(11/11/03 5:00am)
While Paul Walker might be perceived as just another Hollywood pretty boy, the thirty-year-old actor has big plans for his career. Already known for his roles in "The Fast and the Furious" series, "Varsity Blues" and "Joy Ride" to name a few, Walker now stars in Richard Donner's " Timeline" which opens in theaters November 26. JustArts recently had the opportunity to interview Walker about "Timeline," his other upcoming film projects and his real opinions of life in Hollywood."Timeline," based on the Michael Crichton novel, is about a team of student archeologists who travel back to 14th century France to rescue their professor who has been trapped in the past by his own machine. Once back in time, the students discover they are in the midst of a feudal war and find themselves not only fighting for their professor's life, but their own as well. Walker stars as Chris Johnson, the professor's son. Though he has portrayed savvier, more street-smart characters in his previous films, such as Bryan O'Conner in "The Fast and the Furious," Walker felt he could personally relate the best to his role as Chris in "Timeline." Walker described Chris as being a regular guy like himself. Compared to Bryan in "The Fast and the Furious," Walker explained that Chris has less edge and is simply trying to discover his own path in life. Walker was also really excited that his role in "Timeline" allowed him the opportunity to act out his childhood fantasies. "When I was a kid, every stick was a sword, and I always dreamed of being a knight," Walker remembers. "That's why being on this set, around all these characters in full armor, is truly like going back in time for me. The only thing I was disappointed about was that all the extras got the armor, and I ran around looking more like someone in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" Walker added that he wished he could have been added to more fight scenes in "Timeline," saying that his role in "The Fast and the Furious" series was much more physically demanding. Being on location in Montreal was another one of Walker's favorite aspects of the film's production. He called the Canadian city "a great experience" for the wonderful nightlife, food and friendship he enjoyed while filming up north. Walker became closest with the upbeat Billy Connolly ("White Oleander") on the set of "Timeline," describing Connolly as a "glass half-full guy." Listening to Walker, the actor does not come off at all as your stereotypical, snobbish superstar. Walker hates seeing himself in the press, forcing his family and friends to hide articles in which he is featured before he comes over. In his spare time, Walker likes to ride horses, race cars, go boating and sit at home with his daughter watching the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. Walker also confessed that he doesn't ever see himself fitting in with the Hollywood scene. Responding to the fact he was quoted as saying, "Hollywood is garbage," Walker explained that he thinks too many actors in the business tend to lose sight of what's important. He admires actors such as Jeff Daniels, Jon Voigt and fellow "Timeline" actor Billy Connelly for their ability to keep perspective in life. As an aside, Walker stated that if he could choose one actor to do a movie with, he would love to work with Morgan Freeman. After "Timeline," Walker will be acting with Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon and Penelope Cruz on the independent film "Noel." Obviously excited to work with Williams, Walker stated, "Acting is like a sport to me. Working with better people makes you better faster." Also, he is always interested in producing and is currently in negotiations to create a Western-style movie sometime in the future. Yet above all, Walker just "wants people to think of him as being a nice, good guy," and hopes the public will remember him for "doing cool movies.
(11/04/03 5:00am)
I would warn pseudo-rockers to start working on their next irresistible hit records, because as Canadian rock quartet Dakona enters the mainstream, they may take on dangerous levels of speed. After two indie releases and six years together, it is no wonder that Dakona's new "Perfect Change" sounds polished and mature even though it is their first major label debut. Maverick Records swiped up this Vancouver based band after they spent the last several years bouncing between gigs from clubs to parking lots.Overall, the group has the typical "four young guys"-guitars/bass/vocals-"we are still growing as a band" feel. But what sets Dakona apart from the other bubble-wrapped rock groups out there is their polished and cohesive sound. This is what will make them competitive in the pop rock market - they are new and fresh (to outsiders of the Canadian indie rock scene; namely us) while still managing a mature finished album. The group's first album, "Good Enough For Me," was released to rave reviews in 1998. It was followed up two years later with "Ordinary Heroes," which became the number one selling album in Vancouver, receiving radio play and major recording industry nods. Cousins Ryan McAllister (vocals/guitar) and John Biondolillo (drums) teamed up with friends Brook Winstanely (guitars) and Shane Dueck (bass) to make up this rock quartet that just completed a national tour with Michelle Branch.Their sound is evocative of the radio friendly Lifehouse or Fuel. You could even go as far as to say Dakona is Avril meets Creed. Until I listened to "In Gods Name" and did a little online CD shopping, I had no idea they were a Christian based rock band -- which is not something I would normally be attracted to, as I tend to gravitate more towards non-denominational music. Nevertheless, I encourage those who generally tend to practice separation between church and CD to give this a chance. Dakona embraces a sweet rock beat that provokes both head bobbing and singing along. Lead singer Ryan McAllister's guttural voice roughs up the edges a bit, giving it a more legitimate rock feel. Featured track "Good (I've Got A Lot To Learn)" has a powerful back beat and hot guitar chords that I imagine could provoke me, with enough caffeine in my system, to pull a little grab the microphone (a.k.a - my hairbrush), head-bang -jump-on-the-bed demonstration. I had a similar feeling itch at me when listening to "Soul for Sale," which strangely reminded me of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." This connection either means I am pining for Bon Jovi, and my unconscious desires are reflected in all the music I hear, or that Dakona has produced one of those poppy rock tunes that has classic potential. I am going to go with the latter option, not only because I want to reaffirm my own self respect but also in the name of legitimate musical critique. The thumping lyrics, "Joyride in a hot car baby/Got room for one and a suitcase maybe," have that cheesy appeal that I personally can't resist. If I had a car, I would put this song on my driving mix. "Revolving" is a sad, jagged account of the frustration of being caught in one of those circular relationships that never seem to be resolved. "I'm caught in an orbit around your sun/Revolving, revolving again/Each time I turn more damage is done." The metaphor is not too shoddy. McAllister's angst ridden voice and the repetition of the word "revolving" emphasize more the feeling of frustration that he is trying to express. "Richest Man" is another radio friendly track preaching, "I gotta be free from the chains that bind me." It is a noble cry against materialism that, given my "poor college student" status and my infallible hope for fame and fortune, I cannot without resistance relate to. "Steal my gold, take my pearls/I am the richest man in the world." This is a catchy tune, with great drum use, but the message I feel will lose its absoluteness once Dakona actually falls into some fame and fortune themselves.Yet regardless of how they deal with it, I predict that with a solid album like this one, Dakona actually does have a chance of coming across some "gold" and "pearls."Listen to the music; see if it can find a place on your driving mix. Yet, please note my refusal to call this band rock. Do not be misled. I have dubbed this genre of pop rock "pseudo" partly because I can not legitimately call any band touring with Michelle Branch serious "rock." Call it an issue of integrity.
(11/04/03 5:00am)
"The Edge of the World" is Dragonfly's newest release. This beautifully done double CD set is out on Red Star Entertainment. When first picking it up, you might think that it's merely a soft-covered CD case, but really it's a bound book of the same dimensions, full of lyrics and pictures of the band. You might think this Boston-based band is modeling for a Ray-Ban commercial, as they're pictured mostly wearing sunglasses and trying to look like a combination of Bono and the Mod Squad, walking five-across through a desolate desert landscape and looking very self-important. Speaking of Bono, the group cites U2, the Beatles, the Who, Tom Petty and the Cure as some of their influences. Though they certainly hope to live up to some great names, I wonder how this young group, only assembled by Peter Parcek and Miki Singh in 2001, can already be putting out double-sets and trying to look artsy in their album's book. They back themselves up musically, however, and are the best session pros around today, and so I won't begrudge them for the liberties they've taken.Miki Singh is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. With a voice sometimes grave and sometimes smooth, he belts out songs that cross genres, from alternative rock to blues and funk. Peter Parcek is the lead guitarist, Steve Scully supplies the drums, percussion, and background vocals and Marc Hockox performs on the bass. Session keyboardist, and former member of the Del Fuegos, Brother Cleve is the DJ and also plays the keyboard. All the songs are well-supported musically, with rich bass and vocal accompaniment that could never be called sparse. Produced by Ducky Carlisle, (Bleu and Susan Tedeschi), the songs have a multinational flavor since the CDs were drawn from influences all over the world. Arranged in Morocco and recorded on the French Caribbean island of St. Barthelemy, the album was first performed at the Maldives.The first disc starts off with a rousing rock number called "Find You," which is mellow though upbeat. None of the songs here will hurt your ears. Next is "When the Day is Done," which is slower and features Singh singing plaintively by himself. "Don't Let's Go Again," stands out with its reggae beat and noticeable bass during the choruses. Later in the song, intricate guitar work accompanied by sassy vocals is backed up with electronically synthesized beats, sounding both jazzy and Mediterranean at once. "Wedding Ring" is a full-out ballad about a girl leaving a relationship. The lyrics wonder: "but I thought forever/ was a longer thing/than the past endeavors/ that keep happening," as the singer moans about his ring. All the music is more mature and musically developed than your average teeny-bopper fare, to be sure. None of the band members are young, and I'm sure between them all, they have plenty of life experience from which to draw. "She Hates It," also features a great jam session and impressive guitar riffs.On a whole, I prefer the second disc. "Lay her Down" starts with smooth melodies and drifts with the help of the singer's earthy voice in a relatively slow song. The CD has greater variety, with more electronica influences than the first. "Beautiful Thing," might leave you thinking you were caught somewhere between a Moby song with Singh sounding like Marilyn Manson. "Mama" sounds more like funk and groove, while "Still Got My Guitar," has electronic synthesizers that reminded me of U2's "Elevation." Near the end, "Rescue" is another jam session, with more drums, that will set your feet tapping.If you like classic rock influences combined with ambient groove and hints of funk, "The Edge of the World" will definitely suit you. A 5-man band comprised of members that are already well-respected, Dragonfly has put out an album focused more on the instrumentals than the lyrics. Though after listening through a few times I already like the album more than I did initially, I doubt this will become a staple of my CD collection. Still, a solid effort, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of this group. Hopefully, though, they'll find a better concept for their album packaging.
