The Wolfgang Press Funky Little Demons cd PolyGram I gotta admit, I’m surprised I like this stuff. Funky Little Demons is a- great album, definitely a sum greater than its parts would indicate. The Wolfgang Press is a bizarre musical creature from somewhere be- tween heaven and purgatory. One might try to describe them as a nightmarish marriage betwixt The Violent Femmes and Lou Reed, lying on a bed of funk and reading a collection of Leonard Cohen. The strongest muscle these guys flex is the slow dancesque groove, with a heavy bass and machine-like drums. RE Employment Opportunity POSITION OMBUDSPERSON STIPEND $200.00 BI-WEEKLY IREMENTS ¢ G.P.A. of 2.5 Minimum * Good Knowledge of D.C.S.S. Constitution/Bylaws ¢ Must have attended at least one semester at Douglas College ¢ Confidentiality a must ¢ Ability to make fair and just decisions Apply in person to Room 2780 Deadline: 12:00 noon February 27, 1995 Douglas College Student Society The Other Press Luckily, they rely heavily on quality lyrics as well, unlike the droves of soundalike dance bands with lotsa rhythm but no real soul. You’ Il catch interesting derivative bits, some sounding like a three-bar snapshot from a Midnight Oil demo, or an entire track that takes four days to realize it sounds just a smidge like early Depeche Mode. Despite all of this familiarity, TWP never seems unoriginal or contrived. It seldom smacks of commercialism, and often says, “SURPRISE!” (Once again, very few albums by even fewer artists do this in today’s market.) I don’t really know what this is supposed to mean, but TWP isnot your father’s dance band. - Jason Kurylo Deconstruction Deconstruction cd American Recordings Perry Farrell split up Jane’s Ad- diction because it was getting too big and he wanted to do something differ- ent. He also forbade Dave Navarro and Eric Avery from continuing Jane’s without him. Then he starts Porno for Pyros- which, in my opinion, is a bad Jane’s Addiction rip- off. Pyros is just a lighter, ‘poppier’, version of his pre- vious band. Things looked pretty dismal, but fortunately Navarro (guitar, vocals) checked himself into rehab and got to- gether with Avery (bass, vocals) and producer Rick Rubin to record Deconstruction. Unfortunately, they won’t be recording another one as Navarro is now playing for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Deconstruction is very much like Jane’s Addiction, but it’s a surrealistic Jane’s Addiction. Perry Farrell puts to- gether a band that sounds like Jane’s and it’s a rip- off, because Farrell is not a musician and the only other member of Jane’s is the drummer. Navarro and Avery are musicians and helped to de- fine the sound of Jane’s music. The band lives up to it’s name by taking apart the conventional pop and rock song structure and mixing it up to create a very fractured yet cohesive sound as a band. Samples proliferate throughout the album and serve to en- hance the atmosphere of the songs, as opposed to being neat gimmicks. Dirge, for example, samples an elderly church congregation during a worship service. Over Top There has a haunting piano line, which along with the church sam- ple gives an eerie atmosphere to the middle section of the song. Sometimes the experiments fail, as it does in the hip hop tinged Hope, but over all, the dabbling of different pop flavours works very well. Though I call this an experimental album, it is no where near as experimental as a band like Praxis or a composer like John Zorn. However, it is a great album to throw and listen to in almost any situa- tion. To bad there won’t be another one. by Byrun Stedmann Blues Traveler Four CD A&M John Popper rips. If Eddie Van Halen’s chosen in- strument had been harmonica, this is what he would sound like. Don’t be misled though, Blues Traveler is much more than a vehicle for Popper’s insane harp chops. Four is a surprisingly smooth blend of heavy riffs and sweet melodies, nasty funk grooves and light, upbeat excursions into pop, songs that sweat soul and bleed fire, juxtaposed with stir- ring ballads. Groove is probably the most over- used word in my vocabulary but it defi- nitely applies here. If Four grooved any harder, Canada Customs probably wouldn’t let it into the country. Attention Douglas Students Recieve 10% off our already unbeatable value on all food items Discount available everyday on all lunch and dinner entrees 524-9788 In contrast, the poppier material is more along the lines of Counting Crows minus the pretentious “I’m so sensitive and alternative” pose. Popper covers vocals and writes much of the material which, lyrically, is at times ten- der, fierce, or sarcastic but al- ways provocative. On Hook, he criticizes those uncritical listeners who are hooked by a pose or a catchy melody, but don’t ever examine the music they consume - mu- sic that is largely pushed on them by radio, MTV and the like. “It doesn’t matter what I say/ So long as I sing with in- flection/ That makes you feel that I'll convey/ Some inner truth of vast reflection.” The discovery of this new ear candy - some of my favour- ite of late - is made all the more February 25, 1995 sweet by the fact that BT have three previous albums that I have yet to hear. From what I’ ve been told, they’ re just-as tasty as Four. - Kevin Sallows Lisa Germano Geek The Girl cd PolyGram There have been a number of strong, intelligent female artists to break into the musical market in the past cou- ple of years such as Liz Phair, Tori Amos and Sam Phillips. Add to that list Lisa Germano, - formerly the violinist with John Cou- | gar Mellencamp’s band (that was her stomping in the Paper on Fire video). Lisa has gone on to smaller but infi- nitely better things. Sounding a bit like Sam Phillips by way of Tom Waits, Geek The Girl is an aural delight that takes the viewer on a trip into the psyche of the mythi- cal ‘Geek,’ who “is confused about how to be sexual and cool in the world but finds out she isn’t cool and gets con- stantly taken advantage of sexually, gets kind of sick and enjoys giving up but at the end still tries to believe in some- thing beautiful...” At times painful to listen to, Geek is in turns emotional, simple, sad and frightening. This last is no more appar- ent than on...a Psychopath, which uses a sample of an actual 911 call of a woman being stalked by a rapist. Not exactly music to fall asleep to. But then, that’s the point. Lisa is making a musical statement about a facet of life that most people try to gloss over. Its unflinching look at the less at- tractive side of life is truthful and hon- est, without hammering you over the head with a message. This approach may not appeal to all, but for those who appreciate intelligent, honest music, this is the album for you. - Trent Ernst Ween AG Interview With the Vampire Soundtrack Elliot Goldenthol cd Warner It’s sad that some of the best mod- ern composers need vehicles like mov- ies to make their music accessible to audiences. Elliot Goldenthol’s sountrack to Interview with the Vam- pire easily stands on its own merits. Like the movie that spawned it, this soundtrack is rich, lush and a little