MUSIC REVIEW
Run Run Run could do better BY RYAN TOWNSEND
Daily Titan Managing Editor
Los Angeles indie rockers Run Run Run start off its Endless Winter EP with a roughly thirty-second track of ambient noise. Ballsy move. Even more ballsy is the fact that the first song is a cover of Mazzy Star’s 1994 cult-classic “Fade Into You.” It certainly takes courage for an unproven band to stake its claim on a cover song but, Run Run Run do a decent job of making the song sound fresh and invigorating. Where the original swung with a melancholic intensity, their
version bounces and lifts. Unfortunately, the original material doesn’t fare as well. It’s not until the fifth track, “Last One,” that the band’s own songs achieve any sizzle. The swagger and intensity of that standout track is sorely missed throughout the rest of Endless Winter. It’s not a lack of good ideas that bring Run Run Run down; rather, the band seems to have so many ideas that it struggles to coalesce the elements of its sound into an appreciable whole. “Wait Up For You” sounds a bit like a Stone Temple Pilots b-side, being uncomfortably merged with a Pixies-era Frank Black guitar-hook. Lyrically, the song also falls short of convincing, as singer/bassist Jeramy Gritter intones like the
Band nott too shy about rocking BY RYAN TOWNSEND Daily Titan Managing Editor
disconnected, ironically distant frontman he is. Worse, it’s boring. “2 a.m.,” a remix from the band’s first EP Drizzle, has a nice groove and a Billy Corgan-worthy verse section but is ultimately anticlimactic. Perhaps, the lyrics need a little fine-tuning: “I close my eyes and just drift away.” Run Run Run has received loads of positive press, perhaps because Los Angeles is hardly the home of truly groundbreaking local rock. If Run Run Run improves, it may get attention from outside the Southland. Until then, listening to these songs may plunge us into an endless winter of discontent.
The Gun Shys play a volatile mix of ‘60s-era Rolling Stones blues rock and ‘80s-era new wave that is both fascinating and uneven, but in a good way. There is also something refreshingly punk about the way the band attacks and skewers pop melodies, unafraid of being catchy and uncompromising with the production. The band features guitar solos and distorted vocals right out the White Stripes playbook, but plays its fierce brand of indie rock without any of the cloying coyness that accompanies many of today’s garage rock pretenders. “Vaporize” and “The Usual Unusuals” have danceable-bite
that Franz Ferdinand would envy, while still sounding distinctly Los Angeles, both in content and form. “Easy On the Eyes” combines a Coldplay-esque piano intro with a big-money chorus and the results are nothing short of spectacular. Most indie-label bands would kill an A&R man, cover up the crime and summon an undead Jonnie Cochran for the trial to catch a single this great. The Gun Shys have some distance to travel if they’re going to catch up with today’s anthemic-indie popsters like Modest Mouse and The Killers. But The Gun Shy’s EP demonstrates a real and raw talent that is sure to have industry folks abuzz and Sunset Strip-groupies falling in love.
Reggaeton jams impact L.A. club scene BY MAHSA KHALILIFAR Daily Titan Staff
While dancing and drinking, music fans got a taste of the new sounds of Reggaeton and seemed to enjoy what the performers had to offer. Reggaeton offers a mixture of Reggae with hip-hop beats along with Spanish and English lyrics, which transforms it into an urban pop sound anyone can move to. The speakers blared music all the way to Universal City Walk as Reggaeton invaded Los Angeles last Saturday night to a sold-out crowd at the Gibson Amphitheatre. The theatre was host to thousands of 20-something screaming fans who looked to be mostly of Hispanic heritage. Dressed to impress and ready to embrace the Reggaeton culture, many were there to see popular
6 FULL EFFECT
Daily Titan May 05, 2005
Puerto Rican born Daddy Yankee. You may not know his name but his music may ring a bell. Daddy Yankee, who has led the Reggaeton invasion for years in his home country, has now brought the cross-culture music to the states. His latest single “Gasonlina,” has been hitting the club scene for months, which has given him a name in more than just the Latin community. Being that it was his first big show in Los Angeles, the Reggaeton artist blew up the stage. Thanks to artists like Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen and N.O.R.E., Reggaeton has recently exploded onto mainstream radio, especially on the West Coast. Power 106 and 102.7 KIIS FM disc jockeys spun music for performers Don Omar, Hector El Bambino, Luny Tunes, Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee and more. Luny Tunes, a duo from the
Dominican Republic and one of the night’s other popular acts, performed hits from their album La Trayectoria, while Daddy Yankee closed out the show, sang and free-styled hits from Barrio Fino, 2005’s Reggaeton Album of the Year at the Latin Billboard Awards. Even fans not of Latin descent were still drawn to the infectious excitement of the crowd, as well as the passion for the music’s original beats. For over three hours, a barrage of Reggaeton performers hit the stage with energy and an obvious gratitude for their Latin fans as they kept thanking the audience for coming. The only bad thing about the show was that if you didn’t speak Spanish, you weren’t able to understand the perfomers when they spoke between songs. The language may have not been universal, but the music was.
Even those who didn’t speak the language eventually picked up words and raised their hands when “Arriba” was said, and women screamed when “Mujeres” was spoken. Other than that, you just had to mingle with the crowd and ignore the language barrier. One of the highlights of the show was Dadddy Yankee’s encore performance as the crowd chanted “encore” in Spanish. Another was when people held up their lighted cell phone screens blazing through the darkened arena, looking like little fire flies floating in the air. Although tickets were fairly expensive and it took 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot, there were many more positives. The performances were simple but passionate and gave concert goers an intriguing look into the future of music and the culture of hip-hop and the urban community.