(11/04/03 5:00am)
I would warn pseudo-rockers to start working on their next irresistible hit records, because as Canadian rock quartet Dakona enters the mainstream, they may take on dangerous levels of speed. After two indie releases and six years together, it is no wonder that Dakona's new "Perfect Change" sounds polished and mature even though it is their first major label debut. Maverick Records swiped up this Vancouver based band after they spent the last several years bouncing between gigs from clubs to parking lots.Overall, the group has the typical "four young guys"-guitars/bass/vocals-"we are still growing as a band" feel. But what sets Dakona apart from the other bubble-wrapped rock groups out there is their polished and cohesive sound. This is what will make them competitive in the pop rock market - they are new and fresh (to outsiders of the Canadian indie rock scene; namely us) while still managing a mature finished album. The group's first album, "Good Enough For Me," was released to rave reviews in 1998. It was followed up two years later with "Ordinary Heroes," which became the number one selling album in Vancouver, receiving radio play and major recording industry nods. Cousins Ryan McAllister (vocals/guitar) and John Biondolillo (drums) teamed up with friends Brook Winstanely (guitars) and Shane Dueck (bass) to make up this rock quartet that just completed a national tour with Michelle Branch.Their sound is evocative of the radio friendly Lifehouse or Fuel. You could even go as far as to say Dakona is Avril meets Creed. Until I listened to "In Gods Name" and did a little online CD shopping, I had no idea they were a Christian based rock band -- which is not something I would normally be attracted to, as I tend to gravitate more towards non-denominational music. Nevertheless, I encourage those who generally tend to practice separation between church and CD to give this a chance. Dakona embraces a sweet rock beat that provokes both head bobbing and singing along. Lead singer Ryan McAllister's guttural voice roughs up the edges a bit, giving it a more legitimate rock feel. Featured track "Good (I've Got A Lot To Learn)" has a powerful back beat and hot guitar chords that I imagine could provoke me, with enough caffeine in my system, to pull a little grab the microphone (a.k.a - my hairbrush), head-bang -jump-on-the-bed demonstration. I had a similar feeling itch at me when listening to "Soul for Sale," which strangely reminded me of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." This connection either means I am pining for Bon Jovi, and my unconscious desires are reflected in all the music I hear, or that Dakona has produced one of those poppy rock tunes that has classic potential. I am going to go with the latter option, not only because I want to reaffirm my own self respect but also in the name of legitimate musical critique. The thumping lyrics, "Joyride in a hot car baby/Got room for one and a suitcase maybe," have that cheesy appeal that I personally can't resist. If I had a car, I would put this song on my driving mix. "Revolving" is a sad, jagged account of the frustration of being caught in one of those circular relationships that never seem to be resolved. "I'm caught in an orbit around your sun/Revolving, revolving again/Each time I turn more damage is done." The metaphor is not too shoddy. McAllister's angst ridden voice and the repetition of the word "revolving" emphasize more the feeling of frustration that he is trying to express. "Richest Man" is another radio friendly track preaching, "I gotta be free from the chains that bind me." It is a noble cry against materialism that, given my "poor college student" status and my infallible hope for fame and fortune, I cannot without resistance relate to. "Steal my gold, take my pearls/I am the richest man in the world." This is a catchy tune, with great drum use, but the message I feel will lose its absoluteness once Dakona actually falls into some fame and fortune themselves.Yet regardless of how they deal with it, I predict that with a solid album like this one, Dakona actually does have a chance of coming across some "gold" and "pearls."Listen to the music; see if it can find a place on your driving mix. Yet, please note my refusal to call this band rock. Do not be misled. I have dubbed this genre of pop rock "pseudo" partly because I can not legitimately call any band touring with Michelle Branch serious "rock." Call it an issue of integrity.
(11/04/03 5:00am)
Now that the 2003 Major League Baseball season has winded down and I have settled down after the Yankees' World Series loss to the Marlins, I think it's time to reflect on the best players in both leagues from this past season.CATCHER:AL: Jorge Posada, Yankees. Jorge may be the AL MVP. His numbers aren't great compared to some other American Leaguers, but the position he plays and how improved his defense has been this year - and also a weak pool of MVP candidates on winning teams - may lead to him winning the award. Probably the best catcher in baseball at this point. (Honorable Mention: Jason Varitek and AJ Pierzynski) NL: Javy Lopez, Braves. This may have been a fluke, but it was an amazing season for any player, never mind a catcher. He's had a great season once before in his career, but 43 homers and 109 RBI's is amazing. Interesting, that after a bunch of years of doing nothing, he excels in his walk year. (Honorable Mention: Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Lieberthal) Advantage: AL FIRST BASE:AL: Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays. 42 home runs and 145 RBI's would win you an MVP on a winning team. But unfortunately for Delgado, his team dropped considerably after a very quick start and finished out of contention. But that does not take anything away from the middle of that lineup with Delgado and Vernon Wells. (Honorable Mention: Jason Giambi and David Ortiz) NL: Jim Thome, Phillies. He had a horrible start, but his finish almost propelled his team into the playoffs as the wild card. Though Todd Helton's .358 average, compiled with Thome's 182 strikeouts would seem to give the nod to Helton, Thome's second half surge (he ended up tied for the MLB lead in homeruns) and meaning to his team gave him the edge. (Honorable mention: Helton and Richie Sexson) Advantage: AL SECOND BASE:AL: Alfonso Soriano, Yankees and Bret Boone, Mariners. This race was too hard to declare a clear cut winner. Soriano had slightly more home runs, while Boone's batting average was slightly higher. Boone had more RBI's while Soriano stole considerably more bases. Boone definitely gets the nod defensively, but Soriano was the leadoff man for the Yanks and got them into the playoffs. (Honorable Mention: Michael Young) NL: Marcus Giles, Braves. Great breakout season for Giles. Really made a name for himself and helped that Braves offense role. (Honorable Mention: Jose Vidro) Advantage: AL SHORTSTOP:AL: Alex Rodriguez, Rangers. He's just an amazing offensive player, especially for a shortstop. Although the team around him has sucked since he's been there (and his large contract doesn't help that much), he has played hard every day and put up amazing stats. Wouldn't be too surprised if he ended up in a different uniform next season if someone is willing to swallow that contract or Texas is willing to eat some of it. (Honorable Mention: Nomar Garciapparra, Miguel Tejada, Derek Jeter) NL: Edgar Renteria, Cardinals. Great season for Renteria batting .330 and driving in 100 runs. On a team decimated by injuries, he stayed in there and had almost 200 hits this season while walking more than he struck out. (Honorable Mention: Rafael Furcal) Advantage: AL THIRD BASE: AL: Eric Chavez, A's. Not as great as he's been in the past, but another really good season for Chavez. Helped lead Oakland again to the playoffs, though his weak performance there really left them helpless in the last three games against Boston. Nevertheless, he is the best third baseman in the AL this year and now, and with Tejada seemingly gone, the most important offensive player on the A's. (Honorable Mention: Hank Blalock-especially for his home run in the All Star Game and Bill Mueller) NL: Scott Rolen, Cardinals and Mike Lowell, Marlins. This race was so close, that if Mike Lowell hadn't broken his wrist at the end of the season, he would probably have won it. But regardless, these two players had an unbelievable year for their respective teams. Rolen and Renteria made up on the best left sides of any infield in the majors and Mike Lowell was the leader of that Marlin team until he went down. (Honorable Mention: Aramis Ramriez and Morgan Ensberg) Advantage: NL
(10/31/03 5:00am)
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of listening to an educated, intelligent and well-respected man speak about modern society. I was excited at the beginning of the talk when he called for people to wake up to reality and realize how much we have advanced. But a sudden change in rhetoric slapped me squarely in the face. I sat up in my chair, shocked at what I was hearing. This man, who I thought was going to speak about society's progression to a better existence, instead fell into the badly beaten rut of condemning our generation.This man was neither subtle nor creative. He spoke about the gruesome violence on television, today's horrible video games, the foul language used in music, the revealing clothes today's youth wear - he went down the list of any and every issue people have ever had with our generation. As he continued to rant, I became increasingly frustrated with what I was hearing. I could feel the respect draining from my body as I listened to him more. How someone could be so blind boggled my mind.I do not believe that our society is perfect and I am not claiming that we do not live in troubled times; society could stand many improvements. At the same time, I feel it is very easy for people to condemn everything they see because their minds are locked by stagnant values. One can listen to the music on the radio and discount it all as garbage - a deluge of curse words, slang and sexual references. Ignoring the fact that only a small portion of music falls into such a category, it's important to realize something greater: The fact that such music exists is a tribute to how much our society has progressed. Freedom of speech has empowered people who had no previous way to express themselves. More importantly, the fact that it is acceptable to discuss such issues in public forums (such as music) is an indication that society has advanced, not receded. If anything, such progress should be promoted and fostered, not quieted and condemned.The issue arises when one is unable to thresh the chaff from the grain. Such people take an issue, beat it to the ground and throw out everything, both the good and the bad. Because they were raised on "old fashion, American values," they assume anything other than meatloaf, potatoes and "Leave it to Beaver" is proof of society's decay.This terrifies me. I'm afraid because society is not meant to stagnate, rather it is meant to develop, branch and blossom. Sometimes it yields delicious fruit; other times, we are left with withered husks. But it is impossible to order values to halt and to command civilization to remain constant. Humanity cannot be held at the status quo. Our task is to, as objectively as possible, evaluate where we now stand. We must look at how we've changed both for better and for worse. It is too easy to respond with the knee-jerk reaction and lash out against a group with which we can't identify. We see a group as alien, so we pigeonhole it, stereotyping it to fit preconceived images and notions. It is this automated response against which we must struggle. We have the daunting task of showing the world that their first impressions are incorrect. This is not an easy task, and perhaps that's why I was so frustrated with the speaker. We were not given the benefit of the doubt. In his speech, all people between the ages of 15 and 25 were delinquents contributing to society's decline. I understand, however, that it is human nature to lump people together. I can forgive the systematism of our peer group. It was his solution that sent me over the edge.The speaker called for parents to, "take a stand to their kids," and not to be afraid to say "no." While I agree this is good parenting advice, I am pained that this is his answer to society's faults. I agree that parents' roles are to impart to their children knowledge and values. But the values a parent professes should be solid ones, ones that are grounded on strong principles and beliefs. If a parent truly believes that societal standards are wrong, then I understand why a parent would want to impart those values onto a child. But if a parent also values other ideals, such as liberty, individuality, free thought or self-determination, then I would strongly advise the parent to imbue those principles instead. Teach your children morals; show them what's right and wrong, how to live decently and be a good person. But then realize that they are at that age where they are nearly adults. Soon the parents won't have any control over their children, and the child will only have his wits and knowledge to save him in the real world. The child would be far better suited if he could think for himself and make good decisions than if he can only recall what is permissible and what is taboo. The answer is not harsher judgment, not swifter consequence, but stronger, better reason.
