== ISSUE 184 ====  CONSUMABLE ONLINE  ======== [August 11, 1999]

  Editor:             Bob Gajarsky
                         E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com
  Managing Editor:    Lang Whitaker
  Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim 
                      Kennedy, Al Muzer, Joe Silva 
  Correspondents:     Michelle Aguilar, Christina Apeles, Niles J. 
                      Baranowski, Mike Bederka, Tracey Bleile, Jason 
                      Cahill, Matthew Carlin, Patrick Carmosino, John 
                      Davidson, Andrew Duncan, Krisjanis Gale, 
                      Chris Hill, Eric Hsu, Franklin Johnson, Steve 
                      Kandell, Reto Koradi, Robin Lapid, Karen 
                      Mulhern, Linda Scott, Don Share, Scott Slonaker, 
                      Kerwin So, Chelsea Spear, Jon Steltenpohl, Michael 
                      Van Gorden, Simon West
  Technical Staff:    Chris Candreva, David Landgren, Dave Pirmann

 Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription 
information is given at the end of this issue. 
==================================================================
	All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). 
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the 
editor.
==================================================================
                            .------------.
                            |  Contents  |
                            `------------'
INTERVIEW: Speech - Lang Whitaker
REVIEW: Guided By Voices, _Do the Collapse_ - Steve Kandell
REVIEW: Pretenders, _Viva El Amor_ - Joann D. Ball
REVIEW: Freedy Johnston, _Blue Days, Black Nights_ - Michael Van Gorden 
REVIEW: Superchunk, _Come Pick Me Up_ - Steve Kandell
REVIEW: Los Lobos, _This Time_ - Tracey Bleile
REVIEW: The Verve Pipe, _The Verve Pipe_ - Karen Mulhern
REVIEW: Various, _No Boundaries - A Benefit for the Kosovar 
   Refugees_ - Mike Bederka
REVIEW: Len, _Can't Stop the Bum Rush_ - Michelle Aguilar
REVIEW: Kristin Hersh, _Sky Motel_ - Chelsea Spear
REVIEW: Verbena, _Into The Pink_ - Tracey Bleile
REVIEW: Various, _Surf Monsters_ - Michelle Aguilar
NEWS: Caroline Distribution, Shalamar / Midnight Star, Rhino Records 
   21st annual Retrofest
TOUR DATES: Atari Teenage Riot, Black Sabbath / Godsmack, Blondie / 
   Reel Big Fish, Duran Duran, Julian Lennon, Alanis Morissette / Tori 
   Amos, Pietasters, Pretenders, Sevendust / Skunk Anansie / Powerman 
   5000, Splender, Mike Viola And The Candy Butchers, Ween, Weird Al 
   Yankovic
Back Issues of Consumable
---
	INTERVIEW: Speech
		- Lang Whitaker
	I knew I was going way out in the country when the directions 
to Todd "Speech" Thomas's house included "after you get on the two-lane 
road, turn down the dirt road with eight mailboxes mounted in a cluster 
on the corner." But country living suits Todd "Speech" Thomas just fine; 
Lord knows Speech is relishing his peace and quiet these days, after 
living the hard knock life the last few years. After the dissolvement 
of his pioneering hip-hop group Arrested Development, Speech ran into a 
spate of legal hurdles that arrested his artistic development. Now, with 
a solo record about to drop through TVT Records, Speech is still thirsty.

