ENTERTAINMENT Technique • Friday, June 29, 2001 • 9page 9

ENTERTAINMENTTechnique • Friday, June 29, 2001

By Austin ChenEars bled for days afterwards

Artist: Static-XAlbum: MachineLabel: Warner Bros. RecordsRating: yyyy

Static-X’s sophomore releaseMachine rides into town withguitars (and vocals) blazing. Ifyou are a fan of Blink 182, TheBackstreet Boys, or even Britta-ny Spears, then this album wouldprobably frighten you. Withthat said, while this album is notfor everyone, Machine is thor-oughly enjoyable and, if operat-ed properly, will improve yourgolf swing, help you grow morehair, and do your homework foryou—well, wouldn’t that be nice,though?

For the uninitiated, Static-Xis just four regular guys led byfrontman Wayne Static and hisvertically-enhanced hair. Stat-ic-X exploded into the alterna-tive heavy metal scene back in1999 with their major label de-but, Wisconsin Death Trip. Thegroup was able to secure them-selves a solid fanbase by crank-ing out their special blend offrenzied metal or “trancecore”that exhibited some elements of

industrial and techno. Charac-terized by Wayne’s urgentlyscreaming vocals and comple-mented by the band’s frenziedguitar crunchings, the music ex-presses a certain dark and sar-donic humor that appeals to fans.Death Trip showed us just howbrutally loud and aggressive metalis supposed to be.

While Machine generally ad-heres to the same formula thatmade Death Trip so appealing,namely the fiercely dense gui-tars and highly abrasive vocals,the new album displays a veryslight shift towards a more tech-no-electronic feel. But for themost part, this album is still yourstandard Static-X style servingof trancecore thrashings. Ac-cording to Wayne, “this time,the songs started with loops andsamples, as opposed to the firstalbum, where every song startedwith a drum beat.” These catchyguitar hooks make this albumsomewhat more digestible.

The guitars in Machine aren’tquite as highlighted or as em-phasized as they were in DeathTrip, probably as a direct resultof changing guitarists, but itdoesn’t necessarily detract fromthe experience at all. The vocalsand drum work appear to have

matured from the last album aswell, showing signs of more dy-namism and complexity.

The album opens with a shorttrack named “Bien Venidos”which features a little mariachiinstrumental number beforepummeling you with an on-slaught of nonstop “kick-ass.”Highlights include “Get To TheGone,” “This Is Not,” “OstegoUndead,” and “...In A Bag” whichjust flat-out rock, while trackslike “Permanence” and “Ma-chine” comment on the banali-ty of art and society. Machineconcludes almost as quietly as itbegan, with “A Dios Alma Per-dida,” a slower and somewhateerie instrumental.

Static-X manages to energet-ically combine infectious guitarriffs and some electronic tech-no-ish programming, thus exe-cuting Machine withmachine-like precision. Al-though somewhat repetitive attimes, Static-X’s second install-ment should leave old fans satis-fied with the progression of theirsound. New listeners should becaptured by the sheer intensityand raw power of this album. Ifthis one doesn’t keep your headrockin’ to and fro’, then perhapsnothing will.

Machine showcases Static-X’s varied talents and styles

By Jenny SunStaff Writer

This summer join others tiredof the lackluster blockbusters fora more cultural showing at theHigh Museum’s Italian SummerFilm Festival. While your conti-nental friends are sweating andtrekking through Tuscany thissemester, you can boost your mov-ie repertoire and enjoy Italy inthe comfort of an air-conditionedtheater.

What many do not realize isthe prevelance of Italian film inAmerican culture. The film ver-sion of Romeo and Juliet that manyhigh school students view wasdirected by Franco Zeffirelli, afamous Italian cinematographer.The recent popular film Life isBeautiful is also an Italian ex-port, directed by Roberto Be-nigni. Many film andcinematography innovations usedin Italian film are carried over toHollywood.

Many of the films for the fes-tival are chosen for their groundbreaking cinematography, exquis-ite plots, or famous actors. Eachfilm demonstrates a different partof the Italian film culture.

The High kicked off the filmfestival with an outdoor show-ing on June 22nd of “CinemaParadiso” last Friday. The show-ing was free and attracted a size-able crowd to view the film. This1989 movie describes the situa-tion in an Italian village after theevents of World War II.

Each Friday brings a new sub-

By David CashShort but sweet

Artist: Stone Temple PilotsAlbum: Shangri-La Dee DaLabel: AtlanticRating: yyyy

The newest release by the StoneTemple Pilots, Shangri–La Dee Da,is all that I could have expectedfrom this post-grunge four-some.Admittedly, I haven’t heard muchof their music since Tiny Music (Songsfrom the Vatican City Gift Shop),which was a stark departure fromtheir previous standard rock albums.This newest album is influenced byboth their somewhat immature earlydays and the creative sound of TinyMusic. A growing sense of record-ing quality is extremely obvious–their sound now is smooth andcomposed.

The first track, “Dumb Love,” isthe best example of the old Pilots’sound. The guitar riff is strong andcatchy, the lines are short, and ScottWeiland’s singing is the classic mel-ody in the rough. “Regeneration”also lives up to their old tone, with aunique sort of flowing hard rock.

