longer pen the sort of get-out-your-

seat songs like “Free Your Mind.”

There’s enough compensation on this album to more than justify the $15 investment.

-Joel MEGGS

DVD: Twin Peaks: The First Season Distributor: Artisan

Fuck watching TV shows on television! TV executives think you’re stupid. They don’t want programs that

will stimulate any thought in case it~

distracts you from the advertisements. How Twin Peaks ever made it to air is a question more mysterious than who killed Laura Palmer.

Now that the first seven episodes have been released on DVD, with an assortment of interviews, commentaries, and bonus material, fans of this dark and quirky soap opera can gain insight into the show. Script

notes, intros by the Log Lady, even a_

lesson from the midget on how to speak backwards are all included in this excellent package.

Most important, of course, are

the episodes. By treating every episode like a scaled down film, the quality of the imagery on the show puts other television shows to shame. The digital transfers are gorgeous. And then there’s the writing. Its film noir style and dark humour is unlike anything shown on television before it, yet it explores all the cliches of the soap opera including frequent cliff

hangers. Every episode ends with at

least three of them.

Were it not for the frequent shots of people eating, bizarre charac- ters, and the beautiful score by Angelo Badalamenti, Twin Peaks could easily be mistaken for a daytime soap. But something disturbing lurks beneath all the cliches and weirdness; this is a show about a dead homecoming queen. It didn’t last much more than two seasons on ABC because of the unsettling story and unconventional style. Lynch’s return to télevision after Twin Peaks, Mullholand Drive, was halted by ABC after one episode which will soon be playing at City Cinema. It would have been nice to see Peaks on a big screen in a dark theatre, but this four disc package is the perfect treat for fans of Lynch.

_ Watch it at home with the lights out.

-Stephan MACLEOD

Album: Ryde or Die vol. III-In the R

- We Trust.

Artist:Ruff Ryders Label: Interscope

The Ruff Ryders are back with their third crew album, and like most family albums this one disappoints. This is tagged as the next generation of Ruff Ryders and features newer artists like Roc Star, Infa-Red & Cross, Aja and Fiend who jumped No Limit Records to join the Ryders camp. The problems is that the new comers are not on the same level as the more established members. DMX and Eve only appear once each and they are solo songs which were likely solo album _ throwaways. Ludacris, Pete Pablo and Yung Wun also guest star without helping out much. Some guests who do add to the album are Bubba Sparxxx and the Eastsidaz who team up with members of the Lox on the albums two best cuts “They Ain’t Ready”and “Eastside Ryders”. If you are a big Ruff Ryders fan you will probably like this CD, but otherwise look out for the solo efforts. -Mare MACDONALD

Album: Genesis Artist: Busta Rhymes Label: Violator/Elektra

Busta returns with his fifth solo album, Genesis. |’m not sure if this is supposed to mean a recreation for Busta Rhymes, but if so, something got messed up in the process because this effort lacks originality. There does not seem to be any big stand out cuts that will garner this album commercial success as sin- gles. Even worse, there are none of the bangin’ unreleased tracks that made When Disaster Strikes such a good album. There are some okay joints on Genesis such as “Truck Volume” and “Hola”, and some others grow on you, but over all Busta does not seem to do anything that he hasn’t already done. There is the same anarchistic themes and about a zillion shout outs on every song. There are a couple Flipmode Squad joints that help out, but this is no classic.

-Marc MACDONALD Album: Anything, Anytime, Anywhere:

Singles 1979-2002 Artist: Bruce Cockburn Label: True North

There is an interesting video for Bruce Cockburn’s new song “My Beat,” in which he is bicycling around town while youngsters attempt stunts on their BMXs. The song’s lyrics, “This is my beat in my new town,” are sung as a split screen between Cockburn and the young adults, who are shown with captions like “Bike Cam.” Is Cockburn trying to lure in a new, younger audi- ence? Is the new town the contempo- rary music industry that he has to exist in, so different than the one he started out in over thirty years ago? Perhaps he sees the legions of socially conscious kids that show up at WTO protests and sees a group that should/could dig his brand of political music.

If so, he is right.

Canada is lucky in that it has quite a few songwriters that are real poets: Leonard Cohen, Gordon

Lightfoot,’ Joni Mitchel, Gordon Downie, etc. Bruce Cockburn definitely fits this category. If he occasionally has to release a greatest hits album to remind us just how great he is, then so be it. Yes, he did already release a dou- ble-disc of greatest hits in ’87, but look at all the great stuff he’s done since then: “Last Night of the World,” “If a Tree Falls,” “Night Train,” and the instant classic, “My Beat.” Few artists can write yearning love songs like “Coldest Night of the Year” and potent protest songs like “If I had a Rocket Launch,” equally well, but that’s Cockburn’s gift. The guy is a national treasure, and hopefully this singles col- lection will net him the result he desires.

But one note: a remix of “Waiting for a Miracle?” Not that it isn’t a great remix, but what are you doing “remixing,” Mr. Cockburn? At your age?

-Joel MEGGS

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