	CONSUMABLE ONLINE: Tell me exactly how it went down with Arrested
Development breaking up.
	SPEECH: Basically, Arrested Development started having problems 
even during the touring of our first album (1992's _3 Years, 5 Months & 2 
Days In The Life Of..._). We were having problems with egos, and people 
being jealous of each other, money and greed -- all of those things 
started really taking effect. We basically were not getting along, but 
we were really holding it together for the sake of the group, because we 
were really taking off. Here was a band that had been broke, and all of a 
sudden we had a chance, and we didn't want to mess that up because of 
some personality differences.
	CO: So then why didn't you stay together?
	SPEECH: We would have stayed at it, but the tension continued to 
grow. So, by the time we did the second album, _Zingalamaduni_, that was 
really like pulling teeth to even do that album, because the dissension had 
gotten so bad. After _Zingalamaduni_ came out, we did a lot of touring. The 
last tour was did in Asia, and when we came back from Atlanta there were 
offers for other tours and offers to get back in the studio, and none of 
us answered; nobody was willing to do anything. We didn't really decide 
that we should break up, it was just that no one said anything. It was 
something that was uncommunicated, but known. We just couldn't do it 
anymore.
	CO: Then you released your first solo album, _Speech_, right?
	SPEECH: Yeah. I'm a musician, so I continued to write music. EMI 
had heard it, but we didn't know what to do with it, but we both wanted to 
release it. So, we did a solo album and entitled it _Speech_, and it was 
just a bunch of songs that I had written.
	CO: And then your label, EMI Records, collapsed...
	SPEECH: Yeah, they just totally fell apart. I don't know what 
happened to them.
	CO: So you were kind of stuck, right?
	SPEECH: What happened was, once EMI closed down, I couldn't release 
records, as Arrested Development, which wasn't even an issue at that time, 
or as Speech. At that time, I was about to release some of songs, so I was 
basically stuck.
	So, EMI in Japan had had huge success with _Speech_. It sold very 
well, and the single "Like Marvin Gaye Said..." was number one on the 
charts there for nine weeks. They called me and said, "Hey, we heard you 
did some new stuff. Can we release it?" I wasn't sure, so we got with all 
the business guys and the lawyers and stuff and found out that I could 
actually release music overseas. But I couldn't do anything in the 
states, because even though the label wasn't capable of releasing 
records, I was still signed as an artist.
	So for about two years I was releasing stuff in Asia. I released 
an  album called _Disciples of a Lyrical Rebellion_, and I released _1998 
Hoopla_.  I also released records from two groups I represent, Nadirah 
and El Pus. So, I released four records in Asia over a two year period, 
and all of them did pretty well. I was also touring consistently over 
there, which was great.
	All of that was sort of just biding me time. Finally I was able to 
get off the label here. So, we started shopping some stuff, and I talked 
to a couple of labels, and TVT was one of the labels we talked to and 
decided to go with, ultimately.
	CO: Why did you pick TVT to do your album?
	SPEECH: I like independent labels, in general. I've been with a 
major before, and generally their philosophy is to throw an album up 
against the wall, and if radio or video bites at it, to go ahead. But, 
there are too many games with majors. To me, they're not really great 
at working a record. They're great at making a really good record become 
huger than life. Like, I've never seen anything like what happened to 
AD. We lost track of why people were likin' our record so much because 
of the machinery of a major label. They just have this power to be take 
something from here (gestures down by his waist), to way beyond anything 
you could imagine. But on the other hand, if your record doesn't get 
radio play and video play, they have no clue what to do with it.
	CO: What kind of stuff is AD going to do? Are you going to be 
writing most of the stuff, or will it be a collaboration?
	SPEECH: Oh, definitely, it will be a collaboration. I have about 
six or seven tunes I'd like to put on the record, but we'll have to wait 
and see what ends up making the record, because I'm sure we'll end up 
writing a bunch of tunes. But I'm really excited about working with AD 
again.
	CO: I heard that until recently, you didn't own a suit.
	SPEECH: (incredulously) Yeah, I just got one.
	CO: You went down to Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza to get it, 
right?
	SPEECH: Yeah! How did you...how do you know about that?
	CO: I can't tell you that, man, but I heard you were picking it 
up for some kind of big shindig.
	SPEECH: Yeah, it was for Puffy's restaurant opening, Justin's, 
just recently. I heard it was a suit and tie affair, so I bought a suit. 
I had suit coat jackets and stuff from vintage stores, but I never had a 
full suit, you know...
	CO: ...that matches.
	SPEECH: (Laughs) Right. With parts that were meant for each other. 
I mean, my mom used to buy me suits when I was in high school. So, it was 
my first suit purchase.
	CO: Have you worn it again, since then?
	SPEECH: Yeah. I've worn it for shows. I liked it actually. I sort 
of freaked it out, meaning I untucked my shirt and didn't wear the tie. 
But it's just cool; it's an Armani suit. It fits really well. I never was 
into designer clothing, until I tried it. For some reason, it actually 
does make you feel a little cooler. (laughs) Once you get it on, you sort 
of get the point.
---
	REVIEW: Guided By Voices, _Do the Collapse_ (TVT)
		- Steve Kandell
	After years of threatening to record an album that doesn't 
sound like it was recorded in a small bathroom, Dayton's frighteningly 
prolific lo-fi hero Robert Pollard has finally followed through with the 
brand new _Do the Collapse_. A few tips for those fans disenchanted 
with this decision:
	1. Listen to _Do the Collapse_ in a small bathroom.
	2. Unplug at least one of your speakers while listening to _Do 
the Collapse_.
	3. Turn your stereo up as loud as it can go, then listen to _Do 
the Collapse_ from your next door neighbor's house. Guaranteed decline 
in fidelity.
	4. Make a cassette copy of _Do the Collapse_ and only listen to 
it on one of those mono tape recorders from 1979.
	As ludicrous as these suggestions may sound, all are preferable 
to dismissing the new Guided By Voices (GBV) album outright, as tempting 
as that may seem to the hardcore faithful. While Ric Ocasek's production 
undoubtedly gives the music a sheen it has never had, this is still at its 
core a GBV album, complete with willfully obscure lyrics and faux-British 
Invasion intonations. Nowhere is the former Cars leader's stamp more 
evident than on the album's opening track, "Teenage FBI," which boasts 
synth bass and enough keyboard flourishes to make it sound like a refugee 
from _Candy-O_, or maybe the first Rentals album.
	_Do the Collapse_'s most obvious departure is the lighter-waving, 
arm-swaying, strings-enhanced arena rock ballad "Hold On Hope," a bid for 
Top 40 glory that couldn't be more blatant if it came with a box of 
chocolates for your local radio programmer. But it's hard to knock 
Pollard for this. He's written and released about three thousand songs 
in the past eight years; he's allowed to want a hit, and he's certainly 
worked hard enough for it. Anyway, the idea of Guided By Voices actually 
gaining mainstream acceptance, of "Hold On Hope" becoming a prom theme 
standard or popping up on the soundtrack of a very special episode of 
Dawson's Creek, is too brilliant to resist. Fans can take great solace 
in the fact that this will never, ever happen.
	Less a band than a brand, Pollard has changed GBV members so 
frequently that Andy Warhol's legendary aphorism might be amended to 
"In the future, everyone will be in Guided By Voices for fifteen 
minutes." It is becoming increasingly hard to discern what makes an 
album a Robert Pollard solo effort (he's released two) or a Guided By 
Voices project (counts range from 13 to 16, depending on what you're 
calling an "album.") It seems as if Pollard himself isn't sure either; 
the low-fi fragments that used to comprise GBV albums are now saved for 
his solo records as he tries push Guided By Voices towards greater pop 
legitimacy. This time around, former Breeder/Amp Jim MacPherson plays 
