|
|
With blueslike staying power, punk has enabled two decades worth of
alienated adolescent males to vent their frustrations on songs that
are fast, hard, brutish, and short. Usually, though, nobody else
much cares because most punk bands sound indistinguishable to
outsiders. Like their pop compadres in Green Day, Berkeley's Rancid
is an exception, going gold with 1995' . . . And Out Come the
Wolves. As usual, they do it mostly on tunes and spirit. But it
must be noted that never before has a band of comparable stature so
slavishly, yet effectively, emulated its heroes. From Tim
Armstrong's sputtering Joe Strummer howl to the rhythm section's
unself-conscious mix of punk force-beat and Jamaican skank, Rancid
are the Clash revisited, which makes Life Won't Wait (Epitaph)
their London Calling: 22 songs in 64 minutes, varied by guest shots
from dancehall shouter Buju Banton and a panoply of ska heroes. If
Rancid's radicalism is more general than the Clash's, well, their
sense of community is more delicate and empathetic. And their
sprawl, scope, and unforced enthusiasm all promise the freedom that
rock and roll's holy mission.
In a pop world suddenly inundated with salsa compilations,
Afro-Latino (Putumayo World Music) should appeal
especially to those who find salsa-derived horn arrangements a little
hectic. Concentrating on Cuban-influenced bands from West and
Central Africa, these 12 tracks
emphasize beat, voice, and rippling guitar, with a few dollops of
Cuban son to let you rest your hips.
You will be relieved to learn that Warren Beatty doesn't rap once
on the Bulworth soundtrack (Interscope). Instead, the great white
father offers up an object lesson in why he was inspired to try: a
rap rainbow from the Fugees to the Wu-Tang Clan, from matched old-timers
Ice Cube and Public Enemy to up-and-comers Canibus and
Witchdoctor.
Playboy, June 1998
 |
May 1998 |
July 1998 |
 |
|
RSS