Page 3A
Tuesday • February 25, 1997
The Battalion
/.CGI.
music r e v i a io
Vowerman 5K
is no musical
superhero'
Dwermati
15000
jega Kang
iFu Radio
reamworks
★★1/2 (out of five)
By John LeBas
The Battalion
owerman 5000 has lofty
dreams.
“Being in a band is as
dose as I could get to being an
attual superhero,” the band’s
singer Spider explained.
I Well, it’s a good thing these
Inys aren’t protecting the free
world: If the band’s superhero
^skills matched its music, all that
would be saved are some kit
tens from trees. Powerman
5000’s latest release, Mega!!
KiingFu Radio, is an honest but
mediocre attempt at groove-
pased metal.
I The album is probably too
fleavy for most tastes. That’s
fine — those who like Helmet
and Rage Against the Machine
will like the rock, and those
with softer tastes will not.
iJ On the other hand, the al
bum has enough solid groove to
go around the world twice. It in
spires nearly 50 minutes of
head bobbing and jumping.
I The problem with Power-
man 5000’s groove is that it is
ledundant. The opening track,
iPublic Menace, Freak, Human
pFly,” wears a groove rut from
lydiich Powerman 5000 cannot
break free. The rest of the al
bum follows a similar tempo,
which may be best described as
a311-meets-Rage bounciness.
\ There are some refreshing ex-
feptions, such as the fast-paced
’ar Crash.” But Mega!! Kung Fu
'adio too often leads the listener
ack to the same tempo rut.
In short, the gr oove gets boring.
Speaking of boring, the guitar
ork on this album is unin-
jpired. Or perhaps it’s overin-
jpired. Those who have heard
age have heard these guitar
nes already. Guitarist Adam 12
ises lots of wah pedal to spice
ings up, but the repetitive one-
jnd-two chord riffs simply flop.
However, the guitar is re-
jpectably crushing and heavy,
nd the songs are coherent —
bey flow well and don’t just
Sound like cut and paste jobs.
The drummer puts his notes
in the right places but con-
ibutes significantly to Power-
nan 5000’s groove rut. Granted,
e guitar lines did not give him
much to work with, but his
kills should be bolstered with
nore originality.
, Then there’s the issue of
the hand percussion. It’s diffi-
fcult to determine whether
fowerman 5000 employs bon
gos to soften its hard edge or
because bongos are “cool” in
trendy music. In either case,
[the bongos need to go. They
sound awkward over the al
bum’s heavy rock base.
A final observation: even
bough Mega!! Kung Fu Radio is
oring, the band plays tightly. At
least the members all lock into
ie same groove. Their live shows
re probably great because
rowds love to jump and bob.
But the recorded Powerman
1000 can’t quite sell itself. The
pand may even do a better job
Rescuing kittens — if it could
®nd a way out of its groove rut.
Nuptial
Preparation
iri
lQ
By Daphne Phillips
The Battalion
A s soon as her boyfriend
popped the question, senior
accounting major Amy Rit
ter started buying bride magazines
she never had the inclination to
buy before.
“You wait your whole life to buy
one of those magazines,” Ritter
said. “That’s one of the first things I
did to start plans for the wedding.”
Ritter and other students who are
planning a wedding said ta good
place to start is a wedding planner.
“I don’t think it is necessary to own
a wedding planner, but it is helpful,”
Ritter said. “It gives you ideas and
spells things out for you that are tra
ditional about a wedding.”
Modern Bride magazine said in
the February-March 1997 issue that
with all the decisions to make about
the ceremony, reception and dress,
setting a budget for the wedding is
the first priority.
“When planning your wed
ding, set a budget and stick with
it,” Modern Bride magazine said.
“A checklist will help you keep
track of your expenses.”
Ritter said although she has a
year to plan for the wedding, she
would like to have almost every
thing done three months before.
After setting a budget, the type of
wedding (informal or formal) and
where the ceremony will take place
become important decisions.
Wendi Burrow, a junior psychol
ogy major, said she wanted to plan
early to avoid possible problems.
“The church where we are get
ting married is so small, we could
have reserved it the day before,”
Burrow said. “We reserved it six
months in advance, though, as
soon as we set the date.”
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Ritter said she and her fiance are
not procrastinating.
“If we wait, we are not going to
get the day, time of day or the
church we want,” she said.
Other considerations are hir
ing a wedding consultant, choos
ing attendants (bridesmaids,
groomsmen, ushers), forming an
invitation list, enrolling in a
bridal gift registry at a depart
ment or specialty store and plan
ning a reception.
