| |||||
| Art Alexakis had credibility problems in the alt-rock world he cameout of. He was 33 when Portland-based Everclear began scoring hitsin 1995, too old to pass muster as one of the grunge kids who wereold news by then anyway, and the hits themselves, most notablySanta Monica and laterFather of Mine, seemedsuspiciously tunefulto purist scenesters. But credibility be damned--Alexakis had seenenough life to want durability, the kind only strong songwritingmakes possible. The two-volumeSongs From an American Movie(Capitol) is his bid for the brass ring--but also for credibility.Released a few months apart and sold separately,Vol. 1: LearningHow to Smile is candid pop that downplays loud guitars, whileVol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude rages along with badboys like LimpBizkit. The funny thing is, it's the pop record that's morebelievable; for Alexakis, rage seems something he recalls from hisscuffling days. The rock songs are suitably skillful, but lack theemotional immediacy of those onVol. 1, which is structured arounda marriage breakup. No doubt he sometimes does feelOut of My DepthandAll Fucked Up. But the most memorable performances here areTheGood Witch of the North, a tribute to his new fiancee, andRockStar, about how much he wanted to be one. Rage Against the Machine wanted to be rock stars too, and did quitewell at it until lead singer-rapper Zack de la Rocha found moreimportant things to do.Renegades (Epic), a cover album conceivedas a tribute to the band's influences a la Guns N' Roses'TheSpaghetti Incident?, suggests that they broke up one album toolate. Will the Stones or Cypress Hill feel honored? Only by theirroyalty checks. Playboy, Dec. 2000
| |||||
RSS
