'Nebraska' is far more interesting than the state

Return of the prodigal sons

YOU is back.\n"Comparing the Bloomington scene to the Atlanta scene is like comparing a grain of plain rice to a seven-course feast," YOU founder Nick Niespodziani says. Earlier this year, YOU moved from Bloomington to Decatur, Ga., to try to find its place in the music scene. \nSpeaking of Bloomington's music scene, Niespodziani says, "Does anyone really believe original music is thriving in Bloomington? I hope not." Of course, to some the local music situation looks grave at the moment. With the closing of original music venues like the Cellar Lounge and Secret Sailor, options for local musicians are shrinking. \n"I believe they had some disappointments locally and they just figured, 'Let's get out of here,'" music professor Andy Hollinden says. "Atlanta is a much better town for music."\nYOU found that Bloomington didn't offer much room for growth. \n"If you have aspirations of making records for a living, you have to go to where you can be in the mix with other musicians with similar goals," Niespodziani says. So, YOU finds itself in the mix with the gumbo-like Atlanta music scene. The switch of neighborhoods was not a smooth transition, but the musicians are already reaping the benefits of the wider exposure. \nTheir first show was on St. Patrick's Day, where they played for a crowd of 1,200. Despite only playing two regular gigs and a handful of open mic nights, they have already sold as many copies of their records as they did in Indiana.\nThey have learned that trying to be employed in the music business is like interviewing for any business, though they've found getting gigs easier than they thought it would be. Still, there is a schmoozing end of it that they must adhere to. \n"Pretending to like people and bullshitting about things you 'have in the works' -- i.e., thought about one night when you were stoned -- are not things I enjoy doing. So it is a challenge to play this industry game without compromising my standards for morals, personal conduct and honesty," Niespodziani says. \nThere have also been personal changes within the band. Longtime vocalist Alyssa Finke left the group. YOU bassist Peter Olson says, "Obviously, the soaring lead vocals and tasty harmonies that Alyssa added to the band will be missed." But he adds, "You will definitely hear from Slinky in the future -- count on that."\nYOU musicians are living in a house where they have built a home studio that allows them not only record their own music, but the music of friends and clients. They've been recording a wide range of artists, from rappers to singer-songwriters. They admit that there can be downfalls to working with other artists, but they also see that the act can be beneficial to their own style. \nAnd that is why they've gone to Georgia, not necessarily a musical Mecca, but enough opportunities to satisfy an up-and-coming group. And Atlanta has been a hot bed for new styles of Southern music, with artists such as Outkast and The Black Crowes.\nYOU's sound has reflected the move. The band's last record, Better Live, sounds kind of like Peter, Paul and Mary covering Sly and the Family Stone. YOU likes to call it "rocked-out-psychedelic-soul-hop, with a twist of pop."\nBetter Live contains the impeccable production techniques that many bands revert to when finding themselves in a professional studio for the first time and having to self-produce. "That just happens when a band is in the studio for the first time, with no time constraints. They do a lot of overdubbing and things like that," Hollinden says. Since being in Georgia, YOU has re-cut a few of its songs (including the single "L.A. Lindsay" especially for the Live From Bloomington CD that the musicians feel better reflect the spirit of their live show.\n"The reason things sound so peachy down here in Georgia is because compared to Bloomington they are," Niespodziani says.\nNote: YOU will participate in the Live From Bloomington show Thursday and play an acoustic show in the Union Cafeteria at noon Friday.

