Pulse Editor.
Jacquelyn Lewis
j acquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
On Tuesday
The naked truth:
nudist recreation
Thursday, May 8,2003
‘Stone’local music
rating misses mark,
this new list rocks
It has been almost three months since Rolling Stone maga
zine named Eugene number eight on the list of America’s “10
best music meccas for stalling an education” in a piece called
“Campus Scenes That Rock.” I’m still trying to figure out what
the hell it’s all supposed to mean.
Supposedly, the story’s reporters rated various college towns
“by venue, talent on the rise and total party volume.” I think
it’s a bunch of hooey.
Despite brief mentions of folk, hip-hop, funk, trip-hop, jazz
and world beat in other parts of the country, the authors’
choices of iconic bands for almost all the cities focus on in
dustrial rock, punk and the like. I can en
joy the Courtesy Clerks, the Rock and
Roll Soldiers and the High Violets in
moderation, but the article affirms the
crazy notion that this is the most popular
brand of music today.
This is why other types of music
don’t get much respect in Eugene.
Jazz is suffering. It’s too pretentious
these days. For some reason, most col
lege students don’t dig jazz clubs. In
stead, it’s typically a much older and
subdued crowd. Most nights at Luna or
Jo Federigo’s involve inflated drink
prices and predictable covers of jazz
standards. But somewhere out there, I know there are peo
ple who like to push the boundaries. Give me some good
acid jazz and trip-hop.
Hip-hop seems to get a little more attention around town
these days. With regular shows in many local clubs, its sur
prising local hip-hop artists didn’t get a little of Rolling Stone’s
esteemed acclaim.
Joseph
Bechard
Cultural
Obstetrician
Of course, Eugene, being the kooky island that it is, also gets
a few funk and jam bands. Some of them follow the same
played-out style of bands such as the Grateful Dead, Phish and
The String Cheese Incident, but the others can really play.
However, it’s hard to doubt Rolling Stone. They’re so smart.
But there are people who do. The Register-Guard quoted
Taylor’s Bar & Grill booking agent Bjorn Estlund, saying, “If
there was a happening college scene, Taylor’s would be doing a
ton of music.”
Maybe Estlund has a point. It appears the authors put as
much thought into picking the city’s hot spots as they put into
picking their noses.
The WOW Hall is a good choice. The venue makes an hon
est attempt to showcase a variety of interesting acts. The writ
ers also chose Sam Bond’s Garage. While I’ve had many a
memorable moment sitting at those picnic tables, listening to
bluegrass and drinking microbrew from jars, this place can’t
embody what the writers imagined — “head trips and hooten
annies” my ninnies. The last selection, The Annex, is ridicu
lous, given that the club hadn’t been open long before the arti
cle’s release.
A few more obvious candidates were left out of this most
distinguished honor. John Henry’s was a shoe-in. With a new,
snazzier location and a taste for the same music as the arti
cle’s authors, it was surprising to see this place left out. If the
McDonald Theater were not afraid to charge less than $20, it
could be a much better and more popular venue. What about
the Samurai Duck? Sure, the building is far too small and so
awkwardly shaped that it can’t attract too many people, but
you have to respect the effort. The bar offers good, cheap lo
cal music in a relatively respectable atmosphere. Someone
ought to give it some credit. And we shouldn’t yet forget the
formerly great Wild Duck.
As if all that weren’t enough, the story then reminds read
ers that the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies are a product of Eugene.
We should be trying to erase this deleterious connection, not
celebrate it.
Shame on the Rolling Stone! Shame! I want to hold its nose
over the little mess it has created.
If there’s anything we should Ibarn from this, especially
when it comes to local culture, don’t believe the stupid Rolling
Stone. Listen to trusty Joe.
Contact the Pulse columnistatjosephbechard@dailyemerald.com.
