New Reviews

by Sterling Preston

BOOK REVIEW:

Why is America So Fat?
by Ben Kennedy

Cover art aside, Why is America So Fat? is less about the obesity epidemic in our country as it is about the corruption of modern day society. Namely, the corruption of the pharmaceutical powers-that-be. Following the premise that weight-loss drug Ephedra was deceptively targeted and outlawed in order to profit those in a position to influence legislation, author Ben Kennedy paints a picture of how the major decisions in America are made for reasons of greed and not for the well-being of our citizens.

Referencing President Eisenhower’s warning about the dangers of the Military Industrial Complex, Kennedy draws attention to a “Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex” and examines how, “as obesity continues, so there is a corresponding increase in prescription drugs used to treat these health problems.”

He presents studies that have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of Ephedra – in herbal and synthetic forms – in helping test subjects lose weight, with no noted risk of negative side effects. He criticizes, and quotes the criticism of experts, those who drew correlations between the use of Ephedra and the deaths of several professional athletes.

On an ordinary day, this book could easily be dismissed by the masses as a conspiracy theorist’s soap box. But as we face an ongoing war in Iraq in which the Military Industrial Complex seems to be looming in our faces, perhaps Kennedy’s theory is worth a second look. [whyisamericasofat.com] SP

CD REVIEWS:

Dana Varon

Back to My Roots
Travel to Dana’s MySpace page and fall in love. Instantly endearing, her somewhat bare-bones music offers an intimate take-me-as-I-am glimpse at her world. Not as raw as PJ Harvey, not as spacey as Hope Sandoval, the music is sometimes atmospheric in nature. In fact, Back to My Roots could be the perfect accompaniment to cooking dinner with a special someone or sitting in a darkened bar at 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Rocking the hidden-track remix of “Swallow It Down,” her debut video follows her through the streets of New York City, strumming her guitar and drawing you in. Slightly exhibitionist photos in her Pics section make you thankful she’s not as wholesome as you might first think. Innocent? Yes. A prude? Thank heavens, no. Enjoy a refreshing departure from all the jaded, soiled crap you’re probably listening to right now. [myspace.com/danavaron] SP

Kariann

It’s What Matters!!!
This cd embodies everything that I despise about the culture of Southern California’s suburban sprawl. I think of whole neighborhoods chock full of houses that all look the same. I think of Fashion Valley mall. I think of the bubble-gum teenagers (wearing Ramones t-shirts and pumping out Avril Lavigne on the stereo) headed from those neighborhoods to that mall. To me, Kariann is a girl playing at rock star and she has the Glamour Shots-style photos on her website to prove it. She’s baring her taught mid-riff in a pink cut-off “Punk” jersey in one picture, and then she’s posing with an electric guitar and a short skirt like she thinks a rock star should in another. And get this: it’s what matters!!! is supposedly a “concept album” revolving around a “brief but intense relationship” with a fellow named Matt in the Spring of 2005. A concept album? But hell, she’s young, and the thing is, I was young once, too. So I write down all the things that piss me off about this album, and all the things that piss me off about her website, and all the things that piss me off about her MySpace page. And I do so knowing I could never submit that for publication. Because, somewhere, there’s someone listening to this fucking thing on repeat while their heart bleeds. I once had a “brief yet intense relationship” myself. I was probably even several years older than Kariann is now. And I spent half a year drinking wine, listening to sappy songs, filling pages of notebooks, reminiscing… feeling like quite the tortured artist. And if someone would have published the result of my agonized creativity, and some little pissant reviewer would have written a scathing piece about it, I would have been crushed. So along comes Kariann trotting into my headphones, and she puts out something that belongs on someone’s stereo somewhere, and I know that I must say: K, you did a good job – it’s a nice album. Just tighten up the photo sessions, will you? You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard…. [kariann.net] SP

Sharp Tooth Benny

Silky Sounds For Reptilian Lovers
Man, when I saw the cd cover on this thing I thought it was some sort of atmospheric trip. I was expecting to hear “Sounds to Go to Sleep By”…. some frogs croaking, crickets chirping… hell, I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that I WANTED to know, which is why I grabbed it out of the big review box and gave it a spin. Instead of new-age sounds, however, I found something like deep lizard vocals and a heavy guitar groove… it was really a kick-ass surprise. As the disc plays on, I’m now thinking reptiles in the form of snake-skin boots, which you wear driving your classic gas-guzzling automobile with fins so big the whole neighborhood drools when you cruise past. This is whiskey-on-the-rocks cocktail hour lounge music. It’s not silky like Barry White – it’s another genre altogether. Check out some sample tracks on MySpace, and if you dig it, buy the album. [myspace.com/sharptoothbennyband] SP

