2 bands, 2 styles, 1 musician equals tons of fun
■ Scott McCaughey s
fabulous two-disk album
features The Minus 5 and The
Young Fresh Fellows
‘Let the war against
music begin'
Mammoth
★★★★☆
By Dave Depper
for the Emerald
Here’s a hard album to explain.
First off, there are two discs includ
ed with it. Easy enough. Second,
each of the discs is by a different
band, The Minus 5 and The Young
Fresh Fellows, respectively. Hmm.
Finally, both of these bands are led
by the same singer/songwriter/gui
tarist, Scott McCaughey. What’s go
ing on here?
Well, it all basically boils down to
McCaughey’s talent and productivi
ty. If you are an R.E.M. fan, you have
probably heard him playing guitar
and keyboards on the last two re
leases, “New Adventures in Hi-fi”
and “Up.” He is also their official
touring back-up guitarist. Mc
Caughey formed The Young Fresh
Fellows in the early ’80s in Seattle.
The Fellows enjoyed moderate sue
Kidd
continued from page 7
Kidd Tutorial, and it is no secret to
those who apply. Barniskis said the
quality of applicants as writers is
not as important as their quality as
students. The class is 400 level and
a big commitment, Ameel said. Be
cause the intensity breeds close
ness, both Ameel and Houck be
lieve the group is seen by some as
elite. But in reality, the Kidd Tutori
al is open to everyone, and not only
through the program but also with
the events that it sponsors.
Each term, the tutorial has a lec
ture series, which, although geared
toward the material Kidd students
are studying, are open to the public.
Speakers are usually members of
the University faculty, promoting
the richness of the campus.
Perhaps more enticing than the
lecture series are the annual Kidd
prizes. The endowment fund that
Lesson
continued from page 7
gives an astonishing performance
as the Professor making the audi
ence endear and fear him, all in un
der 90 minutes. I would like to see
him nominated for best actor in the
annual Pocket Playhouse awards,
the Shankies. Mattfeld’s physical
and vocal interpretations of the
008543
All You Can Eat Pte
for $2.00
Pi Beta Phi
Pie Social
March 1st
7pm-9pm
at Pi Beta Phi
1518 Kincaid
All proceeds go to
Links to Literacy
For more info call Pi Phi at 465-9873
cess throughout the decade, often
touring with the Replacements and
eventually supporting the Red Hot
Chili Peppers on the “Mother’s
Milk” tour.
The Minus 5 came together in
1994 and basically consisted of Mc
Caughey and R.E.M. guitarist Peter
Buck, along with a revolving cast of
musicians who play instruments as
unconventional as sleigh bells. The
disc boasts the clever title “Let the
War Against Music Begin.” Simply
put, this is pop music at its shim
mering best. Nearly every song on
this album boasts a very sophisticat
ed and mind-bendingly intricate
arrangement. Layers and layers of
sound are stacked up against each
other, resulting in a towering edifice
of music.
Upon first listening to the album,
my initial reaction was something
along the lines of “hey, this sounds
a hell of a lot like the Beach Boys —
‘Pet Sounds,’ to be precise.” This is
not a bad thing. “Let the War
Against Music Begin” is one of the
more musically striking albums in
recent memory.
The album has a strange vibe to it.
I can’t decide whether it is deliri
ously happy or heartbreakingly sad.
Perhaps this feeling is best summed
up by McCaughey himself, who
says, “I thought it would be cool to
do an album about death, loneli
ness, alcoholism and despair, but
A
Photographer Emerald
The Young Fresh Fellows, together since the early 1960s, offer contributions to McCaughey’s two-disk album of power pop.
have sleigh bells on every song.”
In contrast, The Young Fresh Fel
lows keep it simple and rocking on
“Because We Hate You.” Just look at
some of the song titles: “My Drum
Set,” “Summerland,” “Good Times
Rock ’n’ Roll.” There’s no messing
about with string sections or glock
enspiels here. However, McCaugh
ey’s fine pop sensibilities are very
much in evidence upon this album.
The songs on “Because We Hate
You” are almost absurdly catchy. I
have about five of them stuck in my
head right now. This is simple, stu
pid pop music played by four high
energy guys.