(10/21/03 4:00am)
As Aaron Boone's pennant-winning home run sailed towards the left-field seats and the thunderous applause of the ecstatic Yankee Stadium patrons echoed in the collective psyche of Red Sox Nation, a recurring theme reared its ugly head. Some things just aren't meant to be. Good child actors, romantic comedies without Hugh Grant, delectable airline cuisine, a realistic episode of "Boston Public," talented boy bands, a Jehuda sighting on campus and a crucial Sox victory over the Pinstripes. As much as Boston baseball die-hards seem to revel in their oft-spoken "Wait 'til next year" mantra, you got the feeling that this year's team struck an even deeper emotional chord with the Beantown faithful. During this postseason, the breaks seemed to be going their way; from Jason Varitek's savvy block of home plate during Game Three of the Division Series that prevented Eric Byrnes from scoring a decisive run to Grady Little's decision to thrust Derek Lowe back into the role of closer to clinch Game Five, the Red Sox looked more and more like a team of destiny. But, as the BoSox have come to know so well, destiny can often be trampled by a freight train known as the New York Yankees. After the Red Sox dropped two of three at home versus New York in the ALCS, things looked bleak. But Boston bats were injected with some vigor in Game Six, and Trot Nixon's ninth-inning bomb off Jose Contreras sealed a much-anticipated Game Seven pitching duel. It was Boston past against the present, and possibly future, without the mind-boggling theatrics of Game Three at Fenway. You could almost feel a wave of relief and sheer bliss pulsating through New England as Nixon and the struggling Kevin Millar took Clemens deep, knocking the pitching legend from the game in the fourth inning. Joe Torre's quick hook for Clemens proved a harbinger of things to come and a wise decision, as Mike Mussina stopped the bleeding by escaping a potentially devastating pickle. When Pedro, who rarely exceeds the century mark in pitch count during his regular season starts, emerged from the Boston dugout to start the eighth, an alarm must have gone off inside the head of every anxious Sox fan. After retiring the first batter he faced in the bottom of the eighth, Martinez tried to gas Derek Jeter with a two-strike fastball up and away. Jeter took the pitch the other way for a double. With the Red Sox bullpen getting ready, Bernie Williams laced a single to center that plated Jeter to pull New York within two. In a moment that will be remembered in the same light as Bill Buckner and Bucky Dent by unforgiving Sox fans, Grady Little then ventured out to the mound to talk with his ace. "He asked me if I had any bullets in my tank," Pedro recalled. "I said I had enough." Apparently not. Hideki Matsui, Japan's "Godzilla" who hasn't lived up to his power-hitting reputation, drove another two-strike fastball down the right field line for a ground-rule double. Yankee catcher Jorge Posada, who engaged in a verbal taunting match with Pedro at Fenway, proceeded to dunk a bloop hit into center that scored two and knotted the game at five apiece. Little removed Pedro with his pitch count at a staggering 123. After Mariano Rivera's dominant relief pitching and Boone's long-ball had given the Yankees their 39th pennant, press postmortem's vilified Little as if he had thrown the eleventh-inning gopher ball. "Grady Little went with his slender, somewhat fragile ace who has won 166 games in the regular season," New York Times columnist George Vecsey wrote. "It was a decision based more on loyalty and emotion than logic." "The Red Sox would lose later," Vecsey continued, "because the Yankees had Mariano Rivera and the Red Sox do not. But this game will always be remembered in New England for Little letting Martinez stay in the game." Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who more than any other local scribe tends to tackle Boston-area sports with a hardnosed attitude that reflects the sentiment of the everyday fan, wants Little ousted. "Grady Little's own heart overruled his head," he wrote in an Oct. 18 column, "and as a result, he has certainly managed his last game for the Red Sox." "As for asking Pedro whether he wished to continue," Ryan adds, "who was Grady kidding. Every great pitcher, from Hoss Radbourn to Cy Young to Grover Cleveland Alexander to Bob Feller to Bob Gibson to Roger Clemens to, yes, Pedro Martinez, wants to stay in. The manager's job in this matter is to be the Bad Cop." Ryan, who goes on to say that Martinez has been given the "Ming vase treatment" by Little and Sox management for the past three seasons, also blames Little for not having a dependable support system with him on the bench. "If Joe Torre were even considering such a thing," he writes, "you can be assured that pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, a trusted associate of long standing, would have been very happy to give Joe a metaphorical slap in the face and say, 'Joe, no! Get him out!'" Ryan believes that Little has "become the managerial Bill Buckner" and says that Sox owners Larry Lucchino and John Henry, two "very PR- and image-conscious" executives, don't want "to be known as the complete fools who didn't know enough to get rid of the man perceived by an entire sports-loving nation to be the Village Idiot." Contaced by the Boston Globe for his thoughts on the latest Red Sox debacle, Henry - who actually owned the Marlins at one point - refused to discuss Little's future with the club.Instead, he focused on the positive outlook over Boston fans."Initially, I thought New Englanders would just finally throw up their hands," Henry said. "But their level of commitment and resolve is astonishing and deserves our full attention to moving this franchise forward without a break."Even worse, says Ryan, New Englander's now have to "stomach a World Series that pit's the Evil Empire against the Clueless Sun Worshippers." He's referring to the fans of the Yankees and Marlins, of course, not the teams themselves. In Chicago, where Cubs fans have endured a World Series draught that should make Sox fans feel like perennial winners, they've found their own sacrificial lamb in Steve Bartman. The 26-year-old Bartman, if you haven't heard, was the Cub fan who reached over a wall down the left field line at Wrigley during Game Six of the NLDS and deflected a foul ball that appeared headed for the glove of Moises Alou. Bartman's ill-advised play on the ball happened with the Cubs five outs from their first Series appearance since 1945. They lost that game 8-3 after a furious Marlins rally and fell 9-6 in a wild series finale. Bartman, a youth baseball coach who has had to request a police presence outside the suburban home he shares with his parents, was actually offered asylum by Florida Governor Jeb Bush. He even released a statement to the press apologizing for his actions. "To Moises Alou, the Chicago Cubs organization, Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, and Cub fans everywhere I am so truly sorry from the bottom of this Cubs fan's broken heart." Adding insult to injury, Bartman was ridiculed on David Letterman's "Late Show" on CBS on Friday. Letterman's Top-Ten was a list of fake phone messages left on Bartman's answering machine. They included "You owe me $7.50 for the beer I threw at you," "Hey it's Don Zimmer, thanks for taking the heat off me" and "Hey, it's Rush Limbaugh, give me a buzz if you need something to take the edge off." Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti recently wrote a column titled, "A double curse just makes things worse," in which he laments the historic blunders of both franchises. "Just as Cubdom added another surreal twist to its torturous history," he writes, "so did the Red Sox. In Chicago, paralyzed Chicago, we've added the Curse of the Ball Snatcher to the Curse of the Billy Goat. In Boston, sick Boston, they've added the stubbornness of Pedro Martinez to the Curse of the Bambino." "Red Sox people," Mariotti continues, "like to claim they've lived a deeper sort of hell, but that isn't true, not when they've come within a victory of a world championship in 1986, 1975 and 1967." Maybe things will work out next year, huh?
