_____— ------— --—, ■■ Jeff Randall Web rocks with music information Despite what some of the purists may tell you, the World Wide Web has fast become one of the biggest sources of capitalist promotion that the world, maybe the universe, has ever seen. The lack of spatial limitations on the Web makes for a whole lot of advertising. And one of the bigger culprits of this electronic sales pitch barrage has been the recording indus try. At this point in time, nearly every band that has ever put pick to guitar or stick to drum has some sort of information site on the Web. (I was surprised I didn’t find a page for Funkernickel, my basement-bound band from a couple years ago.) But despite the inherently money based foundation of these sites, a wealth of information exists for the curious music fan who is able to resist the temptation to buy, buy and buy. The majors are, of course, the cre ators of some of the technically supe rior and faster sites. Among the better ones are Atlantic , Capitol and Reprise , all of which boast links to individual artists and groups. Geffen Records has one of the best sites, with a plethora of bands to choose from, including such stellar talents as Urge Overkill, Weezer, Elastica and Sonic Youth. And if talent isn’t an issue, you can check out Jawbreaker and Veruca Salt, as well. But, as any true music fan will tell you, the heart of all music resides in the small and scrappy independent labels that chum out high-quality, hi fi sound by even the smallest bands. The only problem is that some of those labels are so small that finding them on the Web is a nearly insur mountable task. No problem, all you have to do is click over to the Indie Labels List . Here you can find hundreds of links to inde pendent record company sites and brief information on each label. This A to Z indie source is about as comprehensive as can be found on the Web, and sifting through its contents should chew up hours of valuable study time, if you take on the whole list. But whe ever said you had to go to the four comers to find good music? There’s plenty right here in Lincoln, and one of its main purveyors is none other then Bernie McGinn and Caulfield Records . McGinn, a professional Web page designer and bassist/voealist for Side show, has set up a dandy little site to let people all over the world know that corn and cattle aren’t the Comhusker state’s only exports. So, if you’ve got music in your blood and the band doesn’t look like it will be getting together all that soon, take a tour of the record indus try on the Web. Randall is a sophomore news-editorial major and a Dally Nebraskan senior reporter. .«,» f . * ris^fftt »L»J / r •'.** *?**'->*? Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Gene Watson (Johnny Depp) tries to turn the tables on political assassins who have abducted his daughter in “Nick of Time.” Time runs out on the shallow flick ‘Nick’ By Rainbow Rowell film Critic You can imagine how “Nick of Time” got made. A bunch of Hollywood types sitting around the table. Wouldn’t it be cool if a man and his daughter were kidnapped by strangers in a train station, and the strangers say they will assassi nate the little girl unless her father assassinates the governor within 90 minutes? Even cooler, what if you filmed the movie in real time, 90 minutes for 90 minutes? Coolest: Johnny Depp plays Gene Watson, Everyman, and Christopher Walken is Mr. Smith, the Dangerous Stranger. Cool, in theory. In practice, the makers of “Nick of Time” never reached beyond cool idea to good movie. The movie never deepens beyond this premise. It tries. Depp tries. Hard. He consistently sweats and looks desperate. For a whiles it’s-exciting- to- > experience every minute of the predicament with Watson, to wander around Los Angeles’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel with him via director John Badham’s hand-held cameras. Watson looks at his watch. Ninety minutes. Seventy-eight minutes. An hour. The audience looks with him, sweats with him. And then ... Watson looks at his watch again and again... and again. Badham wastes precious time with lengthy montages of every clock in the hotel and lingering shots of Watson’s Seiko. Badham’s action scenes are mildly exciting. But watching Mr. Smith chase Watson through the hotel and its famous glass elevators just reminded me how much better the location was used in “In the Line of Fire.” In desperation, Watson enlists the help of a reluctant, but kind shoeshine man (Charles S. Dutton). There follows a not-so-ingenious plot in which the hotel staff help Depp escape his damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situa tion. Huey the shoeshiner is amusing, but his char acter is sketchy. Like all the other characters, f Film: “Nick of Time” Stars: Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton Director: John Badham Rating: R (violence, language) Grade: C Five words: Depp can’t save in time there just isn’t enough information about his personality or history to make him interesting. The acting is fine. Depp shows he can play desperate. Marsha Mason is OK as the governor/ target, and Courtney Chase, 7, is cute enough that you don’t want her shot. Walken’s Mr. Smith and his assistant, Ms. Jones (Roma Maffia) are probably the most interesting characters. Walken fans will enjoy the insanely violent Mr. Smith. “Nick of Time” isn’t a waste of time, but it isn’t much of a movie, either. Extravaganza ‘Nutcracker’ adds twist with Joffrey Ballet oy rauia Lavigne Senior Reporter The fantasy of a Christmas tradition will be spiced up with the fame of the Joflrey Ballet -—-when the Chicago company DailCe i°*ns Ballet Omaha this week ^ endtopresent“TheNutcracker Ballet Suite.” Omaha’s Orpheum Theater will be one of three stops for the touring production. The others will be in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The performance will be the largest, most extravagant production in Joffrey’s history, Ballet Omaha Co-Director Derrick Wilder said. The Joffrey Ballet performed its modem-rock ballet “Billboards” at UNL’s Lied Center for Performing Arts in September 1994. Wilder said the “Nutcracker” partnership came about because the Ballet Omaha artistic director, Ann Mane DeAngelo, recently became the Joffrey Ballet’s associate director. “It’s allowing us to present dance in the community at this time that we were unable to perform ourselves,” he said. Monday night, only three days before the first performance, was the first time the two groups of dancers met. s “The children are thrilled,” Wilder said, ‘hut I think the parents are the most thrilled. Calming the parents down is the hardest part.” When ticketholders who haven’t been to the “Nutcracker” in many years see the production, they’ll be in for a surprise beyond the addition of the Joffrey dancers. After years of performing to recorded music, the Tchaikovsky score will be delivered live by the Omaha Symphony. While the score and the basic storyline stick to tradition, the audience will see a different “Nutcracker” because Ballet Omaha updated the 1850s version of the dance and set it in the swingin’ 1920s. t il i.. . .... . Little Clara and her friends are at a movie audition instead of a Christmas party, her magi cal uncle is the movie producer, and the snow scene is styled like a Las Vegas show review, Wilder said. “The story’s the same no matter what the set lodes like,” he said. “It’s the same old same old. But people who know the Joffrey through its jazzed-up “Billboards” production shouldn’t expect the same of “Nutcracker.” The holiday tradition retains its classical appeal, he saia, but is polished off with a new twist. “Joffrey is known for its variety and cutting edge kind of dance,” he said. “You have the traditional, pure classic ballet mixed with con temporary. The “Nutcracker’s” run begins in Omaha tonight at 8. Additional performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and 8 pjn. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15, $25, $30 and $40 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.