BY CARRIE BELL
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The Lighweights
No one told The Light
weights how pros handle
fame. Instead of cool
finesse, the boys bicker
over the phone and exude
no bad-boy bravado. Saxo
phonist Tom Weber, 17, is
almost too nervous to chat.
The innocence is as
refreshing as their music —
a blend of funky bass lines,
horns, rock sensibilities and
a mad rapper. “We wanted
to couple our interests in
rap and ska," says drum
mer Skully. “We started as
a five-piece band, but
added horns for flavor.”
Interview finesse aside,
the gang has the business
mastered. They financed
their demo, A Bit of Life.
“We hit up local stores to
carry the tape, and they’re
available at shows,” says
trumpeteer Matt Scheiner.
The band (with bassist
Joe Baptista, rapper Josh
Kolenik, trombonist David
Dominique and guitarist
Mikal Britt) also knows
how important a good live
act is. "We have to prove
we aren’t punk-ass kids,”
Britt says. “Crowds quick
ly realize we're serious
about music. Then we go
crazy on stage."
The craziness is catch
ing, with everything from
campus gigs to a “ska
mitzvah” scheduled. “We're
hot little muffins in
demand,” Skully says,
adding that Scheiner has
three groupies.
“Yeah, but they’re all
about 10,” Britt scoffs.
For a demo, send $4 to:
The Lightweights, 817 Linen
Ave., Baldwin, NY 11510.
Ani DiFranco
Living In Clip
Righteous Babe
Ani DiFranco, high priestess
of punk-folk, continually
updates old-guard feminism with
intimate vignettes disguised as songs.
She plays “music for people, not pos
terity.” So the only surprising thing
about this live two-CD set is that it
comes so late in her career.
Two hours of recordings map her musical
manna from the early days of “Anticipate” to the
most current entries off Dilate. Living In Clip
strips down the genius of DiFranco to its barest
state, capturing versions and monologues. Her
winsome blend of urban grit doesn’t suffer from
overproduction or overcontemplation, often the
downfall of studio projects.
Like all concert LPs, annoying audience
shrieks, flubs and instrument hum are included.
But all is forgiven upon hearing a magnificent
crescendo in an orchestral “Amazing Grace” or the
powerfully eerie echo vibrating in “Both Hands.”
The Chemical
Brothers
Dig Your Own Hole
Astralwerks
White Town
Women In Technology
EMI
With everyone jumping on the techno bandwag
on, it’s hard to decipher the superb from the
schlock. The Chemical Brothers and White Town
travel different paths to salvation in electronica.
Dig Your Own Hole holds the unfortunate title
of one of 1997’s most anticipated CDs. Fortunately
England’s dynamic duo doesn’t let fans of studio
wizardry down. The record is an hour-long fusillade
of rave whistles, remix madness, hip hop samples
and rock guitar squalor.
Vocals by Beth Orton and Oasis’ Noel Gal
lagher break up the noise before monotony sets
in. Lovers of the Beastie Boys’ wordless excursions
will find enough psychedelic breakbeats to sink
their teeth into.
A month ago, a sexually confused single called
“Your Woman” stormed up alt-radio playlists.
You didn’t really get it, but you could dance to it.
Now White Town wants to charm disco biscuits
with its full-length reincarnation of ’80s synth
pleasure a la Bronski Beat, Erasure and Depeche
Mode. Jyoti Mishra even croons in a unisex tone
similar to Yaz’s Alison Moyet.
Amidst the knob-turning and looped keyboards
lies some actual guitar. Yet experiments with Mid
dle-Eastern ambience and schmaltzy ballads can’t
top the aural fixation the single induces.
Spearhead
Chocolate Supa Highway
Capitol
KRS-ONE
I Got Next
RADIO, RADIO
1. Pavement, Brighten the Comers, Matador
2. Built to Spill, Perfect from Now On,
Warner Bros.
