SOUND CHECK.BECK: ``Guero'' (Interscope) - Four stars If Beck didn't exist, they'd have to build him from scratch in a basement at Santa Monica College Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is 32,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The college also has one of the largest international student populations of any community college in the US, with approximately , the perfect personification personification, figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are endowed with human qualities, e.g., allegorical morality plays where characters include Good Deeds, Beauty, and Death. of the KCRW KCRW Kansas City Roller Warriors (women's roller derby league; Kansas City, Missouri) zeitgeist. On the much-anticipated and mucho entertaining ``Guero,'' the random-play soul man brings an iPod of musical and cultural references to bear on some very clever songs. Coming on the heels of his last outing, a dreary set of breakup ballads, Beck's latest (in stores Tuesday) has the warm, welcoming feel of 1996's classic ``Odelay,'' which like ``Guero'' was crafted in collaboration with Silver Lake's hit-making Dust Brothers. The nongimmicky result is a timely hybrid of samples, funk, folk, hip-hop and rock, topped off with cut-up lyrics seemingly cribbed from ads, TV, overheard dialogue and the cable news crawl. Beck makes it work - ``Que Onda Guero'' utilizes city noise in a semi-autobiographical take on street life in Spanglish Los Angeles; ``Girl'' offers a wonderfully sunny bit of California pop with a dark subtext sub·text n. 1. The implicit meaning or theme of a literary text. 2. The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor in performance. ; ``Missing'' is a witty distillation of tropicalia atmosphere; and fast favorite ``Go It Alone'' (with White Stripes' Jack White sitting in) is that rarity - a completely fresh-sounding rocker. ``Guero'' signals a good year in music. - Fred Shuster JOHN PIZZARELLI: ``Knowing You'' (Telarc) - Three and one half stars After a madly creative streak in which Pizzarelli issued a Beatles cover album, a collaboration with pianist George Shearing, a live trio effort and a bossa nova set, the singer-guitarist now reveals some welcome vocal authority. Over 15 tracks, he sings and plays in various settings, from sextets to duets with his wife, singer Jessica Molaskey. As always, the up-tempo numbers (``Coffee, Black,'' ``Pick Yourself Up'') are terrific, the Dave Frishberg numbers (especially ``Quality Time'') suitably snarky snark·y adj. snark·i·er, snark·i·est Slang Irritable or short-tempered; irascible. [From dialectal snark, to nag, from snark, snork, to snore, snort , and the ballads rich (``The Shadow of Your Smile''). - Steven Rosenberg RHONDA VINCENT AND THE RAGE: ``Ragin' Live'' (Rounder) - Three stars One of bluegrass' strongest singers and most intense bandleaders, Vincent VINCENT Vital Information Necessary Centralized (movie, The Black Hole) proves she's also a gracious and generous mistress of ceremonies on this live disc, recorded in her home state of Missouri. Exhibiting not the slightest hint of rage herself, the mandolinist gives each member of her outfit the Rage, plus assorted guests and relatives, a cut or two to shine on, while keeping the overall focus on tight orchestration. Bits of country pop balladry bal·lad·ry n. Ballads considered as a group. are judiciously integrated for variety's sake, and the overall atmosphere is one of polished, highly professional pleasantry pleas·ant·ry n. pl. pleas·ant·ries 1. A humorous remark or act; a jest. 2. A polite social utterance; a civility: exchanged pleasantries before getting down to business. . The show is also available on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. . - Bob Strauss EAGLES: ``Eagles'' (Rhino/WMG) - Three stars If you're a fan of the Eagles - the country-rock supergroup, not the football team - nostalgia doesn't come cheap. Case in point: The latest repackaging of the group's six '70s studio sets and two-disc live outing, all of which now appear in a lavish, limited-edition box that reproduces the albums in perfect miniature form, just like Japanese companies have been doing for years. The packaging is just how you remember it - ``On the Border'' sports the rough, textured cover; ``The Eagles,'' ``Hotel California'' and ``The Long Run'' have gatefolds, and the appropriate posters (tiny as they are) are included, too. The price? More than $100. Warners is making only 20,000 of these, and given that the band's greatest-hits album sold more than 28 million copies, it shouldn't be hard to find that many takers for this lovingly executed shakedown. - Glenn Whipp FANNYPACK: ``See You Next Tuesday'' (Tommy Boy) - Three stars FannyPack, the Brooklyn hip-hop quintet behind the ``Cameltoe'' craze of '03, raises eyebrows again. Only now it's over this 15-song set, a stellar grab-bag of block-party favors that includes the cheerleading The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. anthem ``Keep It Up,'' the sultry ``On My Lap'' and the blistering hot ``Fire Fire,'' the latter featuring Jamaican dancehall dance·hall n. 1. or dance hall A building or part of a building with facilities for dancing. 2. See ragga. dancehall Noun a style of dance-oriented reggae sensation Mr. Vegas. From fiery reggae to club bangers like ``Pump That,'' this album is like an accessory booty-shakers should never be without. - Sandra Barrera CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Beck) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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