drums, part-time GBV associate and full-time Dayton attorney Greg Demos 
plays bass, and guitarist Doug Gilliard is the sole survivor from the 
Mag Earwhig band of two years ago. (Just to keep things confusing, the 
album photos show no less than six current GBV'ers, including touring 
bassist Tim Tobias and touring rhythm guitarist Nate Farley, also late 
of the Breeders and the Amps.)
	What Ocasek seems to have done is rein in Pollard's tendency to 
leave songs half-finished, as _Do the Collapse_ boasts sixteen full-blown 
pop songs -- no fragments -- many of which are more than three minutes 
long. A few, such as the mid-tempo "Things I Will Keep" and "Liquid 
Indian" hold up against any in the stunningly large GBV catalogue, and 
"In Stitches" is the best one-chord GBV tune since "Postal Blowfish." 
And for those who simply cannot abide by this new trend towards more 
conventional pop composition, a new Pollard solo album or one of his 
collections under the pseudonym Lexo and the Leapers is due to be 
released in about twenty minutes.
---
	REVIEW: Pretenders, _Viva El Amor_ (Warner Bros.)
		- Joann D. Ball
	"They don't make 'em like they used to!"
	That's the message the Pretenders convincingly deliver on 
the new release _Viva El Amor_ .  The memorable line, taken from 
the CD's lead track and current UK single "Popstar," is a sharp 
response to a strayed lover who should have realized that he never 
had it so good.  But the sentiment also neatly sums up the Pretenders 
incredible staying power.
	Exploding onto the post-punk scene twenty years ago, the 
Pretenders took the musical path less taken by combining punk attitude 
with rock stylings and pop sensibilities.  The Pretenders forged a 
distinctive sound with singer/songwriter Chrissie Hynde's trademark 
tough and tender vocals framed by a guitar-driven melodic approach.  
And as the Pretenders prove on _Viva El Amor_, the winning combination 
is timeless and still irresistable.
	On the band's seventh studio effort, Hynde, original drummer 
Martin Chambers, guitarist Adam Seymour and bassist Andy Hobson are 
as fresh and energized as ever.  Kicking off with the catchy buzz of 
"Popstar," _Viva El Amor_ showcases the full range of the Pretenders' 
musical essence.  "Who's Who" and "Baby's Breath" overflow with the 
chiming guitars and magical moments one expects from the band, while 
"From the Heart Down," which features the Duke Quartet, captures the 
stripped down beauty displayed on 1995's unplugged _Isle of View_.  
Tender moments can also be found on the sensual "Samurai" and on the 
cover of the Spanish-language song "Rabo Du Nube."
	The Pretenders balance the soft and hard on the emotion-filled 
"Dragway 42," and display their characteristic edge on the raucuous 
rocker "Legalise Me."  Complete with a count-off from Chambers and 
guest guitar work from Jeff Beck, "Legalise Me" recalls the full-on 
aggression last heard on 1994's _Last of the Independents_.
	The first UK single "Human" (also the theme for the short-lived 
American television show "Cupid"), however, has to be the best 
Pretenders song the band never wrote.  With Jules Shear on board to 
further sweeten the backing vocals, the Pretenders infuse the 
Divinyls' original with their definitive brand of shimmering pop.   
And Hynde gives the song's lyrics and especially the "I'm only human 
on the inside" chorus such a personal touch that "Human" actually 
seems autobiographical.
	The revealing "Biker," for which the release was originally to 
be named,  closes the 45-minute _Viva El Amor_.  Demonstrating that 
wisdom comes with age, the twelve tracks on the record skillfully 
explore the familiar subjects of love and the human condition.  And 
packaged with a striking cover photo of Chrissie Hynde in a 
propagandist revolutionary pose (taken by the late Linda McCartney), 
_Viva El Amor_ delivers exactly what it promises.  Long Live Love, 
indeed!
	For Pretenders information online, visit the official Pretenders 
Archives website http://members.tripod.com/~PretendersArchives and the 
related site http://www.pretenders.org
---
	REVIEW: Freedy Johnston, _Blue Days, Black Nights_ (Elektra)
		- Michael Van Gorden 
	With the opening line of "I sail alone in a homemade boat," 
Freedy Johnston perfectly sets the mood for his latest and most 
emotionally moving album to date. Ever the master storyteller, on _Blue 
Days, Black Nights_, Freedy uses his simple melodies, well-chosen words 
and a very spare sounding record to tug at our heart strings, bring up 
old, long forgotten memories and just plain get under our emotional skin.
	"Underwater Life" opens the CD with the above line, and proceeds 
to paint a picture of a lonely man who uses his homemade boat to haul 
trash, all the while enduring the jeers and jokes of his peers, until 
one night he realizes that he would be willing to "trade his own today, 
for the underwater life." The characters in Freedy's songs have always 
been fleshed out by the well chosen words and the haunting, rolling 
melodies that are so subtle, yet seem to ingrain themselves in your 
mind.
	Freedy again takes the simple approach to these songs, much 
like he did on "Western Sky" from his previous CD _Never Home_. In 
fact, if songs like "Western Sky" and "Evie's Tears" are some of your 
favorites, then this CD is tailor made for you. There are no loud 
crunching guitar sounds (ala _On the Way Out_), but Freedy has 
constructed a very intimate setting for his stories of loneliness 
hurt, alienation and emotional pain.
	For those that already think moving can be a sad, somber 
experience, try "Moving on a Holiday," with lines like "old address 
book in my hand/How'd I lose my place again/The only thing not packed 
away/moving on a holiday," which evoke memories of the finality of 
moving away from something dear. In another sad tale, "The Farthest 
Lights," an astronomer wonders whether all the time he spent gazing 
at the stars has caused the light to go out in his wife's eyes. Again 
using imagery so vivid and alive, the astronomer asks himself "I will 
ask but you won't say/Do I watch the sky too much/familiar and so far 
away." The central character of "Pretend It's Summer" remembers when 
he met the love of his life, and how "a summer storm wasn't over yet / 
We discovered our initials matched." When things don't work out he 
longs for the old days so much he begins to pretend it's summer, going 
out in the winter and "picks flowers in the snow all day." As the 
story comes to an end, the music also begins to fade, and you hope 
that the pain and the memory fade along with it.
	As sad as this CD may sound, the melodies and Freedy's singing 
seem to give the character's hope. No matter how bad off they may 
sound, you find yourself pulling for them, buoyed by the melodies and 
the exceptional playing of Freedy's band. With Cameron Grieder on 
guitar, Jim Keltner on drums, and Andy Hess on bass, the music is 
subdued yet powerful. This album is perfect for those "3 a.m." 
moments, when you're trying to sort through the cobwebs in your 
mind. This album ranks right up there with Jules Shear's _Between 
Us_, on which Freedy guests. With the growth this CD shows, I look 
forward to Freedy's next album, while I wallow in the beauty of this 
one.
---
	REVIEW: Superchunk, _Come Pick Me Up_ (Merge)
		- Steve Kandell
	Rare is the band that remains intact after a decade. Rarer still 
is one that remains valid after this long a stretch. But a band that 
manages to put out a ninth album that not only stands with its best, 
builds on the advances made on previous releases to push the songs in 
interesting new directions without sacrificing an iota of what made the 
band work in the first place? that's beyond rare. It's a statistical 
anomaly. And it is, I am delighted and relieved to report, Superchunk.
	With nothing left to prove musically and requisite talk of 
commercial breakthrough long since dismissed as fantasy, it would be 
easy for Chapel Hill's venerable Superchunk to go the way of so many 
of their contemporaries and simply fade into the indie rock woodwork. 
They should be broken up by now, or sounding tired at best. Most of the 
bands who started out the decade as their peers are either long gone or 
in trouble. Rumors abound that Pavement may not last the month, and 
Sonic Youth desperately needs new gear and a better padlock. But the 
songs on _Come Pick Me Up_ go far beyond complacent, and are hardly the 
work of a band on its last legs. Superchunk frontman Mac MacCaughan puts 
it best himself in "1000 Pounds" when he sings "You came through/When no 
