Female artists'releases deserve acclaim
BY ANDREW SHAW
The mid-'90s brought us the
glorification of many ideas that
never lasted: homoerotic chic,
unbound angst and powerful,
introspective women.
The women of the music
scene in 2000 have to sell their
bodies and keep the intelligent
thoughts tightly locked inside
their minds or face the chopping
block. Three queens of mid-'90s
rock, Jill Sobule, Tracy Bonham
and Poe, have released albums in
2000, which have been drastically
and lamentably overlooked.
Jill Sobule’s career has been
spotted and, perhaps, defined by
rejection. Having been signed
and dropped by two major labels,
Sobule finds her new home at
Beyond Music. Her 1995 self
tided release featured the tongue
in-cheek bit “I Kissed A Girl.” Her
playful folk-based rock was popu
lar for a short time before falling
into obscurity.
Sobule’s 2000 release, “Pink
Pearl,” renews faith in artists who
won’t sacrifice their personal
sound for another chance to
climb the pop charts. The first
track, “Rainy Day Parade,” sur
rounds Sobule with her favorite
composition: lounge-style
acoustic guitar, sunny vocals and
a generally peppy sound.
An outstanding track on “Pink
Pearl” pokes fun at the entertain
ment industry that rejects her.
“Heroes” points out the faults of
many famous people in history:
“Pablo Picasso cruel to his wives.
My favorite poets took their own
lives.” The lyrics seem bitter, but
the music counters the idea, dip
ping along on the frisky theme,
which is maintained throughout
die album.
Sobule’s music is infectiously
joyful and intelligently childlike,
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an idea that has been lost in
today’s music. She approaches
rock with a refreshing view, a
weathered past that has turned
into an ear-to-ear smile. She dis
cusses friends, family and the
purest moments of happiness on
“Pink Pearl,” and it’s time that an
artist stands strong for the posi
tive and downplays the negativity
oflife.
Whereas Sobule continues to
be jovial, Tracy Bonham found
temporary popularity in 1996
through the exploitation of unfet
tered agony.
Raised in Eugene, Ore.,
Bonham started playing violin at
age nine under die guidance of
her music-teacher mother. Ever
since, she has been combating
the shackles of classical music.
From “The Burdens of Being
Upright,” Bonham’s debut album,
the single “Mother Mother”
crashed into the charts, echoing
the anger expressed in the male
dominated grunge scene. On
“Down Here,” Bonham’s latest
release, she continues to exude
frustration through her voice, vio
lin and guitar.
The new album showcases
her talents on the violin and dis
pels all stereotypes that the
instrument must be heard in a
classical setting. “Cold Day in
Hell” combines eerie intervals on
the violin with distorted bass and
erratic drums in a sporadic fury.
No other artist comes dose to cre
ating such an awe-inspiring doth
from the polar threads of classical
roots and hard rock.
The single “Freed” begins with
a complacently bowed violin and
an equally soothing vocal timbre,
which explode into a liberated yet
controlled conflagration of
sound. The musical qualities of
"Freed” mirror Bonham’s career.
Her debut album was her first
jump into die record industry and
allowed her to experience the
Music Review
Jill Sobule
jitle: “Pink Pearl*
—fLabeh
★★★ of5
■
rock potential of her instrument,
though she had to fight for legiti
macy in the industry.
Because of complications
with her label, Bonham was
forced out of the studio for nearly
a year. When she finally stepped
back into the studio, she felt liber
ated from the label’s bonds, as
well as from the confines of the
critical eyes of the industry and
public and was allowed to make
music without having to legit
imize herself the whole way. She is
free from being held down, and
“Down Here” is a celebration of
that journey.
Poe’s latest release,
“Haunted,” guides the listener
through a journey as well, but one
of the mind and spirit
Five years ago, Poe released
“Hello,” her debut album, which
was introduced to alternative
radio with the singles “Angry
Johnny” and "Trigger Happy
Jack.” The music produced on
“Hello” was obviously rock, but
contained a macabre spiritual
element which alluded to larger
concepts.
