Sound Bites
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 9, 2001 9:00 p.m.
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John Mayer “Room for Squares” Epic
Records
“Welcome to the real world.” The voice grabs the
listener as it comes in offbeat, with a sense of urgency and
sincerity. This is John Mayer’s introduction to the world, as
his voice enters for the first time on his new debut album,
“Room for Squares.” And Mayer is bringing a taste of
the real world with him ““ just raw, mostly
acoustic-guitar-driven rock. The parallels to Dave Matthews are
inevitable; however if Mayer deserves to be compared to Matthews
then its not “I Did It”-era Matthews, but instead the
more intimate, graceful Matthews of songs like “Crush.”
Mayer is passionate and sensitive, with songs that reach into the
personal depths of his life, presenting the questions, insecurities
and confusion that are associated with the young life of a
twentysomething. “Room for Squares” is not as good as
live John Mayer (check out his version of Jimi Hendrix’s
“Wind Cries Mary”), but it is a powerful debut album.
John Mayer will not change the world, but his record is pretty damn
good.
Chris Moriates Â
Toby Keith “Pull My Chain”
Dreamworks
Understandable lyrics, quality voices, and simple catchy
melodies are what’s to like about country music, devoid of
the processed lyrics and cliches of the pop world. Toby
Keith’s newest album, “Pull My Chain,” boasts
just that on the majority of its songs. On three songs, however, it
overdoes the synthesizer and studio music and drowns out the
beautifully simple side. This album is a skillful collection of
fast and slow songs, ballads and quicker love tunes. The catchy
melodies and beats from this album make you want to tap along.
Right when a pattern might pop up, Keith switches it up, making
every song interesting. The title track is the biggest surprise: a
really witty song with a “Johnny B. Good”-style
electric twang. There are a few tracks I would skip over because
they just seemed like filler for an otherwise innovative album. If
you like Toby Keith you’ll “Like Him Now,” and
even more after “Pull My Chain.” If you like country,
it ain’t perfect but it’s pretty darn good.
Emily Pauker Â
Corn Doggy Dog and the 1/2lb. “Good Clean
Filth” Long Beach Records
With 22 tracks of horrible dirty filth, punk rock artists Corn
Doggy Dog and the 1/2lb. smother perfectly decent punk music with
offensive and revolting lyrics. Take away the rude and crude and
the CD would be worthy of the first third of it’s title.
Vocalist Todd “Z-Man” Zalkins chants hoarsely about
masturbation, shooting cops, drinking booze and having sex with
whores throughout the majority of the CD. The negligible number of
first-rate instrumental tracks provide only temporary relief from
the rhythmic discourse of his potty mouth. Praiseworthy
instrumental intros rally hope of good songs, but after 15 glorious
seconds of original guitar and drum licks, all hope for the song is
lost when the words “Thank God for Hustler Magazine!”
scream across the top. A number of tracks attempt an angry and
rebellious attitude that can hardly be taken seriously after the
discussion of nude pictures and stinky fingers. Watch out, Mom and
Dad: “Good Clean Filth” deserves its parental advisory
label twice over. Set aside all of the vulgar sex and brutality and
you are left with a decent punk CD with a clear message against
drugs.
Kate Briston Â
The Verve Pipe “Underneath” RCA
Records
If The Verve Pipe is hoping the repetitious lyrics and themes of
its new album, “Underneath,” will help it repeat the
success of its studio debut (“Villains,” 1996) it is
sorely mistaken. Lyrically, the themes are stale and repetitive.
Although a broad audience can relate to the emotional content of
the songs, the range of that content isn’t nearly as wide.
The rhyming pattern feels forced and stifles the potential
eloquence that could redeem the oft-told tales of heartbreak and
desire. The songs “Never Let You Down” and
“Happiness Is” succeed where other tracks fail, using a
more upbeat tempo and riff-laced choruses to keep the songs from
dragging. The mellow rhythm of most tracks and the gentle guitar
melodies have a sedative effect on the listener, which, by itself,
would be relaxing and enjoyable. However, the mood of the music is
contradicted by the singer’s attempts to infuse the songs
with passionate emotion. The muddled result is a confused message
from which it is difficult to extract meaning or value.
Whitney Smith