(10/21/03 4:00am)
When was the last time you sat down and watched a cartoon? Was "The Bugs and Daffy Show" a staple of Saturday mornings? Was your little brother or sister taking over the remote? Or maybe you were watching "Saturday Night Live" a couple weeks ago. Or maybe it's none of those. If you ask most college students, more and more of them are answering, "Last night. Why?"Cartoon Network, Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live are all forerunners in the newest, greatest animated craze: cartoons for adults. No more skipping through pretty fields or chasing roadrunners off cliffs. This is the newest most cutting edge animation, featuring some of the most sarcastic and scathing humor on television. Pioneered by the likes of "Beavis and Butthead" and "Ren and Stimpy," these "primetime cartoons," as they are called, are now all over cable TV. They are unbelievably rude, sometimes repulsive and never politically correct.They are also pee-your-pants hilarious. Varying in animation style, and even in geographic origin, these 'toons are more intelligent and more observant than most current television shows.But before we wallow in the present, we must first look back into the past. When "Ren and Stimpy" was first broadcast on MTV and Nickelodeon in 1990, people went insane - and I mean that almost literally. My parents were thoroughly grossed out ... and so was I. I never stomached an entire episode of "Ren and Stimpy." The boys I knew liked it because it was gross; they didn't get it either. The show was actually a quite brilliant satire of both modern living and of cartoons themselves, and creator John Kricfalusi was the first animator to draw such disgusting subject matter in such perfect detail. His mix of simple, yet elegant, animation during times of great motion punctuated with incredibly detailed (and incredibly gross) still shots continue to influence animators at this very moment. While "Ren and Stimpy" went for gross-out shock value on Nickelodeon, Mike Judge was gathering together every idiotic and politically incorrect bone in his body to create "Beavis and Butthead." Premiering on MTV's "Liquid Television," and running from 1993 to 1996, these morons made terrible comments about everyone around them, called musicians and their videos stupid and spawned endless imitations. They even made their own movie, "Beavis and Butthead Do America," and faced a lawsuit in 1993 about the content of the cartoon. But most importantly, they broke down the doors of Political Correctness that had taken over most of television. Beavis and Butthead were unabashedly uneducated, utterly rude and totally focused on sex. Parents were absolutely appalled, and children were absolutely enthralled. "Liquid Television," which started running in 1991, also introduced the world to "Aeon Flux," a Japanese cartoon that - along with "Sailor Moon" - began the wave of anime which would hit the United States. Currently, half of the shows aired on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" are anime programs - and that doesn't count the endless reruns of "Pokemon" and "Dragonball Z" that are featured during the daylight hours. "Aeon Flux" also ushered in an era of extreme violence and bizarre sexuality in cartoons. People got their legs cut off, or were killed in graphic ways, while Aeon was busy seducing the males around her with a mix between the sexy and the grotesque.While most shows on "Liquid Television" were products of pseudo-intellectualism and really trying to make a statement about the world and the advancement of animation as an art form, the new wave of cartoons for adults are out for one thing: to make you laugh, by any means possible. The animation world has been revolutionized once again by the likes of "South Park," "Space Ghost, Coast to Coast," "Aqua Teen Hunger Squad," "Sealab 2021" and "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." Two of the most influential of these cartoons aren't even on Cartoon Network. "South Park" is not only one of the funniest cartoons to come out in the past five years, but is also now a permanent part of the American lexicon. If you heard anyone say "They killed Kenny!" or try to imitate Cartman, there would be no doubt in your mind what they were talking about. This crudely drawn and utterly rude show has taken over. Their movie, "Bigger, Longer and Uncut" was a smash at the box office. They've also managed to make fun of or bash just about every type of person in America without really pissing any of the groups off. Sure, parents complained about the language being used, but they could barely get their reasoning out between their giggles. How do they do it? They're just funny. The show is simply hilarious every single time."The Ambiguously Gay Duo" and Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" run in the same vein of offensiveness. The former, a mainstay of "Saturday Night Live," has managed to make fun of every homosexual stereotype and expectation while leaving viewers in uproarious laughter instead of uproarious protest. The latter is a new show that is featured on "Adult Swim" and is one of the funniest and most offensive pieces of animation on television today. Following talking and, er, floating fast food (Frylock, a container of fries; Meatwad, an uncooked wad of meat; and Master Shake, the biggest asshole you've ever met in the form of a milkshake) through their every day lives, it's hard not to be overcome with laughter as they piss off their neighbor and try to keep themselves amused.If you're looking for something funny but not so aggressive, you can check out "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," a cartoon talk show that interviews real people with 60's cartoon action hero Space Ghost as its utterly inept host. Add in a couple other hilarious characters and interviews where the stars seem completely unsure of what is going on, and you've got yourself an easy half-hour of laughs. Or "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law" where a washed up superhero busies himself representing other cartoons that are being sued, or are suing each other. Girls have started to flock to the "Powerpuff Girls" as a source of inspiration, and "Samurai Jack" is a new action cartoon that actually delivers action, with a pop culture edge.Cartoons have been dismissed for years as something just for kids, but the tides are slowly turning. Political satire, reactionary commentary and rebellion against stereotypes are the new subject matter that is being expressed so subtly underneath the humor and shock-value of these cartoons. The world of animation is no longer being relegated to a Saturday morning distraction, nor should it be; it's an art form - one that is extremely hard to master - that, when paired with intelligent content, is just as legitimate and informative as any news commentary program. And a lot funnier, besides.
(10/21/03 4:00am)
Loveless'Gift to the World'On Q Division Records Grade: B+Loveless, consisting of members Dave Wanamaker (lead vocals and guitar), Jen Trynin (vocals and guitar), Peter Armata (bass) and Tom Polce (drums), will release its debut album, "Gift to the World," on Nov. 11. What can be expected from this fledgling band? The songs are solid, the lyrics are good and the instrumentals have a head-bopping beat.The band was formed when Wanamaker,previously the lead guitarist for the hard rock band Expanding Man, and former bandmate Armata teamed up with Polce and Trynin, a solo artist formerly on the Warner Brothers label. The band, based out of Boston, is a refreshing addition to the local talent. Each band member has his or her own past experience to add to the sound of Loveless, which is promising. The critics' description of Loveless' sound as American guitar rock and Britpop is accurate. They have a bit of that poppy, happy sound that is associated with Britpop, but their sound definitely has an edge containing much harder guitar than you would normally find in Britpop.At first listen, Loveless does not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Its sound is not exactly new and the songs sound vaguely familiar. However, it has its positive aspects. Wanamaker and Trynin are great on the guitar and their music grows on you. With repeated listening I began to like it more and more. Most of the lyrics are also about a familiar topic - love. Despite the cliche, the lyrics are not boring and they have a unique edge. In some songs, for example in "Cold," you can practically hear the pain.The first two songs on the album, "Go" and "Gift to the World," are fast-paced with a harder edge to them. If you like the Foo Fighters, you will probably enjoy these songs because they are reminiscent of that band's style. Just like the Foo Fighters' songs, the tracks begin with a build up of instrumental throughout the whole song and then an explosion and screaming at the end. The next three songs, "You Wore Me Out," "Beautiful" and "Cold," are much more mellow. In these songs, you can almost hear Wanamaker's sense of longing for whomever he is writing about and how he wants her back. "You Wore Me Out" is the transition from the first two songs on the album to the next two, because while it is not as hard as the first two songs, it is still a little more upbeat than the melancholy sound of "Beautiful" and "Cold."The next set of three songs, "Stick to the Girl," "This Is A Way" and "Darling Would You," have a psychedelic feel. Wanamaker's voice, which always has a bit of a haunting quality, gets much more mysterious. Trynin's backup vocals - also a little bit haunting - sound even more ghostlike in this set of songs. While these songs are mellow, they have a little kick to them and a bit of the psychedelic, spacey guitar sound.The last two songs "Suicide Machines" and "She Could Be Something Good" pick up the pace again and get more edgy but also have more of a catchy beat. The last song, "She Could Be Something Good," has more of an acoustic sound to it. While not completely acoustic, it is reminiscent of recent acoustic artists with temporary back-up bands. It sounds a little like John Mayer, only better, and it is an appropriate final track for the album.Overall, Loveless' release is a very solid and promising debut album. There is a lot of hype around this album in the music world, and more good things are expected to come from them in the future. If you like rock, you'll like Loveless. Another great advantage to Loveless is that being from Boston, they play local venues. They have often played at the Lizard Lounge in Harvard Square, so if you are too impatient to wait for the CD to be released you can try to hear their music live. Be sure to watch out for this talented new band.
(10/14/03 4:00am)
Hey there sports fans, it's that time of the year when the stars are in alignment. I am, of course, referring to the valiant campaigns waged by noted intellectual Gary Coleman and Christian values advocate / porn star Mary Carey in their battle against the disturbing Leviathan that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. With Arnold in command, we can be assured of years of prosperity for California, knowing full well that the state will flourish under the reigns of a man who has played Hercules, Conan and Mr. Freeze. God Bless America.What does this have to do with sports, you ask? I am getting there, so bear with me. Gary Coleman is a skilled thespian: anyone who has seen him at work knows that he puts Emmanuel Lewis to shame in the category of African-American dwarf actors. Similarly, Mary Carey is skilled at what she does as well, and I think many people reading this know what I am talking about, though they might not admit it. Even Arnold is the go-to guy when it comes to bodybuilding or Austrian actors who mangle English much the same way Aramark mangles our cuisine. However, no member of this triumvirate of mediocrity has any business flapping their gums on the subject of politics, yet a state was willing to put one of these apparitions of adequacy in charge.Just the other day, I was walking down the area between Usdan and the Library, (a section of campus Joseph Shmulewitz affectionately calls "Lung Cancer Alley," for all the international students who tar up their organs there), when I heard two people engaged in conversation. One chap said to the other, in a voice full of confidence - as if he had the book given to Marty McFly's arch nemesis in Back to the Future 2 - "I will give the Yankees Game 1, I admit they will take it, but we will come back and take the next four and win it." The other fellow, in clear agreement with the first, replied, "Yeah, I agree with you 100%. It is, without a doubt, the year we put 1918 to rest." When they proceeded to discuss the most intricate details of the Red Sox it became clear that these "fans," (fans only in the literal sense of the word "fanatic," as their supposed devotion is, in no way, grounded in fact or knowledge) could barely name five members of the team they were so staunchly defending. Here were two students, and these two students, nameless to me, could be any of scores of dozens of students on this campus who carry themselves in the same way, who couldn't tell me who Bill Mueller or David Ortiz were. It is not just that isolated incident either. Last week, with the Red Sox facing a potential sweep at the hand of Billy Beane's A's, the Sox were able to just barely pull out a victory. Of course, this sent Sox fans off the handle. There was looting and rioting everywhere in New England. In my quad alone, when the win was sealed, there was a collective din such as would befit a cataclysmic earthquake. It was not life or death that was thrown to the stage, but rather simply not losing. Yankee fans celebrate winning, if at all. Often, they do not even celebrate winning, for they have an entitlement complex of sorts. Red Sox fans, who worship a franchise with one of the highest winning percentages in all of organized athletics, exalt a team that simply did not go down in spectacular defeat. In Boston, and, by extension, Brandeis, we are seeing the celebration of the mundane. Some see the Sox rallying from the brink as evidence that this is their year; much in the same way that Carlton Fisk's homer in Game 6 in 1975 was proof that the Sox would take it, proof that was soon shot down with Boston's loss in Game 7. The fact that the Sox made the ALCS this year is not evidence of supernatural forces at play. This is simple evidence of a slightly superior team, the Sox, edging out a slightly inferior team, the A's. If it had gone the other way, it would just mean that the worse team had pulled it out, as often happens.Look at it this way: For all the pomp and circumstance, what does this series really signify? This series is not a chance for introspection. It is not evident of a team that has simply not won since 1918, even though they have almost always put a strong team out on the field. Whoever wins this series wins it, sometimes the better team doesn't win, and sometimes it does. These two teams happen to be evenly matched, so let's just enjoy the games for what they are, and let us not try to make them what they are not, for we may never get to see such baseball again in our lives, and we will certainly never hear Joe Torre confuse "waste of flesh" Karim Garcia with golf sensation Sergio Garcia ever again. I do hear that Zimmer wants another chance at Pedro again. In that battle, my money would go on Zim and his metal plate.
