Music Meltdown

[ ARTS
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Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 26, 1998

Ani DiFranco

Little Plastic Castle

(Righteous Babe)

Perhaps Little Plastic Castle will satisfy all of you back-in-the-day, hard core Ani fans; maybe it won't. Such is Ani DiFranco's nature. Her success is as much due to her musical talent as it is her unstoppable tendency to change. So as listeners, we would be eternally occupied, but seldom satisfied, if we were to debate the merits of her latest work in light of her past. Each album is a departure.

One of the most noticeable shifts on this album is DiFranco's use of synthesized backbeats and distorted guitars which give the songs, at times, a trip-hoppy feel. Fortunately, the human element is still powerful and fresh as it merges seamlessly with the new sounds. This is DiFranco's strength as a musician, reflected even in the strange tweaking of her voice that punctuates each song. If we were to choose to define folk music in terms of sound (and not say, ideology), Little Plastic Castle could easily be considered "cutting edge," although this would not be the first time Ani has been labeled under such a progressive umbrella.

If we define folk music in terms of ideology, however, Little Plastic Castle might not be the ground-breaking album that the sound suggests. Like thousands of unacclaimed folk singers, DiFranco takes snippets from her life, from the commonplace to the tragic, and injects them with emotion and words as subtle and poetic as her plucking of the guitar. What truly sets her apart is her ability to combine both the silly and the serious in one song, deconstructing cultural clichéeacute;s, leaving the listener profoundly and personally moved to thought.

- Nate Byerley

The Beatnuts

The Spot

(Relativity)

It's been a long long time since some good hip-hop was dropped. The last really amazing releases were back around '93 or '94 and since then it's all been downhill. The Beatnuts were on top back then with two great releases; the Intoxicated Demons EP and a self-titled LP set the stage to look like they were ready to take the rap world by storm. Unfortunately, they faded away, along with many other good rap artists (Hieroglyphics, Y'all So Stoopid, etc.) and weren't to be heard from for four more years.

The release of their album Stone Crazy, in 1997, opened the door again and let us hear some truly decent flows. The latest release, The Spot, is a remix EP with tracks from the two full-length albums. Any self-respecting rap fan will fall in love with the smooth hooks, flowing style and fucked-up beats featured within.

The first track, "R.U. Ready II" is reminiscent of the glorious albums of the early '90s (Tribe, De La Soul, Del, etc.). The bass line is fatter than your third grade teacher and the flow is incredible. The greatest track is either "Psycho Dwarf II" or "Props Over Here Remix." These both combine fat beats with smooth lyrics, something unheard of today unless it smells strongly of the finest cheese. The Spot Remix EP is the best hip-hop release of the year so far, and possibly one of the best of the decade.

-James Casey

Nightcaps

Split

(Rendezvous)

As their name might suggest, the "Nightcaps" are really nothing more than a modern lounge act with their own record deal. The six-member band's latest release, Split, provides many different styles of music through a mix of jazz, pop, swing, and even a little bit of rock, all behind the sultry vocal stylings of frontwoman Theresa Hannam.

The Seattle-based band was described in the press release as having "a unique ability to draw from many different musical styles, yet still create a sound that is completely their own." Among the group's musical influences are the legendary Count Basie and Sonny Rollins, as well as Nancy Sinatra, and even the king himself, Elvis Presley.

While it's obvious the Nightcaps have learned how to produce music on many different levels, with the swinging sounds of "Get Up and Leave," the garage-band rock style of "You Lied," and the straight jazzy, blues-feel of "Thrillsville," it seems that the band has drawn from so many sources that, unfortunately, it sounds just like every other jazz/lounge act out there today.

The album, as a whole, is very diverse, but the music within each song is not unique in and of itself. The songs do have a sense of humor - however the bashing of an old boyfriend gets real old real fast after the first couple of songs.

If you enjoy jazz on many different levels, chances are you will probably enjoy the Nightcaps' newest album. It's not bad; it's just not different.

-Eric Anderson

The Din Pedals

(Epic)

Listening to The Din Pedals is like listening to Radiohead's The Bends and U2's Achtung Baby at the same time in full Dolby stereo, except without the depth.

Bands like Radiohead and U2 are talented on many levels. Even if you take away some elements, there's still great music at the heart. Sure, the songs wouldn't stick with you as well, but they'd be good to listen to while you're, say, washing the dishes, and you really don't feel like listening to The Rentals - a good band to do housework to, but sometimes just way too energetic - or the humanitarian wailings of Bono on the Unforgettable Fire.

The Din Pedals are the perfect middle ground, with an added bonus: it's really fun to test your Radiohead and U2 knowledge by playing Name the Song They're Ripping Off.

Here's more fun: the oh-so-trendy song entitled "Porn Star."

I get the feeling the band wrote a song like this just so they could drive around, see lots of girls wearing "Porn Star" shirts, driving cars with "Porn Star" stickers on them, nudge each other and say, "Huh huh, look, that's our song. Cool, huh huh."

Any band that somehow got signed to Epic, that sounds just like some of the most highly acclaimed bands the industry currently has to offer, must be really in touch with what's hip with the kids, enough to work really hard to emulate it all verbatim, right down to "Porn Star."

-Annie Holub