If there is any complaint to be
made about either of these albums,
it is the fact that it is somewhat hard
to take them very seriously. How
deep can you look into a song called
“The Amazing Dolphin Boy” or
“Thirsty Bird” (a song that is in fact
about a thirsty bird)? Some of the
music on these album is incredibly
beautiful and sophisticated, and it
seems like a bit of a shame to waste
such glories upon such silly
themes. Furthermore, McCaughey’s
voice is occasionally irritating. As a
friend of mine put it, “it sounds like
he’s singing each song with huge,
sappy grin on his face.” I’m afraid
that I would have to agree with this
statement.
These complaints are basically
splitting hairs, though. “Let the War
Against Music Begin” and “Because
We Hate You” are blasts of sunshine
that hearken back to the glory days
of ’60s power pop. The fact that you
get them both at the same time for a
very nice price just adds to the
goodness. If you like good, old-fash
ioned pop music and you aren’t
looking for any deep lyrical revela
tions in the near future, then Mc
Caughey’s latest works may be right
up your alley.
Angkor
continued from page 7
a lecture March 7 on the history
of Angkor. Barlow said Cambodia
and its cultural past is relevant to
Americans because of the effects
of the Vietnam War on Cambodi
an society.
“Cambodia got screwed over
during the Vietnam War,” he said.
“They were the drive-by victims
... just standing around minding
their own business.”
Barlow said the Angkor ruins,
which were discovered by French
colonialists, received only mini
mal damage during the war. “The
monuments were not systemati
cally bombed,” he said. “There
was just some military vandal
ism.”
The project of photographing
the temples at Angkor would be
difficult, Barlow said, because of
its huge size. “It’s a really beauti
ful area. I’m excited to see the ex
hibit because I’ve heard [the pho
tographs] really do it justice,” he
said.
The elegant details of the pho
tographs stem not only from their
unique subject but also from the
interesting developing process. A
1996 profile of Izu in the New
York Times described “the labori
ous platinum-palladium print
making process [and the] custom
made camera that produces
14-by-20 inch negatives.”
Mark Hudson, a graduate stu
dent in sociology, happened to
see the exhibit by chance in the
McMillan Gallery. He said that he
knew very little about photogra
phy but was impressed with the
exhibit, nonetheless.
“The details in the pictures are
absolutely incredible,” he said.
Angkor “looks like a really amaz
ing place.”
The opening reception for
“Lights Over Ancient Angkor”
will take place at 7 p.m. March 7
in the EMU Oak Room. The
evening will begin with a lecture
by Professor Barlow and will fea
ture catered food and live music.
Best of all, the event is absolutely
free.
lohn Henry’s Dance Nights
Thursdays: 10 pm, $2
8o's New Wave, Pop 8
Butt Rock. Vinyl.
o T
Q Now serving
o O full liquor bar.
Rebecca Barniskis, head tutor for the Kidd Tutorial Program, conducts a discussion on
the poetry of Philip Levine with 10 students and two tutors.
sustains the program also allows
for cash prizes to be awarded to
submitted works of fiction and po
etry by undergraduate students.
Prizes are awarded in both fiction
and poetry by esteemed judges.
character’s metamorphosis are so
subtle that the audience is almost
lead along like one of his pupils.
Amanda Dumler and Sarah
Turnquist play wonderful comple
ments as the Pupil and Marie.
Dumler fills the role of the naive
student and her enuurance of the
lesson is at times painful to watch.
Turnquist shows the most malevo
lence in the show playing a charac
More information about the Kidd
program and Kidd prizes can be
found through the creative writing
department or at
www.uoregon.edu/~crwrweb/kid
dfrm.htm.
ter who seems to jump in and out of
existence at will.
Once again: Go see this play. It
may be a while before a play like
this is performed in the Eugene area
again, and it may be even longer be
fore it is done so well.
“The Lesson” runs today, Friday
and Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Pock
et Playhouse in Villard hall. There
is a $1 suggested do. n.
February 28, 1
March 1-3 & j
7-10
Tickets: UO
Ticket Office
EMU- 346-4363
.-5.M
l»m it '$.»«««
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