The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 21, 2003, Page 8, Image 8
CD REVIEW
King Missile aimless on release
“THE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF
EVERYDAY LIFE"
King Missile
*★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY JOSHUA WATSON
THE GAMECOCK
With its latest release, “The
Psychopathology of Everyday
Life,” King Missile assembles an
album consisting of unique spo
ken-word recordings, which dis
ciples of the band’s amusing
lyricist John S. Hall might con
sider somewhat of a master
piece.
One distinctive track, “JLH”,
thanks actress Jennifer Love
Hewitt for remaining silent after
the Sept. 11 happenings, while
also offering opinions on the per
formances of former New York
mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the
president.
Another humorous song,
though arbitrarily profane, is
“The Miracle of Childbirth,”
wnicn gives
the listeners a
chronicle of
their own con
ception and
ends by detail
ing adulthood.
The other
notables are a
tribute to
Jesus titled
“Jesus Was
wayoooi ana Domestic dub, a
tune concerning an angered dis
course between a man and a
woman, the woman fueled by her
craving to watch the season pre
miere of “ER,” even after the en
raged husband shoots their tele
vision.
While some of the album
might leave listeners laughing,
the “Pain Series” is the album’s
nadir, each track lasting only sec
onds; they can be justly com
pared with Adam Sandler’s
recordings of people undergoing
severe beatings. These are
recordings of an individual
JV
spilling hot coffee in his lap or
smashing his finger with a ham
mer — yelling profanities for
nearly a minute.
Considering the short-lived
novelty of these songs and their
aveiage uium
cianship, half
of the album
seems success
ful, whereas
the other ap
pears misguid
ed. Perhaps if
it were only
those success
ful songs, in
cluding the
one ueuicaieu 10 jesus, uns al
bum could be considered errat
ically admirable, accentuating
the long-existing comedic vision
of King Missile. Currently, the
remainder of the release sounds
aimless and lacks humor.
As a result of its tirades and
spoken wanderings, “The
Psychopathology of Everyday
Life” arrives at its finish stagger
ing on one leg.
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Perhaps if it were only
those successful songs,
including the ones
dedicated to Jesus, this
album could be
considered erratically
admirable.
BRIEFLY
Minorities return to
lower Oscar profile
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A year af
ter two black nominees won the
lead-acting prizes for the first time
the Academy Awards are back to a
likely sweep of the four actor cat
egories by white performers.
This year’s two minority nomi
nees — Mexico native Salma
Hayek for best actress in “Frida’
and black performer Queer
Latifah for supporting actress ir
“Chicago” — are not considered
serious contenders against the
white front-runners (Nicole
Kidman of “The Hours” and Renee
Zellweger of “Chicago” for lead ac
tress, Catherine Zeta-Jones ol
“Chicago” for supporting actress)
Yet some find it encouraging
that at least a couple of nonwhite
actors managed to score nomina
tions from an academy whose ear
ly years were virtually devoid oi
minority membership and which
even in the past decade has had
years without a single nonwhite
acting nominee.
“I try to look at it as, last year
was a big year and that meant a
lot, and it may take a few years be
fore we really see the fruits oi
what happened last year. It doesn’t
happen overnight,” said Halle
Berry, who won the best-actress
Oscar last year for “Monster’s
BaU.”
Last year, Denzel Washington
won’ the best-actor prize for
“Training Day,” and Will Smith oi
“Mi” was nominated in that cate
gory.
The only other time three
blacks were nominated in the lead
categories was 1972. Paul Winfield
was up for best actor for
“Sounder,” and Cicely Tyson of
“Sounder” and Diana Ross of
“Lady Sings the Blues” competed
for best actress. All three lost.
Iraq war puts Oscars’
red carpet on hold
NEW YORK (AP) - Barbara
Walters is stepping away from the
Oscars, but Joan Rivers isn’t.
ABC on Wednesday postponed
Walters’ annual Oscars interview
special — this year to feature
Nicolas Cage, Renee Zellweger and
Julianne Moore — because of the
confrontation with Iraq.
Since war was under way
Sunday night, there was a strong
chance Walters’ special would be
pre-empted for news coverage any
way.
The same possibility exists for
the Academy Awards ceremony
on ABC, as well. Organizers have
promised to go on, but have can
celled the splashy red carpet ar
rivals for celebrities at the Kodak
Theatre in Hollywood for fear it
would set an inappropriate tone.
That would seem disastrous for
the E! Entertainment network,
whose eight hours of pre-Oscars
coverage is centered on the com
ments about stars’ wardrobes by
Rivers and her daughter, Melissa.
