Meat Beat Manifesto “Actual Sounds & Voices” nothing records Grade: B Squarepusher “BigLoada” nothing records Grade: A When Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame said he was starting a record company, it sounded a little strange. Then he started getting groups, and it ail started to make sense. With Nothing Records, Reznor picked up two of the best digital musi cians working today: Jack Dangers (a.k.a. Meat Beat Manifesto) and Tom Jenkinson (a.k.a. Squarepusher.) Start with Jack Dangers - call him the most hit-or-miss musician work ing today. Dangers, under the name Meat Beat Manifesto, has been part of the music industry for nearly 10 years now, working as a remixer and a breakbeat whiz kid with a flair for heavy-bass techno. He has a knack for creating house music gone acid then clean again. He’s worked with dozens of people, from the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprosy to Emergency Broadcast Network. MBM is almost better known as a remixer than a composer, and there are reasons for this. Dangers is the master of the hard and fast single, but after that, he tends to waver a little bit, and pads each album with filler. Sometimes a great album slips out, a la “Satyricon.” Other times, he gets overly gratuitous, as in the thoroughly padded “Subliminal Sandwich.” The newest album, “Actual Sounds & Voices,” finds Dangers backed by two other folk - Lynn Farmer who handles drums and per cussion, and John Wilson on prepared guitars. Dangers himself is listed as performing voice, bass and “stuff” i.e. everything else. It’s also only Dangers’ second album working with computers, fol lowing “Subliminal Sandwich.” While “Actual Sounds & Voices” isn’t anywhere as self-indulgent as “Subliminal Sandwich,” it does have a few moments that will build an auto nomic reaction to hit the track skip button; “The Tweak” immediately comes to mind. Dangers is getting great at adding layer upon layer of sound and filling headphones or speakers with a lull of waves - only to be followed by a rage of drums and distorted guitars. Unfortunately, though, “Actual Sounds & Voices” doesn’t really con tain a stand-out song like most of Dangers’ work. There is no “It’s the Music” here, which is perhaps the most redeeming part of “Subliminal Sandwich.” Part of the problem is that Dangers is trying too much too fast too often. He’s learning how the computers work and readapting his tape-loop mentality to the flexibility of a digital system. Some people like to compare Dangers to fellow digital gurus Future Sound of London or Aphex Twin. Neither of these, unfortunately, is a fair comparison. If MBM were to be compared to anyone, the closest and most likely suspect would be Fluke, but both take very different approaches to their music. MBM loves to flood noise after noise after noise until there’s almost a complete cacophony. By contrast, Fluke lets huge walls of drum and bass fill each track-and color in the rest with little details. While the two are very different, they are also very simi lar. “Actual Sounds & Voices” isn’t a bad place for someone to start listen ing to MBM, but it also isn’t the best work that Dangers is capable of. It’s good, but not stellar. Then there’s Tom Jenkinson - call him the most fluid man in music today. As Squarepusher, he has slowly changed from the hard-hitting drum ’n’ bass techno to a sort of jazz-techno hybrid, the likes of which are new to the ears. But the first thing Nothing Records did when it signed Squarepusher was to collect all of the early singles and compile them into one CD. It’s called “Big Loada.” The singles are the raw techno breakbeat powerhouse kicks one would expect from a person bred in London’s acid house scene. The key to “Big Loada,” however, is to realize that it’s a collection of 7? early tracks that don’t have any real continuity. That said, “Big Loada” is a balls out combination of good solid drum ’n’ bass, including the surreal fuzz tones and slap-bass of “Come On My Selector.” The CD is even enhanced so you can see the video for the track on any computer. Don’t buy “Music Is Rotted One Note,” Squarepusher’s newest album, or “Buddakhan Mindphone,” its latest EP - expect heavy techno. The jazz that isn’t prevalent here gets much stronger. All in all, these two releases hold promise for Nothing Records, which might just start to establish a counter to Astralwerks, the label that’s had a firm hold on techno in the United States. Thanks to labels such as nothing records, V2 Records and Warp Records, there are other options. And thanks to artists like Squarepusher and Meat Beat Manifesto; there’s good music to sup port them. -CliffHicks Jonathan Richman “I’m So Confused” Vapor Records Grade: B It’s a testament to Jonathan Richman’s talent that he can make a line work such as “I want to open up my lunchbox and find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in