Daily Staff Writer

“Serotonality”

Dr. Didj

For those of you who don’t know what a didgeridoo is (don’t be shy, it’s okay), it is an aboriginal wind instrument that produces a buzzing, earthy, bass sound. It is made from petrified eucalyptus bark which has been hollowed out by termites.

You have probably heard the didgeridoo before and didn’t even realize it. It is used in every Australian movie set in the outback (“Crocodile Dundee” for example). It is the defining sound of that country.

Graham Wiggins, American-born physics student, began teaching himself to play the didgeridoo in the early 1980s. While living in London, Wiggins and a variety of partners perfected their skills performing on the streets, in the festival circuit and in the club scene.

These experiences led Wiggins to form the group Outback, where he developed his style of rock/jazz fusion, gained critical acclaim and topped the Billboard World Music charts with “Baka” (1991) and “Dance and the Devil Away” (1992).

After the breakup of Outback, Wiggins traveled to Elcho island in Australia to live and study with Aboriginal masters to perfect his performance. Upon returning to London, Wiggins’ new band, Dr. Didg, became a popular attraction at raves and recorded “Out of the Woods” in 1994.

The new release, “Serotonality,” is the kind of album which is equally at home in the dance club or in a personal CD player. The spiritual, earthy sound of the didgeridoo hypnotizes you into listening to each song.

The title track, “Serotonality”, is undoubtedly the best. It combines didgeridoo samples to create a unique electronica sound that is reminiscent of Crystal Method.

If you like fusion jazz, world music or traditional aboriginal music, then Dr. Didg is just what you need in your collection.

4 stars out of five

—Greg Jerrett

“RFTC”

Rocket From The Crypt

The latest release from Rocket from the Crypt, “RFTC,” could be called the greatest artistic effort since Beethoven, if we were talking about those slobbering dog movies.

Normally, I like to listen to a CD a few times before I make up my mind about it, but this album made my teeth hurt, and here is why.

I haven’t seen musical talent like this since the Bugaloos and Martha Ray did their Saturday morning show back in the late seventies.

I was particularly revolted by the track “Like A Dick On A Dog.” Usually when a band tries to force something this grotesque on its audience, it is backed up with something approaching musical talent or some hard-hitting, pseudo-political lyrics that could justify such a juvenile title.

Other bands do it all the time, but this track mostly just repeats the title over and over again while throwing in a few more graphic details about sweat dripping off the hairy beast’s thighs.

I think they were trying to be sexy. The simile never did get pulled off to my satisfaction; I still don’t know what it means. It was vivid, yet entirely without meaning.

If you were ever looking for definitive proof that western civilization is in decline, look no further, here it is. I think the Romans used to sing songs like this around 409 A.D.

The rest of the songs were just as awful, whether the title was “Eye On You,” “Let’s Get Busy” or “When In Rome.”

However, there were a few good points about “RFTC.” For example, it is less than an hour long so the pain, severe as it was, was only temporary.

But this CD does provide an object lesson. If these guys can get work, anyone can. As far as the music goes, it couldn’t have been worse if it had blown up in my stereo.

0 stars out of five

—Greg Jerrett

“Unwritten Law”

Unwritten Law

Unwritten Law’s self-titled release is a thoughtful, poetic, post-punk effort with lots of energy. It also has a good beat and you can dance to it.

I haven’t really enjoyed an album in its entirety like this since Social Distortion changed gears back in the late eighties or Green Day first released “Dookie.”

I was especially impressed with the lyrics on this album. Too often, lyrics seem to be an afterthought for most bands. On this CD, the words were the main focus and came before the music. In this way, the tracks come off as much more meaningful than your average, raw punk anthems.

A good example is in “Sorry,” a song about trying to get a girl to sleep with you for the first time. It has a real high school kind of feeling with lyrics like “I reach over for a kiss, I miss, she ducks, I wish … she stops me and she says/slow down boy, I’m not easy/don’t want to be a sleazy whore/so I showed her to the door…”

This band also embodies what I think is one of the most important innovations in punk since the creation of green hair dye and dog collars. When Scott Russo sings, he doesn’t try to keep up with the drummer. In the early days of punk, that was where the energy was. But now we have punk tunes with melody! The resulting contrast makes for a complexity and depth that you don’t usually find in a lot of bands today regardless of their genre.

If you like energetic ditties about sex, suicide, alienation and what it’s like to be young and pissed-off about lots of stuff while maintaining a sense of humor, then this album will look great in your collection.

4 stars out of five

—Greg Jerrett