WEEZER DJ SHADOW NEW MUSIC REPORT ESSENTIAL Issue 766 • June 10, 2002 • www.cmj.com LOOPER TRANS AM Special Report: Webcasting Hear Today... ? Gone Tomorrow SPOTLIGHT HIP-HOP 30 SECONDS TO MARS SCRATCH OPENS HIS MOUTH TAKES OFF CMJ RETAIL THE EMINEM “STREET” SHOW LOUD ROCK CHEVELLE'S FAMILY AFFAIR CHARTS: WILCO’S NO.1 LOVE AFFAIR, ROCKING HORSE WINNER MOST ADDED FLOETRY the debut album FLOETIC Going for Adds June 24, 2002 For more information contact: SPECTRE www.floetry.net 213-368-1600 www.dreamworksrecords.com 2002 SKG Music LLC 6/10/2002 Issue 766 • Vol 71 • No. 11 FEATURES 10 Webcasting’s Uncertain Future The Library Of Congress recently rejected a proposal on royalty rates for Internet broadcasting — a proposal that in all likelihood would have put the cost of streaming well beyond the means of the many small webcasters. Still, no one can claim the early victory in this battle for equitable rates vs. fair compensation. A second LOC decision looms large this month and it will impact what you hear, how you hear it and what it’s going to cost. DEPARTMENTS 4 Essential 28 Specialty Charts DJ Shadow, Looper, Trans Am, Weezer. New World, Jazz, Ñ Alternative and RPM charts on one page. 10 6 The Week Sony’s Key2Audio scribbled into obsolescence; 29 Artist Spotlight Hole and Massive Attack consider throwing in You know and love him from My So-Called the towel; Weezer screams infidelities; White Life, Fight Club and Requiem [For A Dream]. Stripes, Placebo, Prodigy, Sonic Youth and Now Jared Leto spends his time fronting the more ready their new releases. riff-happy 30 Seconds To Mars. Fresh off the road, Leto explains his acting/music balancing 13 Reviews act, the new record and future plans. Arlo, Boss Martians, David Bowie, Bright Eyes, Cells, Cinematic Orchestra, Doc Martin, Plaid, 30 Mic Check/Aircheck Polara, Polyphonic Spree, Scapegoat Wax, Christine Malash, New Music Director of West Secret Machines. Haven, CT’s WNHU. 16 Loud Rock 31 Get A Job A slew of Swedish bands are set to release new product; Hatebreed sells over 87,000 32 Upcoming 6 copies of Perseverance; Testament’s Chuck Billy cleared of cancer; Five Questions With 35 Caught In The Act Chevelle’s Pete Loeffler; KKFI/Kansas City Industry shenanigans and monkeyshines cap- joins the Crucial Spins panel; plus reviews tured on film. of Danzig, Otep, W.A.S.P. and Nashville Pussy! 36 Retail Cope surveys the music biz battlefield; 20 Hip-Hop Retailers speak out on broken street dates Scratch breaks down the art of beatboxing and while Eminem steals the Top 100 show; the Philly-centric flavor of his solo debut. We Looper, Flatlanders, Original Sinners and review it. Marah all get points; kingcurtis profiles Record Rack. 22 CMJ Radio 200 Wilco gets comfy at No. 1. 43 Airplay 15 26 Core Radio 75 62 Top 200 Adds & Going Wilco at No. 1 here too. For Adds Rocking Horse Winner No. 1 most added with 27 Triple A 89 adds. CMJ New Music Report (ISSN 0890 0795) is published weekly except the week of Nov. 4, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last two weeks of December. Published by The CMJ Network, Inc. with offices at 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Subscription rates are $345.00 per year; 2 years, $575.00. Subscription offices: 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Tel 917.606.1908. Outside U.S. and Canada 917.606.1908. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. CMJ New Music Report is copyright ©2002 by The CMJ Network, Inc. all rights reserved; noth- ing may be reproduced without written consent of publisher. Unless indicated otherwise, all letters sent to CMJ are eli- gible for publication and copyright purposes, and are subject to CMJ’s right to edit and comment editorially. Unsolicited 42 manuscripts, photos and artwork are welcome; please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope to facilitate return. Postmaster: send address changes to CMJ New Music Report, 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001 3 CMJ JUNE 10, 2002 ESSENTIAL WEEZER Maladroit (Interscope) Weezer called, and they want their sweater back, folks! That’s right: college and commercial radio’s favorite geeks with guitars have not altered their established formula in any way, and that’s just the way the fans — which range from back- packin’ pop-punk kids to Hot Topic goth-metallers — like and want it. Maladroit stays true to the path first tread on 1994’s self-titled “Blue” album and last year’s self-titled “Green” album; it’s all triumphant, three-chord nerd rock anthems here. Weezer is easily the hardest working