(09/23/03 4:00am)
The people of Sweden have officially declared that they want no part in the single European currency. On September 15, just two days after the brutal stabbing of beloved pro-euro Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, Sweden voted with a decisive 56 to 42 percent majority that they prefer not to adopt the euro. As the search continues for Lindh's killer, anti-euro enthusiasts in countries like Britain and Denmark celebrate a considerable victory, and the disappointed Swedish government sheepishly puts away its pro-euro plans for the time being.In the case of Sweden, a 15 percent win on the side of the "no-to-the-euro" believers came as an unpleasant surprise to its ruling party. A fervent EU advocate, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson had campaigned hard for a Yes vote to show his country's dedication to the European project. Ministers were hopeful that shock over the death of Sweden's best loved politician would inspire sympathy for her cause, but Swedes proved their anti-euro conviction to be so strong that it remained unaffected by the tragedy.What is it about this concept of a single European currency that has grasped the time and energy of parliaments, analysts and the media for over a decade and that is so seemingly irresolvable? The three remaining countries left in the EU who have not adopted the Euro, Sweden, Britain and Denmark, admit to be stalemated in an uncomfortable limbo between the positives and negatives of a United Europe. Part of what makes the decision so impossible is that the answer depends upon a complicated clutter of factors that are not only economically difficult to predict, but that also challenge mindsets deeply rooted in the people's ideology. The basis of the economic pro-euro argument is trade. In the case of Sweden, it was a chance for this large, confident country to fully establish itself as a trading nation and reap the benefits of a common exchange rate with its neighbors. There is no doubt that big business would gain the most from a single currency; as Sir Richard Branson, business tycoon of the Virgin Group said, "Having a separate currency from the consumers and competitors of our largest market is a big barrier to success." The Left argues that this in itself is one of the greatest evils of the euro; as Caroline Lucas, writer for the Guardian Newspaper points out, "joining the euro...represents a shift in power from democratic institutions to the unaccountable European Central Bank and its corporate bedfellows...it furthers corporate globalization and entrenches its goals." Lack of freedom and loss of sovereignty is one of the most powerful anti-euro arguments - although many recognize that a close alliance with Europe would be politically useful, citizens are terrified of giving up what they feel is their crucial national identity. The people of Britain, who historically have been more isolated politically and geographically from the European continent, are especially absorbed by this concern. Grassroots anti-euro activists, often referred to as "little Englanders," argue that adopting the euro would weaken Britain's competitive edge and drive a stake through its cultural identity and sovereignty. As Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party said, "Should we continue to run our economic affairs or be managed by people in Brussels?" The question has so far been left unanswered. Although the people of Britain, Sweden and Denmark are becoming frustrated with the "all talk and no trousers" approach of their leaders as to the exact timing of what is currently assumed to be an inevitable merge with Europe, the Swedish vote shows that when asked directly, a sense of national identity is ultimately more compelling than promises of economic prosperity. The results may have disappointed many, but it serves as a reminder of the power of the people.
(09/23/03 4:00am)
It is unacceptable that the person who received the most votes in the primary election - almost 33 percent more than any nearest candidate - in the Class of 2007 will not represent them in the Union Senate. Jenny Feinberg '07 was disqualified by the election commissioners for violating two ill-conceived election rules which forbid candidates from both having a link in AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) away messages directly to the voting Web page and putting up an away message requesting readers to vote for a candidate the day of election.Election rules such as these are arbitrary and difficult to enforce. They work not to further democracy within the Student Union, but to suppress eager candidates whose only transgression is a desire to serve their constituents. The rules were originally designed to ensure "clean" and fair elections. However, all they ensure is that voters get disenfranchised should the candidate they support get disqualified from the election due to overzealousness of both the election commissioners and the election rules. As it stands, recent elections are decided by the election commissioners - a group of five people who can overturn the will of over 200 voters, reminding one of the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.While the rules should prevent candidates from spending money to gain an unfair edge, like giving free candy to supporters, they should not prevent candidates from using their First Amendment rights in spreading their messages. Currently, these rules do not ensure fair elections, but foster an atmosphere of ambiguity and distrust in the Union. These regulations are so stifling that they even ban candidates from reminding their friends to vote during elections.The purpose of the original rule - put into effect when elections still took place in Usdan - was to prevent students from being harassed by the candidates or their supporters. Now, the rule has evolved into forbidding campaigning of any form on Election Day to ensure no candidate gets an unfair advantage. The election rules also make a distinction between active and passive campaigning. It is absurd that placing an away message during elections is considered active campaigning, since people have to take "affirmative action," according to the Student Union, to check an away message and find out if a person is running. It is unfortunate that the rules are so vague, as each first-year candidate has admitted or has been reported to violate one or more of the election rules. However, since not all of them are on the election commissioners' buddy lists - as was Feinberg - they were not disqualified. Such enforcement of the rules is both arbitrary and ridiculous.Additionally, two of Feinberg's opponents have come to her aid, offering to file a Union Judiciary case on her behalf. This speaks volumes about the injustice of this case, since two people who could benefit from her disqualification believe it is unfair and want her to represent the class of 2007. It should not be up to a group of five people to overturn the will of an entire class. It is paramount that the election rules be reconsidered for any future elections and reworked to foster an atmosphere of democracy. We hope that the rules are re-evaluated to allow the representative system to prevail and that the UJ puts a stop to such outrageous rules and reinstates Feinberg into the class of 2007 election. This was an unfortunate introduction to student politics for the class of 2007.
(09/23/03 4:00am)
There are only a handful of bands that can accept credit as being pioneers for the sound of alternative rock in the 90s. As one of the most influential and underground bands of the late 80's and early 90's, the Pixies are a group that can stake a real claim to that credit. Their truly unique and revolutionary music laid the groundwork for the folowing grunge revolution, giving bands like Nirvana a touchstone to work from. Their influence remains as strong today as it was then. There's even a Dandy Warhols song that serves as a tribute to bassist Kim Deal, appropriately titled "As Cool As Kim Deal." The band suffered a messy and angry break up in 1992 after the release of their final album, "Trompe le Monde," leaving a gap in the world of alternative music that hasn't been filled. Lead singer, Black Francis, continued on to change his name and start a new band called Frank Black and the Catholics, and bassist Kim Deal moved on to work with the Breeders. But the explosive energy of the Pixies and their music has never been matched by any of their members' solo work, no matter how popular they grew. After ten years of fighting and jamming and toying with the idea of working together again, it seems like a Pixie reunion is finally going to happen. A spokesman for the band recently announced to MTV News that the original Pixies are planning on reuniting for a tour in April of 2004. If the tour goes well, the spokesman said, the Pixies may record a studio album later next year.The Pixies formed in Boston in 1986 when singer/guitarist Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kittenridge Thompson,) began to play with guitarist Joey Santiago. As they began to write more songs, they put out an ad for a "bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary." Kim Deal answered their quirky endorsement and the pair was impressed by her musical skills, both playing and writing. Deal was, at the time, still part of an early incarnation of the Breeders, the band she had started with her twin sister Kelley. But the Breeders slowly ground to a halt and went on hiatus. Deal also provided the Pixies with drummer David Lovering, who had been a guest at her wedding. After several months of writing and rehearsal, the Pixies embarked on their first tour with fellow Bostonians, Throwing Muses. Throwing Muses were signed to British label 4AD at the time, and their manager took notice of the Pixies obvious talent. He passed along their 18 recorded demo tracks to the head of the label, who snatched them up immediately. Eager to get the Pixies out to the public, 4AD selected eight of the best tracks off the demo, and released the "Come On Pilgrim" EP in 1987. "Come On Pilgrim" generated enough buzz for 4AD to put a rush on the Pixie's first full-length studio album. The label enlisted famed producer Steve Albini to work on the album. A few months later, "Surfer Rosa" hit the shelves. While the album wasn't a universal hit, it quickly became an indie classic. "Surfer Rosa" contained the first Pixies classic, "Gigantic," which would often be mentioned as an influence by bands to come. The song, written by Deal, was praised as "catchy brilliance" by Rolling Stone and other music magazines. It unknowingly planted one of the seeds of discontent that would eventually tear the band apart. "Surfer Rosa" also features "Where Is My Mind?," a song that would later be immortalized by the movie "Fight Club." To this day, "Surfer Rosa" remains as the Pixies' most under-appreciated album, often looked over by new fans in favor of their sophomore release, "Doolittle.""Doolittle" was and is a groundbreaking album in the world of alternative rock. Released in 1989, when hair metal ran rampant and the only alternative was the sugary sweet pop being plastered all over MTV, "Doolittle" blew critics and fans away. Rolling Stone said that it "laid the groundwork for Nineties rock. Nirvana adopted the Pixies use of quiet, mumbled verses and loud, crashing choruses, Courtney Love aped their banshee wails, and Beck drew inspiration from their catalog of surrealistic lyrics." "Doolittle" yielded the Pixies' biggest hit, "Here Comes Your Man," which is irresistibly upbeat and catchy. Francis and Deal collaborate on the infectious vocals, which are both poppy and sultry at the same time. The album broke the Pixies into the mainstream, finally allowing the raw emotion of punk to be heard by a large audience. The band spent the year after "Doolittle" touring the globe. Exhausted after that stint, they separated for some vacation time. While Santiago, Lovering and Francis traveled to the Grand Canyon, Jamaica, and across America respectively, Kim Deal took the time off as an opportunity to hook up with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly and Perfect Disaster bassist Josephine Wiggs. She used her vacation time to record the songs she hadn't been allowed to introduce to the Pixies. During this period, Deal revived the Breeders with her new musical friends, and they recorded their debut album "Pod." The album was immediately a hit with the burgeoning alternative rock crowd, and encouraged Deal to pursue her own songs more fervently. The Pixies came together again in 1990 to record and release their third album, "Bossanova." Their newer work was distinctly darker than "Doolittle" was, partially because Deal and Francis began to fight over whose songs were recorded. The