one expected you to."
	From Jon Wurster's synthy metallic drums that start off the 
album's spirited opening track "So Convinced," it is clear that the 
band intends to show off some new tricks. With Chicago post-rock 
impresario Jim O'Rourke manning the boards, Superchunk's pogo-happy 
punk pop tunes now boast such adornments as keyboards, strings and 
horns, but are used with restraint and never overwhelm the songs. The 
organs got a workout on the last record, 1997's _Indoor Living_, but 
nothing Superchunk has ever put out hints at the Clarence Clemons-like 
sax solo at the end of "Pink Clouds."
	1994's _Foolish_, still their strongest album, was actually 
criticized when it came out for daring to slow things down and stress 
melody over crunching power chords. Each subsequent album has managed 
to take the songwriting advances of the one before it and add new 
flourishes, all without taking away from the elements that make Superchunk 
so simple but distinctive. _Come Pick Me Up_ is actually a logical 
progression from _Indoor Living_, which itself was the next step from 
1995's _Here's Where the Strings Come In_.
	Lest the skeptical faithful lament that this is all just the 
further watering down of a once furious punk band, the new album 
actually rocks harder than _Indoor Living_, and is more consistently 
innovative than any band whose music publishing company is called "All 
the Songs Sound the Same" has a right to be.
	And for all the talk about new sounds and new directions, the 
album's best song actually would have sounded right at home on _No Pocky 
for Kitty_. "Good Dreams" is as raucous and infectious as anything the 
band has ever done, from "Seed Toss" to "Without Blinking" to "Precision 
Auto." And they are not bringing a brass section out on the road; live, 
even the most ornate songs are stripped to their punk cores while Mac 
and bassist Laura Balance bounce around so much they make Angus Young 
look as sedentary as John Popper.
	On any given night in any given city, countless rock bands with 
two guitars, bass, and drums get together somewhere and play frenzied 
punk pop songs about frustrations romantic or otherwise. It is not 
unique, and it is not brain surgery. But for some reason, and I can't 
even put my finger on why, Superchunk is simply better at it than any 
of them. See them before they break up or get tired.
---
	REVIEW: Los Lobos, _This Time_ (Hollywood)
		- Tracey Bleile
	The members of Los Lobos are closing in on a major anniversary, 
somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty-five years as a group.  And like 
any long-term relationship, the Lobos have learned the secret lesson of 
making it work - over the past year and a half, the various members have 
taken the time to do their "own thing".  Sometimes that is the ultimate 
key to how you approach the original relationship, and infuse it with 
new life - don't be afraid to have separate interests.  The added change 
of a new label for the first time in a very long time may also have 
something to do with this.
	_This Time_ takes this cue beautifully, exploring all the 
different avenues the various members have ventured recently.  The 
Lobos have always been way ahead of the curve when it comes to defying 
genres (or is it defining their own?).  The more traditional R&B and 
blues foray by Cesar Rosas (who released his first ever solo record 
this year) lends a new aggressive touch to the proceedings.  "That's 
Why We Wish" has that same dance party feel that some of the great 
tracks featured on the Rosas release.
	So take your good ol' R&B groove.  Now link it in a jaw-dropping 
seamless fashion to the percussive, experimental twists of the Latin 
Playboys (David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, joined by their longtime 
producer friend, Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, who are on board with 
this release as producers as well).  This end result with this record 
melds into some of the most buzzy, funky blues these guys have slung 
yet.  The wah-wah's turned up high on "Viking", and "High Places" 
smokes just right with that sharp plucked guitar punctuating every beat.
	Toss in the spice of many of Los Lobos' members participating 
in the Cali-Texas Latin supergroup Los Super Seven, and it makes the 
traditional Latin/Nortena stripe of Los Lobos' nature a little more 
tigerish.   The mariachi snap of "Cumbia Raza" is pure summer pleasure, 
and "La Playa" has a punchy, loping beat that will indeed have you 
dreaming of sun, sand and dancing outside.  Even the ballad this time 
(no pun intended) 'round, "Corazon" gives you visions of torrid tangos, 
not longing or bereft lovers.
	Saying too much more seems almost excessive.  This is a tough, 
cool, tight record by a bunch of guys who know what the hell they are 
doing, and make it easy to buy what they're selling.  After the 
stylized beauty of _Kiko_ and the over-the-top smeary mess of _Colossal 
Head_, Los Lobos shows once again their knack for death-defying twists 
and turns musically.  They know each other well, and here's hoping the 
honeymoon never ends for this relationship.
---
	REVIEW: The Verve Pipe, _The Verve Pipe_ (RCA)
		- Karen Mulhern
	The self titled, _The Verve Pipe_, is a study in the redefinition 
of a band.  Where _Villains_  had a consistent, if somewhat overproduced 
sound, The Verve Pipe_ does not.  Each song varies in styling, tempo, 
and poetic appeal, yet all share a central theme of lessons learned 
the hard way.  Nowhere is this more evident than in "F-word", an 
examination of post-"Freshmen" self doubt and the difficulty in moving 
on.  Brian Vander Ark's description of moshing (assault diguised as 
dancing) and the metaphor that follows (so part the wave and drop the 
dead as driftwood surfer) make for powerful imagery.  In a similar but 
more upbeat way, "Hero" is a  self deprecating look at reconciling who 
we are with who we think we are.  The hard-driving "Supergig"  is an 
expose of fear and the fences thrown up to keep it at bay.  "We used 
to care, we don't anymore,"  and  the repetitiive "there's not a 
missing link"  are said defensively, not as statements of fact.
	And what of love and relationships?  In "Headlines"  they're 
strictly physical but the narrator is taken to task for being 
superficial. In the end he realizes "my all was just medium."  
"Television" explores the sadistic way we wallow in pity when we 
know we should move past the pain. "Turn it up, turn it down, tune 
me in, tune me out" clearly shows the quandry. But sometimes 
relationships are sheer perfection, as seen in the beautifully poetic 
"Kiss Me Idol."  With angelic vocals and a dreamlike melody, Vander 
Ark sings ,"so close your eyes and catch your breath and I will wait 
right here."  He describes a love so perfect, even a casual listener 
would be impressed.
	The band has described _The Verve Pipe_ as the "record of our 
lives." With candor, emotion and incredible songwriting, the band has 
shared with us their growth not only as musicians but as people.  In 
"She Loves Everybody"  Donny wrote, "flashing lights, the music's loud, 
I'm questioning if this is destiny."  Without question,  this eclectic 
mix of songs is certainly  that and more.
---
	REVIEW: Various, _No Boundaries - A Benefit for the Kosovar 
		Refugees_ (Epic)
		- Mike Bederka
	With an album such as this, you almost feel guilty criticizing 
it. What kind of heartless person would disrespect these artists? The 
Kosovar refugees have lost everything and now a bunch of bands donated 
some tracks to help them out. What's not to like? Well, how about a 
third of the album?
	But for the most part, "No Boundaries" is quality mix of rare, 
live and unreleased tracks from old-timers and some fairly fresh meat. 
Neil Young provides a riveting live version of "War of Man" from the 
"Harvest Moon" album. When he utters, "No one wins / It's a war of man," 
it's hard to ignore the relevance. And when his grandchildren, Pearl Jam, 
bookend the album with a pair of covers, the band's dipping popularity 
should stop dead its track. "Last Kiss," the 1964 hit by J. Frank Wilson 
and the Cavaliers, has been gracing radios for the past few months. And 
their rocking version of Arthur Alexander's "Soldier of Love" should 
also do the same. Rage Against the Machine equally deserves some 
recognition for the turn-the-stereo-up cover of Bruce Springsteen's 
"The Ghost of Tom Joad." Honorary mention goes to The Wallflowers and 
Oasis for playing some actually decent, non-whiny numbers.
