Post-Sept. 11 America, Creed inspire recent albums
CD review
Ryan Nyburg
Pulse Columnist
Time to clean out the ol’ collec
tion of music albums from the past
few months. You can’t say the music
industry hasn’t been eclectic this
year, so let’s have a listen at some of
the good, bad and bland among the
recent releases.
First off is the debut from Social
burn, “Where You Are.” Here’s an
idea, kids. Start a band, give it a
one-word name, learn some decent
but uninteresting chops, write songs
with names like “The Pain Inside”
or “She Left Me, Now I Want to
Stick My Head in the Oven” and al
ternate between melodious singing
and heavy metal grunts and you to
can be a top-40 rock radio success.
Socialburn follows this advice to a
tee. These guitar-heavy trend-riders
are another creation from the Nick
leback factory.
Teen angst as a marketing tool
has to be one of the most disgusting
social aberration since they started
using sex to sell clothing. What per
sonal neurosis will they sing about
next, existentialist dread? Damn
you, Nirvana.
If Socialburn lead singer Neil Al
day’s life has as much suffering as
these songs express, he should get
some serious therapy rather than
sharing it with us. This band will
probably end up with the same
amount of cultural value as Seven
Mary Three, whom it actually
thanks in the liner notes, believe
it or not.
Next up is the latest from Long
wave, called “The Strangest
Things.” This fits the Radiohead
mold instead of the Creed mold, so
I guess it’s a move up. The general
idea seems to be a diluted version of
My Bloody Valentine, stripped of the
over-amped guitars and leaving only
some feedback and pop melodies.
The question that this album pos
es is whether this is experimental
music held back by an overdepen
dence on pop hooks, or if it’s pop
music with the occasional experi
mental touch thrown in to give it
some validity. Neither viewpoint
makes it look all that great. Not an
astounding album, but not a totally
wasted effort.
Now to completely change di
rections. Singer/songwriter Jess
Grant brings us “Washington
Waltz,” a nice little bit of folk rock
from up in Seattle. Grant seems to
remember something that many a
coffeehouse twit with a guitar has
forgotten: Good song writing
counts for a lot and can often com
pensate for other failings.
Grant’s lyricism is good, and his
songs are often funny, containing
the intelligence and wit so often
missing from most modern music.
While the album never seems to
mesh into anything great, it’s a wor
thy effort nonetheless.
Last on the list, and best of the
bunch, is Eric Idle’s “The Rutland
Isles.” Here, Idle revives the too
long-dead style of the comedy
record in the form of a travelogue,
documenting the fictional island na
tion of the title.
An ongoing stream of songs, skits,
spoofs and vignettes, the album
touches on so many bases you often
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longwave Tur strangest things
Courtesy
forget its supposed focus. The com
edy is often raunchy, often stupid
and often dead-on satire. The island
of Paranoia (motto: “Look out be
hind you”) sounds suspiciously like
post-9/11 America.
Its national anthem includes lines
like “We’re much better than you
are / We’re much bigger than you.”
Religion doesn’t escape Idle’s mock
ery, with songs like “Killing for
God,” and a description of how
bishops are trained to handle media
criticism (hint: small-arms fire).
Much like Idle’s post-Monty Python
career, the album is often hit and
miss, but what hits makes the whole
thing worthwhile.
Let’s hope for a more consistent
level of quality in our music over
the next few months — probably
not likely, but one can dream.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
Found
continued from page 7
Rothbart said.
These days, readers send Roth
bart more than just notes. Recent
ly, he received a dead frog from a
finder in Chicago. Rothbart includ
ed the animal, flattened and cov
ered with lint, in Found’s second
edition. The frog is still lurking
somewhere in one of the many box
es crowding Rothbart’s home.
“It was pretty gross,” he said.
“It still sends a little chill up my
spine. I have no idea where that
thing is now.”
Rothbart doesn’t want to open
anymore dead animals, but he said
he hopes people will continue to
send him their discoveries.
“For people to really respond, it
feels good,” he said. “It was a sort of
stunning, overwhelming and unpre
dictable, but I feel like it’s worth
honoring. I’m learning that it does
seem to really affect and touch peo
ple in ways I would have never seen
or imagined.”
Rothbart plans to publish a
Found book in the near future, and
he has just finished writing a collec
tion of short stories, titled “The
Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas.”
Rothbart is on tour promoting
Found and “The Lone Surfer” this
"It was pretty gross.
It still sends a little chill
up my spine. I have no
idea where that thing
is now"
Davy Rothbart
Found Magazine creator
month, and he will stop in Etigene
at Sam Bond’s Garage at 9 p.m. on
June 12. Rothbart will travel with
musician and brother Peter, as well
as Virginia folk darling Devon
Sproule, both of whom will perform
at the show.
Visit www.foundmagazine.com
for more information, and send
your finds to Found Magazine, 3455
Charing Cross Road, Ann Arbor, MI
48108-1911.
Contact the Pulse editor
atjacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com.
Carlson
continued from page 7
glossier paper so they would look
more like prints. Total cost: #1.68.
I put my prints in gold frames
that I found at several thrift stores.
I’m fully convinced that one almost
never needs to buy new household
items. I found five nice frames of
various sizes, all in good condition,
for about #3.
The whole project took a couple
of hours and cost less than #5. It
looks polished, and the idea is ap
plicable to any design. I found a
few books on the history of wall
paper with some amazing patterns
that would look incredible in a
more colorful room. The process
was cheap, easy and resulted in
unique art that’s far from standard
college decor.
My new art hangs above my bed.
I’ve never gone for the whole Goth
thing, but I think the insect/lace
combination is charming. It’s very
Victorian, Edward Gorey, “Arsenic
and Lace,” a strange union of lovely
and macabre.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at nikacarlson@dailyemerald.com.
Her views do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.