3. Helmet, Aftertaste, Interscope
4. Aphex Twin, Richard D. James, WARP/Sire
5. Wally Pleasant, Wally World, Miranda
6. Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Let’s Face It,
Mercury
7. The Lunachicks, Pretty Ugly, Go-Kart
8. Clbo Matto, Super Relax, Warner Bros.
8. Various Artists, Violent World: Tribute to the
Misfits, Caroline
10. David Bowie, Earthling, Virgin
Chart based solely on college radio play. Contributing
radio stations: KFSR, California State U„ Fresno: WNYU,
New York U.; KWVA, U. of Oregon; KTRU, Rice U.,
Texas; KUOM, U. of Minnesota; KCMU, U. of Washing
ton; WXJM, James Madison U., Va.; WWVU, West Vir
ginia U.; KCSB, U. of California, Santa Barbara; KTEK,
New Mexico Tech; KRU1, U. of Iowa; KJHK, U. of
Kansas; KRNU, U. of Nebraska, Lincoln; WHRB, Harvard
U.; WCBN, U. of Michigan; KALX, U. of California,
Berkeley; WRUV, U. of Vermont; KCR, San Diego State
U., Calif.; KBVR, Oregon Slate U.
Get the groove on U.’s music page:
http://www.umagazine.com/rocks
Rap is in transition.
Artists are trading in gats,
girls and Gucci for peace,
politics and relevance. For
Spearhead and KRS-ONE,
new albums are an evolution,
not a departure.
Hero of HiohoDrisv
Michael Franti and Spearhead cruise down the
Chocolate Supa Highway armed with skillful
wordplay, funky bass and a conscience. Ras I
Zulu’s reggae chants, Trina Simmons’ silky
vocals and layered production fuse soul and
technology without losing the one-love groove
theory. San Francisco’s rhythm collective took
time to hone their craft since the ‘94 debut,
and it shows. Crossover confidence and talent
climax on duets with Stephen Marley and
Joan Osborne.
Blastmaster KRS-ONE also uses nostalgic
tricks to hit retro paydirt, although I Got Next is
more in the emcee and gangsta vein. His
freestyle assault is as vicious as ever, but the
melody-based rhymes melt into boogie down
productions. Next's rants are peppered up with
guest appearances by Redman, Joe, DJ Muggs,
Keva and Angie Martinez.
Our Picks
inaigo
Girls
Shaming
of the
Sun
Epic
Amy Ray
and Emilv
Saliers deliver yet another guitar
frenzied, country-folk product
embedded in sexual ambiguity.
Despite an abundance of fast
pieces, the duo doesn’t forsake
any of the lyrical introspection or
pristine harmonies. One step
“Closer To Fine.”
Adriana Evans
Adriana Evans
PMP/Loud/RCA
The string and horn sections sur
rounding Evans’ feathery vocals make
it easy to mistake her for an airy
sounding crooner of her parents’ gen
eration, like Roberta Flack or Diana
Ross. But she’s a bona fide ‘90s soul
singer with electronic drums to prove
it. The lilting, upbeat tunes take you
back to happier times.
Various Artists
Kama Sutra Soundtrack
TVT
Prepare to be hypnotized by the pas
sion of the sitar and sarangi and the
powerful playing of India's most
respected musicians. The tracks exude
T
desire and emotion rivaling Peter
Gabriel’s Passion and provide a perfect
setting for Mira Nair’s controversial film.
The Hang Ups
So We Go
Restless
This Minneapolis quartet dishes out
some of the fiercest iiberpop this side of
the Atlantic Ocean. The 12 tracks on
their second effort will have you bobbing
your head and humming the infectious
melodies for days.
Various Artists
Love Jones Soundtrack
Columbia
Such erotic urban reverie is con
tained here that you'll be left with the
same desirable effect the movie title
suggests. Slow jams by Maxwell,
Xscape, Dionne Farris and Groove
Theory flow into jazz fusion care of
Cassandra Wilson, Duke Ellington and
John Coltrane, putting everyone in the
mood for love.
Kinnie Starr
Tidy
Violet Inch
Need a new pro-grrrl hero to
throw adoration at since Ms. Love
cleaned up her act for Hollywood? Try
Canadian TV-hater and performance
artist Kinnie Starr. The mixing is raw,
the attitude tough and the final out
put refreshing.
The assistant editors think these CDs
will give you a reason to get up in the
morning.