The Chris and Joylene Show / Pupa’s Window

A Family Portrait
Here is a record that perfectly suits its name. I don’t think the music on this disc is the best or the worse of these two Maryland-based indie bands. It’s just there, a frozen moment in time. Instead of getting dressed up and going to a photographer’s studio, they practiced their songs and went into a recording studio. The Chris and Joylene show, a quartet who occupies the first part of this split record, struggle to describe their sound. I wish I had the room here to quote their “Sounds Like” category on their MySpace page, especially since it won me over. Pupa’s Window, more of a one-man-band, makes some interesting, weird music that would be more easy for me to describe if I wanted to compare the sound to other artists. But I’ll pass, leaving you instead to wonder what the hell this is all about. Check out their websites and decide for yourself. [www.myspace.com/thechrisandjoyleneshow / http://pw.thebeechfields.com] SP

In Every Breath

Here we find three heavy metal-charged anthems in a sound popular enough to stand alongside radio heavies 30 Seconds to Mars and Linkin Park, yet off the path enough to compete for stadium-filled audiences of Filter and maybe even the Deftones. San Diego locals In Every Breath seem like they’re on the way to something big. Perhaps we’ll see them soon in the rock magazines, dressed in designer black leather suits, with songs featured on movie soundtracks and heavily requested by live nude entertainers at your local strip club. [myspace.com/ineverybreathmusic] SP

Ari Lyon

Five Steps
It breaks my heart to say anything less than complimentary about this five-song E.P., but at the same time I see so much potential here I’ve got to say this. I was racking my brain trying to decide who this might appeal to when it dawned on me that I would rather recommend that Mr. Lyon consider revising the instruments he chooses to incorporate into his music. It’s obvious he’s extraordinarily gifted as a singer and songwriter, but some of the sounds I hear coming out of my speakers are dated. Were I not assigned to listen to this disc over and over, I wouldn’t have finished the first track. Think of the genius Leonard Cohen, who had to go and fuck up some of his records with awful synthesizers that cheapened the whole experience and ruined songs that would have been otherwise beautiful. Find an edgier sound, Mr. Lyon, and you just might captivate the audience you deserve. [myspace.com/arilyon]

The Lights Walk

On Razors
Here’s a mystery: A cd winds up in the review box straight from the New Wave 80s (and no DeLorean in sight). Its copyright notices are 1987/2006. You go to the website they reference on the back and it points to a MySpace page for The Lights 2. If you try to play the songs on The Lights 2, you end up at The Lights 3. I have also stumbled upon a page for The Lights 1. Confused yet? I sure as hell am. The music, in case you’re interested, manages to touch some real New York cool on one end of the spectrum and some mullet-style bullshit on the other. Are they a long lost band trying to make a comeback? Maybe the second track is a clue: “I don’t need any books to know your history/ Don’t need any clues to solve your mystery/ On an old and dusty wall/ Where the sunlight never falls/ Something hasn’t changed at all.” [thelightsmusic.com] SP

Fransisca London

New Girl in Town
Pure guitar-driven pop shapes its way across your stereo with an album recorded in London by someone whose last name is also London. This may come out wrong, but do we really need any more artists who sound like they’re influenced by Avril Lavigne? I think my neighbors are getting pissed; they’re bumping their own music nearly every night now. Probably to drown out me trying to find something redeeming in albums like this. Someone with a voice like London’s should be making club dance music. So please set the Fender down, Fansisca! You have a good voice, but you should really spare us your version of rock ‘n’ roll! Grab a club beat, grab a hip-hop beat… for the love of all that is holy… GRAB SOMETHING ELSE!!!! [fransiscalondon.com] SP

We Yes You No

Music For Beginners
I could tell right away I was going to like this one. Music For Beginners is the perfect soundtrack for sitting in a dark room drinking directly from the wine bottle after a long day, the smoke from your cigarette wafting around you. Which is not to say that the music itself is dark. It’s extraordinary, it’s unusual and it’s all the way from London. If you like strange music sometimes, you’ll probably like this too. It’s hard to be peculiar without being pretentious… odd without being foolish… experimental without being un-radio-friendly… but We Yes You No pull it off. The disc also includes a short documentary on the making of the album, and a nice movie of the boys thanking you for buying it. [myspace.com/weyesyouno] SP

Vinyl Radio

Sampler
This disc found its way into the hands of my boss here at REVIEWER MAGAZINE as he was heading into the trendy Beauty Bar one night in March of this year. It’s just a simple burned cd with a paper sleeve. On the front cover, the indication of its writing is written in blue permanent marker. As legend has it, a member of the band crossed the street to give it to him when he was outside the bar. Back story aside, it’s good music from a now-defunct local band. These songs are bluesier than the ones I’ve heard before, and they are just further proof that it’s a damned travesty this band broke up. [myspace.com/vinylradio] SP

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