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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1995)
The Battaijon • Page 3 lot. 1 of im pects oeen said, ent fn 'll th, ium ards, -gery il Cem toad trips provide jscape from school )ressures, demands p he road sometimes speaks to us. It says some thing like this: “Give me your tired, your weak, a your stressed-out masses yearning to breathe e f n [ aii ee.” And we go — sometimes. We should probably go more often, but we don’t. We ive silly little excuses for not dropping everything stay Popov, ^ oni ^ id piling into a kunt Ided: e, Univ peo:, ISt nete et abuse: nits. be dit- lations lalistii drink, ik and after irvg on r when Natu- aetbod cy. i, here use iv your ,e wlw tners. Have ir headed for a ipone: destina- on. “I have a Bt.” “I have ays st: ork.” “I don’t lme i ave a car.” Oops! Wait those are the 21-yet ood excuses. ut usually our l-a-wei Ueness is the Michael Landauer Asst. Aggielife Editor Strong vocals illuminate 'Rapture' esult of a lack : onl! [initiative rather than any good reason, he se The list of things that can really keep us from tak- Indiai ig off on a random road trip is only going to get inger as the years go by. Soon weTl have to add work lore often and maybe a family to the list. Then the ids will be in school, and well take our sick days to gH lyhome for Christmas. And well only have memories four road trips. Well remember that night before school started vhen we went ice skating at The Galleria in Houston. iure, we had just spent a month in Houston over Ihristmas and didn’t go skating once. But it was get- ,ing there that made it fun. Well remember the time we decided to visit a friend at another college and only called to warn them when we got in town. Well remember weekend road trips when we ate nothing but pizza from Mr. Gatti’s buffet. Or if we don’t remember, well regret. There will be days spent snuggled nicely into the routine of life. Well be all grown up with a career and a family. Well be sitting in our office on a Friday af ternoon wondering what it would be like to play hooky. We could be asking ourselves, “I wonder what would happen if...?” instead of telling ourselves, “Re member that time when...?” We’re in college. We’re supposed to do certain things now because we may never have the chance to do them again. We have our entire lives to worry about how much mileage we’re putting on our car. We have an eternity of laziness ahead of us. Some of us will always have classes to attend. But how often do we really have an opportunity to just get the hell outta Dodge? How many spring breaks do we expect the real world to throw our way? Some of us already feel that our world is too busy to walk away from for a weekend. We have classes, homework and studying to do. But before we gradu ate, we’re going to attend so many classes — there’s time to catch up. And next week there’s no excuse. None of those classes will be waiting for us. Sure we may have work — to do, but we can plan a little. We are fully capable of living a little. ' College Station has two things that make it the per fect inspiration for road trips. It is located in the mid dle of all the major Texas cities and it’s only eight hours from New Orleans. i The other thing it has going for it — and as much as we love Aggieland, we have to admit it — is that it’s a great city to watch disappear in your rear-view mir ror. It’s nice to come home to, but as Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen said when talking about their front porch on Church Street, we remember the “ coming- back’s” but we don’t “cry about the leaving.” So when the road calls, go. Go, and leave every thing else behind. Go, and get to know your friends, and even yourself, a little better. Go, and make memo ries or you’re doomed to stay and wonder. The world’s grip on us is only getting tighter. So if we have the chance, and next week we do, we should all get the hell outta Dodge. A great Greek philosopher once saw things the right way. OK, I’m really about to refer to Ferris Bueller, but I tried to add some credibility to this col umn. He said the world moves pretty fast and if we ion’t stop and look around every so often, we could miss it. Don’t miss it — road trip. By Erin Hill The Battalion Siouxsie and The Banshees TTie Rapture Geffen Records ★ ★★ 1/2 (out of five) W ay back in 1976, Siouxsie and The Banshees debuted at a London punk festival with an “avant-punk” version of “The Lord’s Prayer.” On The Rapture, their 14th album, they’ve reinvented themselves yet again, a feat that not just any band could match. “For us, on every album, we’re a brand new band — and our body of work shows that,” Siouxsie Sioux said in a press release. They’ve en dured the fleeting trends of pop music and have held on tightly to their offbeat and mysterious brand of music. “We reject being sucked into the industry, the trappings and games,” Siouxsie said. We distance ourselves from all that. We’re outside that ma chinery and their clinched ideas of what we’re about. I find that attitude narrow-minded ... I don’t want us contaminated by that.” They’ve maintained their musical purity without becoming dull, in part because of Siouxsie’s knock-out vocals. Her voice practically crackles with electric currents — she de mands to be heard. She is one of the first women in alter native rock with a voice so delectable, hard and forceful enough to make Tanya Donelly, Kim Deal and Kristin Hersh cry with envy. But Siouxsie hates being labeled. She was around before alternative was “it,” and she will be around for a lot longer. “If someone calls us ‘gloomy and dark’ again. I’ll throw up,” she said. “We have more facets and are far more diverse than that.” While gloomy and dark are cer tainly in her repertoire, Siouxsie can do much more. Take “Tearing Apart,” for starters. Siouxsie sweetly sings “I know it’s all in vain ... I think we all should die.” Even the edge in her voice could hardly be called dark or gloomy. For the listener, she shines a light on the path of life, illuminating both the dark corners of human experi ence and the moments of joy. Every song and theme seems to have been carefully chosen for this particular album. Even the order