success of the Breeders had made Deal even more confident in her writing skills, but Francis wasn't about to give up the creative control he had garnered over the years. Their fighting made recording more difficult than it had ever been before, and it showed in the music. By the time the Pixies were recording "Trompe Le Monde" in 1991, the band members barely spoke to each other. They managed to hang on long enough to briefly tour with the album, but in 1992 rumors began circulating that they had called it quits. Several months later, Black Francis faxed a press release to his bandmates and the press to announce their breakup. The impersonal and dismissive nature of his decision further alienated Deal and Lovering, although Santiago - who began as Francis' personal friend- remained on good terms with the singer. Deal took the announcement especially badly, feeling personally insulted by the way Francis handled the affair. Her animosity towards him in the following years became almost as legendary as the music itself.Throughout the creation of "Bossanova" and "Trompe Le Monde," Deal had continued to record with the Breeders. Tanya Donnelly had left the band after "Pod" to pursue her own band, Belly, and Kelley Deal, Kim's twin, had rejoined the group. They released "Last Splash" which debuted the quirky classic "Cannonball." The Breeders broke up shortly after that, and Deal continued to play around with different bands during the 90s. Black Francis also branched out into his own solo project. He changed his name yet again, calling himself Frank Black, and began recording and touring as Frank Black and the Catholics. Santiago would join him as a guitarist with the Catholics on different occasions throughout while Lovering has opened for the band several times with his "Scientific Phenomenalist" act. Frank Black and the Catholics still record and tour to this day, and have a large following across the United States. It should not be a surprise that a lot of Pixie fans found themselves enjoying Black's solo work. As the years went on, the bad blood between the band members began to thin, and rumors started surfacing about a possible Pixies reunion. This past July, on London radio station XFM, Black discussed his thoughts and fears about the Pixies, saying, "I do dream about a Pixies reunion, I have to say. It's like those schoolboy dreams when you don't do your homework and you don't study for the test, but I'm at the gig and we're hanging out, but it's an utter failure and I don't know the songs, and hardly anyone turns up for the gig and people walk up. That's what I'm afraid of, that it'd be a big, big failure." When asked if, despite his fears, the Pixies might reunite, Black said, "We might. We do get together and have private jams together, but not for public consumption."Apparently he's gotten over his fears, because the public is about to have a lot of consume.The re-emergence of the Pixies now could have gigantic repercussions on the world of music. Music critics have spent the past few years searching for music with meaning again, often lamenting the presence of so many empty rock and metal bands. Marketing has taken over the music world, and musical evolution is now often overlooked in favor of profitability. With so much 'bling' being thrown around in the world of rock, it's hard to know where to turn for something of substance. Could the Pixies fill that void? Or is that too much to hope for? While their influence is still being felt deeply today, has their time passed? Or will they help to usher in a new era of rock like they did almost a decade ago? The answers to these questions won't be available until the tour in April, but we'll be sitting on the edge of our seats anyway.
(09/16/03 4:00am)
If ever there was a city outside Boston whose sports fans could legitimately claim that the gods of baseball had hurled an eternal curse their way, it is the faithful of Chicago. One need only spend a day in New England in late September to hear the shrill cries of wary Red Sox fans bracing for another collision with late-season catastrophe. While the spirits that gust off Lake Michigan and reverberate inside the walls of Wrigley and Comiskey Park offer no curse of the Bambino or Bucky Dent horror story, Buckner-esque misery has often befallen the Windy City. The Cubs, who occupy the trendy North Side, captured the hearts of Chicagoans by broadcasting the voice of announcer Harry Caray, the lovable play-by-play man who passed away in 1998 after spending 27 years in Chicago, 16 on the North Side. The White Sox don't have a historic stadium like Wrigley, which is a tourist attraction in itself, but they have had the city's most prolific performer over the past decade, "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas. The 1993 American League MVP is enjoying a renaissance season, hitting 40 home runs and driving in 94 runs. Chicago's two clubs share nothing if not prolonged agony. The Cubs and White Sox have gone a combined 179 seasons without a single championship. When the two franchises have had success, and we're talking success of the early 20th century variety, unprecedented events have taken America by storm. In 1906, the Cubs and White Sox both advanced to the World Series for the first and only North Side-South Side postseason encounter in major league history. That same year, 700 people perished in the tragic San Francisco earthquake. The Cubs, who have lost seven of the eight World Series they've reached, last captured a title in 1908, the year that another resident of the Midwest, Henry Ford, unveiled his first Model T automobile. The White Sox, who actually made a World Series appearance a relatively recent 45 years ago (in 1959), last won it all in 1917. Two years later, the reputation of the club was severely damaged during the infamous Black Sox scandal, which became the inspiration for a critically-acclaimed film titled "Eight Men Out." The movie, directed by John Sayles (the architect of films such as "Lone Star" and "Sunshine State"), starred John Cusack as Chicago third baseman Buck Weaver and D.B. Sweeney as disgraced outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. In 1919, a heavily favored White Sox team led by Weaver and Jackson fell to the upstart Cincinnati Reds five games to three in the World Series. An investigation spearheaded by new MLB commissioner "Judge" Kenesaw Mountain Landis found that eight Sox players had thrown the Series for payoffs from New York-based organized crime kingpin Arnold Rothstein. While the players were ultimately cleared by a grand jury, Landis banned them from organized baseball. Leftfielder Jackson, the infamous target of a young fan's famed "Say it ain't so!" refrain, owns the third-highest batting average (during eleven seasons with the Cleveland Indians and White Sox, he hit .356) in baseball history. His potential Hall of Fame candidacy is still the subject of much debate. While no controversy as disheartening as the Black Sox scandal has struck Chicago this summer, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the Cubs and Sox. On June 3, a media firestorm erupted after Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa's bat shattered in the first inning of a night game at Wrigley against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Umpire Tim McClelland ejected Sosa for corking his lumber. While Sosa claimed that he maintains a single corked bat to "put on a show for the fans" during batting practice, baseball pundits began to question the legitimacy of Sosa's astronomical career home run numbers. Sosa owns the most 60-homer seasons in MLB history, belting 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001. So the question arises: Had Sosa been unfairly aided not only by the bodybuilding supplements now commonplace in major league locker rooms (see Mark McGwire's admitted abuse of androstenedione), but also by a loaded bat? Ultimately, the six-time All-Star was suspended for seven games. Sosa, however, served his time and then quieted his critics with a dynamic surge from June 18 to the July 10 All-Star break. By employing a greater degree of selectivity at the plate, he maintained a .344 average, cracking 12 homers and driving in 23 runs. Baseball executives applauded Sosa's quick confession, and after 76 of his bats were tested (including five enshrined in Cooperstown) and came back clean of any foreign substances, all was forgiven. "I am convinced of the sincerity of Sosa's explanation and his contrition," baseball's chief operating officer Bob DuPuy said. "In my opinion, his candor and the promptness of his apology were exemplary." Just as the media was grudgingly forgiving Sosa, first-year Cubs manager Dusty Baker - who spent nine seasons in San Francisco and led the Giants to game seven of the 2002 World Series - made a few bizarre comments that thrust the fiery skipper into the limelight. Baker, an African-American, made some ill-advised remarks about the ability of minorities to excel athletically in high temperatures that would make John Rocker blush. "It's easier for most Latin guys and easier for most minority people to play in the heat," Baker said. "You don't find too many brothers in New Hampshire and Maine and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, right? We were brought over here for the heat, right? Isn't that history?" The rant didn't stop there. "Your skin color is more conducive to the heat than it is to the light-skinned people, right," Baker added. "You don't see brothers running around burnt and stuff, running around with white stuff on their ears and nose and stuff." Fortunately, said Chicago Magazine senior editor Marcia Froelke Coburn, Baker works in a city pretty tolerant of the wacky. "Chicagoans are used to freaks of nature," she writes. "Lake-effect snow; a mayor named Daley who flaunts flower power by blanketing the city with beautiful paintings; and, every 13 years, a summer plague of cicadas whose constant buzzing punctuates sultry nights." In an excerpt from that Sept. 12 New York Times Op-Ed piece, Froelke Coburn talked about this summer's baseball bonanza. "There are no cicadas this summer," she writes, "but since mid-summer the buzzing around town has been about the Cubs and the White Sox. Usually both teams, after a spring taunt, are long out of any pennant race by now. But this year an amazing reversal took place: after pitiable early seasons, our lovable losers morphed into contenders." From an organizational perspective, the Cubs and White Sox offer two distinct recipes for success. After owner Jerry Reinsdorf's White Sox struggled early this season, young General Manager Kenny Williams started dealing like he was working a Caesar's Palace casino. Looking to add some speed and versatility to the predominantly right-handed power core of Frank Thomas, Carlos Lee (30 homers) and Magglio Ordonez (27 homers), Williams dealt for the mysteriously dour Roberto Alomar, whose career has floundered since he left Cleveland in 2001. Outfielder Carl Everett, an immense talent wrapped in an even bigger enigma, was acquired from Texas. The White Sox pitching staff has been a stunning surprise. Off-season addition Bartolo Colon, whose struggle to shed weight got him a ticket out of Cleveland, has 14 wins and a solid 3.83 earned run average in over 200 innings pitched. The 30-year-old right-hander leads the A.L. with seven complete games. Journeyman right-hander Esteban Loaiza, inked as an afterthought for the $500,000 minimum, has won an incredible 19 games (2.73 ERA). The 31-year-old hurler can be counted on to get closers Billy Koch and Tom Gordon (eleven saves each) consistent work. The Cubs boast a pitching staff of homegrown talent that is unmatched. University of Southern California product Mark Prior (15-6), Texan Kerry Wood (12-11) and 23-year-old Carlos Zambrano (13-9) are a nucleus comparable to the oft-discussed Oakland trio of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder. Cubs fans are confident that their team (80-69) will outlast the Houston Astros and win the National League Central. White Sox loyalists are itching for their team (also 80-69) to put some distance between themselves and the second-place Minnesota Twins. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti is a Windy City fixture, so naturally he's a bit apprehensive. "Long the symbolic hub of baseball woe," he writes, "Chicago is the epicenter of a compelling, double-edged psychodrama." "Thing is, I'm not sure if America is marveling at us or giggling at us," Mariotti continues. "Here we are, an urban center of cosmopolitan flair and middle American sensibility, losing our minds while sweating out two above-average ball clubs that would be out of contention in any other division. The national angle isn't about triumph quite yet as much as anxiety and fear.
