The LocoMotive I
Serving outstanding
vegetarian cuismc,
tantalizing desserts,
a select wine list
^ the best beers of the
Pacific Northwest
fv Mfenuim i mtniimi
465.4754
291 E. 5th Ave.
f tom Im Ub k hM> XirtM)
twukjr iitwdij
iMKH •II.JO - 2 00 <
OiMrf • S:M HO
DON'T MSS|
■unniiii ■ 0m iiw
lOVfES
_ ”
fVTTHtOOl
i
's_
JOIW FROM
\> ..
: Mosley
Starts atH
S pjnJ
THIS IS AN URGENT CALL FOR HELP!
TOO
MANY
KEGS!
StrclkcaJ Brewery fir Cafe atwaya your friend in
need, your tale port in any Mona, need* yew help
in reducing die number of kep in our brewery.
Drop what your doing, pick up die phone and call
686-2719 and reserve a keg now
before it’» too be.
Keg $89-$99‘ H
- —»y Keg $55-$60’
Ni*ht ih,- nru L*,.1
I^^^STH&rEARL^aKlENE
The 0*n Btoeeom* erM perform tan me EMU ftettroom Merch 3 at 7:30 p m Student discounts are offered
Gin Blossoms release lacks creativity
By lea Zecwfc
Th®«» it something familiar,
something very friendly and
something i i unfurling about Gin
Blossoms' second album. Con
gmtukttian*. I'm Sony
Somehow the loosely racking
melodies, the pretty harmonies
and the vocals create s blanket
of sound that envelops one like
a .Sunday afternoon In the park
Take the first hit, “Follow
You Down “ It's tli« perfect kind
of pop song that glides along so
smoothly, yoo don't feel the
bumps of the road
The guitars and harmonica
propel a nit* mid tempo verse
that leads to an ultra catchy cho
rus. For those who have not
heard the band, their sound lies
somewhere between the
Replacements and th* more pol
ished ballads of the Goo Goo
Doll*
What is tacking here is the
element of surprise, challenge
and excitement After listening
lo half the album, the songs
almost blend together into one
giant stew of pop hooks
The polished production
takes out the loose and sloppy
energy that the Replacements
had in their sound and kills eny
attempt at expert mentation
By the end of the album, there
is a feeling that tha song* are
oontrived and too well thought
out
While there is nothing wrong
with the
melodic
pop round,
the band
doe* not
•earn to
come up
with any
I I
Gin Blossom*
(iiyrtTmUftiwii fw
Stftrr
★★★
new idea* Alt of the guiter
Milo*, tntros and the arrange
menu of instruments ere very
cUcbdd.
The tame goes for the lyrics.
The tales of love, loss and con
fusion lack a clever touch that
would put a new light on these
subjects.
"llay job," is the kind of
archetypal loser rock-star tale.
I should have been a whole
lot further/ I'm never going hack
to college/! just work a day job “
There t*. of course, the sung
about Wing lost and looking to
the past
My C'er." which includes the
lyrics. “I'm driving past my old
ti hoot/l'm looking for my pack
of cigaretles/l'm thinking bark
on things I've done/l iam't forget
the stupid ones what's that
sound, what'* that song, what's
that street I'm driving on "
it's not bad, but ft defines no
new territory
There are some high points on
the album that rescue it from its
general mediocrity.
The chorus of "As Long as It
Matters" sounds like a fast ver
sion of ELO minus the synthe
siser* “Perfectly Still” is
another one of those superb pop
tongs that could easily become
an MTV hits.
“Whitewash" has a nice, rock
ing guitar lead and actually has
some clever lyrics: ”... wash
away my weekend
shadow/come on sweet amnesia
you're needed here tonight."
Unfortunately, as a whole.
Congratulations. I'm Sorry it
|ust too contrived and unorigi
nal to become a great album,
which is really too bad, because
this band la capable of produc
ing some good material.
This record would work (test
as a soundtrack to My So Called
Life or Beverly Hills 90210
because of it's high school
sound and polished catchiness.
1' you liked the previous Gin
Blossoms album or the Goo Goo
Hulls' latest release, you'll prob
ably enjoy this one. Otherwise,
go ahead and pas* on it. because
there are more important things
to spend 15 bucks on like
food, doing laundry and books
for nest term
The Gin Blossoms will per
form with dead Hot Workshop
and The Refreshments March 3
at 7:30 p m in the EMU Ball
room. Tickets are $15 for Uni
versity students and $17 for the
general public
Gall 346-4376 for more infer
mat ion
It might be worth checking
them out, since bends tike these
usually sound much better live
# The UO Schooi of Music's Vanguard Series presents I
Fear No Music
✓ ♦ The Northwest's most recognized 20th
century ensemble performs Schoenberg's
Pierrot lunatr* one of the pivotal works of
the early 20th century. Also on the program:
Zykha by Stockhausen, selected songs by
ICurt Wen. and a new work by Northwest
composer Ctro Scotto Free lecture by
^ Fear No Music on March 1 at 4 p.m
Saturday, March 2 8 p.m., Beall Concert Hall
S7 Gen Admission. $4 Students A Seniors, available at the door
Sponsored m part by grants from the Oregon Humanmes Center
and the ASUO Committee tor Musical Arts