Stew elicits memories of Burt and Randy

Wilco makes potent statement

Fog inundates Bloomington

It's a modern phenomenon in America to want to categorize everything. All things must have their own specific niche, whether it is for marketing purposes or just for our own state of mind. Those things that go against traditions or blend trends beyond easy recognition must be forced to go it alone.\nIn a sense though, this is how American styles have been created in music. Extensive borrowing combine with the novel appeal of exotic sounds to break open new genres. This is precisely what has kept rock 'n' roll, a seemingly dead-end art form, alive for nearly fifty years now. \n"I just think it will take a while for the gospel to spread," says Andrew Broder, aka Fog, of his debut album Fog. "It is a very difficult album to categorize and this makes the big music monster machine twitch and buzz and clunk and it doesn't like albums like that very much. So it it'll be an uphill battle, but that's why I'm here."\nFog is the pet project of Broder. It can be seen as a compilation soundtrack to the places his life has taken him to so far. \nBroder was born and raised in Minnesota, where he remains today. He is one of the many talented artists that have chosen to work out of Minneapolis. He learned to play a myriad of instruments essential to rock bands as a kid (guitar, piano, bass, drums, etc.) and at the age of 15, began dee-jaying and doing graffiti art. He attended the University of Minnesota for two years, and hated every second of it. \nIt's a common middle-class dilemma Broder had found himself in -- a sort of existentialist anxiety about his place in the world and a struggle for self-definition. Like so many before him and so many since, he dropped out of college and got sick. \nBroder says about this period, "I was tired of squelching my ideas to fit the hip-hop mold. Tired of scratching atop the din of plinking martini glasses at trendy bars. Sick, frail and direction-less. That is when everything changed."\nIn 1998, he started recording the songs that would eventually make up the eponymous debut album, Fog. "It was made over the course of a year and a half, and then re-mixed for Ninja [Tune Records] release a year later," says Broder. "It was done on a four track in 2 houses I lived in and in a studio owned by Jeremy Ylvisaker, who plays guitar in the Fog band."\nJust reading the titles of the tracks, one can begin to see the melodrama that unfolds on the record. Titles like, "The Smell of Failure," "Pneumonia," "Fuckedupfuckfuckup," "Hitting a Wall" and "We're a Mess," create an ominous mood. But, the scene is all about perspective. On "Pneumonia," Broder sings, "is it depression or disease," and lyrically, the album doesn't move far from there. The music on that song in particular though is a swinging rock groove mixed with carefree turntable scratches and thus is the struggle. Sometimes, some songs on Fog never coalesce because everything sounds at odds with each other. Perhaps it's because Broder isn't taking himself and his problems too seriously. \n"Music for me is a really hopeful thing even if I am singing about sad stuff," Broder says. "I like that juxtaposition. And yeah, I find that I am never totally ecstatic or totally hopeless. Always somewhere right in the middle, trying to remain empty headed as the Tao says."\nThe album shows the wide range of Broder's musical influences. The punk rock and hip-hop stain is evident, though he says, "both have, at one point or another in my life, been heavy influences on me musically. These days, not really." \nWhat a listener will find on this album is a more contemporary and sophisticated approach to the aforementioned music. Fog sounds like a cross between DJ Shadow's gift for the ambient tone poem and Thom Yorke's desperate crooning. \nThe album also has a certain lo-fi charm to it, so when Broder sings about millipedes and silverfish, you get the feeling he is down there with them. "Heh heh.. yeah, it's quaint shit," says Broder. "The sound of the record is the sound of finding your voice, so I think that it works. I will probably record the next thing kinda different so we'll see what happens."\nBroder has recently begun to tour around North America in support of his first record. "I have three wonderful musicians that play with me," Broder says. "I play turntables, guitar, Wurlitzer and sing. Mark Erickson plays bass and keyboards and sings. Jeremy Ylvisaker plays guitar and keyboards and sings. Martin Dosh plays drums and keyboards and sings." \nFog will come to Bloomington on Saturday, July 20. Jonathan Yuma, who is putting on the show, says, "No one ever brings anything to town that is a little different, electronic or otherwise, so Fog, I thought, would be that something different that Bloomington needs. I'm taking a chance, but even if it doesn't work, at least I'm taking chances and bringing something different here."\nRight now, they are coming out of a thriving music scene in Minneapolis. Another local musician Darren Jackson a.k.a. Kid Dakota, who has worked with Broder says, "Fog is one of the bigger acts in town as far as indie rock goes. The album is also doing quite well. It got a lot of well deserved press." \n"I think Andrew has a brilliant future ahead of him," says Jackson. "He's very passionate about what he does and works very hard." \nIf there is one thing that Broder has shown so far is that he is an uncompromising character. A recent press clipping compared him to Neil Young, and that seems to hold some water. His first album sounds like your reading a diary, where daily banalities and undecipherable inside information come out as a universal code.