(09/02/03 4:00am)
This article is dedicated to the late great Wesley Willis, who died last week at the age of 40. He was one of the few unique musicians in recent memory, and his music will resonate with future generations. Consider this gem from the song "Arnold Schwarzenegger:" "I love your movies/I love you too/You are the best man that I have ever liked/You are my rich man/You are my millionaire." Shine on Wesley Willis, you crazy, crazy diamond.In actuality, the Willis song segues nicely into the topic that I wish to discuss in this article, that of Michael Lewis' dynamic book, "Moneyball." The book took the market by storm, making the New York Times best-seller list and garnering rave reviews. It has often been said that the star of "Moneyball" is Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. Though the book is supposedly a work of nonfiction, Lewis has created a fictional character named "Billy Beane" who happens to bear little resemblance to the actual Billy Beane.Lewis' Beane is a baseball genius. He can turn a community college into Harvard, a Grandma Moses into a Monet and Rosie O'Donnell into Jenna Jameson. He talks of a man who, with the assistance of underling Paul DePodesta, creates numerous tools that analyze performance in ways that give him an unbelievable edge in dollar-for-dollar talent acquisition. Lewis talks of Beane's calculation which estimates how a single additional point of on-base percentage is three times more valuable than a point of slugging percentage. Lewis talks of a Billy Beane who can fleece any GM, turning a Pinto into a Bentley. Lewis talks of a Beane who, despite a shoestring budget, was able to snag 13 of the 20 players he most wanted in the 2002 amateur draft. The truth is a lot less glamorous than Lewis' fawning suggestions.Billy Beane is not a statistical innovator. Paul DePodesta is not some magical number cruncher who enters data into a computer and comes out with baseball gold. The statistics extolled in "Moneyball" as being revolutionary are well behind the curve. Any casual, intelligent fan who strolls over to baseballprimer.com or baseballprospectus.com can see that what Lewis has Beane touting as genius is already pass. Granted, what Beane accepts on a statistical level is more than any other GM (with the possible exceptions of Red Sox executive Theo Epstein and the Blue Jays' JP Ricciardi), but that does not make him a genius. It just means that Beane is not a fool, because the GMs that ignore this data that can be freely had are utterly inept.Billy Beane does not successfully acquire on-base machines. The A's this season feature such sinkholes as Terrence Long, Jermaine Dye and Adam Piatt. Beane gave a $2 million contract to Chris Singleton, a player whose season walk totals entering 2002 were 20,22,35 and 21. That cannot be considered a serious effort to acquire on-base percentage. The A's do have a few players who can take a walk, notably lefty Erubiel Durazo and second baseman Mark Ellis, but it is not an exceptional number of on-base hounds such as would befit the description given in "Moneyball."It is undeniable that Beane is above average at acquiring players through multi-team trades. However, the misguided notion of Beane as some smooth operator is like saying that Dean Koontz is a serious writer. Beane generally gets what he wants without giving up very much to get it, which is the mark of a successful trade, but such is the case with 90% of all MLB transactions. It is rare that a trade seems so lopsided when it is made that it cannot be spun around to look like a good trade for either side. Beane has made a few deals that were perceived as one-sided, such as his acquisition of Carlos Pena prior to the 2002 season. However, he has also made a move that is beyond unpardonable, his trade of Jeremy Giambi for John Mabry when the A's got off to a slow start in 2002. This was, quite possibly, one of the most pointless trades in the past 50 years of the franchise.In the book, the move is shrugged off as simply a "rash reaction." Sorry, Billy, you don't get a pass simply because you are "Billy."As for the 2002 draft, Beane did do very well. He was able to draft several top prospects whose value had been significantly underrated, including Jeremy Brown. However, he was not working with the incredibly tight budget the book so adamantly suggests. Beane was only working with a few million less than all but the richest clubs. Furthermore, some of Beane's "must-picks" were not the uber-prospects Lewis made them out to be. Many of the players simply fell to Beane, and all he had to do was sign them. It was a combination of luck and competence, not demigod-like skill. Beane's belief in only drafting college players has also come under fire from statistical analysts who have shown the relative upside with high school players often outweighs their lack of seasoning, making it unwise to ignore them.I'm not saying that Beane is a bad GM, because he's pretty solid. But the media has to stop and recognize that "Moneyball" is, in so many ways, more fiction than fact. When you stop criticizing and start accepting, you enter a dangerous land of complacency. To quote once more from that sage Wesley Willis: "You are my favorite movie star/You are my big buddy/You are a low down rotten man/You are crazy like a lizard." What Willis means to say is that you cannot blur the line between fantasy and reality, between genius and serviceability, and between Billy Beane and G-d.
(09/02/03 4:00am)
Darjeeling is a busy tourist center in northeastern India along the Nepali-Chinese-Bhutanese border. Unlike the surrounding areas of American cities, which consist mostly of sprawling suburbs, Darjeeling offers no transition from the city to the rural farms that encircle it.My train to Darjeeling departed from a station in the midst of low-lying farms. It edged up to the top of the Plateau, where the city is located. Entering the city, the small two-lane highways passed into the town and became streets, and then the few streets became many, as more buildings and more people sprang out. Clusters of people wearing cane cloaks to protect themselves from the rain and sun while picking tealeaves disappeared, while shirts, pants and saris became more frequent. In the town's sprawl, I almost forgot about the villages on the bottom of the plateau centered around tea plantations.Nearing the town, people with brochures began soliciting for tours to nearby attractions. The air was neither clear nor crisp, but air in India seldom is. Among commotion that would make even the worst traffic back home look organized, several men meandered between the cars, trucks, jeeps (because this is the only place I have seen in my life where jeeps are truly necessary) and train tracks. These tour guides were pros at finding tourists. They went straight to cars with foreigners and dished out attractive tour packages.I was able to talk to some of the tour guides while I took a tour. I began to ask about the local economy, which is overwhelmingly dependent on tourism. One of the tour guides spoke of the loss of tea jobs, which forced many farmers to migrate to Darjeeling and other cities in the vicinity. This made me think of all the farmers I saw throughout the rural towns on my way to Darjeeling. In close-knit bands, they seemed cool, at ease and natural while they sifted through the tea bushes to find the newly grown leaves. Their activity was like taking breaths of air without thinking - spontaneous - even though it was hard work. There was some degree of dignity to their toiling. In comparison, I looked at my tour guides who spent their days scavenging for tourists.All around me, I saw expensive hotels and several tourist resorts under construction. Later on, I found out that losing your tea-picking job generally meant working in one of these resorts as a bellboy, janitor, or some other low-paying job.This loss of tea-picking jobs comes as a result of tea farms being consolidated into larger plantations. Signs proudly flaunting names like "Starbucks" and "Seattle's Best" were something of an encroachment. I realized that two things were happening here: The farmers were losing their jobs because family owned farms and small locally owned plantations were going under.But at the same time, tourists were fueling a growing "service sector" to the local economy. Unfortunately, it wasn't a service sector that created middle-class jobs. Instead, emerging shantytowns in corners of Darjeeling were trickling down the mountainside as the town grew, ruining the splendor of the countryside famous for its centuries of farming tea. This observation reminded me of a Marxian society. The economy was turning into owners and workers. The profitable enterprises were owned by outsiders, and the local farmers and villagers were forced to do something to sustain themselves. Sure there were more lucrative jobs, but those were few and far between.I was struck by the change occurring in the surrounding areas of Darjeeling and the town itself. It made me wonder what progress and modernization really are. What is the point of progress if it doesn't improve the livelihoods of the people - or can that even be referred to as progress?
