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Change in style hampers Hatfield s
By Amy Collier
The Battalion
Juliana Hatfield
Only Everything
Mammoth Records
★ ★ 1/2 stars
Juliana Hatfield’s new style is hard to
adjust to in her third solo album Only
Everything.
Hatfield, perhaps best known for her
song “Spin the Bottle” on the Reality Bites
soundtrack, has shied away from the ex
perimental and light-hearted style of her
first two albums. Hey Babe and Become
What You Are, to more slow and serious
songs.
Adding to her newfound style is the
fact that Hatfield is no longer performing
with her band the Juliana Hatfield Three.
Besides writing all the tracks and per
forming all the vocals, Hatfield alone
plays the guitar, keyboards and even
some bass.
Because of her ability to do all of these
things at once, Hatfield does display a
great musical talent and potential to be
come a major musical force.
However, she should realize that her
vocals, which were once strong and clear,
are suffering. She needs to accept the fact
that she needs some help.
Through most of the 14-song album,
Hatfield’s voice is drowned out by her gui
tar playing.
She emphasizes that she has mastered
distortion, but consequently it makes her
voice sound like a whisper and almost im
possible to understand.
Songs like “Congratulations,” “Out
sider” and “Simplicity is Beautiful” are
long and tedious. Hatfield sounds as if she
has absolutely no interest in the song and
is struggling to reach the end. It’s almost
as if these songs were put on the album
just as filler.
There are some serious lyrics on some
songs, such as “Dying Proof.” Hatfield
asks, “If life is a performance, and I am
not an actor / Am I supposed to lie down
and die?” While lyrics like these are effec
tive, the rest of the album lacks the same
lyrical quality and shows she has not
achieved her full potential as a song
writer.
The song “Dumb Fun” sounds exactly
like its title. Hatfield apparently ran out
of ideas while she was writing this one, as
almost half of the song is Hatfield repeat
edly singing, “Dumb, dumb, dumb.”
“Dumb” must have been exactly what she
was thinking when she recorded the song.
But there are a few songs that show
Hatfield’s artistic promise.
Hatfield finds her true calling when
she pours out her heart and soul in “Bot
tles and Flowers,” and “Hang Down from
Heaven.” Each of the songs have intro
spective lyrics matched with her — finally
— strong vocals.
“My Darling” is the winner of the
bunch. She emotionally sings, “You’re
hurting me my darling / It’s killing me my
darling / Tell me what can I do? / You nev
er give me anything.” The hurt and pain
Hatfield experiences is quite vivid.
Although Hatfield takes a bold effort of
becoming a serious singer/songwriter on
Only Everything, she - needs to return to
the spontaneity that made her such an
entertaining artist. She should realize
that her calling as a musician is to be fun,
not depressing and boring.
jM usical discovery all part of growing up
Uf'
Erin Hill
Asst. Opinion
Editor
hen I was in high
school, I knew
someone that
went to one of Prince’s
Jast-minute performances
r- at First Avenue, his Min
neapolis club. He was ex-
•J cited about it, but I didn’t
nderstand the big deal.
Another pal waited for
ize eight hours to see Peter Murphy on stage,
ight hours? That seemed ridiculous.
My high school certainly had its share
of contemporary music junkies. The ones
who know all of the songs by heart, buy
the albums, wait in line to get overpriced
tickets and put the posters on the ceiling.
They know what’s up in music. They are
aware of the trends and may even help
make those trends.
It’s a phase that many went through
during those formative teen years. It
seems to be a part of being an adolescent.
Teenagers form musical tastes and collect
CDs, often finding a voice in an artist’s
songs or a spokesperson in a performer.
They attach themselves to their music.
| Adolescent angst is cliched, yet real.
Popular music softens the pain for some, or
at least provides an outlet for expression.
I Some of ’em anyway.
| I never attended a real rock concert
while in high school. Sure, I saw The Jets
at a small lakeside resort in Northern Min
nesota, but I don’t think that counts,
c®:: I sort of wish I hadn’t seen them,
actually.
: BaS p My best concert experience was having
jj* eighth row seats at a St. Paul Chamber
1 Orchestra concert when I was 15 years old.
uez And hearing Dave Brubeck, a noted jazz
)y i 0 . pianist, really made my day.
Me* j
I spent my teen years lis
tening to Minnesota Public
Radio and loved Garrison
Keillor’s “Lake Wobegon.”
The first time I really lis
tened to a non-classical radio
station — I remember it be
cause it was such a rare oc
currence — Phil Collins’ “In
visible Touch” was playing.
Wow! My friend knew the words, since she
listened to that stuff all the time. But for
me, it was foreign.
I loved music, I just didn’t know “new”
music. My mode of expression wasn’t with
popular voice, it was with my parents col
lection of classical records. My spokesper
son wasn’t on tour.
When I hit college, it was culture shock.
People had posters of rock stars. I had a
poster of violins. Branching out for me was
getting into Neil Diamond. I believed in
vinyl.
So what happened during my last year
as an undergraduate? I got introduced to
new stuff.
I suppose it really started when I saw
Yanni perform.
A concert. Wow!
I wondered if this was what all my
friends had been doing while I was busy
playing Christopher Parkening records.
Last summer, a friend gave me a Sarah
McLachlan album, which led to my obses
sion with her music. I moved on to listen
ing to people who made similar music.
Then on to similar messages.
I started reading Rolling Stone. I start
ed to care who got nominated for Grammy
Awards. I even watched MTV.
This was a first, and a signal that some
thing had drastically changed, perhaps for
the worse. Those videos wouldn’t have in
terested me five years ago. Or even two
years ago. But now, at 22 years of age, I
care who’s putting stuff out.
Why is it that as I head toward the on-
ramp to the real world, I’m suddenly ac
quiring some very teenage habits and
characteristics?
I hole up in my room, listening to my
CDs. I practice my guitar and beg people to
teach me chords and songs. I read maga
zines about recording artists. I watch the
newspaper for concert notices.
I’ve attended some performances that
changed the way I look at the world. The
Indigo Girls show last week wasn’t just an
entertaining way to spend a couple of
hours. It was an affirmation of a direction
I’ve chosen to take in my life.
Who would have thought that my world
view could be altered by a rock star?
Bach, yes, but rock, no.
I just discovered R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich
Pageant. It felt like I had found a hidden
treasure, but come to find out, everyone
had already heard it. Back in 1986 when
the band released it.
Likewise, The Pixies, who did most of
their recording during the ’80s, have
caught my eye and ear. There are others,
and so I go backwards, discovering for the
first time the sounds that my high school
class was groovin’ to.
I am reluctant to give up these habits,
even though I should be concentrating,
perhaps, on life after graduation.
Am I trying to avoid growing up? Am I
in a phase? Will it pass?
Does being out of school scare me or am
I just a late bloomer?
I don’t know.
But I do need to practice my guitar.
Environmental Fact of the Week
Roger Hsieh/Ti re Battalion
Yard debris accounts for approximately 31 million
tons of the nation's municipal solid waste.
— Garbage Magazine
Fact courtesy of Joe Sanchez, Recycling Coordinator for
Texas AdrMS Physical Plant
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