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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2001)
New Expanded Menu Food & Beverage Specials! ebepays JIdVO Alternative Musioll MOSTDAYS Rooster's LIVE BLUE'S UAMl 683-8101 • 11 th & Charnelton • Eugene cartoon boyfriend Pomegranate &«0CAlSuSieMwl PASSOL^ONGS & nma Bniimnn Dan Jones 4 the Green Rai nma nnamana nol iwDanwHaMI ^psy^oSc live Gypsy-Jazz Soundtrack TolteAniiwedFlw ofladbbyStarewiu 011822 SCAN DALS DANCE CLUB endless possibilities • Money Grab @ 11:00 pm • $2 Chinese Food Special • Hip - Hop and House music • Cheap Drinks GveWeFWel Run your for sale item in the ODE classifiedsfor five days (items under $1,000) ... if you don't sell it, we'll run it 5 more days for free! Spacehog is only hovering with derivative ‘Hogyssey’ ■After their 19% hit single and 1998 critically acclaimed album, Spacehog’s newest venture seems lackluster SpacehogThe Hogyssey’ Artemis By Dave Depper Oregon Daily Emerald Is the third time a charm for a band of British one-hit wonders? “The Hogyssey” is the new al bum by everybody’s favorite T Rex-inspired popsters, Spacehog. You probably remember these guys from their one and only hit, 1996’s irresistible “In the Mean time.” Melding a huge guitar riff, catchy falsetto vocals and vintage synthesizers, it was a well-de served success, and their worth while debut album “Resident Alien” made a respectable dent in the charts. Things went somewhat down hill for the ‘Hog after that. 1998 saw the release of “The Chinese Album,” which was widely ac claimed by critics. It was an ad venturous album, sounding very little like “Resident Alien,” yet it still embodied the quintessential Spacehog experience. Unfortu nately, nothing on “The Chinese Album” remotely approached a hit single, and it sank like a stone. Since then, Spacehog have pri marily been known for their col lective love life. Last year lead singer/bassist Royston Langdon married actress Liv Tyler, and Roy’s brother Anthony (the gui tarist) has been linked with Kate Moss. With such a checkered past, it’s obvious that a great deal of Space hog’s career is resting on this new album. Which leads us to the big question: Will “The Hogyssey” make these guys into a household name? Not likely. “The Hogyssey” is a _HI Courtesy photo Jt&t 1_ftJMDl competent, and at times very en joyable album of huge-but-recy cled riffs and over-the top vocals. It has very little in common with “The Chinese Album.” In fact, it sounds a lot like Spacehog is try ing hard to recreate the success of their debut album. The only problem with this ap proach is that because of their last album, we know what Spacehog is capable of, and a bunch of cheesy synthesizers and lyrics about space aren’t going to cut it this time. One particularly irritating trait of this album is that Spacehog’s humor, once so effortlessly blend ed with their songs, seems forced this time around. In the past, Spacehog managed to make songs such as “Mungo City” and “Cap tain Freeman” funny without be ing too lowbrow, but “The Hogyssey” seems to be aiming for cheap laughs. “This Is America” contains the groan-inducing line “the Statue of Liberty lost her vir ginity to me,” and how else can you explain a song called “At Least I Got Laid?” Also, a funked-up cover of Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathus tra” (better known as the theme song from “2001”) sounds tempt ing, but it ends up being a corny mess. To Spacehog’s credit, though, some parts of “The Hogyssey” ac tually manage to break new ground for the guys. “A Real Waste of Food” is an intense ballad, com plete with a jazzy horn section. “Dancing On My Own” is a Fred die Mercury-inspired faux show tune that manages to sound so cheesy that you can’t help but like it. And leadoff single “I Want To Live” is simply awesome. With its bone-crushing riff and “woo woos,” it sounds a whole lot like “In the Meantime,” but once you get past this fact, it’s a terrifically rocking number that embodies the heady hedonism of the entire glam-rock movement. In the end, “The Hogyssey” is an enjoyable, but decidedly mixed bag. It’s frustrating to know that Spacehog are merely treading wa ter here, when they could be pur suing some of the more adventur ous things that they’ve attempted in the past. SEASON FINALE—THURSDAY, MAY 17, 8 PM Expect dazzling fireworks as Beethoven's extraordinary Triple Concerto meets Mahler's monumental Titan Symphony. Journey with us from Inferno to Paradise, through joyful exuberance and fiery chaos, to a huge and triumphant finale. Evelyn Chen, piano Adele Anthony, violin Brinton Averil Smith, cello KeyBank Concert sponsor Artist sponsor MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA Conductor FIND THINGS IN ODE CLASSIFIEDS (BICYCLES, PETS, CARS, JOBS, ROOMMATES, APARTMENTS, CONCERT TICKETS, PLANE TICKETS, STUFF YOU LOST, TYPINC SERVICES, ON-CAMPUS OPPORTUNITIES)