band in show business right now, releasing Maladroit almost a year to the day after its last effort and touring incessantly. Maladroit (French for “awkward”) is drenched in addictive pop hooks, plenty of perky “woah woah” harmonies, and big ’n’ simple rock riffs. Frontman Rivers Cuomo (still sporting the black specs popular among serial killers) has a reputation of being rather crotchety, but on Maladroit, he’s as R.I.Y.L.: Jimmy Eat World, Pixies, Cheap Trick inviting and pleasant as a basket of puppies. “Burnt Jamb,”“American Gigolo,” Contact: Lenny Lasalandra Phone: 800.992.6553 “Dope Nose” and “Keep Fishin’” are definitely Weezer at its best: catchy with Email: [email protected] just the right dose of jump up and down rock flair. Maladroit is a vindicating Release Date: May 14; at radio and rewarding revenge of the nerds. — Amy Sciarretto LOOPER The Snare (Mute) Stuart David is a sort of musical artichoke, shedding layers of twee with each new release. Starting at the most precious point possible (Belle And Sebastian), David continues to get closer to his core with his side project turned full-time gig, Looper. The group’s third release suggests that, in his heart, David is indeed feeling sinister. Devoid of cutesy spoken-word antics and electronic instrumen- tals, The Snare is Looper’s first record to exist wholly outside of Belle And Sebastian’s shadow — it’s too busy casting its own. Though it pretty much sticks to its formula of minimal pop fueled by space-age R&B skitter-beats, it sports David’s most accomplished, threatening songwriting yet. At its best, Looper turns out gems like “She’s A Knife” and “Good Girls.” Complete with harmo- nized, female-sung choruses, the former owes everything to Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills.” The latter isn’t wholly believable (David claims to be “giddy as R.I.Y.L.: Salako, Towa Tei, Timbaland a schoolboy,” but that’s impossible on a song with such an ominous bassline), Contact: Alex Schneider though it’s an indication of what’s to come. The Snare turns beguiling when it Phone: 212.255.7670 ext. 230 ends on the uplifting, trumpets-and-all note of “Fucking Around.”“We’re only Email: [email protected] Release Date: June 18; at radio messing about here,” croons David. Who knew that he had it in him to turn out such twisted fun? — Richard M. Juzwiak R.I.Y.L. = Recommended If You Like 4 CMJ JUNE 10, 2002 THENEW WEEK’S BEST MUSIC NEW MUSIC DJ SHADOW The Private Press (MCA) It’s been six years since DJ Shadow (a.k.a. Josh Davis), set the rap and DJ worlds ablaze with his genre-busting debut, Entroducing, and many wondered if he would ever recreate that album’s phenomenal blend of scratches, beat and hip- hop braggadocio. Apparently, he was able to — The Private Press is not only a fitting follow-up, but also an astounding achievement that should easily catapult Shadow back into the spotlight. With an unparalleled library of samples from funk to psych to spoken-word, the arrangements on The Private Press have soul- stirring beats, irrepressible DJ theatrics, personality and humor that only the most skilled collage artists are able to incorporate into their work. Whether it’s the goofball chaos and bouncy thump of “Mashin’ On The Motorway” or the multi-layered hardcore dance rhythms of “You Can’t Go Home Again,” R.I.Y.L.: Cut Chemist, Q-Bert, U.N.K.L.E. Shadow’s perfectionism not only shines through; it’s completely captivating and Contact: S.P.E.C.T.R.E. flawlessly imaginative. Comprised almost solely of samples, the disc bounds Phone: 213.368.1604 (Graham); 213.368.1601 (Jessica) Email: [email protected]; [email protected] ahead, dodging beats and switching tempos in the blink of an eye as it refuses to Release Date: June 4; at radio ever flirt with stagnancy. Shadow is a true master of his art, and his latest disc is strong enough to merit the reverence afforded to his debut. — Peter D’Angelo TRANS AM TA (Thrill Jockey) Finally, an album everyone can robot-dance to and still feel cool. Phil, Nathan and Sebastian, collectively known as Trans Am, have bestowed upon us a trea- sure box chock full of keyboards, crisp dance beats and studio trickery. Vocals add a new dimension to the Trans Am sound on TA; “Molecules” presents a great fusion of Sebastian’s sleek voice with influences from Depeche Mode and New Order, then creatively jumps into “Run With Me,” a frenzy-filled tribute to the days of slap bracelets and Garbage Pail Kids. Totally caliente is “Basta,” a fantastic anthem smack right in the middle of the album that chops at you with the energy of a karate kid.