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Music

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White Stripes keep Detroit rock alive with 'Elephant'

Joey Guillen
April 1, 2003

It's okay to be caught smiling uncontrollably today, you have a reasonable excuse to do so. Like parents who are proud of their honor students, fans of the Detroit rock scene just watched their children's training wheels come off. The White Stripes, who have been driving fun, lighthearted rock 'n' roll back into the Detroit scene since the band's formation in 1997, jumped up on the commercial success tricycle with the release of its third album "White Blood Cells" in 2001 and took right off down the block. It's hard to believe the band is back already with its fourth release "Elephant." The album has a less polished feel to it.

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Don't judge Four Lincolns' album by its cover - 'Laxadaisical' worth a listen

Joey Guillen
March 25, 2003

Please excuse the band's name, it's not the most convincing or memorable. But if you don't judge it by its name (or in this case, also its cover) Grand Rapids-based Four Lincolns and its new release "Laxadaisical" have the ability to shock. Opening track "Never in Love," illustrates the band's abilities to write extremely strong lyrics - as does much of the CD. Although strong lyrics make a song, well, a poem, they aren't anything without the singer's ability to relay their meaning.

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Charlevoix album 'Begging' for fans

Megan Frye
March 18, 2003

As long as I don't have to deal with any more female "musicians" making money solely off of their T&A, I'll be happy. That is the thought that ran through my head when I picked up the most recent release by Kalamazoo-area rockers Charlevoix.

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'About' has decent start, needs polish

Elysia A. Smith
March 11, 2003

Don't look for the new Barbie at your local Toys "R" Us. Somewhere in a trailer park in Lansing you'll find the new Trailer Park Barbie, "About Ready." Take a wild guess at what the band might sound like, and you'll probably come up with the right answer: classic rock with a country twinge.

FEATURES

'Steal this' full of substance

Solo records are rarely solo efforts. Telecommunication sophomore Valentin Narvaez' newest project, "Steal This Album" (not to be confused with a similarly titled album from System of a Down), which came to be after reading Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book," is an entire solo effort - with a little help from his girlfriend. After writing and recording all the instruments and vocals in his room for "Steal This Album" - an album which Narvaez said "revolves around a political frame of mind" - his girlfriend, elementary education freshman Elizabeth Tappon, helped contribute backing vocals on the album's title track and "Growing Up as a Minority." The album itself is a full mix of different influences and sounds.

FEATURES

'Biker Boyz' not worth your money

Collaborations are an interesting topic in music. Sometimes they can be a dimensional can opener which takes music to places never thought possible - other times it sounds just like the new soundtrack for the crotch-rocket blockbuster "Biker Boyz." With tracks by big names such as Ja Rule, Metallica and Redman, one might expect a more solid effort on some commercial pop level. Instead, a combination of R&B, metal, electronic, hip-hop and rap creates an album which often sounds misguided and noisy. Metallica rears its other face with an interesting collaboration with Ja Rule and Swizz Beatz.

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Artist keeps it real

Megan Frye
January 30, 2003

Mason - Love hurts, and local musician Aylius' acoustic guitar is the perfect illustration. Just more than a year old, the guitar is scratched and worn, almost to the point of creating a hole above the pickguard.

FEATURES

Local band scores well with new album, 'if yes, explain:'

A lot of good artists have been entering the area via the local scene's birthing canal as of late - thefarewelldrive could be the area's brainchild. With its first EP, "if yes, explain:" scheduled for release in mid-Feburary, the group could well prove the area's new strongman. Though based out of Ann Arbor, thefarewelldrive does have local ties - bassist John Paul is an MSU journalism student and drummer Dan Julian, a 2002 MSU graduate, is a former State Newser. A powerful demonstration of talent with an impressive contribution from lead vocalist Andrew Lutes, the EP becomes even more impressive upon learning it was recorded in a five-day session in Chicago. Opening track "The Truth in Lies" leads into the album with a floating melody, later pounding into a chorus of, "And these words they sound too simple/But I'm sure that they are right." It's a powerful mark to make at the beginning of an album and does throw the listener off a bit.

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Band's sophomore release a solid effort

Elysia A. Smith
January 21, 2003

Who said the space program is dead? The musically-inspired portion, at least, is very much alive. Local space cadets The Fuzz hunker down for the release of their second full-length album, "Noise Destroyers." Opening with a spacey yet creepily-appealing introduction, the voiceless track "The Largest Number" would fit perfectly into any "Lost in Space" episode.

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EP could prove band's breakthrough

Elysia A. Smith
January 21, 2003

With only $600 in their budget, members of East Lansing's the giveaway didn't have much to work with in the production of their new EP "wake up." The album's seven tracks could see the giveaway get a foot in the door much the same way as bands such as Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers have done - with a low-budget album and a local following. Financed with the help of family members and recorded in just a few takes or less, "wake up" is a creative statement with plenty of raw feeling. A floating melody of four gentle keyboard notes, an obvious acoustic guitar and just the right touch of drums lead into the EP's first song, "Undeveloped." The vocals on the track interlink with the flow of the music, especially in the chorus, but aren't always as strong with the backing music of the verse.

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'Lifted' leaves listeners feeling everything but

Joey Guillen
January 7, 2003

Bright Eyes' "Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground" is a hard album to categorize; if I had to, I'd file it under 'Emo for losers.' If you can get past the first whiny, lyrically challenged track, "The Big Picture," you might be a fan - but don't go publicly admitting that. After nearly two minutes of background noise, Conor Oberst cries about "trying to find your way out of that maze of memories," whatever that means.

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Sponge triumphs with new release

Elysia A. Smith
January 7, 2003

What does it take to make an honest album? Or better yet, what does it take just to make it? With two successful albums under its belt, the Motor City's Sponge turned local ripples into national waves.

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'Dancehall' offers more romantic country songs, southern rock

Ben Landes
December 4, 2002

Tim McGraw is one fortunate singin' country boy. He's been on top of the country world for almost a decade and somewhere in between, married Faith Hill and sang "It's Your Love." Then everything else became insignificant. On his seventh album, "Tim McGraw and The Dancehall Doctors," McGraw is still laboring for the success of his 1997 release "Everywhere," which undoubtedly is still his best to date.

FEATURES

'Up!' just more of the same

Shania Twain is one hot woman. Her videos make no sense and her music doesn't apply to people who aren't normally in love, but she looks good, so we don't mind watching - and her voice isn't that bad, either. Molding with society's trend, Twain's music abruptly switched from country to pop-country in 1997 with "Come On Over," launching her career further.