Sound Bites

Incubus “Morning View” Epic
Records

Well, Rolling Stone magazine has been wrong before. Who can ever
forgive them for bashing Led Zepplin? Almost as unwarranted and
egregious is their negative review of the new Incubus album,
“Morning View.” Incubus has put together a truly
magical album, a journey. The laidback and cerebral introspective
atmosphere of the Malibu house at which the music was constructed
and recorded shines through the ethereal songs. From the
introduction of the first song through the remainder of the 13
tracks, the music swells, calms, explodes, spits and pacifies, much
like the ocean does; this is featured as the theme of the photos on
the album. Lead singer Brandon Boyd’s voice stands above the
rock, bringing a strong calming affect, only to rip the listener
into a frenzy at the refrains. The listener relaxes in the
tranquility, preparing for what lies ahead. Bring on the set waves!
The amazing thing is that Incubus actually made “Morning
View” less commercial than their breakthrough last album,
“Make Yourself.” Now that takes some balls, and both
the band and Epic Records deserve to be commended. Not everybody
will understand this album. That’s OK. The best albums are
rarely recognized by the mainstream audience.

Chris Moriates

Oysterhead “The Grand Pecking Order” Elektra
Records

Mix equal parts,’80s soft rock, hippy noodle dancing and
jamming, and grotesquely insane bass thudding and that’s
basically the many sides of Oysterhead. Comprised of Police drummer
Stewart Copeland, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, and Primus front
man Les Claypool, Oysterhead is a tight group that sure knows its
chops. The songs are silly but ring true to the styles of each
member of the trio. The rhythms are surprisingly complex and tight
since guitar noodling is all-too-frequent, and the bass playing is
just outright unbelievable. What people get when they discover
“The Grand Pecking Order,” isn’t an amazing
album. In fact it’s rather drab in many areas. What they get
is the unearthing of a band that is guaranteed to be amazing in a
live concert setting. With such talent behind Oysterhead, the music
is too confined on a 12-song disc. It’s too over-produced,
and the songs are too mild to be air-worthy. All three musicians,
however, are known for phenomenal live shows, and Oysterhead
probably won’t disappoint. A word to the wise: don’t
buy “The Grand Pecking Order.” Save the money and go
see Oysterhead live on its current tour.

Antero Garcia

Saul Williams “Amethyst Rock Star” Def Jam
Records

As the star of the indie film “Slam,” Williams
proved to the world that words affect people’s lives. They
even unite feuding gangs in a polluted ghetto. Isn’t that
heart-warming?

On his first musical release, “Amethyst Rock Star,”
Williams leaves the poetic utopia of his film career, and becomes
an urban warrior; words are his artillery. Songs like “Penny
for a thought,” and “La La La” are backed by
heavy beats that thunder through speakers, ingraining the verbal
vivacity that Williams creates. The same heavy beats, however, that
propel many of the album’s songs also seem to hinder the disc
in many places. Because he is such a good lyricist, it would have
been more helpful for Williams if the tracks had been stripped
bare, with minimal tempo to aid the words since they stand on their
own. Another problem with the album is that Williams recycles many
of the rhymes from his previously published books. “Amethyst
Rock Star” is poetry ripped from pages and spewed into
countless ears as a body-raking explosion of rhythm and
emotion.

Antero Garcia

Mary J. Blige “No More Drama” MCA
Records

Mary J. Blige is back with her fifth offering, the improperly
titled “No More Drama.” Rather, Blige delivers a
confused mix of upbeat rhythms interlaced with nonsense words and
woe-is-me ballads that only convey drama. The biggest upset is that
Blige enlists some of the foremost producers in hip-hop, including
Missy Elliot, Dr. Dre and the powerhouse team of Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey) and still fails to
capture the listener. Her first single, the Dr. Dre produced
“Family Affair,” has Blige condemning
“hateration” and “holleration,” while
encouraging everyone to get on the dance floor. While this may be a
club-worthy tune, there should be a conscious effort to avoid
actually listening to the lyrics, let alone memorizing them. Blige
should be condemned by women everywhere for the track entitled
“PMS,” the goal of which seems to be the education of
mankind on the subject of behavior and the mindset that accompanies
that time of the month. “Down and out in depression/I think
the worst of everything/my lower back is aching and my clothes
don’t fit/now ain’t that a bitch”¦” Not
surprisingly, this song was written by Blige, who we now know has
lower back problems a few days out of the month. Three words: Too
much information. Only die hard Mary fans should pick up this
album, while casual listeners would be better off revisiting
1997’s “Share My World,” which is truly Blige at
her best.

Dria Fearn

The Mad Capsule Markets “OSC-DIS”
(Oscillator in Distortion) Victor Entertainment Inc.

With the popularity of bands like Limp Bizkit, rock/rap fusion
has enjoyed a remarkable degree of success. The Mad Capsule
Markets’ new CD “OSC-DIS” takes the rock/rap
genre and turns it (to quote Dr. Seuss) “Inside, outside,
upside down.” “OSC-DIS “ is like a concept album,
which takes genetics and cloning to a fantasy-like arena through
music and story packaging. The sidebar on the CD cover gives the
premise of the album, where genetically enhanced humans are
utilized to decimate evil, most likely through musical revolution.
The Mad Capsule Markets are touted as “Japan’s
futuristic-digi-hardcore-punk-metal band,” which is an
accurate description of the musical quality of the disc. Most of
the songs range from heavy punk overtones to pulsating, bass-driven
rave music. What is also unique about this album is the mixture of
Japanese and somewhat inaudible English lyrics. The translations
are inside the CD insert and though the lyrical content is far from
groundbreaking, the musical fusions and energy are what make this
album an exceptional listening experience. The disc is indeed an
onslaught to the eardrums of listeners who like their music fast,
hard and unrepentant. Limp Bizkit, this is not. Korn, this is not.
Rage Against the Machine, this is definitely not. The Mad Capsule
Markets, however, may become their own household name in a matter
of time.

Abraham Cruz

Tenacious D “Tenacious D” Epic
Records

It’s not an easy task when you have to review an album
where a large portion of the songs are too vulgar to be printed,
and the few lucky tracks that have clean titles are pretty much
littered with obscenity-filled lyrics. Comprised of comedians Jack
Black and Kyle Gass, Tenacious D just might be the spawn of Satan
as their album cover suggests. Their guitar hooks and song melodies
are just begging to be played on the radio, and yet their lyrics
that deal with sex, long sausages, sex, Wonderboy and sex send
every soccer mom in America shuddering in waves of terror. Perhaps
the funniest album of the year, comedians Black and Gass certainly
have the licks to be considered musicians while their music is
anything but. As humorous as the album is, it is not without its
flaws. Obscenities get old very quickly, and the skits ““
hilarious as they are ““ are annoying after a just a few
repeated listenings. The duo Tenacious D has the maturity level of
seventh-graders, the morals of Satan and the chops of experienced
studio musicians ““ a mixture that college students are
guaranteed to love.

Antero Garcia