Word: downbeating
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...same can hardly be said of the makers of the latest screen adaptation of The Scarlet Letter, who are taking heat for the happy ending tacked on to Nathaniel Hawthorne's immortal bummer--only the latest misadventure in a centuries-old tradition of slapping a smiley face on downbeat classics...
...their unpredictable structure. Like a Kids in the Hall comedy sketch, the songs go in surprising directions, ending up in unexpected places. This is not just a result of jamming, but of fundamental shifts in melodic and lyrical moods. For instance, the song "Dancing Nancies" begins in a downbeat minor key and sparse instrumentation (guitar, drums) as Matthews laments, "Could I have been anyone other than me?" Halfway through, the song completely changes course with an eruption of violin and saxophone, becoming upbeat and bouncy: "What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying...
...Veruca Salt isn't one of them. On the group's debut CD, American Thighs, singer-guitarist Nina Gordon, singer-guitarist Louise Post, bassist Steve Lack and drummer Jim Shapiro make music that is both disturbingly dysfunctional and thoroughly enjoyable. The band's lyrics are downbeat, fuzzy and weird while the tunes are upbeat and full of melodic guitar bravado. On the energetic Celebrate You, Post sings, "And in the dream/ You held a gun/ You killed off all who hurt you," accompanied by bright, jangling guitars. On All Hail Me, when Post cries, "I killed your baby...
...downbeat slide continues on Piggy, which uses a warped reggae pulse punctuated by slamming drums and Reznor's insinuating vocal to conjure an uneasy atmosphere of malice, and on Heresy, in which Reznor sings, "God is dead and no one cares/ If there is a hell I will see you there." Subsequent cuts evoke paranoia, murder and finally suicide. The lyrics on the title cut include the lines "He couldn't believe how easy it was/ He put the gun into his face/ Bang!/ So much blood for such a tiny hole...
...things quickly go downhill. Phife doesn't have the depth to pull off the downbeat "8 Million Stories." And for someone who calls himself "The Abstract Poet," Q-Tip is awfully descriptive and boring on tracks like "Sucka Nigga" and "Midnight...