'Yoshimi' the usual Lips masterful crafting

Robert Christgau once wrote about the Flaming Lips in his Village Voice "Consumer Guide" that, "these guys are Not Joking. Ever. Which makes them hopelessly ridiculous." Though I don't plan to contend the validity of this comment, Christgau seems to miss the point.

'Yoshimi' the usual Lips masterful crafting

Robert Christgau once wrote about the Flaming Lips in his Village Voice "Consumer Guide" that, "these guys are Not Joking. Ever. Which makes them hopelessly ridiculous." Though I don't plan to contend the validity of this comment, Christgau seems to miss the point.

Fog inundates Bloomington

It's a modern phenomenon in America to want to categorize everything. All things must have their own specific niche, whether it is for marketing purposes or just for our own state of mind. Those things that go against traditions or blend trends beyond easy recognition must be forced to go it alone.\nIn a sense though, this is how American styles have been created in music. Extensive borrowing combine with the novel appeal of exotic sounds to break open new genres. This is precisely what has kept rock 'n' roll, a seemingly dead-end art form, alive for nearly fifty years now. \n"I just think it will take a while for the gospel to spread," says Andrew Broder, aka Fog, of his debut album Fog. "It is a very difficult album to categorize and this makes the big music monster machine twitch and buzz and clunk and it doesn't like albums like that very much. So it it'll be an uphill battle, but that's why I'm here."\nFog is the pet project of Broder. It can be seen as a compilation soundtrack to the places his life has taken him to so far. \nBroder was born and raised in Minnesota, where he remains today. He is one of the many talented artists that have chosen to work out of Minneapolis. He learned to play a myriad of instruments essential to rock bands as a kid (guitar, piano, bass, drums, etc.) and at the age of 15, began dee-jaying and doing graffiti art. He attended the University of Minnesota for two years, and hated every second of it. \nIt's a common middle-class dilemma Broder had found himself in -- a sort of existentialist anxiety about his place in the world and a struggle for self-definition. Like so many before him and so many since, he dropped out of college and got sick. \nBroder says about this period, "I was tired of squelching my ideas to fit the hip-hop mold. Tired of scratching atop the din of plinking martini glasses at trendy bars. Sick, frail and direction-less. That is when everything changed."\nIn 1998, he started recording the songs that would eventually make up the eponymous debut album, Fog. "It was made over the course of a year and a half, and then re-mixed for Ninja [Tune Records] release a year later," says Broder. "It was done on a four track in 2 houses I lived in and in a studio owned by Jeremy Ylvisaker, who plays guitar in the Fog band."\nJust reading the titles of the tracks, one can begin to see the melodrama that unfolds on the record. Titles like, "The Smell of Failure," "Pneumonia," "Fuckedupfuckfuckup," "Hitting a Wall" and "We're a Mess," create an ominous mood. But, the scene is all about perspective. On "Pneumonia," Broder sings, "is it depression or disease," and lyrically, the album doesn't move far from there. The music on that song in particular though is a swinging rock groove mixed with carefree turntable scratches and thus is the struggle. Sometimes, some songs on Fog never coalesce because everything sounds at odds with each other. Perhaps it's because Broder isn't taking himself and his problems too seriously. \n"Music for me is a really hopeful thing even if I am singing about sad stuff," Broder says. "I like that juxtaposition. And yeah, I find that I am never totally ecstatic or totally hopeless. Always somewhere right in the middle, trying to remain empty headed as the Tao says."\nThe album shows the wide range of Broder's musical influences. The punk rock and hip-hop stain is evident, though he says, "both have, at one point or another in my life, been heavy influences on me musically. These days, not really." \nWhat a listener will find on this album is a more contemporary and sophisticated approach to the aforementioned music. Fog sounds like a cross between DJ Shadow's gift for the ambient tone poem and Thom Yorke's desperate crooning. \nThe album also has a certain lo-fi charm to it, so when Broder sings about millipedes and silverfish, you get the feeling he is down there with them. "Heh heh.. yeah, it's quaint shit," says Broder. "The sound of the record is the sound of finding your voice, so I think that it works. I will probably record the next thing kinda different so we'll see what happens."\nBroder has recently begun to tour around North America in support of his first record. "I have three wonderful musicians that play with me," Broder says. "I play turntables, guitar, Wurlitzer and sing. Mark Erickson plays bass and keyboards and sings. Jeremy Ylvisaker plays guitar and keyboards and sings. Martin Dosh plays drums and keyboards and sings." \nFog will come to Bloomington on Saturday, July 20. Jonathan Yuma, who is putting on the show, says, "No one ever brings anything to town that is a little different, electronic or otherwise, so Fog, I thought, would be that something different that Bloomington needs. I'm taking a chance, but even if it doesn't work, at least I'm taking chances and bringing something different here."\nRight now, they are coming out of a thriving music scene in Minneapolis. Another local musician Darren Jackson a.k.a. Kid Dakota, who has worked with Broder says, "Fog is one of the bigger acts in town as far as indie rock goes. The album is also doing quite well. It got a lot of well deserved press." \n"I think Andrew has a brilliant future ahead of him," says Jackson. "He's very passionate about what he does and works very hard." \nIf there is one thing that Broder has shown so far is that he is an uncompromising character. A recent press clipping compared him to Neil Young, and that seems to hold some water. His first album sounds like your reading a diary, where daily banalities and undecipherable inside information come out as a universal code.

