Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

6 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 21, 2002 CONTACT US THEY SAIDIT HENRY DAVID THOREAU: Story ideas? Questions? Comments? “Any fool can make a rule, E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com and any fool will mind it.” PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Clipse and Ms. Jade are scheduled to perform Monday on Davis Field as part of MTV’s Homecoming Tailgate Party 2002. BY KAMILLE BOSTICK THE GAMECOCK Just because there’s no college football on Mondays doesn’t mean there’s no reason for a tail gate. Football and music fans alike have reason to celebrate Monday as MTV brings hip-hop acts Clipse and Ms. Jade to USC as a part of its Homecoming Tailgate Party. The daylong party at Davis Field, sponsored by Carolina Productions, is one of the ma- & jor concerts to come to cam- nl pus this semester. Along with MTV DJ will • give away prizes, the event ^ will also feature live perfor mances by the Virginia-based rap duo Clipse. Best known for the hit “Grindin’,” Clipse is set to take the stage at the end of the day and bring its distinctive brand of rap with it. The two brother’s first al bum, “Lord Willin’,” debuted at No. 4 on the Soundscan charts in early September. Philadelphia-born Ms. Jade will also perform. The femcee has made her mark on the world of hip-hop with hits such as “Ching, Ching, Ching,” which features Nelly Furtado, and her collabora tions with producer Timbaland. And her lyrical quality has helped make her debut album, “Girl Interrupted,” much anticipated. The free rap performances are something different for campus, said Latrice Greene, a second yearelectronic broadcast jour nalism student, and she said she’s going to try to make it to the shows. Greene said she’s a fol lower of the ■ hip-hop acts. “Yeah, I’m a fan,” she said. “I like their music.” Greene also I likes that the university and I MTV teamed up to bring them to campus. " “I think it’s a good idea. We don’t get too many African-American groups on campus.” She said there seems to be an effort to get more diverse acts to perform at USC. “We haven’t had a hip-hop show in nearly five years, and us landing two top groups is great,” said Josh Terry, CP’s concert com missioner. He also said the event will also be shown on televsion. To keep the fun go ing until the final act, MTV will set up booths where students can au dition for a spot in Ozzy Osbourne’s band, and through interac tive technology, he’ll be able to see what they have to offer. Students will get to keep a copy of their audi tion tapes and can even listen to songs that have yet to be released. MTV will also show a free screening of “Jackass the Movie,” which is what Ben Kopp, a second-year English student, is looking forward to. “I’m probably going to go check that out,” he said about the movie, which takes the outrageous antics of Johnny Knoxville to places ca ble television wouldn’t allow. Kopp said he is also impressed that the event is being brought to campus. MTV’s 2002 Homecoming Party is scheduled to be at five campuses along the East Coast. Last Thursday the event brought Trustcompany and Authority Zero to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. On Friday, Virginia Commonwealth University was the site of rhythm and blues group Isyss and musi cian Robin Thicke. After leaving USC, the party will continue at the University of Miami, where rapper Styles and the group Floetry will perform on Wednesday. The tour ends Friday at Auburn University, where Exies and the Ying Yang Twins will be featured. MTV’s 2002 Homecoming Party begins at noon Monday and will last until 5 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Porcupine Tree's new album creates catchy prog rock porcupine tree in absentia “IN ABSENTIA” Porcupine Tree irk irk out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY MIKE LUKE THE GAMECOCK English exports seem to have a waxing and waning pop ularity in America. In a time after a new Coldplay album, and in between Radiohead al bums, Porcupine Tree’s eighth effort should only expand its underground grasp.”In Absentia” should prove to be the band’s most enduring re lease in America’s short atten tion span for popular music. What makes a progressive band like Porcupine Tree successful is its pop-sensibil ity in a genre that has a rep utation for killing bands. What makes Porcupine Tree progressive rock, if it spare listeners from 23 minute tracks of pure pretentious in strumentation? Drawing from electronic, hip-hop and classic-rock influences, Porcupine Treeproduces a sonic experiment that changes textures before the listener has a chance to get bored. What saves this band, how ever, is the way it crafts its songs. The members, Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, Chris Maitland, Theo Travis and leader Steven Wilson, have the luxury of having been together since 1987, thus having experi enced every change in music since the emergence of grunge in the early ’90s. Some of the more atmospher ic, more accessible songs, such as “Lips of Ashes,” “Gravity Eyelids,” “Prodigal” and “Heartattack in a Layby,” could introduce new fans to music similar to the more coherent Radiohead songs, or help con vince die-hard Pink Floyd fans that there is hope for new mu sic. “Blackest Eyes,” the album’s opener, is perhaps the most pro gressive song.lt weaves in and out of light-hearted, melodic verses and ripping instrumen tal choruses. The dynamic, time shifting composition sets the pace for the more adventurous efforts on the album. “The Sound of Muzak,” with the help of a solid drumbeat with an odd time signature and an acoustic guitar, is perhaps the darkest song on the album. The instrumental “Wedding Nails” shows a classic-rock in fluence fused with progressions that let the listener get lost in unpredictable shifts from the heaviest of metal to near-si lence. “.3” meanders for three min utes before the first hint of lyrics come, and continues to put the emphasis on the airy bass line and ambient guitar rather than words. Such can be expected from any progressive rock band. While Porcupine Tree rep resents the genre more accu rately than bands such as Marillion and King’s X, it of fers songs with beautiful melodies and heavy guitar suit able for all audiences of mod ern pop/rock. “Collapse the Light Into Earth” is the fitting album closer, with its soft pi ano, introspective lyrics and building distortion on guitar until the subdued climax. Geddy Lee of Rush described his own band as, “Pop music that’s not afraid to rock,” but Porcupine Tree is even more worthy and fitting of that de scription. After touring England constantly on its own bill, Porcupine Tree has come over for a small tour of the states in support “In Absentia” as open ers for classic progressive rock ers. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Bands kick off Greed Week Far left: Ryan Headley, right, and Buzz of Blackboard’s Truck perform at Creed Week’s kickoff celebration. Left: Palmetto Pans, USC’s steel drum band, play on Davis Field as part of the festivities. Above: The Blue Dogs headlined the celebration. Bobby Houck, left, and David Stewart rocked the crowd. PHOTOS BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE> GAMECOCK