerang," and Stanley Clarke's "The Learning Curve" is wonderful. This CD is good, if you want it to be. i A zy raS sa, MasterCard, American Express & Dis CIOCI music stores H SQUARE MALL, Columbia pun Samp] i marvin gaye Every Great Motown Hit Rival Motown idge m SECON MQE Kevin Bacon shines overdirection of Mil LIGHTSCAMERAREACTION STEPHEN BROWN Staff Writer MURDER IN THE FIRST **i/2 (out of four stars) At the beginning of "Murder in the First." the camera retreats from the J Golden Gate Bridge to focus on tht I twisted boundaries surrounding the I island prison of Alcatraz in the 1940s j Although the symbolism of a theme I involving missed opportunities is cleai I from this opening image, the film spends I too much time guiding the viewer t( make conclusions that are already glar I ingly obvious. It is a true story about a young mar J tortured by the prison system (Henr I Young, played by Kevin Bacon of The I River Wild") and the Harvard-grac ] public defender James Stamphil I (played by Christian Slater of True I Romance") who befriends him and takes [ him on his first client. The simplicity I of the storyline about friendship anc I justice is undermined by technical | weaknesses, especially overblown mu , sic and dizzying camera work. Henri was jailed for stealing $5 te I feed his hungry sister. Officials trans J fer him and others guilty of petty crimes I to the dreaded Alcatraz prison to fil I empty spaces. After Henri attempts U escape, the sadistic warden (Gary Old I man of "Immortal Beloved") tortures I him in the Alcatraz dungeon for mors j than three years. After slicing his body, starving him I hobbling his ankles and forcing him t< J live like an animal in darkness, ths [ warden places him back in the gener I al prison population. Henri's first in I stinct is murder, and he stabs a fellov j inmate. "Murder in the First" asks: DidAl I catraz create a cold-blooded killer" James must find an answer as he take I on the system with a bold court case I The courtroom sequences are formu j laic, but the added twist of "Murder I is the friendship James and Henri forge s BON JOVI Slippery When Wet UGLY KID JOE America's Least Wanted agw Stardog/Mercury [ NAZARETH Hair Of The Dog j 188 Peach IT iccover KEY 750-0285 D-RATE 1DER amidst the gloom and rder in the First' At first all, Henri wants to hear about is baseball, but he later opens up to discuss deep questions about life and fate. [ Bacon's tortured face conveys pain of physical and mental anguish. Spiritually drained by the prison's supDosed rehabilitation. Henri wants to die. But when he discovers that James , is his friend, Henri gives a stunning . soliloquy. Bacon draws upon his in, tense Hkability to mutter phrases about ) how their lives could have been dif. ferent if they had met under different circumstances. i Slater gives a serviceable but far i from stellar performance. He fails to ; conjure up passion, thereby weakenl ing his character. Slater never allows I James to show the proper sympathy s as deemed by Dan Gordon's sensitive 5 screenplay. While some of director Marc Roc1 co's ("Where the Day Takes You") tech' niques are impressive, many are down" right distracting. Among the clever moments is the warden's systematic ) nfMonri fn flin frrrio nf tho flhriaf. mas song "Comfort and Joy" played | at James' comfortable home. Also, upon Henri's re-entry into the prison's } general population, Roceo blurs the sights and sounds to demonstrate Henri's tortured mind state. But the flow* ing camera work and powerful score often disguise the surprisingly static ' action. , The gliding camera work above, be[ low, and in circles surrounding James and Henri's conversations in the prison f cell could not possibly be more distracting. And often the blaring music chimes in, but the drama does not. ? A monotonous tone caps the probs lems of "Murder in the First." Sadly, !. viewers will escape from this Alcatraz without discovering a simple human " story that lurks somewhere in the shads. ows of a technically wearing movie. C ach V if 1 a h J_L 1 XVLJLU1 1 Shown: "CK" cotton 1 white. Sizes S-M-L. 2< Cotton denim button-i sandblast, black, or d Sizes 3-13. 46.00. In . .. fy """vsmi jjl Hh * m mm \ j. Mr i i $ lli 8k fi J || ||Jb| * jj JPgtaJ J Christian Slater stars as a lawyer true-to-llfe courtoom drama 'Murd % ;j - ,1 : ' >v PAT\7TT\J Kl TTTM? Fi lmnr | ULI J_LV7? ieveme fl \ S iJSSfflTj in our Juniors' i -shirt in o.oo. fly shorts in ||| ^ oublestone. Juniors'. DEPARTMENT. "I1L m.. i t k t- -r. i I Jhjl... L mk N Wamw Bros. who defends Kevin Bacon In the er In the First.' ^ WmF^ ' re ^ dm f ^HyHtfji^' ||? jjtm ? '** ^ flp *. iGik ' '^llll^^ "djp ,^^jk^SL