ay* March 6, 1995 "am mat. Nation In iir-launc! te a shot ■d for ci near | The Battalion • Page 3 SHHKIHH IB veet captivates with songs about caying relationships on 100% Fun rin Hill iATTALION ar can h ]% Fun face pro. usedtt Nations -termini ound un- ro ifm id locafe lings." technoi it graves ‘ground ces and e than a itthew Sweet o Entertainment *1/2 (out of five) itthew Sweet must date extraordinarily pa- people. He writes all about them and their ionship problems on his new album, 100% Each song is about a relationship, in some of decay or another. ick of Myself” is his first offering. It’s catchy, starters, and dious too. This sticks in your , as do the lyrics sick of myself 11 look at you ... ard to even want Iso ig radar er dit re- e Office Ited for- n Ross er Vice tnd Ad- th for oj ect's ivities graves stated, ely cir- lines o! rcesses finan- ms.” gemen- eolicies rat the ng w s and 0. IrM lion. ngle full weet creates an em for the chron- y insecure, reates a beautiful ad of an un- h thy relationship i° n uses|jot When I Need even though it’s 'fcbout not having hnologv, js met. i dollars, [^te at night I’m Iped the dwith fear/That I iismenv 't take for grant- victim. hat you’ll always near/And it tes me hate my- ”he sings. We’re the Same let another entry he “weird relation- p contest,” boast- prize-winning lyrics like “Baby, we’re the ae when we shine in each other’s sky With “I Almost Forgot,” Sweet captures the an y De '< pring pangs of a soured relationship. He ten- n term;’- snt in Matthew Sweet derly sings about those post-break-up doubts that stick in the mind like a thorn and prick the heart. It sounds as if he is sadly singing from person al experience, especially with lyrics like “Did you say you loved me? I almost forgot... If love leaves us for a moment/Is it gone forever?” Sweet takes a turn for the pensive with the retro “Everything Changes.” You can almost pic ture the three chiffon-clad back-up singers danc ing around the microphone to this ’50s style tune. Picture Sweet at center stage with his wing tips and slicked hair crooning “So you look for the answer/Then pull it apart? Tear it up ’til there’s nothing there ‘cause it hurts your heart.” Prom night, circa 1954. Sweet displays his bluesy side in “Giving It Back.” It’s a nice try. However, the instrumen tation is almost too much. It overshadows the vocals and lyrics during most of the song. For a lesser singer it- might work, but Sweet’s clear vocals deserve the spotlight. “Smog Moon,” his final number, hints of Toto and REO Speedwagon and their musical ilk. For starters, there is the deli cious melody that steals a few bars from “Rosanna.” Then come the tight har monies. And the lyrics help to further showcase Sweet’s skills as a bal- ladeer. Sweet can be decep tively upbeat. He can be deceptively laid back. He is a musical trickster of sorts, but he can get away with it on an album as fine as this one. It’s not always fun, but it is 100% captivating. PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Cisneros helps nab robbers in street chase WASHINGTON (AP) — Two youths who grabbed trays of watches from a street vendor probably didn’t know a Cabi net member could run so fast. Housing Secretary Hen ry Cisneros saw the teen agers as he was leaving a hair salon Sat urday night, and chased them down two al leys, across two streets and over lawns as wristwatches flew from purloined trays. One youth was grabbed by a police officer who joined the chase. The policeman collared the other when the youth stopped short on confronting Cisneros. Police charged the two youths, ages 15 and 17, with robbery. “What kind of citizen or gov ernment leader would I be if I didn’t try to help?” the 47-year- old Cisneros said afterward. Henry Cisneros Long doesn't regret leaving "Cheers" RADNOR, Pa. (AP) — Here’s the story ... of a star named Shelley. Shelley Long, who plays Car ol Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie, says people are STILL asking her why she left that Boston bar. For the record: she’s doing just fine, thank you, since her criticized departure in 1987 from the hit TV series “Cheers.” “I’m never going to give the answer that people or journal ists want to hear,” Long says in the March 11 issue of TV Guide magazine. “I think they want to hear that I made a mistake.” She especially resents being compared to former “NYPD Blue” star David Caruso, who jumped ship after one season to begin a movie career. “It’s just not occurring to them that I was on the show for five years,” she says. “I met David at a charity function and wished him well and said, ‘You know — it’s probably going to be tough out there, but you’re going to do great.”’ Belafonte defends NEA art subsidies CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Harry Belafonte says Repub licans in Congress should enjoy their day-o in the limelight without cutting money for the arts. “Careless, unthinking rascals in Washington, in verbose, un mindful and unintelligent ways, are attacking the funding of the arts,” the singer-actor V Harry Belafonte said Saturday night. Bel af onte maintains that federal funds have helped count less artists and writers find their styles. “Subsidiz ing the arts is one of the most important subsidies this coun try undertakes,” he said at a lecture sponsored by West Vir ginia’s first lady, Rachael Wor- by. Belafonte, now 68, led the audience in a chorus of the “Ba nana Boat Song” (aka “Day-O”). Whoever Said the best thingrs in life are free probably had a trnSt fixnd. VISA 123^ Sbie ^ 00! "$S! f 9 S 9 S1 2 / 9