Daily Staff Writer

“‘The Big Lebowski’ Soundtrack”

Various Artists

In theory, the soundtrack for “The Big Lebowski” should be pretty good.

It has plenty of big names contributing songs. It has two newer remixes of classic songs. It also features the type of diverse musical mixture that has made such soundtracks as “Pulp Fiction” and “Natural Born Killers” commercial successes.

Unfortunately, “The Big Lebowski” is absolutely awful. In fact, it is so awful that one of the best songs on it is Kenny Rogers and First Edition’s “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Henry Mancini’s “Lujon” and Piero Piccioni’s “Traffic Boom” are the only other offerings that are above average.

This perfectly demonstrates how pathetic this soundtrack is — you know you’re in for a rough ride when the best song features Kenny Rogers and a backing band that sounds like a bunch of kindergartners pretending to be Steppenwolf.

The Mancini song is fairly interesting, especially with its vast assortment of utilized instruments. But it is certainly no “Theme From Pink Panther.” Along the same lines, “Stamping Ground” (by Moondog and his orchestra) and “Traffic Boom” are catchy orchestra pieces that are mixed up with odd snippets of sound.

The last bearable song on the CD is Nina Simone’s “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” which was originally written by Duke Ellington and Paul Francis Webster. The song is a slowly paced jazz number laced with the gruff, pained vocals of Simone.

That’s five songs out of 14 that are not irritating or ignorable.

“‘The Big Lebowski’ soundtrack” should be a lot better than it actually is. There are songs by Bob Dylan, Captain Beefheart, Elvis Costello, Meredith Monk, Townes Van Zandt and the Gipsy Kings. But none of these songs are worth listening to more than once.

Dylan’s “The Man In Me” is not one of his best songs, by all means. Hell, it isn’t even a mediocre Dylan song.

The same goes for Costello’s “My Mood Swings.” How did these two creative musicians write such unimaginative, boring material?

But these two songs fare much better than Beefheart’s “Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles,” an annoying song with a peppy rhythm and horrendous vocals. Or Monk’s “Walking Song,” which sounds just like what the title implies. No instruments, just a lot of humming and breathing.

Carter Burwell’s “Technopop” is minimalist electronica with lots of bass and digitized vocals that lack substance. Van Zandt’s “Dead Flowers” is a country bumpkin remake of a Rolling Stones’ song that wasn’t good to begin with.

It actually gets worse. Just try to sit through all six minutes of the Gipsy Kings’ remake of “Hotel California” without seriously hurting yourself on purpose.

This remake brings new meaning to the term “Worst Song Ever Made In Any Musical Category.”

The Kings’ butcher the song by setting it to a Latin beat, played with Latin instruments and sung completely in Spanish, except for the chorus.

I wouldn’t recommend this CD to my worst enemy. I wouldn’t recommend that you take it for free or touch it with a ten-foot-pole.

1/2 star out of five

— Ben Jones

“Paint the Sky With Stars: The Best of Enya”

Enya

Enya is the leading New Age or Contemporary musician and singer. Her popularity has grown in the past several years and even if you don’t like her, you can’t escape her music.

When watching the television you are very likely to see a cruise ship commercial, or more recently an advertisement on the cable channel USA for the movie “Far and Away,” featuring Enya’s music.

Enya’s latest CD release, “Paint the Sky With Stars: The Best of Enya,” is a compilation of music from several past releases and new music.

Enya’s most popular song, “Orinoco Flow” (better known as Sail Away and featured in those infamous cruise ship commercials) is the first song on the album.

With Enya, quality of music is never a problem and all 16 songs on the album are great combinations of vocal and instrumental music.

The mood of the CD includes upbeat tempos with “Orinoco Flow,” “Only If…” and “Anywhere Is.” All three songs are lyrical and after awhile the listener may be able to understand the lyrics enough to try and sing along.