Ritter said there are certain
things she wants to pay for even
though her parents are paying for
most of the wedding.
“I don’t want to be placed on a
budget,” Ritter said. “I want to do it
a little differently. I’d like to pay for
some of my dress and the flowers.
Silk flowers just aren’t as nice.”
A florist, photographer and
caterer can increase expenses,
but knowing friends or family
members who specialize in these
areas of expertise may result in a
minimal charge.
Burrow said she and her fiance
were lucky enough to know people
who could help.
Wedding decisions can be hectic
for students. Some students say it
depends on finding the best time is
to get married.
“It’s harder to plan a wedding
when you’re in school,” Burrow
said. “It’s hard to concentrate on
school, and you’re so far away
from home.”
B-CS natives enjoy comforts of home
By Aaron Meier
The Battalion
T he college experience often in
volves moving away from
home and sampling a different
environment. However, some stu
dents at Texas A&M University grew
up in the Bryan-College Station area
and say they have not been able to at
tain the entire experience.
This area is laminated by the
University, but Eric Purifoy, a Bryan
native and a freshman biomedical
science major, said A&M was not a
major distraction during his youth.
“When I was little, all I really no
ticed was that traffic got worse dur
ing the school year,” Purifoy said.
On the other hand, Ashley Robi
son, a College Station native and
freshman community health major,
TV THEI
ctry of 4
&RYAN
said having a major university in
such close proximity offers many
opportunities that other small
towns do not.
“We’ve always had OPAS season
tickets,” Robison said. “I went to a
lot of the football games which were
exciting and we could get tickets to
any sporting event.”
Robison said it was difficult to
decide to go to college in the same
town she grew up .
“I would have rather gone out of
town, but it is so hard to pass up such
a high quality school simply because
it is in your town,” Robison said.
The first day of class offers many
challenges to new students. From
finding classes to eating in the cafe
teria, the adjustment to indepen
dence can be stressful.
But Matt Scanlan, a College Sta
tion native and sophomore history
major, said his experiences at A&M
liberated him from the traditional
“map dependence” some new stu
dents develop.
“Having lived here so long made
getting adjusted a lot easier,” Scan
lan said. “Since I already knew
where most of my classes were, I
had an easier time getting around
campus than most freshmen.”
Students from the Bryan-Col-
lege Station area say the transi
tion to college life was smoother
because their parents were there
to help them.
“It is nice to be able to go home
whenever you want,” Robison said.
“It’s a place to wash your clothes,
and if you get homesick, you are just
two minutes away from mom.”
Purifoy had a medical situation
that made his parents’ proximity
an advantage.
“I sprained my ankle and I was
able to go home and get the nice
‘mom treatment’ while she took
care of me,” he said.
Marium Mohiuddin, a College
Station native
and a sopho
more biomedical
science major,
lives at home
and said her
mother ensures
she does not ne
glect her health
during finals.
“It is nice to
know that mom
is there to take
care of me,” Mo
hiuddin said.
“During finals,
she sometimes
made me take a
break and eat
something.”
Meeting peo
ple at a school of
over 40,000 students can intimidate
even the most sociable person, but
local students said friends that
joined them at A&M made the tran
sition easier.
“Having all my friends around,
but not living at home feels kind of
like summer camp,” Purifoy said.
“It seems like the 13th grade, ex
cept I have more privileges and
more experience.”
“There are a lot of
people that got the
‘Bryan High: The
College Years'
syndrome, but there
are 40,000 people
here from all over
the world to make
friends with."
Eric Purifoy
Freshman biomedical
science major
Scanlan said he still talks to his
high school friends, but he enjoyed
meeting other smdents.
“I see my high school friends-
on campus, but living in the’,
dorms, I quickly met a new bunch-
of people and made new friends,”!
Scanlan said.
Scanlan also said students that!
j, do not venture;
outside the same!
group of friends;
from high school-
limit the college;
experience.
“I feel sorry for;
the people that-
don’t try to make!
new friends,”*
Scanlan said. “T
have met so many
great people. They
are missing out.”
Purifoy said
the large student
population of
A&M makes it dif
ficult not to make
new friends.
“There are a lot
of people that got
the ‘Bryan High: The College Years’
syndrome, but there are 40,000 peo
ple here from all over the world to
make friends with,” Purifoy said.
Scanlan said he appreciates go
ing to school in the same town his
parents live.
“I have the best of both worlds,”
Scanlan said. “I get the freedom of
living in the dorm and also get to go
home any time I want.”
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