Seattle rockers continue on a downward spiral after latest release
When someone mentions Soundgarden, you probably think of their album "Superunknown" with its wildly popular songs like "Black Hole Sun." You probably don't think of their new album, "Down on the Upside," because it's too long, boring and generally unworthy of attention in spite of the presence of several good individual songs.
Well, Soundgarden is coming around on tour once again. They'll be in our general vicinity tonight, in fact. Being busy, they had no time to grant an interview to The Michigan Daily. Instead, their label sent an interview disc that was, astonishingly, even more lackluster than their newest album. Any quotes that follow are taken from that piece of whitewashed and boring, band- and label-approved trash.
'Set It Off' explodes for a typical wild ride
Part exploitative sleaze, part socially conscious cheese, part erotic-thriller wheeze, the formulaic yet innovative "Set It Off" is more entertaining than it has a right to be.
A guilty pleasure of an action film, "Set It Off" fuses high-octane action, fueled inner-city melodrama and heated romance for an overall effect that equals more than the sum of its parts - detrimental parts that include a poor, inconsistent script, an imitative heist concept and an overexposed South Central mentality.
Basement Arts proves sophisticated, talented
It is difficult to appreciate what the double-bill ensemble of "The Sandbox" and "The Poet and the Rent" accomplished this weekend. There could be no greater disparity between the two plays chosen by director Lauren Miller. Yet her cast successfully fused the bizarre and morbid Edward Albee play ("The Sandbox") with David Mamet's off-the-wall children's show ("The Poet and the Rent") into a single evening of worthwhile entertainment.
UAC's 'Lear' shines at Mendelssohn
With the current trend of modernizing Shakespeare, the University Activities Center's Soph Show played its part this weekend by presenting an updated version of Shakepeare's utter tragedy "King Lear." This production could not boast hot young actors like Claire Danes or Leonardo DiCaprio. But "King Lear" still shone, due in great part to the performances of its own promising young cast.
Although not without faults, the Soph Show production engaged audiences in spite of its highly depressing plot. In addition, the cast maintained the passion of the text and the audience's attention through more than three hours of Shakespearean text.
Folk journeyman Wilcox rocks the Ark
In a recent interview with The Michigan Daily, David Wilcox said, "Most music today is marketed without regards to durability." Perhaps this is the reason why his music hasn't reached a wider audience yet. But nearly a decade of almost constant touring hasn't taken its toll yet on Wilcox.
On Saturday night he played for two and a half hours in front of 200 or so adoring fans with all the enthusiasm and energy of an artist's first show.
'Hip Hop Classics' take a long trip down memory lane
As more and more mediocre performers continue to get undeserved recording contracts, many rap lovers are turning to the songs of the past. Maybe they want to hear music from a time when rappers had to dish out good lyrics in an interesting manner - regardless of how nice a song's beats were - in order to become a success.
11-12-96