Aphex Twin's "drukqs" disappoints on all fronts
 by Aaron Landau
Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) is one of the strangest people involved in electronic music today. In fact, he's one of the stranger people alive.
But he's also one of the most innovative artists the world of electronic music has ever seen. Even those who can't stand to hear his schizoid beats concede his mastery of the form. Along with artists Autechre and Squarepusher, Aphex Twin took the drum machine to places it had never been before in seminal albums such as the eerily soporific Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, the disturbing-yet-head-bobbin' beats of I Care Because You Do, and 1997's seizure-inducing Richard D. James Album. Each new piece felt fresh and original, even the cheesy porno-funk of 1999's Windowlicker EP.
So for the release of Drukqs (you figure it out) I had high hopes. James' first proper full-length release since 1997 would, I had hoped, refresh the bland landscape of electronic music. Maybe it would further advance James' partnership with filmmaker Chris Cunningham, the brains behind his unforgettable "Come to Daddy" video. At very least, I had hoped it would be an interesting album. I was let down on all counts.
Drukqs, a somewhat ambitious 30-odd-track patchwork of sounds, resembles a pastiche of the styles James has already covered in his innumerable previous releases. This might otherwise be a good thingówho wouldn't want a veritable best-of from such a talented knob-twiddler?óbut not a single song reaches the height of the albums from which the styles came. The airy-but-uneasy "gwely_mernans" (one of the better drukqs tracks) recalls the effortless sounds of Selected Ambient Works, but sounds constricted and lacking. The almost-hip-hop "bbydhonchord" presents a decent groove, but might as well be a drum loop for all the song changes in 2 1/2 minutes. The skittery "Cock-ver" sounds like a track tossed from the Richard D. James Album, and "taking control" borrows heavily from James' drum-machine days of trading as Polygon Window. It might all be halfway decent if he hadn't already covered the ground perfectly well already.
More than half of the album consists of sparse, organic piano sounds. Some of these are cleverócatchy, evenóbut the vast majority is slow and uncharacteristically boring. "Nanou 2" and "Avril 14th" incorporate simple, slight melodies on what sounds like a toy piano. Unfortunately, the sound never develops, and neither song ever gets off the ground.
In an interview with GreenGalactic.com, James was asked whether he had worked with anyone new on the album; he replied, characteristically, "Yeah, at the beginning of 1997 I adopted 3 goats on my farm in Scotland and taught them how to write music." Later, James was asked whether listening to classical music was his inspiration on drukqs. His reply: "I've actually gone deaf from DjingÖI've learned how to lip-read and I can still mix records by smelling the grooves." It would all be much funnier if it didn't explain so much of the album's mediocrity.
Clifton's Fave Five Albums
 by Clifton Fels
Aaron Landau, the Arts Editor for the Pioneer Log, begged me, begged me, to tell him my five favorite albums this afternoon. "But Aaron," I said, "Nobody cares what CDs I like." He shook his head, sadly. "The truth is," he said quietly, "I do. I really do care." Then he ran away, flapping his arms and crying. So for all of you looking for some used CD suggestions or ideas on MP3s to download in high quantity, I give you the five albums I would have on my desert island paradise/deathtrap.
Under the Pink ñ Tori Amos
A lot of people hate Tori, and a lot of people love her. I think she's one of those artists people feel strongly about either way. Every album of hers is different, and it's really a toss-up between this (her sophomore effort) and her debut Little Earthquakes. When it comes down to it though, Under the Pink has more sophisticated instrumental arrangements, weaving her skilled piano playing (in top form here) with strings and guitar, and a more varied lyrical style, with much more impressionistic, multi-faceted songs than on her first album.
Fear of Music ñ Talking Heads
Talking Heads, even among those who enjoy their music, are the most underrated band today. Maybe because they broke up in 1988, nobody seems to realize the profound influence they had, not only on the New Wave scene, but on all music post-1977. David Byrne's profoundly simple lyrics, his bug-eyed stage antics, and the rest of the talented band, make them the defining voice for the social alienation of the late 70's and early 80's. All of their albums are fantastic, except for maybe their last couple, but Fear of Music is the most consistently inventive and mesmerizing. It is very dark, but innovative and always interesting.