Psychedelic soul music

It is often suggested that soul music cannot be faked, that any hint of discomfort or mortality will show through. While the theory holds quite a bit of water, it is also true that with the carelessness that such talent can afford you comes meticulous craftsmanship.

Psychedelic soul music

It is often suggested that soul music cannot be faked, that any hint of discomfort or mortality will show through. While the theory holds quite a bit of water, it is also true that with the carelessness that such talent can afford you comes meticulous craftsmanship.

Wilco makes potent statement

Wilco goes for new sound

As Wilco closed its set at Axis Thursday night, singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy ambled toward the microphone and announced to the capacity crowd, "We have a lot of new sounds up here, some intentional and some unintentional." \nWilco's regular set was clearly defined by this statement. It opened with the hushed-groove of the unreleased song "On A Private Beach In Michigan." From there on the band almost exclusively played songs from its upcoming album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. \nThe show was the unveiling of Wilco's new lineup to most of the crowd, and there was an air of reservation and disbelief to the band's sound. Gone were the consistent rock elements that clubbing drummer Ken Coomer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett had brought to the group. The fact that Wilco's new mentor is noted noise-pop artist Jim O'Rourke is well evident in the band's new sound. \nBut it was Wilco's new drummer, Glen Kotche, who really stole the show at Axis. He had a palpable energy and displayed amazing ability to really roll the drum set and play with the delicate touches of a symphonic drummer when each was called for (which was often at the same time). \nLeroy Bach, a frequent contributor to the band who only recently was asked to join full-time, played the keyboards, guitars and an array of electronic gadgets. He was instrumental to the band trying to recreate the sound of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which at times is a complex tapestry of sound. \nThe band as a unit sounded a little foiled by the music from the new album. Not that it sounded unrehearsed, but only as if it had not yet found the "live" sound for these songs. This flaw was made apparent when the band played "She's A Jar" and "Shot In The Arm," from 1999's Summerteeth, a very complex album in its own right. The toss-off approach was a revealing divergence from the careful construction of newer material. \n"The Unified Theory of Everything," another unreleased song, was the shoe-gazing pinnacle of the show. It combined a heart-stopping lyric that incorporated the four seasons ("Autumn comes you sit in your chair and stare at the TV square, hiding all your feelings weeding out the weekends") with searing guitar send-ups and drawn-out improvisation. \nWilco was coaxed by the audience into three encores -- the first two obviously aimed at crowd pleasing. \nThe second encore displayed the heavy-rock side of Wilco, or the alternative aspect of its much-maligned alt-country label. The band played three of the more raucous tunes from 1996's Being There. \n"Misunderstood," another song from Being There, perfectly summed up Wilco's new direction in the final encore. It had been the band's first foray into the clamorous pop field that it is mining these days -- a song about bitter nostalgia. As the song rambled toward the climax, Tweedy stared blankly into the crowd with a coy smile as he screamed out the mantra, "I'd like to thank you all for nothing, for nothing. Nothing! Nothing at all." \nTweedy's expressions hinted at his famously unsettled attitude. Clearly he was tickled by the great reception, but perhaps he was also a little annoyed that it was the obvious approach that inspired it.

