The Battalion
>2,
lursday "January 22, 1998
AGGIELIFE
Soundtrax
Coffee Station opening
to feature Ruthie Foster
Mandy
Cater
opinion editor
H ot on the heels of
young Holly
wood’s, recent
success, Great Expecta
tions is one of the most
anxiously awaited movie
releases as of late.
Studio executives are
hoping for a hit with a
cast including stars
such as Ethan Hawke,
Gwyneth Paltrow and
Robert DeNiro.
Slick marketing gurus
have sent a double punch, compiling a
soundtrack as hip and hot as the film
promises to be.
The soundtrack features a collection of
songs ranging from soulful to sassy,
weaving tales of angst, anger and love
from afar.
The guest list covers the musical
gamut, throwing together unlikely com
panions, such as Iggy Pop, Tori Amos and
The Grateful Dead.
The compilation starts off strong with a
smashing performance by Amos, who domi
nates the soundtrack. The alternative god
dess opens with an otherworldly instrumen
tal vocalization called “Finn,” a tribute to
Hawke’s film persona.
The intro features Amos’ one-of-a-kind
vocals in a mournful, angelic offering.
“Siren” is another Amos contribution,
scorching with a danceable beat and lyrics
illustrating Amos at her best: ethereal,
powerful and dynamic.
Former Soundgarden frontman Chris
Cornell also contributes in a solo appear
ance. Cornell’s easily recognizable sound is
done justice with “Sunshower,” a departure
from the usual Soundgarden offering.
With lyrics such as “Dark as roses,/ fine as
sand, / feel your healing and your sting again,”
Cornell spins the story of unrequited love.
Painfully crooning, “Though your gar
den’s gray,/ I know all your graces someday
will flower in a sweet sunshower,” Cornell
presents a fragile side not often visible in
past performances.
Although the soundtrack starts off with a
powerful punch, it drags a bit with Poe’s “To
day” and Iggy Pop’s “Success.”
The former is generic Poe, a combination
of Sundays musical sound and Alanis Mor-
risette-esque lyrics.
Unfortunately, in Poe’s case, the two
styles do not mesh, and the result is an uno
riginal tune that seems to jump on the
“mental illness is cool” bandwagon. “Today”
basically comes off as a shallow example of
waxing poetic.
Iggy Pop suffers from the same disease as
Poe: same old, same old. “Success” is vintage
Pop, complete with wacked-out repetitions,
such as “Sweetheart I’m telling you,/ Sweet
heart I’m telling you, / Here comes the zoo,/
Here comes the zoo.”
The blast from the past (the song was
originally produced in 1977) illustrates some
things should just stay buried. It also shows
“out there” can be cool, but sometimes it is
literally “out there.”
Please see Great on Page 4.
By James Francis
Aggielife editor
Pleasant atmosphere, good
conversation, a hot cup of joe ...
these are the types of elements
comprising most coffee shops in
Bryan-College Station and
across the nation. Some people
may wonder what makes one
shop differ from the other, and
usually the answer can be found
by going straight to the source, or
shop for that matter.
When a customer enters Cof
fee Station, his or her eyes will be
filled with the view of a two-sto
ry coffeehouse, with an upstairs
area furnished with couches and
a relaxed setting and the down
stairs set up with tables for peo
ple to enjoy food items such as
desserts, pastries and hand
made sandwiches.
The shop’s walls are adorned
with railroad signs and train pic
tures. It even houses a few pic
tures of the original train station
in the CS community.
One aspect unique to Coffee
Station is the shop’s Brewbar. In
a press release for the grand
opening, Jana Dunn, the general
manager’s sister, describes the
Brewbar as “a technology that is
centuries old.
“We brew the coffee right in
front of you,” she said. “We only
use the finest coffee available
from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting
Company to provide you the best
cup of Java around.”
As for the actual coffee-mak
ing, “The same amount of coffee
used to brew half a pot is used for
just one cup,” Dunn said. “We
brew at the optimum tempera
ture to bring out the full poten
tial of the coffee beans.”
The person behind the coffee
is General Manager Jed Dunn,
who said he has been around
the coffee scene ever since he
was 15 years old.
“It’s totally different from any
other place in town,” Jed said.
“We put a lot of work into it.”
But the main concern is the
coffee, and most customers
might wonder if there are any
specialty drinks they should try.
For die shop’s grand opening,
the press release names two spe
cialty drinks, both created by
Dunn. The Chocolate Derail
ment “is a cool combination of
chocolate, frozen coffee,
whipped cream and a secret in
gredient.” The other drink of
choice, Happy Juice, has been
described as “a glued-to-the-
walls-dancing-on-the-ceiling-
make-ya-yodel-‘WOW! That’s
good stuff’-concoction” by Jed.
Although drinking coffee and
hanging out with good friends is
a pleasure to customers, people
should realize what the inner-
workings of a coffee shop entail.
“It’s fun and extremely tiring
at times,” Jed said. “It’s some
thing I’ve always wanted to do.”
Please see Coffee on Page 4.
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BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion
The Coffee House is located at 907-A Harvey Road. Its grand opening will be today, with a performance by Ruthie Foster from 8 -11 p.m.
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