(09/02/03 4:00am)
Last week's MTV Video Music Awards marked the 20th anniversary of what seems to have become the only award show that matters anymore in the music world. Face it, the Grammy's are a joke; a bizarre institution of old men who pick music that is either number one on TRL or by some band that was really famous and amazing in the 70s and has not been able to adapt to any of the changing music trends. Once they've confused their audience with the nominees, they then proceed to pick the most obscure artist in the category for the award, confusing their audience even more, and causing viewers to throw their clickers at the television in disgust and annoyance. And the American Music Awards are basically awards given to whomever is popular at the time. Similarly, the Billboard Music Awards is based entirely on charts and therefore based entirely on the hormones of 13-year-old girls. Besides, no one watches either of those shows anyway.So that leaves us with MTV's Video Music Awards, which began as an awards show truly apart, as it didn't really have anything to do with music and everything to do with videos. I mean, just look at its name: "video" before "music," as it is with everything at MTV these days. Mozart could probably come back from the dead - or Tu Pac for that matter - and write the musical masterpiece of the 21st century, but if it didn't have a good video, MTV wouldn't put it on the air. But what am I saying? Tu Pac was nominated for a VMA this year ... and he's been dead since 1996! But I think this year's returning host, Chris Rock, said it best about halfway through the show when he pointed out that MTV "doesn't even play music videos that much! It's all about the shows."Does that mean MTV is unqualified to continue on with the VMAs? I'm inclined to think so. It doesn't help that Nelly's perennial hit, "Hot in Herre," was nominated for yet another award. Didn't that song come out over a year ago? I swear, it's expiration date for a VMA has long gone. And while MTV did right by awarding Missy Elliot's "Work It" video both "Best Hip Hop Video" and "Video of The Year" honors, it took her 18 nominations to finally win! And we're talking about a woman who has made some of the most intense, eye-catching and innovative videos in the past five years. Jesus, even *NSYNC won a VMA before her. And the show, itself? Oh, the show itself. MTV, are you living under a rock? The Olsen Twins as presenters? Metallica as performers? You've got to be kidding me. "St. Anger" was one of the worst Metallica albums ever made, even according to hardcore Metallica fans. Besides, don't you guys remember that they have alienated every single person under the age of 35 because of their beef with Napster and the rest of the file sharing industry? Metallica is making my life miserable, and I really don't want to hear them close the show with a medley of their old songs. I guess it could have been worse, though; they could have closed with something off of "St. Anger." The performances were sub-par all night long, actually. The show opened with Britney Spears doing something even more controversial than stripping to her own music -she kissed Madonna. Well, actually, Christina Aguilera kissed Madonna, too, but no one seemed to care about that. Maybe she's just expected to be skanky at all times now. And while I'm sure MTV wanted you to believe that it was a purely spontaneous and unplanned moment, the fact that they were so prepared to cut to a close-up of Justin Timberlake's face exactly one nanosecond after the kiss began really ruined that concept. And for the record, he didn't look like he cared one way or another about his ex kissing the Queen of Pop. Christina Aguilera took the stage again to give a half-hearted performance of both her songs "Dirrty" and "Fighter." Her voice was actually surprisingly steady for someone doing that much dancing in a corset. Maybe if she learned how to make herself look like the pretty girl she is, and not like some Anna Nicole knock-off stripper, I could get behind her obvious vocal talents more. And Beyonc - who has apparently decided to only use her first name in her solo career, Oe la Cher and the aforementioned Madonna - gave a decent performance of some new song and her bumpin' hit "Crazy In Love" (complete with mad booty shaking and Jay-Z). Why she decided to enter the stage by hanging upside down in a very misguided harem outfit, however, is beyond me. But Coldplay hit the spot with their stripped-down performance of "The Scientist." Well, actually, it wasn't stripped down at all: it was exactly what you would get if you saw Coldplay in concert. That is, to say, no crazy dancers, no insane lights or pyrotechnics, just a band, a piano and a really good song. I doubt any of the rising pop divas will take notice, but "The Scientist" got a warmer reception that most of the other performances, whereas the audience seemed only to be applauding the effort the artists put into their stage shows. Maybe Coldplay will set a trend in VMA performances of the future - one involving concentrating on your music, not your outfit. Sometime, about 20 years back, the VMAs were cutting edge. Hell, everything about MTV was cutting edge back in 1983. But it's been the same routine for 20 years now, and the only thing that changes is the amount of skin shown on stage and on the red carpet. Chris Rock mentioned that at its age, MTV should start watching VH1. The dig, obviously a joke, rings with brutal truth, like most of Rock's comedy. What MTV is doing is getting old, and people are starting to take notice. They've become a channel that tries too hard to stay too young. Maybe 20 years will mark a point where MTV lets go of its teenybopper youth and begins to mature a little bit. But I probably shouldn't get my hopes up, should I?
(05/20/03 4:00am)
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(04/29/03 4:00am)
Boston's premier cold-weather concert venue, The Orpheum, played host to a two-night stand of one of hottest and most popular southern rock jam-band institutions, Widespread Panic. Hailing from Georgia and exhibiting heavy percussion throughout the night in both their acoustic and electric sets, it is appropriate to compare these guys musically to the Allman Brothers Band without the dueling guitars. Formed in 1985, Widespread Panic has been amassing a huge touring fanbase ever since. Tragedy struck when their guitarist Michael Houser lost a battle with cancer, yet the band played on with replacement George McConnell. They are currently touring in support of their newly released album "Ball," the first album since Housers' passing.The first set of the night was entirely acoustic, bringing mixed sentiment from the fans. For those who frequent Panic shows, this was a rare treat as they fluidly delivered a multitude of covers including The Band's "Ophelia," Talking Heads' "City of Dreams" and Cat Stevens' "Trouble." The first set also included the debut of "Fishing," which can be found on their new album, "Ball." Some fans grew restless without the advent of electricity, but they would be appeased in mere moments by their second set.They did exhibit different styles at times. There were some Dead-like riffs and spacey, spooky other-worldly pockets and even a little jazz. But these moments were few and far between; the predominant mode was of hard percussion and bass with classic southern guitars. Most enjoyable was the drum session that followed their most spacey jam. Percussionist Domingo S. Ortiz played the conga drums for what seemed like ages, exhibiting five or six different themes, each of which came to a head. After a long spotlight session, he was joined by drummer Todd Nance, who added yet another dimension to the marathon drum session.I'd be lying if I said that there was even one song that stood out in their set; they all seemed to mesh together into a comfortable evening of cutting edge southern rock. What does stand out above all is the gravely, presumably smoke-torn voice of guitarist John Bell. Although this may not sound like the most sensual of singing voices, it quickly grows on you as he summons emotions from deep within and echoes his lyrics off the neoclassical painted walls of the theater.Widespread Panic isn't done with us yet; they will be playing Jazzfest in New Orleans this spring, and during their summer tour they will also be headlining the Hobstock Festival in Grenada, Miss., the Mid-Atlantic Music Experience in Lewisburg, W.V., and the 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minn. They are also featured performers at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn., where they are suddenly not the big name in attendance -- The Allman Brothers Band and The Grateful Dead will be playing as well.
(04/29/03 4:00am)
He was so much something she could never grab onto. Something altogether other, slipping through cold night air with the same movements as the steam of exhaled breath. He was as able to be held as a shuddering winter sigh.He was something of a still life, a tall figure somehow too opaque to be real, more a life-sized painting than anything else. He would stand so still, his right hand lifting and falling, bringing the smoking white stick to his mouth and back to his side, while his eyes stared off somewhere that she could never pinpoint. To her, he was always watching something, someone. To her, he was always somewhere else.She was nothing more than a photographer. She would stand there and watch him watching nothing and click, the shutter of her mind would snap open-shut in a space less than time, and he would be recorded there forever, burned into gray matter. Her pictures of him were blurred and clear at the same time, like tunnel vision frozen for a moment, and you can't tell if he's moving or if you are. She could never tell if he was moving, or if she was.It all started to change when she watched him watching her. When she realized that the flick of his eyes that she had cherished mere seconds ago was directed in her direction. When she looked up and green met green in an intense clash of something she couldn't name. When she realized he was walking towards her.When she ran.And when he saw her the next day it was a look of inquiry, a head tilt meant to question without words. And all she could do was tilt her head back. He raised an eyebrow and walked over. It was that day that she first learned his name. She swore she would never tell.A name, he told her, is the key that unlocks the tiny box storing your soul so deep inside. Telling someone your name is giving them the key, and he wasn't about to give the key to just anyone. He was very concerned with things concerning his soul. A camera, he told her, steals your soul when it takes pictures. He did not let anyone photograph him.And in her mind she thought, I have stolen your soul for months without you knowing. Your soul is burned into the images in my head. But she didn't tell him that.He never said hello, just appeared out of nowhere. He never said goodbye; she would blink and then he was gone. He was a confounding being, always knocking her off balance, always keeping her teetering on the edge. She was afraid to blink around him, afraid to look away from that green-brown stare, because she never knew when he would disappear again. She was afraid to leave the house, leave the porch, leave the classroom. She was afraid to move anywhere because she might just miss him. Because he only appeared when he wanted to, and it was up to her to stay still.You shouldn't move, he told her. The world is always ready to come to you.She never saw him with anyone else, just standing and smoking or sitting across from her, pinning her with his gaze and daring her to think further out of the box. She never saw him travel; he was just there. She never saw him cry, or giggle, or get confused. For her, he was always calm and composed.She began to believe he might be real when he invited her to his place. When he cooked them both dinner and talked for hours. When the candles began to burn low.He whispered so softly to her, that she thought it may be her imagination. That in the low candlelight, after too many glasses of wine, it was all just a fantasy and she would blink and he'd be gone. But then she felt the brush of his lips against her neck, and nothing has ever been this real.