	As for the flip side, Bush and Jamiroquai get the yesterday's 
news honors. Bush does the acoustic (!) thing on "Come Down." Great, all 
we need, a bland version of an already bland song. C'mon guys, you pump 
out singles like they are going out of style. I'm sure you have something 
new and tasty in your collection. And that guy with the big hat offers 
the pointless, instrumental number "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." Hey 
Jamiroquai, just stick to making slick videos okay. Korn and Ben Folds 
Five also do nothing for themselves with their disappointing additions 
to "No Boundaries." Korn's remix of "Freak on a Leash" is mediocre, and 
Ben Folds' ditty "Leather Jacket" meanders nowhere and lacks the band's 
usual fire.
	Of course the cause is greater than the music, but at the very 
least you wished some of the artists would have put up more of a fight.
---
	REVIEW: Len, _Can't Stop the Bum Rush_ (Sony / WORK Group)
		- Michelle Aguilar
	Do you remember the first time they started running ads for 
mail-order '80s music compilations a few years ago? You know, where 
they always put some poor-bastard aging bit actor or ex-Mtv veejay 
into a suede vest and jeans and had him read excitedly off a cue card, 
"The '80s are back!"
	Well, when I first starting noticing these commercials, I was 
soon struck by the utter diversity of the titles scrolling down my 
television screen -- ranging from forgotten singles by bands like 
Haircut 100 to hits from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack to Young MC. 
There was no regard to genres, to levels of success, or any kinds of 
musical signposts; really, a remarkably democratic view of music of 
the decade.
	I guess the diversity makes sense, once you sit down and think 
about it.  The fly-by-night record labels who put together these 
compilations aren't exactly aesthetes or even '80s devotees, out to 
further a certain genre of '80s music. They're guys in their forties, 
in ill-fitting suits barking over phones from offices in East Rutherford, 
N.J. that have fake wood panelling on the walls. ("Flock of what? What 
the hell kinda name is that??? Well if they come cheap, I guess...Ahhh, 
who gives a damn?")
	Toronto's Len, whose major label debut album, _You Can't Stop 
the Bum Rush_, is a bit like one of those compilations. The group, 
which is made up of brother and sister co-founders Marc and Sharon 
Costanza, along with D Rock and DJ Moves (of the Toronto-Vancouver-Halifax 
hip hop project The Cryptik Souls Crew) leisurely and unconcernedly 
strut all over the musical map, from hip-hop, to New Wave, to urban 
dance. The one thing these songs do seem to have in common is the 
1980s, in just about all its permutations. Meaning that the album is 
a postmodern patchwork of incongruous influences, mixed together by 
Dust Brother John King, and name-checked by a few industry legends 
along the way.
	Len delights in working with the now-dusty cliches of the 1980s. 
For example, Kraftwerk is recalled in the song, "The Hard Disk," which 
even features German vocals. Glam metal gets its moment in the sun with 
"Feelin' Alright," and even gets a quintessinal solo by Poison guitarist 
C.C. DeVille. Even the '80s invention Smooth Jazz is evoked in 
"Junebug," featuring utterly appropriate trumpet and sax and cheesy 
Casio beats.
	The inimitable Biz Markie lends his atonal vocals to the choruses 
on "Beautiful Day," easily outclassing host mc, D-Rock, whose phrasing 
style at times hints at a hopeless yearning to have grown up below the 
Canadian border in south central Los Angeles. D-Rock's hour-by-hour 
description of the events of his day recalls thematically the songs of 
N.W.A. and Snoop Dogg, except D-Rock's days are filled with Monty Python 
movies, phone calls from his friends at Yale and bailing his friends out 
of the city jail for miscellaneous mischief.
	Overall, there's enough empty cliche mining fun here. There's a 
certain amount of appeal to hearing songs that are bound to make your 
grin despite yourself, and I would feel uncomfortable recommending 
against it unequivocally. This album is bound to call up a smile if 
you're the right age to know the reference points. But this aspect is 
also a potential Achilles heel for "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush": After 
all, if someone wants to hear a collection of parodies of well-known 
artists, there is always the danger they'll just go out and buy Weird 
Al Yankovic records.
	The problem becomes even uglier when you start to realize that 
Len (perhaps themselves even unwittingly) has called in supposed heroes 
like Blow, Markie, and DeVille to participate in creating cliches of 
their former glories, cliches that were innovative when the artists 
first thought of them.
	To me, it comes as no surprise that this album's stand-out 
single is the mellow, gently catchy boy-girl duet "Steal My Sunshine," 
which was featured on the "Go" soundtrack in March. The trippy single, 
with its undeniable sample of the Andrea True Connection's, "More, 
More, More," is striking for its originality in comparison to the rest 
of the album, perhaps because songwriter Marc Costanza wrote it after 
getting seriously messed up at a rave. 
	"Sunshine" is the only song on the album that doesn't overtly 
sound like something else. It is the only song that almost sounds 
spontaneous, which automatically raises it exuberantly above the rest 
of the material. It's as if for a brief moment, Costanza's carefully 
constructed defenses against showing his real self were momentarily 
broken down, even though he claims he was only trying to write a Human 
League song.
	At times, listening to this album feels like eating cotton 
candy: Its musical texture is a sweet novelty at first, but the 
pastiche aspects of these songs threaten to undermine their staying 
power, like the fluffy sweetness that eventually turns into a pile of 
sugar in your mouth, utterly lacking in redeeming nourishment. But then 
again, a pile of sugar can sometimes be just what you're craving...
	Ahh, who gives a damn?
---
	REVIEW: Kristin Hersh, _Sky Motel_ (4AD)
		- Chelsea Spear
	Ignore the gauzy photography and beautiful packaging of _Sky 
Motel_, the photos of singer/songwriter Kristin Hersh looking all 
twinkly and happy. Disregard the enveloping, SurroundSound production 
and the chirpy-sweet first single and leadoff track, "Echo." Within the 
pits on this CD, Hersh has documented the long, dark night of the soul 
that has engulfed her in the three years since she was forced to dissolve 
her internationally renowned first band, Throwing Muses.
	The songs on _Sky Motel_ revel in strange, minor-chord tunings 
(such as "San Francisco"), rarely used time signatures and odd rhythmic 
patterns (the haunting "Costa Rica"), as well as melodies that both swoon 
and dirge ("Clay Feet"). As usual, Hersh's lyrics are usually cryptic and 
rife with disturbing imagery, as on the effectively molasses-paced 
"Caffeine," though even at their most direct they can unsettle listeners 
with nerves of steel, as with the album closer "Faith": "Was it me or the 
heat?/Made you not believe/Made you lose your faith in the afterlife," 
Hersh pleads with listeners. Even the joyous bossa nova skip of "Echo" 
cloaks a less-than-innocuous lyric ("I'm scaring everybody, I'm wearing 
everybody down") that seems to warn of tumult to come. Anyone buying 
this record in search of the cherubic joy of _Strange Angels_ or even 
parts of _Hips and Makers_ will find this jarring, to say the least.
	That said, Hersh's first album with a band is an exhilarating, 
emotionally involving listen from beginning to end. The contrast between 
the at times wrist slashingly depressing lyrics and music and the 
brightly-coloured production serves to remind listeners of a popular 
theme within Hersh's lyrics, and, indeed, her life: the fact that 
happiness and misery can co-exist. Even at its bleakest, the music 
retains a playful side, demonstrated through the bongos that dance 
through "Costa Rica" or the Ravellian snare drum that keeps "Faith" 
moving forward.
	Hersh's new-found songwriting ability also adds a new dimension 
to the songs that grace _Sky Motel_. In years previous, Hersh didn't 
write songs so much as channel them, as they came through her walls and 
entered her cerebral cortex. Her muse, the muse that gave her band a 
name, abandoned her before she had the chance to write this album. 
Hearing the songs she writes from scratch is another testament to her 
