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Tuesday, Dec. 16
The Indiana Daily Student

Unoriginal music seems overproduced

In an interview done for personal reasons with Robert Christgau, the "dean" of American rock critics, I was told, "Michael, God doesn't say there's always going to be new bands. If you look back at the history of the arts, arts ebb and flow... maybe the fact you think they're a good group is a function of your age and your own limitations." So the Warlocks ebb? With a name stolen from the pre-economist Grateful Dead period and riffs just plain robbed from "Sister Ray"-era Velvet Underground, the Warlocks could fool a lot of people's mothers. When singer Bobby Hecksher gets to the imperative line of the opening chorus, "Shake, shake, shake the dope out," though, hearts melt like an abused wife's. Like good, little furry-faced hipsters, they know what their crowd wants to hear: wheezing guitars with high distortion, primitive beats and flat, bleak vocals. Well, this is a relatively new band, with a pretty old stack of party favors. It is in actuality, even further proof the economy is in good shape. Phoenix Album is simply product just like Shania, faith and Andrea Bocelli.

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