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Weezer
(The Green Album)
DGC 2001 The more I listen to this CD, the more conflicted I am by it. On one hand, it packs more pop hooks into 29 minutes that the Backstreeters on LipSynchers have had in their careers. On the other hand, after 5 years of waiting, its only 29 minutes.
One one hand, it really is a great feel-good-roll-the-windows-down-on-the-way-to-the-beach CD for the summer. On the other hand, after "Island in the Sun", all of the songs really do sound alike. Some have identical intros.
Back to the first hand- if you compare this CD to most of the other music you hear on a radio station that would play Weezer, it stands head and shoulders above the rest. The lyrics are witty, the melodies are great, the production by Ric Ocasik is wonderful. But back to that second hand, if you listen to the Green Album after Weezer's 1996 CD, Pinkerton, you'll notice how one-dimensional the new CD is. Frontman Rivers Cuomo seems to exercised his demons regarding the fairer gender, and his musical iconoclasm seems to have gone with them.
All in all, a good album from a great band. Be sure to buy Pinkerton as well.
3 out of 5
-GS |
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Michael Knott
Life of David
Metro 1, 2001 Coming Soon! |
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Living Colour
Trocadero Theatre
Philadelphia
8/10/01 When I was 16, I saw Living Colour play in the Syria Mosque Ballroom in Pittsburgh, PA. I had seen their video for "Cult of Personality" and was hooked. I bought the tape when my friends and I went to the mall that Friday night. I'll admit, the fact that the band was four black guys who rocked out got me in the door, but it was the music that hooked me. I still really enjoy "Vivid" 13 years later. Some of the songs are a bit heavy handed lyrically, but the premise upon which they are based still ring true. The concert was amazing. It was my first "club" show, and only my second rock concert. I survived my first mosh pit there. (I also learned to hate mosh pits there) I remember they played a smoking cover of The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go".
When I was 18, I saw Living Colour on their tour supporting their second release, "Time's Up". This time, they were in the big hall in the Syria Mosque. My friend Chris and I had seats in the balcony. Not as much fun as the first show, but the lights and sound were better. I remember they played a Bad Brains tune, but the name is escaping me.
Then in college, "Stain" came out. I didn't get to see them on that tour. I'm not sure they even played nearby, but I didn't have a car so it didn't matter. About a year later, they broke up. I bought an EP and a best of in the years following, but that's the end of the story.
Until I was flipping through the listing of shows in our weekly "alternative" newspaper about 3 weeks ago. There it was- Living Colour at the Trocadero! I asked my wife if shed like to go. She kindly passed. My cousin was game, however. I joked with old friends that I was going to re-live high school. I was hoping to hear all of my old favorites.
Living Colour took the stage with absolutely no fanfare. They opened with Talking Heads Memories Cant Wait, which is an odd choice for an opener. It is neither a high-energy opening salvo, nor is it a mid-tempo song that allows the band to kick it up a notch. They opened with an art-rock song, which they stretched and pulled into something similar but more exciting than the song you knew before. With this, Living Colour set their agenda for the night.
Sacred Ground became an electronic manifesto of sorts. Drummer Will Calhoun weaved his drumming in and around programmed drum n bass beats to great effect. The intro to Nothingness featured Vernon Reids guitar synth programmed to sound like a saxophone. Frontman Corey Glover got in on the fun by singing into a vocorder for some otherworldly effects, as well. During Love Rears its Ugly Head, Glover displayed his acting skills by sitting on the monitors like he was telling his friend about a bad dream over a drink.
The centerpiece of the show began with their techno/ hard rock rendition of Papa Was a Rolling Stone, which went right to Elvis is Dead. Glover jumped into the audience to encourage the Elvis is Dead chant of the chorus. While there, he disappeared, and we heard a mysterious voice from beyond singing Cant Help Falling in Love. Elvis morphed into Type which featured an extended reggae jam in the middle (Police and Thieves by Junior Murton.) After finishing their set with Cult of Personality, they encored with an incendiary rendition of Jimi Hendrixs Power of Soul.
In interviews, Corey Glover has said that this tour is not a nostalgia trip, Its about now. While Living Colour didnt play any new songs, the way they played their catalog (the youngest songs being 8 years old) was current. They managed to add modern touches without sounding forced. They molded the material into a new form without losing the spirit of the original. Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun, and Doug Wimbish showed that the music they made is still viable, still relevant. They hinted that they are planning on sticking around for a while, that this isnt a get rich quick tour. I hope they have something new to say soon.
-GS
SETLIST (*I know Im missing some. Sorry)
Memories Cant Wait
Times Up
Go Away
Sacred Ground
Love Rears its Ugly Head
Never Satisfied
Middle Man
Nothingness
Elvis is Dead
Type
Cult of Personality
Power of Soul
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