Culture he other press PD Reviews Pavement— Slanted & Enchanted: uxe and Reduxe manda Aikman ssistant Culture Editor nally, a silver lining in the cloud of Pavement’s breakup. ake a digitally re-mastered walk down memory lane ith this enhanced reissue of the album said by Spin agazine to have “defined indie rock.” But wait, that’s bt all. Act now and you will receive as your gift 34 bnus tracks that include selected B sides, the essential atery, Domestic EP, not one but two BBC Peel Pssions, a so-good-it-feels-like-you're-there live show pm Brixton Academy, and a lovely 60-page booklet bsitively brimming with rare photos and fascinating bmmentary. True, reissues are often little more than a hash of old material that blatantly target the helpless ckers who couldn't bear living with an incomplete col- tion, but this time it’s different. No, really. Thirteen years after the band’s formation, and three ars after their break-up, this remarkable collection ugarcult art Static stin Ray P Contributor hrew away my reputation / one more song for the radio ytion.—Sugarcult, from Bouncing Off the Walls. The quote above from Sugarcult’s second single aptly scribes the current state of punk rock. No doubt, Sony ested plenty in the Santa Barbara quartet, hiring on ioducer Matt Wallace (the Replacements, Faith No ore) and bringing in guest guitarist Chris Shiflett of e Foo Fighters. Members of Sugarcult are no strangers big rock and roll names: after playing on Vans Warped ur 2001 with Pennywise, Rancid and Sum 41, garcult played with Blink 182 and toured with Reel Fish and Goldfinger. [he transformation of punk rock encapsulates garcult’s sound on their major label debut, Start Static. emptations encapsulates the exciting and influential material that brought Pavement to the forefront of independent music in the 90s. Although most of the so-called “previously unreleased” tracks on this album have been easily avail- able on bootlegs over the years, it is nice to finally have them cleaned up and available together. Standouts include kickass versions of “Baptist Blacktrick” and “Kentucky Cocktail,” as well as the more toned-down cool of songs like “Ed Ames” and “Shoot the Singer.” This is Pavement at its pluckiest, and as they whisper and wail their way through the clever lyrics of these infectious lo-fi treasures, you can't help but get a little misty. Maybe you can never go home again, but that doesn’t mean you cant turn up this album, throw on your Buffalo Tom T-shirt, break into your parents’ liquor supply, and party like it’s 1992. Every song is radio-friendly, with sugary powerpuff vocals homologous to anything on MuchMusic. Hooks, riffs, and rolls are surgically spliced into place to remove any sloppy, off-kilter deviations. Punk, a once dangerous and edgy genre, is being systematically sanitized, com- mercialized, and packaged for immediate consumption. Do we believe the band’s image, a foursome of hip, disheveled businessmen, is sincere? Are they really the corporate slobs they appear to be? Being completely radio-ready is not necessarily a bad thing. But purging everything that makes punk rock fun leaves you with a catchy but quickly forgotten album. Sugarcult is easily as good as any other power pop on the radio these days, but that’s not saying much. terview with Mr. Otis Williams of The Temptations Evans ture Editor You've remained a success since the 60's while other musi- cians have come and gone, how do you continue to remain a household name? Well, it’s just like anything else. You have to continue to work at it. I’m thankful to be doing something that I love. It helps you endure the ups and downs of life. You're going to have ups and downs even if you are working a nine-to-five. I’m just thankful that I have been blessed to be doing something that I love and to have the strength to roll with the punches. How has being an entertainer in the music industry changed over the decades of your career? Tremendously. A lot. I don’t know if it’s changed for the better but there are some things I’ve seen that I am not November 20, 2002 ARCATA too impressed with, in regards to show business enter- tainment. The one thing that is constant in life is change. It’s the nature of the beast. But some of the changes I’ve seen, I’m not impressed. You just have to take the good with the bad and look for the positive. The entertain- ment industry is somewhat of a sad state of affairs. It has gotten very pornographic and lude. Everything is to get ratings and the almighty dollar. Society’s morality level has dropped significantly. As the only original member, do you find any struggle with remaining true to the original premise of The Temptations? Well, no I don't find a problem. Anyone who is a fan of The Temptations and Motown knows the history and continued on page 18 page 17 © Ly,