© theother press e¢ Culture Bright Eyes Vinyl Box Set Amanda Aikman Culture Editor Don't hate him because his songs are beautiful. Hate him because he’s only 22 and he has already created an astonishing heap of these beautiful songs. After charm- ing listeners for several years and making critics swoon with 2002’s Lifted...Or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Oberst’s Bright Eyes have just added another notch to their bedpost. A seven LP vinyl box set, complete with previously unreleased tracks, a fancy schmancy poster, and a real pretty box. Not impressed? Well, how old were you when you put out your first seven LP vinyl box set? That's what I thought. Granted, this isn’t for the uninitiated. First-time lis- teners would be better off starting out with a copy of Fevers and Mirrors or Lifted...but for fans who just can’t get enough of this emo wunderkind this set is welcome icing on an already sweet cake. Not everyone, even the most dedicated of fans, is always willing to shell out cash for a vinyl collection when they already have the majority of the material on CD, but in this case it real- ly is worth the expense. The music is so beautifully suited to the format. The intensity, sensuality, and inti- macy of Oberst’s songs lend themselves perfectly to the vinyl experience—the personal aspect of having to actually flip the albums over or slipping them in and out of one of the ornately designed sleeves. The collection includes five albums on seven LPs including, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, Letting Off the Happiness, Every Day and Every Night, Fevers and Mirrors, and Don't be Frightened of Turning the Page, and is available at Zulu or through Saddle Creek Records at . Justin Ray Culture Critic Fanny Pack So Stylistic Say hello to the Lil Hos. barely adolescent trio of Brooklyn girls would make interesting sub- jects for a study on commercial sexploitation. The mixed themes This October 15, 2003 Thee ie Ce: mi _to seek them out, because the radio. of sexual ecstasy (faked orgasms on “Sugar Daddy”) and girlhood pleasures (“parties, movies, candy, toys’) might seem puzzling to those unfamiliar with the pimp movement. Ah, the pimp movement. Nothing spells fun more than pimps and hos fooling around in hot tubs and limos! Why, the very word “pimp” is now synony- mous—in music videos anyway - with commercial success! Just when you thought child prostitu- tion was out of style, along comes Tommy Boy records with Fanny Pack. Doesn't all this paint a dis- turbing picture? But there’s something wrong if You fast need Bebhy nek on we take So Stylistic so seriously. Instead, it seems to be intention- ally cheesy. Tongue-in-cheek. The old school, tacky beats sound like those of 95 South's classic “Whoop, There It Is.” The track “System Boomin” is the ultimate in techno-cheese, like Salt ‘n Pepa meets 2 Unlimited. Look for it on Jock Jams 13. Maybe So Stylistic is exploitative, but it is also fun! Whee! If you can find the humour in mullets, Jerry Springer, or 80s dance-off movies, you will proba- bly find the same kind of attrac- tion in Fanny Pack. “Dig the groove we're abusing!” Kenna New Sacred Cow Sy sll Cant get enough of those Europuffs. Indeed, there is enough Euro-pop influence in Kenna to cite comparison to early Depeche Mode (the Strange Love days) or George Michael (the strange love days). And it’s puffy: light, fun, and extremely dance- able. “Freetime” and “Red Man” perfectly balance pop formula and poetry. They are interesting, but would still be at home in a club, or on the radio. Don’t for- get the distortion, that beautiful synth distortion. It is grating and refreshing- a facial for the soul. Just who is Kenna? Some pasty-faced rich kid from Manchester? Quite the opposite. Kenna was born in Ethiopia, and now lives in Virginia. He includes Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and U2 among his influences. As are many artists with such a wide range of influ- ences, Kenna is difficult to classi- fy. Perhaps this is Electro- Industrial Disco Pop. Perhaps genre names are useless when a groundbreaking album like this comes out. In many ways, New Sacred Cow is similar to what has come before, especially if Depeche Mode had been a cheery group. But Kenna has a truly unique sound, and is immediate- ly accessible, to boot. You can Kenna at . visit ( This Week In History... Amanda Aikman Culture Editor October 18, 1979: ~ Ne Page 14 e http://www.otherpress.ca Fifteen youths are arrested for beating and robbing patrons on their way to an Earth, Wind & Fire concert at Madison Square Garden. After realizing that they had missed the big Earth, Wind & Fire show, the wounded but grateful patrons chose not to press charges. October 22, 1982: The mayor of Worchester, Massachusetts declares today Van Halen Day after local fans collect 25 000 sig- natures on a petition that requests the band add anoth- er show to their tour. Damn, is it Van Halen Day already? Where does the time go? I guess it’s time to drag the Van Halen tree out of the basement and get to work on that Sammy Hagar lawn display. October 15, 1996: Motley Criie drummer Tommy Lee is charged with attacking a cameraman who was taking pictures of Lee and his wife (Pamela Anderson Lee) outside an LA club. Apparently this particular photographer’s work lacked the vulgarity and gratuitous nudity that the dis- cerning couple prefer to be associated with. e