“Haunted” was grown from
one sucji concept and is one of
the greatest musical undertakings
of the past decade. After finding
recordings of her late father’s
voice, Poe became obsessed with
listening and coming to terms
with her upbringing and his
untimely death. The album is a
continuous dream sequence,
held together with ethereal
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Music Review
Tracy Bonham
[title: “Down Here"
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of 5 stars
segues containing samples other
father’s voice and a dialogue
between the two of them.
"Haunted” shakes listeners to
their souls and uncovering the
mysteries of this album becomes
an obsession. Poe commands
various genres from the Latin
touched "Spanish Doll,” the driv
ing rock of “Walk the Walk,” the
laid-back "5&1/2 Minute
Hallway” and the demurely hon
est “IfYou Were Here.”
The journey is traveled by all
vyho experience “Haunted.” The
confinement and liberation, the
fear and conquering of spirits
become an expedition through
listening.
Recorded and manipulated
completely on Poe's computer,
“Haunted” is one of the most fine
ly crafted albums of recent histo
ry. It is distressing to know that
this musical masterpiece will be
overlooked because of the indus
try's fear to take a chance on a
truly thought-provoking and
poignant theme. It’s a lot easier to
hype up Ricky Martin or
Madonna, but the benefits of
experiencing “Haunted” could
change how people approach and
experience loss, discovery and
fear.
It is a shame that all three of
these virtuosos, masters of their
genre, were abandoned by a
music industry obsessed with
temporary distraction and instant
gratification of animal desires.
We should all be offended that
the mind-numbing sludge of
Britney Spears and Eminem is
force-fed by the media, and the
intellectual and inspiring music
of Sobule, Bonham and Poe’s is
not offered to an audience that
can truly be changed through the
experience of active listening.
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UNLtheater
has century
ofsuccess
CENTURY from page 5
“The ’40s and '50s were about
buildingup the department, but the
’60s and 70s were more creative,”
Overton said. “It was very technical
We concentrated on improving
dialects, diction, staging, lights,
sound and design.”
Always a perfectionist, Williams
trained his students in all levels of
theater, demanding nothing less
than their personal best
For effect, Williams, a known
perfectionist, would throw a chair
or smash a watch during rehearsals.
“He would tell them it was a
family heirloom, but he had a full
drawer of these smashed watches,”
Overton said, laughing. “The stu
dents were quite distressed over it”
Overton said one of the last
times she and Williams talked was
“quite puzzling,” as he walked
through Temple, asking Overton “to
take care of business.”
As Overton arrived to see a per
formance a few days later, she saw
Wiliams in his office window as he
dramatically bowed and tipped his
hat to her. That night in 1971,
Wiliams died of a stroke.
“After Dallas’ death, I went into
his office, and his desk was cleared
except for about 80 little square
notes asking me to take care of this
and that”
Symbolizing the excellence of
university theater, golden statues
called “The Dallas” are given to stu
dents everyyear, making the perfec
tionist himself proud.
** #
Since the 1970s, the theatre
department has drastically revised
curriculum, and die theater under
went a massive renovation project
in 1979.
“It was totally gutted,"
Hagemeier said “It was just a shell
All that was left was the attic and the
Howell stage. Now, it looks more
institutional, but I think part of its
character is gone now.”
But UNL theater has yet to see
legacies like Alice and Dallas.
In this age of brief university
level jobs, the department stands
on its own today, totting 103 under
graduates and 16 graduate students
this year- a far cry from its humble
beginnings in 1900.
Despite a rich history spanning
an entire century, the university
theatre arts department embraces
its future with the expansion of the
Temple building and the creation of
classes geared toward new media
such as film-making, CD-ROMs
and Web design, Hagemeier said
"We want to offer new avenues
for training students,” she said “We
can change with technology with
computer-aided classes.”
Despite being the oldest theater
in Lincoln, the Howell Theatre
lobby recently received a facelift
with new lights, railings, carpet and
a fresh coat of paint, replacing the
1970s earthy tones of orange, green
and brown with cool blues and
grays.
Also, the Howell Theatre offers
comfortable, new seats and has
improved wheelchair access,
Hagemeiersaid.
Despite all the changes to the
building, the staff and the myriad
of faces that has graced the stages
inside Temple, the philosophy cer
tainly has not changed. The show
must go on.
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