Her show may be dramatically
different this year, focused less on
fashion and interviews and more
on Oscar predictions, but E! isn’t
abandoning it, said Mark
Sonnenberg, the cable channel’s
entertainment chief.
“For a lot of people, there’s a
comfort there — if Joan is on the
red carpet, it’s OK,” he said
Wednesday.
CD REVIEW
‘Daylight ’ offers standardfare
i
“CHASING DAYLIGHT”
Sister Hazel
★ ★ ★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY MEG MOORE
THE GAMECOCK
It’s not every day that a multi
platinum band relinquishes its
mainstream label and returns to
the world of indie releases. Then
again, it’s not everyday that a
pop-radio band stays around long
enough to make that choice.
Sister Hazel, the artist formal
ly known as “the ‘All For You’
band,” has released its fourth stu
dio album “Chasing Daylight” on
an independent label, Sixthman.
Formally working with
Universal Records, the band
abandoned its mainstream ties on
t
Chasing Daylight but not its
mainstream sound. Their latest
album offers the same vein of sol
id pop-rock that has popularized
their previous releases—middle
of-the-road but distinctly Sister
Hazel.
“Your Mistake,” the album’s
tirst track ana
first single, has
been getting a
respectable
amount of air
play since its
release.
In fact, the
first few songs
on tne aiDum an scream racno
single”. The fourth track, “Best
I’ll Ever Be,” abandons the up
beat feel of the previous tracks
but retains their pop-hit poten
tial, coming across as a polished
paean to love lost.
“Life Got in the Way” stands
out as the album’s most effective
ly inventive. The uniquely deliv
ered verses segue into an incred
ibly catchy chorus, offering a wel
come variation on the band’s
sound.
The second half of the album,
for better or worse, is decidedly
more experimental than the first;
while it’s refreshing to see some
!
unordinary approaches to pop
rock, Sister Hazel is best at deliv
ering streamlined, inoffensive
music.
Perhaps they should stick to
that formula.
Fortunately, the group’s expert
harmonies and pop sensibilities
snine mrougn
even their
most obscure
moments.
Overall,
“Chasing
Daylight”
proves to be
another agree
aDie, u unevennui, amum.
Sister Hazel has never been a
boundary-breaking band, but
they have never had to be—their
approach to pop-rock has held its
own among listeners.
The songs on their latent re
lease appeal to ready-made fans
of formulaic, ’90s- era pop-rock.
While “Chasing Daylight” may
not win Sister Hazel many new
fans with its standard approach,
tried-and-true mainstream lis
teners are more than invited to
join the pursuit.
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Fortunately, the group’s
expert harmonies and
pop sensibilities shine
through even their most
obscure moments.
Wilco
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
tinues to sell well.
Pieced together from the rem
nants of alt-country torchbearer
Uncle Tupelo, Wilco began as a
new musical outlet for Uncle
Tupelo singer-songwriter Tweedy.
Uncle Tupelo was plagued by the
conflicting ideas of Tweedy and
the band’s other singer-songwrit
er, Jay Farrar. After Farrar was
made songwriter and not singer
in Wilco, he eventually quit to
form his own outfit, Son Volt.
Now alone at the helm of his
own band, Tweedy was free tc
lead himself and his musical co
horts toward musical glory — a
goal that Wilco, with its ever
evolving, critically acclaimed
sound, has anything but faller
short of.
Wilco released its debut al
bum, “A.M.,” in 1995, sticking tc
its alt-country guns and firing
out a round of reflective, rollick
ing tunes. The album was popu
lar with both critics and listen
ers, earning the band a solid fol
lowing. Tweedy’s knack for no
frills poetry became immediate
ly evident on “A.M.”; the band’s
musical aptitude fortified its
brand of honest rock.
The group’s third album,
“Summer Teeth,” released in 1999,
swims with studio-infused effects
and further highlights Wilco’s
willingness to test its musical
boundaries — or attest to the lack
thereof. But it is last year’s
“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” that has
garnered the band relentless
praise, earning it the top spot on
many “best of’ lists and bowling
over critics.
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Help jUs Celebrate Our,
BffiH i>0 lh ^Anniversary^-.',,
on Maurice's autobiography,
“Defending My Heritage” and
I his Southern Gold 18oJf Original Sauceffl
1PSSB3BBSBP11- l^^ijlCTolPfr
mm—
Tuesday
March 25, 2003
7:30pm
Daniel Lee
Virtuoso Cellist
performs Dvorak’s Cello
Concerto, OP. 104
Concert also features Winners
of USC Young Artist Competition
Soprano SERENA HILL &
Bass-Baritone JASON SHEALY
--
Finlay Parle
Columbia, SC
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