Stew elicits memories of Burt and Randy

Young's latest lacks 'Passion'

Are You Passionate?\nNeil Young\nReprise\nIn between the minimalist soul and staccato guitar rhythms, you'll hear the creaking of bones. Neil Young and his backing band on Are You Passionate?, Booker T. and the MG's, are old enough to have seen rock's dawn and invent its golden age. Their innate skill produces an album that sounds vital, but Young's countrypolitan lifestyle shows through in the worn-out lyrics. \nOnce upon a time, Young was an eminent surrealist and had a knack for showing both sides of a story. Stepping away from the rockstar lifestyle might have done well for his nerves, but it was the intense daily world, which Young took so personally, that fueled his best work. \nTake his ode to Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer, "Let's Roll"; "Let's roll for Freedom / Let's roll for Love / We're goin' after Satan / On the wings of a Dove" -- sounds like some crap right? Doesn't compare to "Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'" or "I got the revolution blues / I see bloody fountains / And 10 million dune buggies comin' down the mountains," right? Young used to paint his enemies clearer than this. On "Let's Roll," his enemy is just referred to as Satan. \nOn the flip side, Are You Passionate? is an amazing pastoral album with all the warmth of a cuddly Grandpa. The sound of the album is a mix of the '60s Memphis soul that Booker T. created, and the intimate folk music of Young's solo albums. \nI prefer to hear Young grow old with a rock band than the sentimental fireside-folk of 2000's Silver and Gold. I also prefer him to sing about a culture that he understands, which is clearly the domestic life. True to his unsettled image, he sounds most plausible when he sings, "Well I took you for a walk on the forest floor / 'Cause I wanted to share some things / But it sure looked to me like you'd been there before," on "You're My Girl." \nYou all knew Neil Young never really meant, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," right?\n

Return of the prodigal sons

YOU is back.\n"Comparing the Bloomington scene to the Atlanta scene is like comparing a grain of plain rice to a seven-course feast," YOU founder Nick Niespodziani says. Earlier this year, YOU moved from Bloomington to Decatur, Ga., to try to find its place in the music scene. \nSpeaking of Bloomington's music scene, Niespodziani says, "Does anyone really believe original music is thriving in Bloomington? I hope not." Of course, to some the local music situation looks grave at the moment. With the closing of original music venues like the Cellar Lounge and Secret Sailor, options for local musicians are shrinking. \n"I believe they had some disappointments locally and they just figured, 'Let's get out of here,'" music professor Andy Hollinden says. "Atlanta is a much better town for music."\nYOU found that Bloomington didn't offer much room for growth. \n"If you have aspirations of making records for a living, you have to go to where you can be in the mix with other musicians with similar goals," Niespodziani says. So, YOU finds itself in the mix with the gumbo-like Atlanta music scene. The switch of neighborhoods was not a smooth transition, but the musicians are already reaping the benefits of the wider exposure. \nTheir first show was on St. Patrick's Day, where they played for a crowd of 1,200. Despite only playing two regular gigs and a handful of open mic nights, they have already sold as many copies of their records as they did in Indiana.\nThey have learned that trying to be employed in the music business is like interviewing for any business, though they've found getting gigs easier than they thought it would be. Still, there is a schmoozing end of it that they must adhere to. \n"Pretending to like people and bullshitting about things you 'have in the works' -- i.e., thought about one night when you were stoned -- are not things I enjoy doing. So it is a challenge to play this industry game without compromising my standards for morals, personal conduct and honesty," Niespodziani says. \nThere have also been personal changes within the band. Longtime vocalist Alyssa Finke left the group. YOU bassist Peter Olson says, "Obviously, the soaring lead vocals and tasty harmonies that Alyssa added to the band will be missed." But he adds, "You will definitely hear from Slinky in the future -- count on that."\nYOU musicians are living in a house where they have built a home studio that allows them not only record their own music, but the music of friends and clients. They've been recording a wide range of artists, from rappers to singer-songwriters. They admit that there can be downfalls to working with other artists, but they also see that the act can be beneficial to their own style. \nAnd that is why they've gone to Georgia, not necessarily a musical Mecca, but enough opportunities to satisfy an up-and-coming group. And Atlanta has been a hot bed for new styles of Southern music, with artists such as Outkast and The Black Crowes.\nYOU's sound has reflected the move. The band's last record, Better Live, sounds kind of like Peter, Paul and Mary covering Sly and the Family Stone. YOU likes to call it "rocked-out-psychedelic-soul-hop, with a twist of pop."\nBetter Live contains the impeccable production techniques that many bands revert to when finding themselves in a professional studio for the first time and having to self-produce. "That just happens when a band is in the studio for the first time, with no time constraints. They do a lot of overdubbing and things like that," Hollinden says. Since being in Georgia, YOU has re-cut a few of its songs (including the single "L.A. Lindsay" especially for the Live From Bloomington CD that the musicians feel better reflect the spirit of their live show.\n"The reason things sound so peachy down here in Georgia is because compared to Bloomington they are," Niespodziani says.\nNote: YOU will participate in the Live From Bloomington show Thursday and play an acoustic show in the Union Cafeteria at noon Friday.

