PRE'I't·Y TOGETHER

Chris1opher F. Comer

The boys from Halifax are back, with their sixth album Pretty Togt:ther. The album starts with 1he lyric "This song is Lletlicmcd LO those who know what Rock 'n Roll is ull ubout". And goes straight into the rockin' tune "If It Feels Good l)o it".

Unfortunately thut was pretly 111uchit for any goud ruck tunes as the rest or the nlbu111is full of soft and melodic songs. Exrcpt ror "Pick it Up and Dial It". Which will make you want to put it down ns ii is one of the worsl songs that Sloan has ever done.

But ns horrible as "Pick it Up and Dial It " is. "lt's 111Your Eyes" is great. With a wonderful 111cludy and Patrick Pentland's greot voice, this song is definitely the cream of the crop.

by Sonia 'rhomas

The Specials (the Speci~1ls A.K.A.}, the Sclcctcr, the (English) Beut, Bad Manners, the Bodysnutchcrs*the best in 2 Tone. They were part of the second wave.of ska, sweep• ing the British music scene in around tht mid-seventies, and bringing with it the Rude Roy, the Mod, and the Skinhead. The danceable tu1;es were a massive hit. but

(true to the way of the fu<l) the cruze was over by the early eighties.

It's roots lead us back to Jamnica in thc six• ties. and the original Kingston Rude Boy. This British synthesis was more than just songs: it was a social statement. Racial integration was inevitable due 10the nature of the music. This was put best in the immortal words of Bob Timm when he s11id,

Websites

By John Barker

f, John Barker, am a geek. I spend far too much time on my computer for my own good. But. because of that, J' m able to scour the entire internet in one fell swoop, scooping up the best websites to wuste your precious, precious lime with (beenuse essay writing is no fun), So let's cut to the chase. shall we'?

First up is the best and worst site in 1he world. It is a storehouse of information on any subject you could dream of, as well as poems. stories, journals, and insanity. It is also the crack cocaine of the Internet. This site is none other ihan Everything2 (http://www.cvcrything2.com). l'vc been a user of the site for months now. Basically how it works is someone ~UbnlitS a write-up on a subject. Then, the upper level people get to vote on weather or not it's good. If it's good, you get experience (XP) points. If il's bad, you lose experience points. lf it's just horrible. the write-up is removeLI from the site (nuked). If you manage to amass a certain number of XP and a cerwin number of write-ups, then you advance in level. With eoch level comes a new power ( level 2 is the power lo vote on other peoples write-ups).

Next, is the mcme pool (www.memcpool.com). Basically, it's links. Bui nut ordinary links, oh no, Links to the most bizarre sites that the owner•can lind. From n l<)ltrisl guy (the Internet fad with the picture of thnt guy on the WTC tower as tilt: airplane fires into it) remix of the culti~h "All your Ba5e" music video to dis!llrhingly cute gamei,, this guy manages to lind everything weird the Internet has to offer

And finally for today, because I'm tired, is un obscure web comic called The Parking Loi is Full (www.plif.com). Seriously, this is the moM sick, blasphemous, sexist, twist• ed comic l've ever seen, I like it! Also, the front puge always has the oddest of quotes ("There was n time when I didn't want to cat your brain. That 1ime is over now"), There's 3 years of archived comics at your disposal. so you can warp your senseof humor for a long, long time.

~njoy!

Dance Crat.c is a compilution of 2 Tone Records' best in white boy reggae. With 16 trucks of truly .iwesome. up-bcut songs, it's H great buy. Even for thC>scof you who are to1ally unfamiliar wi1h this s1yle. The crn:q guitar strums and the stylish organ tune:,;roll over each other like waves of heavy sounu, while the horns screu111skankingly in the background, NccLI something to dance to'? Try "Too Much Pressure", 1henew-wove sound of the Selc<.:tcrand Pauline Rlack's sensational voice! Or rocksteouy to the "Guns of Navarone" by the Specials, the undisputed kings of the 2 Tone era!

1'111renlly cnthuscd about this cnn1pilatiu11 hy 2 Tone Records! I advise. that if you· re wise, you'll get out there and buy! So "skank, pogo, do the reggae, twist, shimmy. ~h,1keyour ass" down 10 your local music ,tore right now!

Pretty Together would have benefited wilh more Patrick and Jay Ferguson songs. and less or Chris Murphy's sad ,111<.Jwhinny songs. Sloun isn't the band 1hcy once were with Smeared n11dTwice Removed hut with songs such us "II' It reels Good Du It". "In the Movies" and "It's In Your Eyes" Prclly Together is an album th,ll shows Slonn still hus what it takes to be n great band.