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Beck: Modern Guilt
By Nancy Dunham
Everyone knows Beck is cool so it seems bashing Beck's latest CD "Modern Guilt" makes the antagonist cool.
The only problem with the outcry is that Beck Hansen's latest offering is undoubtedly one of the best albums this year. Yes, the album is short, clocking in at just about 30 minutes. Yes, the messages in the songs are somber. But don't believe that the music is "morose" as one well-known music critic said. The lyrics that detail Beck's messages are made palatable, and even more powerful, by the sweet psychedelic sound in which they're wrapped.
To sing "You got warheads stacked in the kitchen/You treat distraction like it's a religion" as Beck does to semi-upbeat yet reflective music on the brilliant song "Walls" is pure genius ala The Beatles "Revolver." And like the Beatles' album, the eclectic mix of "Modern Guilt" is bound to make it a classic.
Time and again Beck and co-producer Danger Mouse, half of Baltimore's Gnarls Barkley, wrap these songs' messages in a psychedelic, sometimes poppy musical style that harkens back to the soundtrack of '67's Summer of Love, complete with plentiful keyboards, a dusting of percussions and a smattering of synthesizers.
Instead of homing in on disconnect between the lyrics and music, listeners should marvel at the brilliance with which Beck mixed socially conscious lyrics with a luscious sound that's sure to catch the ears - and likely the minds -- of even the most detached listeners.
The Scorpions
Orange County Fair
By Giulian Jones
Lest we forget, most of America lives for things like the local county fair. Where corn dogs, beer battered onion rings, and overstuffed livestock make even the most civilized small townie's mouth water. Welcome to this year's version of the Orange County Fair. The local fair draws in the big names and tonight is no exception for the billing of multiplatinum rockers, the Scorpions made for quite the show to the nostalgic and excited crowd. The Orange County Fair's outdoor amphitheater is a great place to see a show. It's not so large that you can't see the acts performing and not so small that the like of this major artist won't play.
If you haven't heard of the Scorpions, you must have been living under a rock for the last 20 years. They have been a staple on MTV and music stations worldwide. They know how to write great songs and are even better at performing them live. What makes these rockers so successful is a combination of things, but the most important is that they love doing what they do and who wouldn't?
It's that personal connection they make with their audience that keeps fans and the several thousand in the sold out Pacific Amphitheater coming back for more.
The Scorpions are currently touring non-stop in support of their latest album Humanity. The album is full of rockers and power ballads, but the masterfully played dueling guitars of both Rudolph Schenker and Matthias Jabs juxposed to the iconic vocals of Klaus Meine makes these guys legendary.
If you have never seen the Scorpions live, you've missed one of the greatest touring bands of all time. Each member individually smiles at each other and their adoring fans. The band opens the tour with some of their newer stuff from Humanity, much to the crowd's delight. It's surprising that a band with so much history and hits still produces good music that their fans appreciate. I know this because as they played some of the new songs that I wasn't completely familiar with I watched thousands in the crowd singing along with the band. Probably the better of the newer songs from the new album came in the form of rockers such as 3-2-1, with the chorus and crowd singing along "3-2-1, are you ready to rock"?
One of the newer members of the band is also one of the most exiting to watch. As the dueling guitarists play off of each other, the drummer can only hope to catch some heat from the rest of the band. This isn't a problem for gonzo drummer James Kottak. He looks like a kid who snuck in the dressing room. That is until you see him literally beat the hell out of the drums.
At one point during the show, James invites the rest of the band onstage with him in a mock drum off. It's actually quite awesome to see all the gang play along with the new kid. The Scorpions being professionals that they are would not risk walking out without playing their biggest hits and saving them to close out the show leaving the euphoric crowd drenched in sweat. They could have easily phoned these songs in too, having played them well over 1000 times, but these are the Scorpions. They are sellers of millions of albums, players in just about every venue across the globe, and loving every minute of it. They play each song with excitement and joy and the energy of bands half their age.