From another perspective, themusic on Shangri–La Dee Da is some-thing unique to the Stone TemplePilots’ collection. There’s a happy,light quality to songs like “Days ofthe Week,” a short compositionabout a girlfriend’s coming and go-ing that is one of the album’s mostcommon radio plays. None of thesongs are wholly happy, but notmany STP songs really express asingle emotion strongly.

This album, like others of theband’s, is mostly meant be a com-ment on the world, people, or what-ever Scott Weiland was doing at thetime and avoids too much moaningabout relationships and depression.There are also a couple songs – “TooCool Queenie” and “HollywoodBitch,” which give a light but hon-est opinion of women the band haveapparently known. “And she madelots of money and / some of his too/ But still she thinks she can do no

wrong / Just playing those songs /She’s all too cool,” sings Weiland.

Shangri – La Dee Da won’t like-ly amaze you, but if you already likeStone Temple Pilots, it’s a buy thatcertainly won’t disappoint. Theirstyle is recognizable but also evolv-ing. If you don’t know much bythem, this album could be a goodrepresentation of the band’s differ-ent flavors, appealing with bothmelodic and hard tones, like a hap-pier (and higher quality) Nirvana.

titled movie to the Rich Audito-rium, located at 1280 PeachtreeStreet, N.E. Subsequent filmsrange from the comedic “We LoveEach Other So Much” to DeSica’s well-known drama “TheGarden of Finzi-Continis.”

The film that will show thisFriday, June 29th, is “We AllLoved Each Other So Much.”This film, directed by Ettore Sco-la, is a comedy about a love tri-angle with a sharp politicalawareness. The film was madein 1974 and lasts 119 minutes.

Showtime is 8 PM. Ticketsare $5 general admission and $4for Museum members, students,and seniors. Patron membersenter free. To purchase ticketsin advance, call the WoodruffArts Center box office at 404-733-5000. For more general in-formation about the film festivalor to discover more about theHigh Museum, call 404-733-4570 or visit their website atwww.high.org.

Italian Film Festival Schedule

June 29: We Love Each OtherSo MuchJuly 6: The Garden of the Finzi-ContinisJuly 13: Dear DiaryJuly 20: Bread and ChocolateJuly 27: The Conformist

Stay tuned for more ideas on thingsto do in Atlanta. Like the High,clubs, sports, festivals and well,hey, just let us know what you do.

Experience Italy for $5 atHigh Museum this summer

Stone Temple Pilots’ latest releasedemonstrates both old and new

By James Minchin / Warner Bros.

Static-X, a band with a “tancecore” style, released a new album, Static-X, a band with a “tancecore” style, released a new album, Static-X, a band with a “tancecore” style, released a new album, Static-X, a band with a “tancecore” style, released a new album, Static-X, a band with a “tancecore” style, released a new album, MachineMachineMachineMachineMachine. While. While. While. While. Whilepreserving the heavy metal style of the group, this album will also attract new fans.preserving the heavy metal style of the group, this album will also attract new fans.preserving the heavy metal style of the group, this album will also attract new fans.preserving the heavy metal style of the group, this album will also attract new fans.preserving the heavy metal style of the group, this album will also attract new fans.

By Chapman Baehler/ Atlantic Records

Stone Temple Pilots’ new album Shangri-La Dee Da showcases troubledStone Temple Pilots’ new album Shangri-La Dee Da showcases troubledStone Temple Pilots’ new album Shangri-La Dee Da showcases troubledStone Temple Pilots’ new album Shangri-La Dee Da showcases troubledStone Temple Pilots’ new album Shangri-La Dee Da showcases troubledsinger Scott Weiland’s vocal talent, as well as a varied musical style.singer Scott Weiland’s vocal talent, as well as a varied musical style.singer Scott Weiland’s vocal talent, as well as a varied musical style.singer Scott Weiland’s vocal talent, as well as a varied musical style.singer Scott Weiland’s vocal talent, as well as a varied musical style.

Christian rock?Atlanta Fest, held this year at SixFlags, was even bigger and better thanlast year’s. Page 11

Play with PassionArms and the Man at DramaTechexplores both war and romance. Seethe preview. Page 11

ENTERTAINMENT Technique • Friday, June 29, 2001 • 11

Just as a friendly competitive reminder, I won once.

Atlanta Fest–Christianmusic that … rocks?By Jason DeanStaff Writer

Over 40 nationally known bandsplayed the Six Flags stage for theJune 20-23 Atlanta Fest – the larg-est concert festival of its kind in thesouth. Thousands of youth groupkids from all over invaded the parkfor roller coasters and music, as wellas a handful of speakers and semi-nars.

The event marked the 15th an-niversary of the Christian music fes-tival. “Everywhere we go we hearfrom people whose lives have beenpositively affected while attendingAtlanta Fest. That is the only rea-son why my wife Jan and I continueto be excited about continuing theministry of Atlanta Fest,” said festi-val director, Chuck Tilley.