of songs is important, because she seems to write about defining mo ments in the evolving journey of life as they happen. Starting with “O Baby,” she takes us to “Fall From Grace” and “Sick Child.” As we exit the land of innocence, we hear “Falling Down.” # What else could be next then, but the redeeming title song of The Rap ture, an exquisite love song with lyrics as innovative as you’ll find anywhere. “Rebirthed in ecstasy, with cheru bim and seraphim,” Siouxsie sings, sounding eerily like Jane Siberry’s haunting voice with the same defi ance of traditional song forms. This song carves its way into the listener’s mind like a headstrong riv er making its way across a deserted continent. Siouxsie takes us where we’ve not been before. Martin McCarrick’s keyboards and cello lend themselves well to the unique sound of this album, and Jon Klein on guitar. Budgie on percus sion and Steven Severin on bass round out the cast of the impressive and intense Banshees. “Sometimes we’ve been guilty of being too intense about things that have nothing to do with the music,” bassist Steven Severin said. But ultimately it is Siouxsie who steals the show. At once the painter of a bleak landscape and the portrait too, Siouxsie has agonized, suffered and lived to tell. Her writing keeps getting better. Check out the vast expanse of the song “Forever” with the lyrics “Infini ty stretches unlimitlessly/Countless days pass by immeasurably/Anniver- saries gutter in the maelstrom whor- ling/A snowstorm of lustrous millen nium.” With music like The Rapture, that’s probably how long Siouxsie and the Banshees will be recording. Steven Severin, Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie of Siouxsie & the Ban- Farris explores new territory with solo debut By Rob Clark The Battalion Dionne Farris Wild Seed — Wild Flower Columbia Records ★ ★★ (out of five) HT PEN iby and // % A /on’t you help me understand your \/\/ P lan? ” V V This might be the first time we heard Dionne Farris, as she sang the emotion al ending to Arrested Development’s 1992 hit “Tennessee.” But Farris has stepped out from behind the group’s shadows to make her debut solo album Wild Seed — Wild Flower. Farris is one of a seemingly new breed of fe male soul singers with a flair for social con sciousness. Artists like Carolyn Wheeler, Des’ree and N’dea Davenport of The Brand New Heavies have emerged and even over shadowed the constant flow of mush from Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Farris continues the spiritual themes of Ar rested Development’s first two albums, but her solo status gives her a whole new world to roam. She adds a touch of funk and even dra ma to her usually slower folk sound. From the pulsating bass groove straight out of Lenny Kravitz’s closet on “Stop to Think” to the funk twist of “Water,” Farris brings new ideas to the often-tired themes of love that seem to dominate soul music. The be-bop sounds of Take 6 and Bobby Mc- Ferrin are almost duplicated in the simplistic but elegant “Human.” Amid the highs and lows of a myriad of voices, Farris sings “Before I am black/Before I am woman/Before I am young/Before I am African — I am human.” Farris’ main weakness is her songwriting, probably due to her fledgling status as a solo artist. But the rhymes of “Now or Later” are painfully obvious, and bring down an other wise well-made album. Farris sings “What have I done to you to make you feel so blue ... I can see it in your eyes/There is no need to lie.” An interesting entry is “Don’t Ever Touch Me (Again),” an emotional offering discussing the effects of physical and mental abuse. Farris sings “She screams out every night in a billion tears/in desperate fear that you’re some where near ... She wants to be lieve you still love her.” With improved songwriting, Farris could become a signifi cant force in soul/rock/folk music. Leaving a highly success ful group like Arrested De velopment was a bold move for Dionne Farris. But with Wild Seed — Wild Flower, she shows enough promise to prove such a step is the right one. RFQTAI |R AMT ITCO InV/rlMIM I ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET Lunch & Dinner • 7 Days a Week • Banquet Room • Mixed Drinks 2232 Texas Ave. S. College Station 764-0466 Luncheon 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. • Dinner 5 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. COUPON BUY ONE, GET ONE (First one-full price, second one-half price, third one-full price, fourth one-half price) MONDAY - THURSDAY 5:00 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. •MUST BE OF EQUAL OR GREATER VALUE • No seperate checks • Buffet takeout & children 5-10 years not included Expires March 30, 1995 I I I I I l Government Career Fair Woricshop Schedule March 8,1995 & 10:00-10:45 How to become a hot commodity! Internships and Co-op's in Government Brad Collet Asst. Dir., Cooperative Education 229 MSC Is there a government job calling your name? Opportunities in Government Kandy Rose Bryan City Councilwoman 212 MSC Student Employment Programs and Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State Isabel Flores and Mike Thurston Dept, of State, Recruitment Division 230 MSC 11:00-11:45 Job hunting in the Career Center Julie Agee How to use the Career Center Graduate Asst., Career Center 229 MSC Make a lasting impression! Interviewing skills Patricia Allman Pres., Allman Personnel Consultants 225 MSC 12:00-12:45 Don’t sell yourself short! How to write a resume Vicky Satory Recruitment Coordinator, City of Bryan 231 MSC 1:00-1:45 Student Employment Programs and Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State Isabel Flores and Mike Thurston Dept, of State, Recruitment Division 230 MSC Is there a government job calling your name? Opportunities in Government Joe Brown Public Information Officer, City of Bryan 212 MSC 2:00-2:45 Don’t sell yourself short! How to write a resume Vicky Satory Recruitment Coordinator, City of Bryan 231 MSC How to become a hot commodity! Internships and co-op’s in Government Dr. Dixon Asst. Professor, Political Science 229 MSC 3:00-3:45 Make a lasting impression! Interviewing skills Patricia Allman Pres., Allman Personnel Consultants 225 MSC Place Your Ad In The Battalion Call 845-2696