ability as a songwriter - the all-out rocker "A Cleaner Light" and 
glidingly melodic "San Francisco" - are as affecting as "Juno" and 
"Devil's Roof" were a decade ago. The one song she wrote with the aid 
of a muse, "Cathedral Heat," is one of the most affecting things ever 
committed to recording device, a moody environment that engulfs the 
listener and refuses to let go.
	In short, Kristin Hersh has created a masterpiece with her 
first solo-album-with-band, _Sky Motel_. Adventurous listeners not shy 
to things that go bump in the night will greatly appreciate such an 
intuitive, stunningly beautiful album. On my short list for Record of 
the Year.
---
	REVIEW: Verbena, _Into The Pink_ (Capitol)
		- Tracey Bleile
	This band's major label debut also marks off a new production 
credit for Foo Fighters' mastermind Dave Grohl (who previously scored 
the film Touch).  The end result is a snarly, wound-tight, percussion 
heavy power pop punk effort.  Word has it that their label, Capitol 
was the winner in what turned out to be a battle royale to sign this 
Birmingham, AL trio.
	Grohl's discovery of the band's Merge full-length _Souls For 
Sale_ started them down the road to a shared tour in the U.S. and 
overseas, and when the time came for Verbena to begin _Into The 
Pink_, the mutual respect led them to working with Grohl in this 
capacity.  The results are surprising - the harmonizing on many 
tracks of guitarist Scott Bondy and bassist Anne Marie Griffin is 
reminiscent of L.A. punk heroes X ("Baby Got Shot"), the splashy 
drums and feedback recall, yes, no getting around it, Nirvana ("John 
Beverly") and the last traces of grunge.  Let there be no hue and 
cry of recycling - this is what you get with smart musicians and 
an equally smart producer.
	The only drawback to this kind of album is tendency for the 
songs to begin to blur a bit together - the sound is highly consistent 
without a lot of variance.  But if you dig drony and thunderous with 
a touch of that punk attitude (check "Submissionary" for line, 
chapter, and verse), you won't be sent awry here.
	One of the great misleading things about this record is the 
gentle piano and quiet vocals of the opening track "Lovely Isn't 
Love" and the single guitar/voices of the closer "Big Skies, Black 
Rainbows".  Beautiful bookends that hold up all the volumes (and 
volume) _Into The Pink_ possesses in its catalog of talent.
---
	REVIEW: Various, _Surf Monsters_ (Del-Fi)
		- Michelle Aguilar
	The runaway success of Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction" 
in 1994 was perhaps both the best and worst thing to happen to surf 
music in the last thirty years. On the one hand, it elevated a whole 
archive of excellent surf instrumentalists from subculture status 
straight into the mainstream. On the other hand, this meteoric revival 
ensured that within a year surf would be dead on arrival for your 
average twentysomething, who was already casting it aside for the more 
fertile ground of gym shirts and bell bottoms. Before long, surf was a 
suspect fad.
	The genre deserves better than that. The lengths to which '60s 
surf musicians went trying to recreate the sound of a surfer caught 
inside his perfect wave are still as impressive today as they were in 
1964. Guitarists may have gotten speedier these days and may be able to 
play more notes at once (though Dick Dale's dexterity is still a force 
to be reckoned with). Yet, for the most part, the sonic atmospheres of 
'60s surf bands (like the Tornadoes, etc.) have remained elusive to many 
musicians in the past decade who discovered their parents' surf records 
and began trying to emulate them.
	The problem is this: Instrumental Surf was a fairly short-lived, 
indie label phenomenon, meaning that the techniques of its artists were 
poorly documented. For the most part, the answers to the mysteries of 
the elusive surf sound remain only in the cheap, rushed recordings that 
small, singles-oriented labels could produce.
	And even today, Dick Dale knows better than to give up any of 
his secrets.
	While the Tarantino surf craze may be over, there is still a 
goodly number of bands out there playing around with the surf mythology, 
as there were several years before Amanda Plummer ever uttered the words 
"I love you, pumpkin" on celluloid. Seventeen of those bands, old and 
new, appear on _Surf Monsters_, a summer compilation by Del-Fi Records. 
A handful of the more interesting new surf artists out today are featured 
here, although none owned by Del-Fi, the grandaddy of '60s surf which 
was recently resurrected by its 76-year-old original owner, Bob Keane.
	Whoever put together _Surf Monsters_ was wise to open the disc 
with Man or Astro Man? Their "Flotation Devices For Frequencies Yet To 
Be Detected" is a contender for the most innovative of the modern tracks 
on this album.  Computer effects, odd uses of keyboards (like the Moog, 
the Arp, and God knows what other wonderful gadgetry) get very equal 
time with vintage sounding surf guitar and '60s production values. The 
result is an almost unclassifiable hybrid that uses the surf genre as a 
touchstone, rather than getting bogged down in exact mimicry. Another 
modern surf band, The Tiki-Tones, take a similar approach to the genre 
with their lounge-exotica inspired "The Island of Lost Soul." The band 
uses authentic-sounding surf guitar, in combination with sampled bongos, 
bird noises and keyboard loops, to create what is essentially a dance 
track.
	Of course, the compilation has its share of exact mimicry as 
well, such as the second-generation surf bands The Bomboras ("Plant of 
the Apehangers"), Satan's Pilgrims ("Harem Nocturne") and The Space 
Cossacks ("The Apes of Wrath"). These bands all do a fine job of 
figuring out the elusive alchemy of cavernous reverb, distorted 
instruments and vaguely Middle Eastern-sounding tonality that defines the 
surf sound. (Satan's Pilgrims are virtually indistinguishable from the 
real thing, in fact. They sound quite at home alongside the next track, 
by an actual '60s surf band, The Original Surfaris, who contribute their 
seminal "Bombora.")
	However, the problem with going down the mimicry road is that 
only a select few bands today can manage to get out of a modern studio 
the je ne sais quois that makes a traditional surf record sound authentic 
instead of stilted and postmodern. With a whopping 20 tracks, _Surf 
Monsters_ goes against the odds and loses on three or four occasions.
	But that's still a pretty good ratio, when you consider the nine 
vintage tracks that are on this album. A few are repeats from the "Pulp 
Fiction" soundtrack/Rhino _Legends of Surf Guitar_ compilation. But there 
are plenty of other nuggets to enjoy, especially if you're a relative 
newcomer to the surf catalog; check out the two excellent tunes each by 
Dave Myers and the Surftones and The Sentinals. For those of you in the 
past who have relied solely on Quentin Tarantino and your local oldies 
station for your surf music needs, it may interest you to hear what other 
'60s bands like The Lively Ones and The Impacts were doing with "Miserlou" 
and "Wipe Out."
	Then, shuffle the disc player and find out what the next 
generation is up to.
---
NEWS:	> Happy birthday to Caroline Distribution!  The 
distributors who provide music for labels including Astralwerks, 
and have helped in the success of bands including Smashing Pumpkins, 
Offspring, Green Day, Fatboy Slim, Ben Folds Five, Chemical Brothers, 
Nirvana and Hole will be turning 16 this month.
	> EMI / The Right Stuff have recently released greatest 
hits albums for two top R&B acts of the 80s, Shalamar and Midnight Star.
	> Rhino Records will be celebrating its 21st anniversary 
with their first annual RetroFest.  The pop culture festival will 
take place both indoors and outdoors at the Santa Monica Civic 
Auditorium in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday, August 13; Saturday, 
August 14; and Sunday, August 15. The all-day $15 ticket admission 
will include admission to all concerts, events, and exhibits for 
that day.
	Although there are numerous events during the weekend, 
concerts from Berlin, Missing Persons, Sam Moore, Sugarhill Gang, 
Ohio Players, Dick Dale and more are the highlight of the fun.  
For more information, check out http://www.rhino.com/retrofest 
---
TOUR DATES:
	Atari Teenage Riot
Aug. 11 Kansas City, MO Memorial Hall 
Aug. 13 Denver, CO Fillmore 
Aug. 14 Oklahoma City, OK Boars Head
Aug. 15 Austin, TX Emo's
Aug. 17 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade

