Feltsman
Continued from Page 9
His debut performances at
Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center
were met with rave reviews, making
him one of the world’s most sought
after pianists.
For the past eight years, Feltsman
has occupied a Distinguished Chair at
the State University of New York’s
College at New Paltz.
At New Paltz he teaches courses in
piano literature, conducts a series of
master classes and instructs a limited
number of piano majors.
In addition to teaching, Feltsman
has performed with almost all of the
major American orchestras, as well as
such leading international ensembles
as the London Symphony,
Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw,
the Israel Philharmonic and the NHK
of Japan.
Feltsman also has 11 compact discs
to his name, as well as two more
scheduled for release in the near fu
ture.
The All-Brahms concert consists ol
two parts. The first part is Brahms’
Symphony No. 4, which will be fol
lowed by an intermission.
The second part will be Brahms’
Piano Concerto No. 1, with Feltsman
as the featured soloist.
“It’s a monumental piano concerto,
one of the pillars of orchestral reper
toire,” Mill said.
The concert will be held at the Lied
Center, with the show starting at 7:30.
Tickets are $28, $23 and $18, half
price for students with identification. [
Newvid
Continued from Page 9
propriatcly, the bad apple in the bas
ket.
In a d-gradc mix of “Johnny
Mnemonic” and “Brainstorm,”
“Strange Days” looks at the black
marketeering of experiences. It is
the future (ala “Blade Runner”),
and Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) is an ex
cop peddling chunks of people’s
lives. When he comes to possess the
memory tape of a murder, however,
he soon finds his life in danger.
Fiennes’ co-stars include Angela
Bassett, Juliette Lewis and Tom
Sizemore. Unfortunately, the film
runs too long, and the plot is too
boring to really be worth recom
mending. Better luck elsewhere.
PICK OF THE WEEK — If ro
mance makes you puke, get out
your favorite vomiting vat for
“Frankie and Johnny,” a very well
done romance with enough drama
to offset the chegsincss.
Johnny (ATT'acino) falls head
over heels for Frankie (Michelle
Pfeiffer), but problems from their
past relationships cause problems
for each of them in the present.
Still, the two must find a way to
make their love work, and the per
formances from both Pacino and
Pfeiffer are top-notch. Check it out.
Bilko
Continued from Page 9
too, feels as if he’s cheating us with
his current career.
The real shame about Martin is that
he hasn’t actually become a moron.
He’s written more than one play re
cently, each funnier and more intelli
gent than anything he’s made in the
last five years on film. But Martin is a
snob, and he’s not going to share his
artistic pearls with the swine of the
American people any longer.
So instead of autographs, the film
star hands out his preprinted card to
fans. And instead of a film version of
his new play, “Picasso at the Lapin
Agile,” we get bilked with “Sgt.
Bilko.”
! Music Reviews
Various Artists
“Songs In The Kev Of X — The
X-Files”
Warner Brothers
Grade: B+
This is not a soundtrack. This is
a collection of songs in the spirit of
TV cult (and I use the word loosely)
hit “The X-Filcs."
* Yes, the “X-FilesM theme is on
the compact disc, in its full format,
clocking in at three minutes. Yes,
it’s great to have the theme song.
No, it’s not the best thing on the
album.
Almost 71 minutes long, the al
bum is full of a lot of things that
invoke images of Agents Mulder
and Scully, aliens and conspiracies,
spooks and psychics.
Soul Coughing released its first
new track in a couple of years with
“Unmarked Helicopters,” which
catches the cover-up perfectly in
sound, lyric and form, ranking
among the prime choices of the CD.
William S. Burroughs and
R.E.M. collaborate on a bizarre in
terpretation of “Star Me Kitten.”
Burroughs’ delivery is dry and
raspy, with his voice adding new
depths to the song.
Other fitting tracks include Meat
Puppets’ “Unexplained,” Sheryl
Crow’s “On The Outside,” Filter’^
acoustic “Thanks Bro,” P.M.
Dawn’s “If You Never Say
Goodbye*’ (as well as the remix of
the theme), and the Foo Fighter’s
cover of “Down In the Park.”
A conspiracy is at foot here,
however.
0 is also a number. To hear two
of the three best songs on the al
bum, follow these instructions. Go
to track one and push pause. Time
scroll backwards.
That’s right, your CD player has
been brainwashed into not recog
nizing these two songs as such, so
you will have to force it to listen.
When you can’t time scroll back
any further, push pause again, and
you will hear nine minutes of mu
sic you didn’t hear before.
One is a Nick Cave song that
sounds like John Cale reading Jim
Morrison lyrics. The other is from
The Dirty Three, a tribal techno mix
that defies description.
Granted, the album has a few
bombs like the Danzig track, but
even the tracks that aren’t pleasant
to the ear fit in.
If you watch David Duchovny
and Gillian Anderson on a regular
aasis, or even just occasionally, this
s for you.
—Cliff Hicks
Geoff Moore And The Distance
“Home Run!”
Starstruck Music
Grade: B
Geoff Moore And The Distance
present their latest praise offering
with “Home Run!”
As usual, the lyrics arc the most
important part of this contemporary
Christian music. With Moore’s tal
ents for collaboration (most nota
bly with Steven Curtis Chapman)
and writing, he conveys his message
to the listener.
' Many of the situations described
can be applied to spiritual, emo
tional and physical relationships,
which is a plus.
A few of the tunes have minor
difficulties, however. Because the
album has a basic pop sound, its
tracks tend to blend together.