Young's latest lacks 'Passion'

Are You Passionate?\nNeil Young\nReprise\nIn between the minimalist soul and staccato guitar rhythms, you'll hear the creaking of bones. Neil Young and his backing band on Are You Passionate?, Booker T. and the MG's, are old enough to have seen rock's dawn and invent its golden age. Their innate skill produces an album that sounds vital, but Young's countrypolitan lifestyle shows through in the worn-out lyrics. \nOnce upon a time, Young was an eminent surrealist and had a knack for showing both sides of a story. Stepping away from the rockstar lifestyle might have done well for his nerves, but it was the intense daily world, which Young took so personally, that fueled his best work. \nTake his ode to Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer, "Let's Roll"; "Let's roll for Freedom / Let's roll for Love / We're goin' after Satan / On the wings of a Dove" -- sounds like some crap right? Doesn't compare to "Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'" or "I got the revolution blues / I see bloody fountains / And 10 million dune buggies comin' down the mountains," right? Young used to paint his enemies clearer than this. On "Let's Roll," his enemy is just referred to as Satan. \nOn the flip side, Are You Passionate? is an amazing pastoral album with all the warmth of a cuddly Grandpa. The sound of the album is a mix of the '60s Memphis soul that Booker T. created, and the intimate folk music of Young's solo albums. \nI prefer to hear Young grow old with a rock band than the sentimental fireside-folk of 2000's Silver and Gold. I also prefer him to sing about a culture that he understands, which is clearly the domestic life. True to his unsettled image, he sounds most plausible when he sings, "Well I took you for a walk on the forest floor / 'Cause I wanted to share some things / But it sure looked to me like you'd been there before," on "You're My Girl." \nYou all knew Neil Young never really meant, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," right?\n

'Nebraska' is far more interesting than the state

Clinic: the doctors of true rock

Walking with Thee\nClinic\nDomino\nAde Blackburn\'s garbled vocals on Clinic's second album Walking With Thee can summon infinite meanings. To me the album sounds like it's about sex, with Blackburns's taut vocals speaking for all of us awkward, frustrated and stupefied boys. \nOn the title track, it is difficult to find any intelligible lyrics except for the title, but the distorted guitars and organ imply a yearning, and when he shouts, "NO!" you know it's something he's being told. "Come Into Our Room," has a suggestive title and the "Halloween"-esque keyboard melody evokes sinister images of seduction, but a major-key counter melody towards the end of the song shows the duality of the character. \nThen there are songs like the closing "For The Wars," a waltz with a familiar nursery rhyme melody. The childlike landscape and the lyrical hook, "you're all made up for the wars," create images of little boys playing sandbox warriors. One could take this as a political statement, but Blackburn's tenor finally sounds confident, which insinuates that he is simply gazing back to childhood. \nThe music compounds the feelings evoked by the lyrics throughout the album. The noisy guitars and British Invasion-like organ suggest sentimentalism, but the use of imaginative beats gives the album a futuristic feel. Live drums are interspersed with programmed beats and odd rhythmic sounds are created by using the melodica. On "The Equaliser," it sounds as if Clinic is using glass ashtrays and aluminum baseball bats to create an immense, danceable clutter.\nSnippets of lyrics from Walking With Thee can reveal so many different meanings. How would you interpret, "good as ever, good as ever… close," from "The Bridge"? Like R.E.M.'s early albums, Clinic refuses to be pinned down by indefinite comprehension. Mysterious albums like these continue to unfold in your imagination, and years later if you somehow figure it out, you'll only be disappointed.\n