His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
Waking IID
a to music
Musician Vienna Teng quit a
career as a software engineer
to embark on a journey through
song writing and performing
Jacquelyn Lewis
Pulse Editor
If substantial record sales, several
highly praised media appearances, in
cluding “The Late Show with David Let
terman,” and a sold-out House of Blues
crowd are any indication, singer/song
writer Vienna Teng is on the fast track to
stardom. However, you won’t find her
touring celebrity-style. Instead, travel
ers might catch a glimpse of the San
Francisco-based 24-year-old stumbling
through the airport alone—lugging her
huge Yamaha keyboard, instrument
stand and boxes of CDs on her own.
Teng, who released her debut album,
“Waking Hour” on Virt Records in No
vember, has embarked on a true solo
tour. The songbird will alight on Eu
gene tonight, where she will play an in
timate concert at Cafe Paradiso.
Teng began playing the piano, an in
strument she said she was “in love with”
at age five, and wrote her first song when
she was just six years old. She graduated
from Stanford with a degree in computer
science, worked full-time as a software
engineer in Silicon Valley and recently
quit to focus solely on her music—a tran
sition Teng said she was planning all
along. She wrote and performed music
through college, gamering a small follow
ing, and rough recordings of her creations
began to circulate around campus.
“WakingHour” reflects Teng’s full musi
cal focus. The tracks on the album are soft
and melancholy, with a sound Teng calls
folk-pop, though she adds, “I always have
trouble characterizing my own music. ”
Perhaps Teng’s difficulty describing her
songs comes from the fact that almost all of
her lyrics are about other people’s experi
ences. However, the album is anything but
detached. Teng somehow takes others’ tri
als and deftly transforms them into her
own, singing with heartwrenchingsinceri
Courtesy
Vienna Teng released her debut album, Waking Hour'in November and nowtours solo.
ty. She said she is able to perform this feat
largely due to her passion for storytelling.
“I tend to think of my own life as bor
ing,” she said, laughing. “I’m sort of a
failed fiction writer.”
But Teng’s musical “fiction” is any
thing but a failure. The lyrics are pure
poetry, expertly infused with melan
choly. The track “The Tower” tells the
tale of a woman who “survives by making
the lives of others worthwhile” but crum
bles under self-neglect. “Drought”
laments, “And the taste of dried-up hopes
in my mouth / and the landscape of mer
ry and desperate drought.”
Teng said her songs often take on
lives of their own.
“They become like people that sort of
live with me,” she said, adding that she
Turn to Solo tour, page 7
Mr. I|f brings underground
k hip-hop flavor to Eugene
Musician Mr. Lif takes pride in his
positive, politically slanted lyrics
and brings his unique brand
of hip-hop to the WOW Hall
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
Hip-hop is in a state of flux
these days. Recording artists are
seeking to redefine the elements
of the genre, and critics have
hailed Boston-reared Mr. Lif as a
true cutting-edge performer. Lif
will bring his own flavor to Eu
gene when he appears tonight at
WOW Hall, located at 291 W.
Eighth Ave.
Lif emerged as one of Bean
Town’s most successful under
ground musicians, and is current
ly touring after the success of
fck. his first full-length solo al
Courtesy
bum, “I Phantom.”
In a 2001 interview with HipHop-Ele
ments.com, Lif derided the state of popular
hip-hop.
“All these people are talking about straight
up nonsense,” Mr. Lif said in the interview.
“They have no respect for women or them
selves. I don’t see how it can be construc
tive.”
But his take on current state of the indus
try has shifted somewhat.
“A lot of great things are happening in
hip-hop. Things have changed drastical
ly,” Lif said. Some of his current favorites
include Nas, Outkast and Gangstar. But
he is equally enthusiastic about artists
such as Beck and old school rappers in
cluding Rakim.
The Village Voice called “I Phantom” a
“well-layered concept album about isolation
through capitalism and redemption through
art that is almost seamless in execution.”
Turn to Hip-hop, page 6