The more mellow lyrical songs include “Caribbean Blue,” “China Roses,” “Paint the Sky With Stars” and “On My Way Home.” These slower tempos and rhythms add depth to the album.

Instrumentals are also an important element on this CD. Though there are vocals, there are few, if any, lyrics in “The Celts,” “Storms in Africa” and “The Memory of Trees.”

What makes ENYA unique is her ability to stretch music boundaries and to explore a variety of music.

This collection of music has great contrast and variety, and there is a song for every mood. The best thing to do when listening to “Paint the Sky With Stars” is to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and relax.

5 stars out of five

— Amanda Knief

“Soul Garage Ska”

Metro Stylee

In a scene flooded by a myriad of bands which are clones of themselves, ska is slowly becoming a style of music devoid of innovation.

While bands like Reel Big Fish fuel the fire of the feeding frenzy that will eventually lead to the homogenization of the genre, there are few bands that stand out.

When the trend dies down, it is bands like New York City’s Metro Stylee that will ensure the survival of ska music.

On Metro Stylee’s debut release “Soul Garage Ska,” the group incorporates a wide variety of different styles to create its own brand of ska. At first listen, the powerful sound of lead singer Trisha Verdolino’s voice immediately strikes the listener.

On “Destroy,” Verdolino sings “I want to destroy everything,” delightfully resembling Cyndi Lauper. Verdolino’s voice also encompasses styles similar to Pauline Black of The Selecter and (dare I say) Gwen Stefani.

Catchy horn lines can be found throughout the disc provided by Eric Singer on tenor saxophone, Jane Germano on alto saxophone and Eric Gray on trumpet.

The introduction of “Jungle” features horns sounding like marching band music, played over distorted guitar. On “Nude Reggae,” a touch of old school ska can be heard. “Perfect” boasts a sound reminiscent of the two-tone era.

An impressive fact about Metro Stylee is that the band is made up of previous members of east coast ska heroes The Slackers, The Allstonians, The Skunks and King Chango.

To ska fans looking for something a little bit different than the usual, Metro Stylee’s debut album “Soul Garage Ska” is a good way to go.

4 stars out of five

— Conor Bezane

“Whatnot”

Cola

The band Cola has offered up a great drink of music for your listening pleasure.

Its debut album, “Whatnot,” was released yesterday by Interscope Records with the help of Andy Wallace, who has worked with the Wallflowers, Nirvana and Ben Folds Five.

Cola comes out of San Francisco sounding like the average rock band, but its infectious playing and singing abilities are enough to keep your thirst for music quenched.

Lead singer Tim Bass sounds like a cross between Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace and Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. However, Bass has the advantage over Duritz since his voice actually blends with the music.

The CD opens quietly, but the volume suddenly increases driving you into the opener “Overdriven,” a song about how everyone seems to be on the edge of breaking down. The second song, “Bikeracks,” has short-lived lyrics that really don’t develop it into a song.

In “Prozac,” a song about getting away from it all, Bass sings about going to Oklahoma in the same way that Adam Duritz pined about going to California in so many of his songs.

The band tends to reflect its values in life through music. Bass said that it’s like a lever used to turn over life’s rocks and stones.

Under those rocks, Cola finds a world of extremes.

Take the song “Shotgun” for instance. It deals with a murderer ruminating over his lost love. Or how about the song “Everybody Knows” that is seemingly dealing with contemplated suicide.

However a lot of the band’s lyrics can be interrupted in many different ways. That is the best thing about this album, the songs can have different meanings for different people. It all depends on the mood you’re in or the mood you let the music put you in.

“Whatnot” ends with the heartfelt, acoustic ballad “Bars and Photographs.” The guitar playing is magnetizing, and Bass’s emotional outpouring is sincerely impressive.

Cola’s “Whatnot” may not be the fully-loaded album you’re looking for, but it is still caffeinated enough to keep you awake and listening.

4 stars out of five

— Kevin Hosbond