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Squares |
I
blame that scene in High Fidelity. You know, the one where John
Cusack says to Jack Black "watch me sell three copies of this record"
before popping on the Beta Band. Heads start to bob in the pretentious
record store and sure enough, people immediately begin to ask who the
artist is that they are listening to. Quite an endorsement, especially
considering the fact that this band sucks.
I don't care if music is "current sounding" or "cutting
edge" but I do expect a little originality. These dorks don't have
a creative bone in their bodies.
First I will start with their fashion sense. They are wearing freaking
NASA space suits on the back of the CD cover. That look was dorky the
first one hundred times I saw it and is simply pathetic now.
Second, their visual aesthetic is redundant as well. The fold out of the
CD features 2 separate images. One is a collage of faces similar to Sergeant
Pepper's, only we don't know who the hell most of the people are.
Flip it over and you'll see a staged shot of a bedroom with dozens of
items such as guitars, album covers, and clothing laid out in a very orderly
if not geometric fashion. Seen this shot a hundred times too.
Third, that damn electronic clap machine that they insist upon using again
and again should have been retired with Beck after Odelay like
a number on a sports jersey.
Fourth, the title Hot Shot's II has already been taken. It was
a blatant copy of the original Hot Shots film which was a rip off
of Naked Gun which was a stylistic rip off of Airplane.
And the music.... it is admittedly catchy at times but so is Neil Diamond.
Even the band themselves seem to agree with me on the track "Eclipse:"
"The music we make is not particularly good."
One last slam, "Won" sounds like a P. Diddy remix.
Does it matter what I say? That scene in High Fidelity worked a
number on people.
.... I do like song 6 though.
- Robert Lanham
Free Williamsburg© | 93 Berry
Street | Brooklyn, NY 11211
mail@freewilliamsburg.com
| August 2001 | Issue 17
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