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. - "r'-vr*.***. j.i^ igE.. Hot Water Music The New What Next (Epitaph) Diplo Florida (Big Dada). ^ She Saul Williams Saul Williams (Fader) Taking their name from a Charles Bukowski novel, Hot Water Music exemplifies all the reckless abandon and hard living the creator of their namesake loved so much. The band’s music rings of the loneliness and despair bred by being a punk kid in an isolated Southern town like their native Gainesville, Fla. Since there’s rarely anything else to do, you turn to the bottle and join a band. The need for musical escapism is evidenced in Hot Water’s prolific output, this being their sixth full length in 10 years. Over that time, complicated, jazz-based arrangements and desperate, gravel-throated vocals have given way to a slicker, more conventional rock approach. Despite the streamlining, Hot Water Music’s sound is still brimming with passion. Singers Chris Wollard and Chuck Reagan have voices tempered by heartache and broken bottles, of too many long nights and even longer days. Still capable of many heart-in-your-throat moments, Hot Water Music is a band full of extreme catharsis, best experienced on late night drives and during sweaty live shows. Instrumental hip-hop is a term that gives many people trouble. Today’s expectations of hip-hop consist of crotch-grabbing MCs and mindless, get crunked beats provided by a faceless DJ, which betray the origins of the music. Hip-hop began as a DJ-driven art form, the MC only there to add a little more flavor to the DJ’s party-rocking beats. So therefore it’s in the tradition of the cut-and-paste sampling techniques that instrumental hip-hop is derived. Diplo, short for Diplodocus, is a proud crate-diver and shows off his compositional skills on this little slice of vinyl heaven, his debut full-length. Diplo shows himself to be a master of mood-lighting, his songs creating a cinematic atmosphere by utilizing robust samples of orchestral string sections and haunting organ married to thumping bass lines and skittering breakbeats. Like his instrumental hip-hop predecessors DJ Shadow and RJD2, Diplo is skilled at crafting multi-layered songs that are as dramatic as they are substantial. In a world of bling bling and up-in-the clnb MCs, hip-hop artists rarely come as intelligent as Saul Williams. This poet and MC is an incendiary figure, melding his poems into a musical context to reach those not likely to pick up a volume of poetry. Saul Williams’ second album is self-titled, a decision that most likely comes from the introspective qualities present within the deep lyricism. Even when Williams deals with ' relationships, he settles them in a sociopolitical context. On “Telegram” Williams wonders how he can affect a mass black audience even though he doesn’t have a “Sean Jean” image. With “African Student Movement,” Williams casts a critical eye upon the state of black people everywhere by addressing genocide, ghettos, AIDS and the ever-elusive dangling carrot that is hip-hop stardom. The album’s highlight is “Act III, Scene II (Shakespeare),” a track with a blazing maelstrom of apocalyptic beats and a guest appearance from the insurgent Zach de la Rocha, his first musical output in four years. This is a timely album from the always insightful Saul Williams, one that proves his musical and poetic proficiency. By JORDAN REDMOND WUSC Music Director ■ MOOSSA Continued from page 8 Speaking of Moossa’s beginnings, John said, “We had chemistry at the start.” Now, the act is on the road to support their latest album, “Get Away.” According to John, the album is much different from their first release, “Last Night,” which was mostly solo work. “’Get Away’ was totally a team effort,” John said. “Most of the songwriting was split evenly, and the idea was a sort of ‘live show’ concept. We took some bass and drums from live recordings and would then lay over other elements.” By giving “Get Away” a live feel, Moossa hopes to provide fans with the sound they’ve come to know. As John said, “A live show is a whole ‘nother beast.” As a band from Virginia, • Moossa is all too familiar with comparisons to Dave Matthews Band. Their sound has also been linked to groups such as Widespread Panic and Phish. John insists the band doesn’t follow such bands, but runs parallel with them instead. He feels the comparison is simply because those bands are roots-based, just like Moossa — but that’s where the resemblance stops. . “There’s a similarity (between Moossa and other roots rock acts), but Moossa being ‘Phish-y’ is another ballgame,” John said. Moossa says their sound is much more Bob Dylan meets Bob Marley, with portions of Sublime and Elvis Costello. However, there is a definite element of funk involved. Davis, the drummer, noted that his influences include James Brown and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. If you want to catch this amalgamation of rock, funk, soul and reggae in action, Moossa will be playing Friday at New Brookland Tavern, which is located at 122 State St. in West Columbia. The doors open at 9 p.m. Admission for rockers under 21 is $7. If you’re over, it costs only $5. Opening for Moossa will be MikenPike and Sterling Y. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu ■ WIMBLEDON Continued from page 8 happens to be winning the championship. He eventually softens once he understands what she truly needs. Then, of course, Ron Roth (Jon Favreau), Peter’s agent, returns to Peter, though only when he begins to win again, hoping to cash in on endorsement deals. Roth divides his interest among all the players he represents in the tournament by holding multiple national flags at the finals. Yet, he shows a smidge of humanity by telling Peter some important details about Lizzie, despite the professional conflicts. Though the plot falls upon trite jokes to sustain the love story, and Dunst’s flat, unaffected portrayal of Lizzie during the love scenes make the relationship between Lizzie and Peter all the more unbelievable, Peter’s internal monologues and arguments with himself allow the viewer insight into his complex character. Slow motion shots and rotating camera angles of tennis play also provide an interesting aspect to the presentation of the film. Throughout the movie, Bettany’s performance and his character’s individual story save the film from total destruction. Bettany’s exuberance and charm set him up to become a star in the same league as fellow Brits Hugh Grant and Jude Law, and his performance in “Wimbledon” is merely a taste of what is to come from this budding talent. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gu'm.sc. edu •. • " ' ~~ ' T ; 1 ' ~ -:- . Hang up your hat. And put up feet. At Larry Marshall Hair Salon you wilt feel right at home. Literally Our 2 storey house on Millwood has 4 private service rooms so that your visit is quiet and relaxed. With 24 years experience in hair styling & coloring you are assured a rewarding experienced And when you leave...you will probably forget the hat iTWRSf^alL 3214 Millwood Ave ^ VVir saTon Columbia sc GOLDWELLB HAIR SALON Te 1: 8 O 3.2 5 6 ■ 6 41 9 Are you a seeker? A new group forming this fall will.;. - explore the Ancient Catechumenal Process leading to a deeper discipleship of Jesus and stronger connection to his church - be primarily for unbaptized adults or those fairly new to church life - meet weekly in 90-minute sessions from October to May Orientation is scheduled for September 27 at 7:00pm in the church library. For more information, contact Pastor Frank at 765-9430 or fhoneycutt@ebenezerlutheran.org. Ebenezer Lutheran Church ’ 1 1301 Richland Street I Carolina Productions I .