The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 30, 2003, Page 7, Image 7
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 30,2003 ' 7
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E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com -L _L JL _l—A JLl J—A. V_ you may get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.”
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BY JULIA KNETZER
THE GAMECOCK
Jump, Little Children drummer Evan Bivins is try
ing something different. While JLC is taking a break
from touring this summer, Bivins is stepping out from
behind the drums to front BIV, a JLC side project.
BIV’s first headlining tour started only a week ago
when it played its inaugural show at the Handlebar
in Greenville.
Columbia is stop number seven of the eight city
tour, which includes Charlotte and Atlanta.
Bivins, who is used to playing for nearly sold out
crowds in Columbia as a member of JLC, said BIV
draws smaller groups. Friday will be Bivins’first time
playing at New Brookland Tavern in either JLC or BIV.
“I understand that it’s pretty small, but that’s a good
thing because we’re a small band,” he said. “If we
♦ BIV, SEE PAGE 8
PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK WILSON
Evan Bivins takes the spotlight in BIV.
BOOK REVIEW
Blue sex makes amazing satire
“ORYX AND CRAKE”
Margaret Atwood
★ ★ ★ ★ out of **☆☆☆
BY BRIAN RAY
THE GAMECOCK
Margaret Atwood’s latest trek
through a futuristic wasteland
couldn’t have come at a better time,
considering that this year marks
the 50th anniversary of Watson and
Crick’s discovery of the double he
lix.
If you could picture mankind’s
progress in all areas of science as
a fourth dimensional road map,
then you could also picture Atwood
cruising down the jagged red line
of genetics as she recounts an apoc
alypse at the hands of the novel’s
antagonist Crake who, before his
death, engineers a race of humans
who can mend broken bones by
purring like cats, ward off insects
with their sweat and deter man-eat
ing pigoons with their piss.
Such superpowers would be nec
essary to survive in the post-apoc
alyptic setting of the novel’s pres
ent, where the reader encounters
predatory hogs with half-human
brains and dogs genetically pro
■
grammed to lure their prey in with
puppy-dog faces and an all-to-con
vincing veneer of good intentions.
There’s no real food here, no deer
to hunt, just scraggily fish and
plants. But Crake has even
equipped his humanoids with mi
crobes and digestive enzymes to
handle the devastation of vegeta
tion. They can eat grass, just like
cows.
If you’re wondering about how
well Atwood has fleshed out these
blue humanoids, consider the scene
where Snowman walks in on the
Crakers’ mating ritual: “Their
penises turn bright blue to match
the blue abdomens of the females,
and they do a sort of blue-dick
dance number, erect members wav
ing to and fro in unison, in time to
the foot movements and the
♦ ATWOOD, SEE PAGE 8
CD REVIEWS
311 stays happy,
evolves harmony
“EVOLVER”
311
★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY CHARLES TOMLINSON
THE GAMECOCK
Summer is the perfect sea
son for a new 311 album.
“Evolver” is the band’s sec
ond album to be released
with the dog days fast ap
proaching. 311’s alternating
between sunny California
rock riffs and lazy Jamaican
reggae grooves belies the
band’s Omaha, Neb., roots,
and it makes for the perfect
soundtrack for a beach trip
or even just watching the
sunset in a lawn chair.
“Evolver” contains one
singable melody after anoth
er, interspersed by rapping.
But the technical proficien
cy and, moreover, the soul of
this band puts it on a higher
tier than the doomed rap
metal acts. Vocalists Nick
Hexum and S.A. Martinez
harmonize on every song.
Often, Hexum and Martinez
take turns singing different
♦ 311, SEE PAGE 9
Dan still dark
after 20 years
I I
“EVERYTHING MUST GO”
Steely Dan
★★★★ out of
BY WES WOLFE
THE GAMECOCK
After the success of their
first studio album in 20
years, Steely Dan had the un
enviable task of creating an
other critical and commer
cial triumph. They’ve cer
tainly achieved their goal,
currently 91 on the Billboard
Top 100 and receiving glow
ing reviews from The New
York Times, the Washington
Post and Slate.com.
The • new album,
“Everything Must Go,” in
dulges in the two things Steely
Dan does best: a tight funk
soul-jazz sound and satirical
lyrics. Robert Toth of
National Review got it right
when he said, “The musical
settings ... stay sleek, jazzy
and masterful regardless of
how much anger and hurt is
bubbling under the surface.”
♦ STEELY DAN, SEE PAGE 8