VARIOUS ARTISTS "Music from Malcolm in the
Middle"
Various Artists “Music from Malcolm in the
Middle” Restless Records Soundtrack albums are
almost always the same as sitcoms: boring and lame. But just as
“Malcolm” stands out from its generally obnoxious
peers, its soundtrack really isn’t too bad. For the most
part, the 17-song compilation is just dime-a-dozen pop tunes. While
The Getaway People’s “Good Life” isn’t
terribly distinguishable from Hanson’s “Smile,”
they’re easily digestible and catchy enough so most listeners
won’t mind. The majority of the material won’t blow
listener’s minds, but most of the time it’ll do just
fine. They’ll find all the usual suspects in the catchy-pop
department, from Eagle Eye Cherry (“Been Here Once
Before”) to Barenaked Ladies (“Falling for the First
Time”) and the ubiquitous Baha Men (“You All
Dat”). There’s some bumpy spots, however. Travis,
usually a reliably poppy band, turns in the oddball “We Are
Monkeys,” which sounds a little too much like a rehashed
Beatles tune for its own good. And while Red Nex’s
“Cotton Eye Joe” may bring back nostalgic memories for
the few techno country fans out there, it’s still just
obnoxious. There’s others that stand out from the crowd in a
good way, however. The Dust Brothers’ “I Just
Don’t Care,” cobbled together out of soundbites from
the show and slapped atop a driving electronic beat, is amusing and
peppy at the same time. And then there’s the perpetually
awesome They Might Be Giants’ “Boss of Me.” A
stretched out version of the show’s nifty theme,
“Boss” rocks incredibly hard. Well, as hard as two
goofball nerds ever can ““ but suffice to say, it’s a
great tune. So while “Malcolm” isn’t going to win
too many awards for originality, it’ll do just fine. Anything
with this much poppishness is hard to hate.
Brent Hopkins Rating: 7
Acetone “Acetone” Vapor Records The
moody band Acetone’s self-titled album begins with a
positively titled song, “Things Are Gonna Be Alright,”
yet its music does not adhere to its title’s desired meaning.
Acetone’s sound is the combination of Richie Lee’s
soft bass rhythms and vocals, Mark Lightcap’s soothing guitar
and the very light drums of Steve Hadley. The mellow, monotonous
bass of Lee continues its sullen musical loops of the same
reoccurring melody throughout the song. “Acetone”
sounds like a jam session between three musicians, inviting anyone
who wants to listen inside its music. The album seems quiet and
relaxed, as if recorded on a rainy day, where the bands inspiration
comes from the sullen and depressed mood of the atmosphere. Yet,
the album does not seem to be heading anywhere. It remains in the
same spot and dwells upon it. Some songs sway upward in beat, but
eventually they all come back to the same place of musical and
conceptual melancholy. The vocals do not have much variation either
from the steady, rhythmical and soft spoken speech of confused
lyrics. Some of “Acetone” contains songs, such as
“I Told You” and “It’s A Lie,” that
seem to have some sort of country music influence, both vocally and
with its guitar riffs, yet the majority of songs fall into the same
category of melancholic ballads. “Vaccination” is
probably one of the most musically diverse songs on the album,
because towards the end it breaks into a unique soaring guitar solo
that actually puts some energy into the album. Needless to say, it
sounds very different from the rest of the saddened album.
“Acetone” needs energy to adjust its mood from a
monotonous mellow one to something instead with great variation. It
would be nice to see Acetone explore a more positively driven style
of music, one that complements its songs’ own lyrics. The
band should extenuate some of the more positive elements of its
album in order to balance the lack of energy.
Tamar Boyadjian Rating: 3
Vitamin C “More” Elektra
Entertainment Across America two years ago, millions of
sixth graders sang Vitamin C’s sentimental “Graduation
(Friends Forever)” in front of their parents and teachers.
Now without parental warning, Vitamin C has put the good girl image
aside. Enter the new album “More.” On
“More,” Vitamin C is taking advantage of her voice and
sexy image with songs called “Sex Has Come Between Us,”
“I Know What Boys Like” and “The Itch.”
Think about the children expecting more of the same nostalgic
ballads. When they buy this album the first lines they’ll
hear are: “I feel the itch again/I need to get tricked
again/I’m starting to twitch again.” (“Mommy?
What’s the itch?” they’ll ask).
“More” feels like a late ’90s Euro-techno
flashback; remember Aqua’s “Barbie World?”
Sometimes her beats are right to the point but other times the
synthesizers are sadly reminiscent of bad ’80s songs.
“As Long As You’re Loving Me” is a nice love song
though. She says, “Now I am ready for the world/no matter
what it brings/I can feel all my dreams coming true/As long as
you’re lovin’ me.” For the most part this is a
pop album that is made up of mostly Euro-dance tracks with the
influence of break beats. A good example is her remake of the
classic Waitresses’ “I Know What Boys Like.”
It’ll play in a European discotheque but, in terms of
quality, Jay-Z did a better version from the male perspective on
his album “In My Life.” There’s a place for
Vitamin C in the world of music, but she’s competing for a
position that’s already been filled by Jennifer, Christina
and Britney. Even so, she’s got everything to sell a couple
million records. Before buying this album though, think about the
children who thought they were getting the sequel to their beloved
graduation song. Ironically, they now bob their heads to a song
called “I Can’t Say No” as they wear their
classic D.A.R.E. T-shirts to middle school.Â
Ruvin Spivak Rating: 7