	Black Sabbath / Godsmack
Aug. 12 Hershey, PA Hershey Stadium
Aug. 14 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
Aug. 16 Cincinnati, OH River Bend
Aug. 18 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
Aug. 20 Cleveland, OH Blossom
 
	Blondie / Reel Big Fish
Aug. 11 Boston, MA BankBoston Pavilion
Aug. 12 Cleveland, OH The State Theatre
Aug. 14 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Aug. 15 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre
Aug. 16 Minneapolis, MN Guthrie Theatre
Aug. 18 Salt Lake City, UT ECenter Theatre
Aug. 20 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion

	Duran Duran
Aug. 12 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center 
Aug. 14 Boston, MA Bank Boston Pavilion 
Aug. 15 Lawrence, NY Jones Beach Ampitheatre 
Aug. 19 Tunica, MS Horsehoe Casino 
Aug. 20-21 Biloxi, MS Grand Casino 

	Julian Lennon
Aug. 12 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
Aug. 13 San Diego, CA Viejas Casino
Aug. 14 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
Aug. 16 Scottsdale, AZ Cajun House
Aug. 17 Tucson, AZ Gotham/New West
Aug. 19 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Aug. 20 Denver, CO Soiled Dove

	Alanis Morissette / Tori Amos
Aug. 18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL NCR Arena
Aug. 20 Orlando, FL Orlando Arena