“Home Run!” docs have its mer
its and they arc many. The album
improves as it develops. -■ - - *■
In “Come Near To Me,” the ba
sic rock ballad finds its niche. The
“unplugged” acoustic guitar intro
duction and cello in the accompa
niment add effective nuances to the
simplicity of the song.
Another ballad, “We Are Wait
ing,” features straight harmonies.
When dissonance does appear, it’s
a pleasant surprise. The piano in the
last refrain adds a gospel feel that
works well.
There’s a scene in the movie
“City Slickers” when the main char
acters discuss their best and worst
days. Though reminiscent of the
movie, the song “Best Days” is bet
ter because it’s set to music. The
song has a simple, relatively slow
tempo, acoustic guitars, and a few
other instruments fade in and out
with a great rhythmic background.
Of course, the lyrics are notable,
too.
The album’s biggest disappoint
ment lies in the title track. “Home
Run” delivers an interesting meta
phor in the form of God coaching
one team against Satan coaching the
other.
The presentation is awry,
though. The song could get by with
fewer gimmicks, like the voice
overs. By the end of the piece, the
gimmicks are old.
“Home Run!” is a respectable
presentation after the beginning.
Even if you don’t generally listen
to this genre, give it a shot.
— Emily Wray
Brutal Juice
“Mutilation Makes Identification
Difficult”
Interscope Records
Grade: B
After touring with an assortment
of high-profile independent record
label acts, such as Nomeansno,
Neurosis and Alice Donut, Brutal
Juice, in a surprising move, signed
on with Interscope Records to re
lease its first full-length album.
The title, “Mutilation Makes
Identification Difficult,” not to men
tion the bizarre cover art, gives the
listener some preview as to what the
band is about.
Widely lauded for its overpow
ering stage show, Brutal Juice
comes close to this intensity on its
compact disc. The songs arc basic
chord progressions, with many
parts, each part living in d minor
key.
Drummer Ben Burt moves
things along and leads the band
through the many tempo changes.
The frontal attack is supplied by
guitarists Gordon Gibson and Ted
Wood. Gordon Gibson sings behind
the powerful screams of vocalist
Craig Welch. This combination pro
vides a rather atypical sound.
The explicit language and dark
tone of this CD will keep most of
these songs out of the top 40 rota
tion.
“The Vaginals," a song with the
humorous chorus: “you’re not so
pretty on the inside/ where it counts,
yes it’s true/ well I’m ugly on the
inside too/ just like you", is the only
exception to this, but the title elimi
nates any hope that it ever had at
mainstream success.
Denton, Texas, is the town Bru
tal Juice calls home. With the al
most nightly executions in Texas,
perhaps this explains some of the
band’s gory tendencies. The back
cover of this CD features a less than
tasteful picture of a bloody toilet
bowl. Even more haunting than the
toilet bowl is the unidentifiable
bloody mass — its contents left to
the imagination — floating in the
bowl.
Overall, Brutal Juice is a unique
blend of anger, fortified with tales
of murder and other incoherent
thoughts.
— Brooks Hitt
The Click
“Game Related**
Jivc/Sick Wid It
Grade: B
Related. That’s what The Click
is. Brothers E-40, D-Shot and Suga
T and cousin B-Lcgit. It’s a family
thing.
If you’re hip to The Click, you
know the members hail from the
Bay Area, more specifically Vallejo,
Calif. E-40 has established himself
as one of the top MCs on the West
Coast with three solo albums and a
unique jerk-you-along style.
With the Bay Area exploding
into the newest big hip-hop venue,
“Game Related” is just what you
would expect. Bay-style funk and
the mack flow.
Everything in Click Land is
slow-rolling, never too fast. This
groove is paved with electronic
sounds, guitar licks or grinding
bass.
The four MCs complement each
other’s flows. No one tries to bite
E-40’s patented flow, although
Suga T comes the closest.
Since their first album, the
band’s members have come into
their own, with Suga making the
most dramatic jump in lyrical tight
ness. D and B can mack with
Oakland’s best.
The first single, “Hurricane,”
brought the four back together to
highlight their diversity, as well as
their favorite drink. This is a good
song if you can check out the re
mix that tightens the production and
chorus.
The members have their own
solo track, with E-40’s “World Went
Crazy” standing out as some clas
sic E-40 work. Suga T falls a bit
short with “If I Took Your Boy
friend,” which soon will be featured •
as the second single from her solo
album “Paper Chasin’.”
If you like West Coast flavor, and
especially Bay Area funk, “Game
Related” can help you get your
groove on.
—Greg Schick
Joke ‘cracks’ on national monument
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A cur
sory check of the Liberty Bell on
Monday found no trace of taco juice
on the iron, no Burrito Supremes in
the crack.
No, Taco Bell didn’t buy the Lib
erty Bell.
In an April Fools’ Day joke, the
\ . fast-food chain took out full-page ads
in eight newspapers announcing that
it had purchased America’s symbol of
freedom to help shrink the federal
debt.
The bell will henceforth be called,
the ads said, the Taco Liberty Bell.
By noon — the traditional time for
confessions — the company c&me
clean. The bell will remain in its home
outside Independence Hall, and the
Irvine, Calif., company will donate
$50,000 toward preservation and
maintenance.
“We would never say we didn’t
need the money,” said Martha B.
Aikens, superintendent of Indepen
dence National Historical Park. “But j
the word sale'never came up.”
Taco Bell refused to say how much
it paid for the ads. \ \ , \ \ *