Clinic: the doctors of true rock

Walking with Thee\nClinic\nDomino\nAde Blackburn\'s garbled vocals on Clinic's second album Walking With Thee can summon infinite meanings. To me the album sounds like it's about sex, with Blackburns's taut vocals speaking for all of us awkward, frustrated and stupefied boys. \nOn the title track, it is difficult to find any intelligible lyrics except for the title, but the distorted guitars and organ imply a yearning, and when he shouts, "NO!" you know it's something he's being told. "Come Into Our Room," has a suggestive title and the "Halloween"-esque keyboard melody evokes sinister images of seduction, but a major-key counter melody towards the end of the song shows the duality of the character. \nThen there are songs like the closing "For The Wars," a waltz with a familiar nursery rhyme melody. The childlike landscape and the lyrical hook, "you're all made up for the wars," create images of little boys playing sandbox warriors. One could take this as a political statement, but Blackburn's tenor finally sounds confident, which insinuates that he is simply gazing back to childhood. \nThe music compounds the feelings evoked by the lyrics throughout the album. The noisy guitars and British Invasion-like organ suggest sentimentalism, but the use of imaginative beats gives the album a futuristic feel. Live drums are interspersed with programmed beats and odd rhythmic sounds are created by using the melodica. On "The Equaliser," it sounds as if Clinic is using glass ashtrays and aluminum baseball bats to create an immense, danceable clutter.\nSnippets of lyrics from Walking With Thee can reveal so many different meanings. How would you interpret, "good as ever, good as ever… close," from "The Bridge"? Like R.E.M.'s early albums, Clinic refuses to be pinned down by indefinite comprehension. Mysterious albums like these continue to unfold in your imagination, and years later if you somehow figure it out, you'll only be disappointed.\n

Repent and be saved

Lucky 7\nReverend Horton Heat\nArtemis Records\nLast weekend I was at a bar in town listening to a couple of strummers on stage playing the light-headed pop favorites of the day and thinking about how much I would give just to see an Elvis impersonator on that stage playing "Mystery Train" or "Milkcow Blues Boogie." I just wanted to hear the force that great rock and roll has. With real rock, no matter who you are, a greek out to get drunk or just someone who likes music, you cannot deny the power.\nI've got nothing against bar bands, but I hate to see acts that dehumanize music. They transform the incontrovertible magic in great rock into a mechanical deed. It doesn't really matter how fast and loud they strum, the truth that is displayed when playing great rock and roll is not something that can be faked.\nThis is the frame of mind I was in when I put on Reverend Horton Heat's latest album, not dejected at the state of rock, just feeling a bit alienated from it. I must admit that this was my first exposure to the Reverend, and without a bit of sarcasm I can say I was converted.\nLucky 7 is not an art record, it's not even a great rock record, it was just a record that has come along at the right time to revitalize my faith in the great rock and roll stage act. This is essentially what the band is -- they played 220 shows in 2001. The vision of this barn-burning act criss-crossing the States, playing totally raucous music, touring under a name with obvious religious connotations and singing about cocaine, tequila, women and automobiles was too much. I wanted to know where to sign up.\nComparing Reverend Horton Heat to swing revivalist Brian Setzer is an unfair pigeonhole. Rev's music takes as much from swing as it does from the Sex Pistols, the Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis. Jim Heath (the Rev) sounds like an evangelist for debauchery, and his two-piece rhythm section perfectly sets up his presence and his surf-style guitar.\nIt seems to me that the records only tell half of the Reverend Horton Heat's story. They are the truest to the rock and roll spirit I've heard in a long time. They are completely unpretentious, and rock harder than Blink-182 or Metallica ever dreamed of.\n