Aggielife Page 5 » Tuesday, June 29, 1999 nsive le Wild Wild West Soundtrack CD Courtesy of Interscope Records :er ,e U is quite amazing how a him about /acky antics in the Old West can inspire o-called musicians to write about the C todern urban ghetto. It is also equally ^ mazing that such a collection of songs ail sound so similar. cCTT Over half the songs on the album _L__ound exactly the same with the same ^Orr firee drum samples that could be pro- -JlIZL-ramined on a cheap Casio keyboard. 'intNir f The only difference in most of the A oiks is the singer, a few of which are e ife' er ^ ta * ente d. but the monotony of the jj^-nusic takes away from the performance, p.m.-ds Will Smith’s token theme song “Wild ,Vild West” is actually enjoyable, but HHs most of it’s music from an old Ste- delVonder tune. ^■Balimos,” performed by Enrique Igle- ;ias is an excellent tune, but fans of the ;ong will want to look elsewhere for the yT :alent behind the song. Although the song , was performed by Iglesias, it was written, /'iproduced, programmed, engineered and Wmiited by the Groove Brothers. tor the most part this CD is less of a * colection of music and more of a good irijiik coaster. (Grade: D) The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin CD Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records The Flaming Lips is a band that has come a long way since its days of writing songs about girls who smear Vaseline in their hair. The band was groundbreaking even in those days, but the albums that followed proved The Flaming Lips was at the top of its space rock game. The Lips’ records bring to mind what bands such as Spiri tualized, Ttans Am and Tortoise could sound like with fewer chord changes and more melodies. The last “album” released by The Flaming Lips, Zaireeka, was a four record sound experiment that required each CD to be played on a separate stereo simulta neously. The idea was a curiosity at best, but it showed the potential of a band on the cutting edge. The Flaming Lips’ newest album, The Soft Bulletin, proves that larger-than-life singalongs like “The Gash” can exist in perfect harmony with soft ballads like “Waitin’ for a Superman.” The Lips has successfully combined the grandiose ideas presented in Zaireeka with the band’s tried and true pop sensibility to create what could be the OK Computer of 1999. (Grade: A) J.T Money Pimpin On Wax CD Courtesy of Priority Records In a music industry saturated with rappers it would seem that the competi tion would spur creativity. At least this competition should pro vide listeners with unique rappers, each slightly different than their fellow artists. Sadly, for J.T. Money, this is not the case. J.T. Money is just another rapper molded by the industry and record com panies. J.T. Money raps about little.but the standards of living the life of a gangsta. He raps about his problems with ho’s, being a pimp, gang bangin’ and weed. It is the same old song and dance everybody has heard over the past sev eral years. This album is not necessarily all that bad, it just lacks a creative flovy. Maybe if Money had spent less time pimpin’ on wax, he could have been making his album a little more creative. It seems he is just going through the motions of making an album. With only a couple of songs worth listening to, nobody is suffering from not listening to this album. (Grades C) Dave Hollister Ghetto Hymns CD Courtesy of Dreamworks Records On the upside, Dave Hollister delivers as expected on his newest release. Ghetto Hymns. On the downside, he delivers exactly what is expected of an album entitled Ghetto Hymns. Listeners would be too optimistic to expect Hollister’s stolen sound to be a metaphor for his admitted ghetto up bringing. After all, wouldn’t a thug musi cian steal another’s sound and call it his own? Unfortunately, he lacks the creative drive to even think up this excuse. Listeners would also be too optimistic to expect anything other than the stan dard G-funk inspired instrumental back drop that acts like Blackstreet, Dru Hill and dozens of others have already run into the ground. Hollister’s belting delivery deserves more than this institutionalized hard knocks drivel. His talent is evident even on tracks like “Came In the Door Pimpin’.” • Listeners should not be too optimistic to expect him to evolve into a truly origi nal artist. Until then, take Hollister at face value. (Grade: C) Kenny Garrett Simply Said CD Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records In these post-Kenny G days, it is amaz ing someone would consider pressing an other album of a feature saxophonist, es pecially one named Kenny, performing with nothing more than a rhythm section to back him up. It is even more amazing when the al bum does not cater to some aging wannabe Casanova’s love pad mood-set ting needs and instead follows Garrett’s inspiration without compromise. Viewed in this light. Simply Said is quite an accomplishment. Purists will not wince during a long- winded ballad into which today’s saxo phone players, especially soprano play ers, find themselves easily trapped. While Garrett is the star, his support ing cast gets a chance every now and again to exercise their chops. Unfortunately, these opportunities are few and far between. Garrett seems to suffer from a lack of faith in his backing musicians, which takes a heavy toll on the quality of the album. In this respect, he has relegated an otherwise talented, if not memorable, performance to the annals of jazz medi ocrity. (Grade: B) —Kyle Whitacre —Riley LaGrone —Scott Harris —Stephen Wells PEOPLE IN THE NEWS —Stephen Wells tew coin honors Fireworks burn )iana’s memory j|oNDON (AP) — A special 5- . Hnd coin honoring Princess Di- C na goes on sale uly 1, her birth- > ay. ■The coin, worth ?rt§ bout $8, fea- jres a portrait of -er profile. Ti portrait o f tueen Elizabeth II on the reverse ide. ^ Limited editions in gold and sil- er were sold earlier this year. All proceeds go to charities rec- mmended by the fund set up af- 3r Diana’s death in a Paris car rash in 1997. VK DIANA mini®- Michael Jackson MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Michael Jackson received minor burns from fire works used in a charity concert. The pop star was treated and released after Sunday’s show featuring 30 per formers, includ ing Luther Van- dross and Boyzone. Jackson’s burns were “nothing serious,” a hospital spokes woman said. It wasn’t his first brush with py rotechnics. JACKSON He was hospitalized with sec ond-degree scalp burns in 1984 after his hair caught fire from a smoke bomb while filming a com mercial. The concert raised $1.6 million for UNESCO, the Red Cross and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. England’s royalty curbs spending LONDON (AP) — In another year of belt-tightening, Queen Eliz abeth II and her family saved more than $8 million in expenses for travel and the upkeep of their eight palaces, Buckingham Palace said Monday. They did not exactly take to bi cycles, like the more laid-back Scandinavian royals, but economies included fewer trips on the royal train and renting a modern heli copter instead of flying to engage ments in two Roy al Air Force heli copters. “The royal household has achieved sub stantial savings and better value for money,” de clared one government official. It was the second successive year the royals have disclosed de tails of travel costs — part of seeking to make the monarchy less expensive, more open and more modern. The queen also now pays in- CHARLES come tax, supports relatives pre viously on the government payroll and has also opened Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to pay ing visitors. Peck rewarded for charity work PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gregory Peck was honored by the city for his humanitarian work. The 83-year-old actor received the second annual Marian Ander son Award on Saturday in front of 400 friends and fans. Peck received a crystal sculpture and $100,000, which he donated to several charities. Among Peck’s achievements are his starring role as Atticus Finch, the Southern lawyer who crusaded against racism in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird. He is also an outspoken sup porter of gun con trol and has raised money for many causes, in cluding cancer re search and civil rights. “Our Congress has been going around and around this past peck week,” said Peck, referring to the battle over gun con trol legislation. “What is wrong with keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people?” The award is named after Mari an Anderson, the late opera singer and Philadelphia native. Anderson was the first African- American performer to sing at the White House. 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