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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1994)
VMtWS&XtefSSSM “Vitalogy” Pearl Jam Epic Records Grade: A Pearl Jam’s last release, “Vs.,” concluded when lead singer Eddie Vedder asked the listener, “How much difference does it make?” With the band’s new release, “Vitalogy,” Pearl Jam tries to answer that question. “Vitalogy” is Pearl Jam’s most experimental release to date. Gone are the Godzilla-sized an thems that helped “Ten” sell mil lions of copies. Instead, the new release contains a short instru mental number, a track that’s major instrument is an accordion and a girl’s spoken words on the last track. As inaccessible as “Vitalogy” can be, it is the logical extension of “Vs.” With “Vitalogy,” the band members sound matches and sometimes surpasses the power ful vocals of Eddie Vedder while still sounding like a collective whole. This is especially evident on the song “Satan’s Bed.” Guitar ists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready still provide some of the best guitar work in rock today on this track. Ironically, some of the best musical moments on “Vitalogy” come from the drumming. Former drummer Dave Abruzzese does such a great job keeping up with Vedder’s rapid-fire lyrics, it’s a wonder why they decided to fire him. As great as the band members are in Pearl Jam, it is lead singer Eddie Vedder who makes this band one of the most important since Led Zeppelin. On “ Vitalogy,” Vedder swings from thoughtful whispers to enraged screams. The lyrics on “Vitalogy” fo cus on people in limbo. Vedder gets a chance to rally against people who have made him into an idol. Both yearning and fear ing for the chance to be alone, Vedder sometimes can be a walk ing contradiction. “Vitalogy” is bound to scare off some of Pearl Jam’s fans. On the song “Bugs,” Eddie Vedder contemplates what he should do about all of the bugs around him. “Do I confuse them?/1 don’t think they’re dumb/ Do I join them/ looks like that’s the one,” Eddie sings while an accordion plays a twisted melody in the back ground. Some may compare this re lease to Nirvana’s “In Utero.” Nirvana’s last studio album was criticized by some to be unbear able to listen to and was made only to scare away the band’s new fans. Some may think the same with “Vitalogy.” That couldn’t be further from the truth on each release. Plenty of songs on “Vitalogy” could be released as singles with out sacrificing any of their musi cal integrity. The soft sound of “Better Man,” the headbanging “Spin the Black Circle” and “Not for You” are great examples of this. While “Ten” and most of “Vs.” were able to be sound accessible without a trace of selling out, “Vitalogy” steers Pearl Jam in a new direction. It’s a release that demands the audience to actu ally listen to the music. As de manding as it is, “Vitalogy” of fers plenty of rewards to the pa tient listener. —Sean McCarthy m STUDENT BASKETBALL TICKET HOLDERS You are invited to join Coach Danny Nee, the men's basketball team and the Spirit Squad as they show you their appreciation for your excellent participation last season. This year we hope to expand the group that so successfully helped the team win the final home games last season. This group, nicknamed the "cornSTALKERS" needs all of your help. Prior to the Creighton game, membership cards and t-shirts will be handed out to the first 1,000 students who want to be a STALKER. As a STALKER, you will also be eligible to win all kinds of prizes during halftime of the games by participating in a basketball shoot ing contest and one lucky STALKER will win free tuition for the 1395 fall semester. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7.4:30 P.M. BOB DEVANEY SPORTS CENTER Bring your ticket and enter through the lower level southeast door to get your seat for the Creighton Game and have dinner with Danny Nee. FREE T-SHIRT, HOT DOG & COKE FOR THE FIRST 1,000 STUDENT TICKET HOLDERS* THROUGH THE DOOR AT 4:30 PM *NU intercollegiate student athletes and validated student ticket holders not eligible to receive t-shirt, hot dog or Coke. _ PeopleWatch _ Shaq dedicates rap to stepfather NEW YORK (AP) — Shaquille O’Neal dedicated a rap song to his stepfather because his biological one “didn’t bother.” The basketball star said Joe Toney left the family when O’Neal was a few months old and wasn’t around when he was grow ing up. “But now that I’m a rapper, movie star and a good basketball player, now he wants to go on Howard Stern and Rikki Lake and let people know. So I did the song,” O’Neal said in the latest issue of People magazine. ine song on his recent album is “Biological Didn’t Bother.” O’Neal dismisses Toney as the man who “left me out in the cold, when a few months old.” The rap is dedicated to Philip Harrison, who met O’Neal’s mother, Lucille, when the two were city workers in Newark, N. J. They married when O’Neal was two. “He took me from a boy to a man,” the Orlando Magic star raps. “Phil is my father, ’cause my biological didn’t bother.” Bono bones up on Capitol Hill PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Sonny Bono’s head is spin ning after a Capitol Hill orienta tion. The newly elected congress man and his fellow Republican freshmen are in Washington for nearly three weeks of classes and retreats. “I cannot believe how hectic this is,” the former singer and Palm Springs mayor said, “They even lecture at us during break fast. It never ends.” Bono, who takes the oath of office Jan. 4, is getting an earful on the GOP’s Contract With America. The nearly three weeks of ori entation began Nov. 29 with a group photo on the Capitol steps. The group got a lecture on House protocol and ethics rules con cerning gifts, hiring practices and favors. “There are a lot of rules,” Bono said. “But I learned to separate my personal life from my profes sional and political life, and to make those distinctions clear, when I was a mayor.” Alcohol, not sex, addicted Douglas., NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Douglas wants to clarify his former addiction. It was to alco hol — not sex. The actor said false reports of a sex addiction grew out of his roles in “Basic Instinct” and “Fa tal Attraction.” “These characters were sexu ally driven. The media got this great handle from the film and rode with it. I can’t belie ve people are so titillated by this,” Douglas said in the January issue of Van ity Fair magazine. Douglas said he entered Arizona’s Sierra Tucson clinic to deal with the effects of a “cumu lative lifestyle” that included excessive drinking. He was vague on the details. “I went into rehab to save my marriage, but I wound up saving myself,” he said. Look no further. ♦ $9.95 shipping & handtog Brand Now U.S. Military ALL-WEATHER TRENCH COATS 50% cotton/50% polyester Limited quantity cn/aiable so order NOW. 1-800-217-6168 Navy blue with zip-out liner] {Single and double-breasted] available in most sizes J 10 Missouri Western State College Summer Business Program in Strasbourg France /oof la laN [a •France "Summer "95 quelle experience! Study Tour Agenda July 7 - August 5. 1995 Morning Classes Afternoon/Weekend Tours Rhine River Cruise Verdun Battle Held Cathedrals Museums Antique Car Displays Castles Abbeys Festivals European Parliament Business/Non-Business Majors.Live/Study in a 17th Century French Chateau 7 Hours Credit Available.Resident French Chefs Prepare Meals 3 Packages Starting at $3,300.No French language Requirement Fee Includes Tuition/Room/Board/Airfare/Excursion FeesA/ideo Scrapbook FREE Brochure call 816-271-4338 or E-Mail Jenner@griffon.mwsc.edu iftilLincolis own Jassen ly popp •Wednesday, December 7,1994 •8.-00PM •$5.00 cover at the door or buy tickets in advance •Cash Bar. All ages are welcome. •A tribute to: Pop, rock, R&B Country, and Broadway. •Sponsored by Top of the Rock and Rock-n-Roll Runza on 14th & P. •For informatlpn, call 474*2030. F3iDe a experience
