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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2003)
My House organizer Marc Moscato sits on the steps of the recently closed independent art venue. Jessica Waters Emerald My House continued from page 9 bring lots of points of view together," Moscato said. The 1 louse isn't planning to leave quietly, either. On July 26, organiz ers will be throwing ASuperf lappy FunDayinthePark, a free event to be held in the Washington/Jefferson Park 3 to 11 p.m. "It's a combination of all the work we've done in the past," Moscato said. While the schedule is still tenta tive, the event promises to be a ma jor one. Musical acts, mostly from the Northwest, will be performing on the main and side stages of the event. Eugene bands like Bloody Castles Ragtime Band, Black Darts, Jungle Madness, The Lullaby League and Energy Brigade are scheduled to make appearances, as are Portland's The Culottes and Bobby Birdman. Even a few bands from Olympia are on the bill, such as Old Time Relijun and The Strangers, according to the My House Web site. Updates are avail able at www.notmyhouse.com. Music aside, there will also be handmade crafts, zine and poetry readings, the hand-cranked films of Lee Krist and Ihe Image Nation Pup pet Show. The night will close with a My I louse film retrospective. Docu mentary zines about the venue will be available throughout the event. lust because My I louse is closing doesn't mean there isn't hope for the future of independent arts in Eugene, however. Boyer and Markstrom have plans to open another venue of the sort as soon as they can find a space suitable for the venture. "Our ultimate goal would be to find a warehouse space we can use as an arts and entertainment studio and performance space," said Markstrom, a University student. Moscato said he hopes the work he does influences young people to think and be active. "There are a lot of people interest ed in working without institutional support, somewhere outside of business-as-usual. People not inter ested in being defined by traditional approaches," Moscato said. "It's not hard to put up flyers, have people come into your basement, organize a community. This could be done by anybody." Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. 016796 Enter the 1 Pi zza-n-Paradi se Sweepstakes contact store for details Better Ingredients Better Pizza. South Eugene and (J of 0 29th and Willamette 484-PAPA (7272) Springfield, Duck's village, Chase village and University Commons Mohawk & centennial 746-PAPA (7272) Specialty Pizza LARGE 2-topping PIZZA and 2 liter of Coca-Cola product only. Expires 8/31/03 Available in Original or Thin Crust Not valid with any other otter or special. Limited delivery areas $1 charge on delivered orders Lsrge (Choose from The works, Gardei Special, All The Meats, Chicken Alfredo, or; Spinach Alfredo) fidOnm ™lv Available in Original or Thin Crust Not valid with any other otter or special Limited delivery areas $1 charge on delivered orders $tl* Carolines do pop-rock right; Branch effort lyrically limited By Ryan Nyburg Freelance Reporter It's sad to think the only real outlet in modern music for decent pop rock is emo ("emotional punk" for the uninitiated), which has to be the most wimpy underground movement of the past few decades, tailor made for designer clothes-wearing white suburban _ teenagers. That CD must be why the latest album TGVI0WS from the Port land-based pop outfit The Carolines, "Youth Electronics," is so refreshing. The album is loaded with catchy hooks, melodies and earnest-as-hell lyrics about love, unrequited and oth erwise. Standard stuff, but so well done and often so clever that it's hard not to like. It's pop-rock 1970s style, with brains and feeling. While the band itself is no great digs musically — that's never really the focus anyway — the songwriting drives the album forward with a dogged persistence. Some of the songs contain moments of pure pop brilliance, making the whole thing worth anyone's time, but the album is no classic in itself. The Carolines, incidentally, will be playing the WOW Hall on July 20. Next up is a little tidbit for electron ica fans: The Latin Project's debut "Nueva Musica." The album is an in teresting combination of South Amer ican rhythms and techno dance beats, complete with Spanish vocals and a samba flavor. All well and good, but still nothing more or less than high concept dance music. While the music aspires to be more than the latest rave fodder, it still suf fers from all the problems that have plagued dance music since the days of disco: repetitiveness, simplicity and homogenization. The music isn't real ly bad, just confined to the trappings of its genre, meaning it becomes pret ty dull listening for anyone not hopped up on ecstasy. Now for further proof that the Grammy Awards have lost any cre dence they may once have had: the latest from singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, "Hotel Paper." Branch has a couple of little gold statues under her belt, including one for a collaboration Courtesy Michelle Branch's new album, Hotel Paper, features much of her own songwriting. with Carlos Santana, despite the fact that she can't seem to write a single lyric worth the spittle on Joni Mitchell's lips. She belongs to the new generation of female pop singers who write their own songs, much like No rah Jones. And like most of the rest of them, she's more looks than talent. Branch is a good singer for what it's worth, but her lyrical content is the most bland sort of pseudo-folk cliches, including lost love and break-up prob lems done with no originality or sense of personality. It's all been done before, and better, by Sheryl Crow and others (Crow makes an appearance on the al bum by the way, but to no effect). I he album isn't terrible to listen to, however. Branch's melodies are catchy, the instrumentation is good and the production is, of course, flawless. But there's just nothing there to make it worth the trouble, so why bother? It's all packaging, no substance. So don't go for it kid, it'll rot your teeth. And as far as blandness goes, Branch is hardly the worst. Christo pher Jak might be the worst. While lis tening to his recent album, "Applause for the Rain," I often forgot there was music playing and had to keep going back to make sure 1 caught it all. There wasn't much to catch. The album is so unoriginal, so pretentious and so overproduced that it will likely be pretty successful. The lyrical content is all inspired by the standard-issue relationship prob lems and brand new love cliches. Jak will probably remain a hit with the Starbucks crowd, but there is really nothing there to elevate him higher. The arrangements are so standard is sue, the performance so dull and the lyrics so meaningless that every song is forgotten before it's over. But thank God for that. Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. CAMPUS BUZZ Sunday Kaplan Test Prep is offering a free "test drive" event for gauging test-taking skills for graduate school entrance exams. The event will take place at the Kaplan Center, located at East 13th Avenue above Mother Kali's Books. The event will show students what to expect on the real exams. Times are as follows: LSAT (9 am), GMAT (9 a.m.), GRE (noon), MCAT (2 p.m.) and DAT (2 p.m.). For more information or to register, call 1-800 KAP-TEST or visit http://kaptest.com/testdrive. Shakra continued from page 9 disguised as triumphs by teams of pub lic relation hoodlums. Make every moment your art, walking down the street with all the people you see. Write poetry in your thoughts all the time, with your mind when you're waiting in every line. Forge your own path and find your rhythm outside of the rhyme that is this homogenized time. Truth will flow from this mentality, naturally and originally. A true creation seems to recognize that expression is a commonality for all life. Expression does not come without adversity, but it's not some thing that is segregated to particular people, talents or medium. Everyone has the ability to become an artist and write poems merely by living. Aaron Shakra is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. ashion hat pays be me. IsTkuo n ^ Your ego! Start making money in the music industry! The New-New Music Business Seminar August 16th, 2003 A Ml day ot hard tutting mlormauon with tonria MCA. 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