Little Plastic Castles ñ Ani DiFranco
True Ani Fans might slug me for suggesting this album, but between this and Dilate, my other favorite, I have to go with this one. It's extremely varied in tone; she swings from the upbeat to the wistful to the angry in a hypnotic fashion. Many say they hate Ani because she's "another angry feminist", and indeed she can be aggressive, but for those who have discounted her without really listening to her poetic lyrics and impressive guitar skills, this is the album to start with.
Key Lime Pie ñ Camper Van Beethoven
After this band broke up, the lead singer went on to head Cracker. Cracker is dirt compared to these guys. The lead singer's distinctive voice is in better form here, and the songwriting talent that Cracker seems to lack is magically intact. This is one of the best albums ever. The songs are creative, the guitar work ecstatic, and the lyricsóthe band's main talentóare quirky and moving. The actual style is hard to describe, but think of Camper Van Beethoven as the alternative band you missed out on.
Rain Dogs ñ Tom Waits
Tom Waits is the musician's musicianóunknown to many, but known and respected by people who know and live music. His voice in the later years (i.e. this album) sounds like its been cured for years in a broth of whiskey, cigarettes, and despair. These songs are the hymns of the lonely man left alone in a bar at the end of a long nightóit is an album consisting both of wildly imaginative stories, and deep, quiet ballads delivered to no one, anyone, and everyone. Waits' sound takes a while to get used to, but if you give it some time, you'll be hooked.
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Killer priests in Boston
by Erin Haick
On March 13, 1964, 28-year-old New Yorker Kitty Genovese was murdered. Even though thousands of New York City residents have been murdered since, hers remains perhaps the most tragic because 38 citizens were awakened by her cries for help watched as she was assaulted not once, but three times over a half hour period. Not only did they fail to come to her aid, they also failed to call the police for help. Vincent Mosely, her assailant, stabbed her several times, then left, only to return a few minutes later to cut her up a little more.
During Mosely's trial, witnesses made several statements, but one stands above the rest as a symbol of this tragic event and is the reason for its world-wide infamy: "We didn't want to get involved."
The conflict between the indifference of good men versus actions of bad stands at the heart of Troy Duffy's 1999 film Boondock Saints. "We must always fear the wicked. But there is another kind of evil that we must fear the most, and that is the indifference of good men," intones the monsignor in the opening shot, where we are introduced to the strange heroes of the film, Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) MacManus, as they rise to kiss the feet of a crucified Christ during the sermon. Set in modern-day Boston, the film follows the two Irish Catholic brothers as they act out their own justice on "murderers, pimps, and drug dealers."
After staggering home from a St. Patrick's Day barfight with Russian mobsters, the brothers are dragged up the next morning by the same, who intend a swift end for Connor and Murph. Through astounding coincidence and good luck, the brothers survive while the Russians do not, and the pair escape to the nearest hospital.
Enter Organized Crime specialist Paul Smecker, played to the hilt by Willem Dafoe. Smecker's first scenes establish his strong characteróhe appears on the crime scene, insults the present officers, and procedes to tune into hisWalkman while working out the strange circumstances that might leave two Russian mobsters dead in an Irish neighborhood with no witnesses. When the MacManus brothers arrive at the police station later, Smecker hands an explanation of their actions to them, and leaving the brothers free to go on self-defense.
During this time, the brothers (whose knuckle s are tattooed with the Latin for "truth" and "justice") come to the realization that the indifference of good men can no longer be tolerated, when it leads to criminals walking the streets. Thus, they begin their own crime spree, knocking off various pillars of the underworld community in short order. On their trail (without realizing their identity) is Smecker, who remains able to identify the brothers' actions while still one step behind.
The narrative structure of the film is fractured and disjointed, clearly influenced by Quentin Tarentino's accomplished style of Pulp Fiction. Though the film shares similar plot devices with Tarantino, Boondock Saints tells its story without the ham-handedness of some of Tarantino's work. The very subject matter demands a violent story, yet the violence and language never feel that they are being played for shock value, and are handled as tastefully as possible.
Boondock Saints immediately grabs the viewer with a fresh take on the ages-old vigalante story. The characters fairly crackle with life, and one is never aware of watching actorsóonly of watching events play out in gripping realism across the screen.
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