Aural Fixations

ELVIS COSTELLO
When I Was Cruel
(Island)
Elvis Costello has always been a special breed of songwriter. Never content in his 25-year-career to simply gaze at his navel and report on the findings, the erstwhile Declan MacManus has always penned tunes about people, places and situations outside himself. That's not to say he doesn't write about things he personally cares about—one listen to songs like "Less Than Zero" (about the pop culture appeal of fascism), "Tramp the Dirt Down" (regarding the reign of Margaret Thatcher) or "Little Palaces" (about child abuse) proves that he can be as passionate as anyone. But often writers like Costello can be guilty of dispassionate hubris, standing so far outside a given subject that the resultant coverage comes off cold and unfeeling. Sometimes an artist keeps his or her personal feelings so far away from the creation that his or her work, no matter how entertaining or even artful, fails to stir any emotions in the listener.(We're talking to you, Paul Simon. You too, Sting.)

Costello has been guilty of this as well, especially in the last decade. He spent the 90s as a determined eclectician, striving to keep his muse titillated (and, not coincidentally, prove his worth without his longtime critically worshipped backup group the Attractions) with a series of musical experiments and often startlingly diverse albums. But for every rousing success (the Burt Bacharach collaboration Painted From Memory, the style-hopping Spike), there was a imperturbable failure (The Juliet Letters, a turgid collaboration with classical combo the Brodsky Quartet, All This Useless Beauty, a half-hearted collection of songs originally written by Costello for other artists). His latest album When I Was Cruel is a return to the eclectic nature of Spike, and fortunately it falls much closer to the "success" end of the spectrum than to the point marked "failure."

That said, a few cuts on Cruel don't particularly work. "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" rocks hard but seems to be a joke that only its writer is in on. "Radio Silence" takes some nice imagery and drowns it in amelodic lushness, while "Spooky Girlfriend" never lives up to its lurid title. The two-part epic "Dust 2..." and "...Dust," "Episode of Blonde" and "Alibi" demonstrate Costello's need for a good editor, as they nearly choke on the streams of verbiage flowing from the writer's pen. This is especially frustrating for the passionately performed "Alibi," which if half the length would be one of the record's best tracks. (more)

Stagestruck

ORANGE GOBLIN/ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY
@Emo's, Austin, TX; May 10, 2002
Every once in a while, a sane person feels the need to get out there in the clubs and rock. Not sit back and appreciate the innovation going on in front of you, not be present during a rare live appearance in your home town by a mega-star, but just plain ol' balls-out, eardrum-munching, adrenaline-shredding rock out. If that's what you want, this stage-pounding heavy rock tour was the perfect wish fulfillment. London's Orange Goblin and Virginia's Alabama Thunderpussy each offer their own takes on riff-heavy, roar-happy metal, but the two bands sounded remarkably right together. (more)

Album reviews of new music by:

Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Parasio U.F.O.

The title track is, of course, written by minimalist composer Terry Riley, and the group's droning, midtempo take on it should have your lobes twirling long before its half-hour length is up. (more)

Mason Jennings

If there's one primary appealing quality about Century Springs, Mason Jennings' third CD, it's probably honesty. (more)

Lisa Mednick

Her imagery ranges from impressionistic to journalistic, conveying stories of female empowerment and bad love in language that goes for the gut and the heart at the same time. (more)

Jerry Portnoy

Jerry Portnoy, a harmonica man perhaps best known for his extended stint in Muddy Waters' band, explores his instrument's jazz capabilities... (more)

The Sabians

Oakland's Sabians play epic heavy rock about suffering and redemption.(more)

The Shiners

The group's debut album presents a scruffy, loose amalgam of Appalachian folk music, country and Southern rock. (more)

Voltaire

Though best known for his animation work and his satirical comic book Oh My Goth!, Voltaire, the clown prince of the New York Goth scene, is also a songwriter of irreverent wit. As caustic as he can get with his barbs and one-liners, he's not being mean-spirited—he only makes fun of the things he loves.(more)

Wonderlick

Working with as many samplers and electronics as guitars, the pair builds the songs from the rhythm section up, using funkier beats, processed vocals and synthesized string beds to flesh out the tracks. (more)