there, like when I was 6 years old and somebody loved me. For Richman, the world is an awk ward, confusing place where he can’t remember the address of a party (“The Night Is Still Young”), his favorite'places to shop are as awkward as he is (“The Lonely Little Thrift Store”) and love is a constant source of tension (‘True Love Is Not Nice”). But Richman never sounds depressed. He’s the gawky teen-ager who never grew up, but in this role the world always looks brand new. Richman may have been one of the major inspirations for punk rock, but his undying optimism is miles away from the punk scene’s nihilism and anger. Just imagine Johnny Rotten or Joe Strummer singing a line such as “People all over the world are good, people all over the world ain’t bad,” as Richman does on “Affection.” Most people know Richman from his role as the singer in “There’s Something About Mary.” The small part showed his wry sense of humor and introduced him to a mainstream audience. But Richman had made his mark on underground rock back in 1972. A collection of demos made with his band, the Modem Lovers pro duced by the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, was recorded then, but cold feet from the record company prevented the album from being released until 1976. The self-titled album is one of the greatest rock records ever. Richman copped the raw sound from the Velvets, but injected die music with a sweetness and naivete that Lou Reed and Co. were too gritty and experi enced to explore. The record saw Richman put down drugs and pro mote healthy living 10 years before the “straight-edge” movement erupt ed in hard-core punk, without that scene’s preachy elitism. Richman explores the same lyri cal topics 25-plus years later on “I’m So Confused,” and the music is as catchy and honest as his first album. Although Richman abandoned the punk guitar sound of the Modern Lovers for quieter acoustic-based music, his songs still sparkle with the punk ethic of simple, fat-free rock that’s not trying to make a fast buck. Ric Ocasek produced the album, and it’s his most subtle work yet. Ocasek, who usually takes the con trolling hand in a record’s sound, sits back and lets Richman and Ms band mates play their songs cletoriy and simply. Richman’s guitar playing is not going to get him on the cover of “Guitar World” anytime soon, but his playful mixture of flamenco, pop and raw rock is subtle and perfect. The album’s only flaw is the repet itive pleasantness that mars a few of the most ordinary songs. Some listen ers may also get tired of Richman’s adolescent themes. Even though Richman has been happily married for nearly 20 years and has teen-age children, he is still singing about the experiences of being young. If listeners can get past this, they will find Richman’s simple observations surprisingly profound. Unlike manufactured teen idols from Leif Garrett to Britney Spears, Richman actually nails down what it’s like to be an awkward, insecure teen ager. If it takes a middle-aged father to get adolescence right, so be it -JoshKmuter '.U4'J.'.L"nlLl. t mm h hvk access years from the Web Directory: http://dahyneb.com find us at: http://www.navix.net Cheek these* sites out at dailyiteb.coni | Magazine covers stop in Lincoln STONE from page 9 cal elements of modernity. Sexy, nude photographs of hot actors and bands have become commonplace for the magazine’s front covers, accenting the growing lust in American entertain ment Simply put, Rolling Stone isn’t exactly what it set out to be. “How the mighty ambitions have fallen,” Repprat said. “Although it’s probably unfair to judge an era based on an idealistic statement of another time.” Thirty years ago, founding father Jann Wenner sold a magazine about “devil’s music.” Now walking through the exhibit is as much a business experience as it is musical. The aforementioned fust issue, as well as its six successors, was printed on non-glossy paper in a fully black and-white design. Rolling Stone’s financial growth is obviously displayed as the production quality improves from year to year. Repprat said the magazine’s focus has also changed, but didn’t go as far as to hold it entirely against die publica tion. Rolling Stone has always been indicative of the times, he said. “It wasn’t so much about hype as it was content back when they started,” he said. “It’s not the intellectual juggernaut it used to be. “Nothing is the intellectual jugger naut it used to be.” The layers of potential discussion for the “Covers Tour” display are great evidence of the impact Rolling Stone has had on American culture. Repprat said he enjoyed the exhibit and still picks up a new copy of the magazine from time to time. “I believe that popular culture is an important reflection of the time,” he said. “I’m still interested in what’s going on in popular arts and culture, and Rolling Stone can give me a quick overview.” • O’