	Pietasters
Aug. 11 Cleveland, OH Euclid Tavern
Aug. 12 Lancaster, PA The Chameleon Club
Aug. 13 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Aug. 14 Washington DC The Black Cat
Aug. 19 Ljublana, SLOVENIA Hala Tivoli
Aug. 20 Vienna, AUSTRIA Arena

	Pretenders
Aug. 12 Cleveland, OH Nautica Stage
Aug. 14-15, Atlantic City, NJ Hilton Casino Resort
Aug. 21 Oporto, Portugal Villa De Mouros Festival

	Sevendust / Skunk Anansie / Powerman 5000
Aug. 16 Los Angeles, CA The Palace
Aug. 19 Denver, CO Odgen Theater

	Splender
Aug. 11 Dallas, TX Bronco Bowl
Aug. 12 Austin, TX Paradox
Aug. 14 Wichita, KS Kansas Coliseum
Aug. 15 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
Aug. 19 Shreveport, LA Malibu Alley
Aug. 20 Lafayette, LA Shanahan's

	Mike Viola And The Candy Butchers
Aug. 18 New York, NY Torch 

	Ween
Aug. 11 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre 
Aug. 13 Austin, TX Stubbs Bbq 
Aug. 14 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum Live 
Aug. 15 Oklahoma City, OK Will Rogers Theater 
Aug. 16 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall 
Aug. 18 Memphis, TN Apocalypse 
Aug. 19 Birmingham, AL Sloss Furnances 
Aug. 20 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues  

	Weird Al Yankovic
Aug. 12 North Tonawanda, NY Majestic Theatre
Aug. 13 Rochester Hills, MI Meadowbrook Music Festival
Aug. 14 Eureka, MO Six Flags, St. Louis
Aug. 15 Cleveland, OH Nautica Stage
Aug. 18 Cincinnati, OH Music Hall
Aug. 19 Chicago, IL Navy Pier
Aug. 20 Columbus, OH Metrostage
---
Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest 
music reviews publication on the Internet.
To get back issues of Consumable, check out:
        WWW:     http://www.consumableonline.com

To subscribe to Consumable, send an e-mail message to
consumable-request@westnet.com with the body of the message stating
"subscribe consumable".  To unsubscribe, send a message to the
same address stating "unsubscribe consumable".

Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com),
serving Westchester County, NY.

Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online,
409 Washington St. PMB 294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
===
