V.11 No.52 | December 26, 2002 -
January 1, 2003
This week's music
Various Artists Cookbook
(Eenie Meenie)
Cookbook is a gorgeously packaged collection with adorably detailed
cover art and a thick booklet: The 11 artists contributed not only a song to
the CD, but also a vegetarian recipe to the elaborate packaging. The cast of
mostly unknowns (Kiara Geller, bassist with the Sugarplastic, and the
anime-obsessed From Bubblegum To Sky are the marquee names) offers a menu of
largely uninspired tunes that only rarely break out of the twin indie
straitjackets of C-86-inspired guitar pop (Japanese Tigers' "Charles Bronson")
and cheapjack imitations of early St. Etienne done on primitive home samplers
and toy keyboards (Seksu Roba's "Bossa Blanco"). Geller's agreeable '70s pop
confection "C'mon C'mon" and Irving's lightly psychedelic space rock hymn "The
Curious Thing About Leather" are the best of the lot; most of the rest are on
the level of the more forgettable tracks on that endless Little Darla Has A
Treat For You series of compilations from the late '90s that are in
permanent residence in bargain bins everywhere.