Some dub the event as the “Chris-tian Woodstock of the south.” Manycampers took advantage of a freeplace to crash during the festival’s4-day run. 14-year-old Tyler Torg-erson estimates there were at least1,500 people camping out.

“It was cool, because I met andbonded with strangers very fast. Wehad a blast singing songs at night.The Atlanta Fest experience justwouldn’t be complete without camp-ing out,” he added.

Once the festival’s main stageshut down for the night, a smallerside stage heated up and pumpedmusic into the wee hours of morn-ing.

Since its humble beginnings, ithas only gotten bigger and better.The Christian music scene has donethe same.

Soulful southern gospel and glossypop sounds have given way to thelikes of rock, rap, ska, punk, andeven techno. Christian music is thefifth largest music category in the

country, grossing $450 million ayear, according to a CNN report.Every major record label has a Chris-tian division. Events like AtlantaFest show how big of a business it is.

Atlanta area’s Third Day head-lined Friday night. The southernrockers are huge, selling out the HiFiBuys Amphitheatre in March–a featdone in years past by acts such as theDave Matthews Band.

This is Christian music? The leadsinger of Skillet has a sprawled-outbottle-blonde ’do, shiny shirt, leatherpants, and he’s strapped into a pur-ple and blue flamed bass guitar. Adda DJ/keyboardist, a female drum-mer and jagged, raw guitar workand you’ve got a potent rock group.

The Supertones, a California skaband has the crowd in frenzy. Jen-nifer Knapp is rocking like fellowLilith Fair veteran Meredith Brookswould. What’s wrong with this pic-ture? Is Atlanta Fest convincing methat Christian music, dare I say, canrock?

While bands like U2 and Creedprotest the idea that their music isdistinctly Christian, P.O.D. and Life-house are embracing it as they taketheir music to the secular scene. Punkrockers MXPX scream it loud.

What does the future hold forChristian music? All the prophets Icontacted weren’t available for in-terviewing, but I’d be willing to betthings just get better.

As revolutionary groups breakthe ice, many are ready to followbehind. Sure, Christian rock won’trule the airwaves, and I’m not ex-pecting to see MTV cover dc Talk’snext tour. As Atlanta Fest demon-strated, what we all can expect iseven better music that, yes, I said it,rocks. Look for Atlanta Fest to con-tinue to be a hot ticket next sum-mer.

Technique Preview Drama Tech’s Arms and the Man

By Adam Johnson / DramaTech

Ann Margaret Huss (Raina) and Ganesh Kumaraswamy (Sergius) practice for DramaTech’s produc-Ann Margaret Huss (Raina) and Ganesh Kumaraswamy (Sergius) practice for DramaTech’s produc-Ann Margaret Huss (Raina) and Ganesh Kumaraswamy (Sergius) practice for DramaTech’s produc-Ann Margaret Huss (Raina) and Ganesh Kumaraswamy (Sergius) practice for DramaTech’s produc-Ann Margaret Huss (Raina) and Ganesh Kumaraswamy (Sergius) practice for DramaTech’s produc-tion of George Bernard Shaw’s tion of George Bernard Shaw’s tion of George Bernard Shaw’s tion of George Bernard Shaw’s tion of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the ManArms and the ManArms and the ManArms and the ManArms and the Man. The play is DramaTech’s summer production.. The play is DramaTech’s summer production.. The play is DramaTech’s summer production.. The play is DramaTech’s summer production.. The play is DramaTech’s summer production.

DramaTech’s feature summerproduction, Arms and the Man, isa drama about two classic sub-jects: love and war. Widely con-sidered to be one of Shaw’s mostpopular plays, it was first pro-duced in 1894 and first publishedin 1898. Beyond being popularin its own time, this play is stillwidely shown and read.

The play features four maincharacters, Bluntschli, Raina,Sergius, and Louka, played re-spectively by Siddharth Manay,Ann Margaret Huss, Ganesh Ku-maraswamy, and Chesley Love-joy. The play also includes a fewsupporting players. Some of theactors are DramaTech regulars,while others are experiencing their

first time on the stage.The setting of the play is Bul-

garia in the late 1800s. The play isa drama that centers around theissue of how war is romanticized,especially by young men. The plotalso contains strong romantic el-ements between the main charac-ters.

The director is Rachel May,who’s name local theater buffsmay recognize. She has collabo-rated on many projects in the At-lanta area.

The assistant editor is Jay Zim-merman who recently premiereda film effort on campus. Zim-merman has been greatly involvedin DramaTech since arriving atGeorgia Tech.

DramaTech presents Shaw’s Arms and the ManTryouts were early in summer

semester, and DramaTech has beenin production of the play sincethe end of May.

The play will begin its run onJuly 6 at 8 p.m. in DramaTech’sDean Dull Theatre. Additionalrun dates will be July 7, 12-14,and 19-21, also beginning at 8p.m.

Tickets will be $4 for students,$6 for faculty/staff, and $8 forthe general public. Tickets maybe bought at the door or in ad-vance by calling 404-894-2745.For more general informationabout this production, call 404-894-3481 or visit their website atwww.cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/dra-matech.

Nothing artificial about it.

Techn que