T
-lopp-
T
T
w w w w-w
T
-W"
_W
_W
1fui9 .
t f s K;$
t 4 m liv# r * I f** 7 v V Z B l o t % t f#110 x
R E L E A S E S
manual; you either wind up screaming punchlines up to the audience-like his
R E C E N T for mercy or for more, sometimes both E previous Rhino LP The Meaning of
at once. This is the supreme represen- Life, Last Man consists of jovially ab-
tative of what every anti-new- Sonny Okosuns-Which way surd interviews with the urban public,
A T UL Mpaisley/garage loudmouth has ranted Nigeria?(Arista) who always have plenty to say. You
LTUagainst: there's absolutely nothing More in the spirit of King Suny Ade could probably do nearly as well your-
going on here beyond reckless desire to and Juju music than reggae this record self if you mixed recordings of people
(Continued fronrPage5) re-live the imagined adolescence of is surprisingly hard to get tired of. It's on the Diag and in the "adult" area of
basslines. For all its romantic somebody elses' delinquent parents. If tight rhythm section never let things 4th Ave., but Sharpe comes up with
gesturing, the band is pretty tepid, this stuff was real, it would already be get too slow and there is just so much some undeniable coups interviewing
wing what style it d to produce on a Pebbles album. Brilliant. Stupid. going on that something always jumps observers at the last Republican con-
Anne Dudley (an Art of Noise alumni) Brilliant. Stupid. Brilliant... D.H. in to make it sound fresh. Okuson's vention ("What do you think of
who mixes everything with an em- voice is perfect for the near-orchestra Reagan? What's your favorite fish?"),
sized band's front and his lyrics add at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day
phasis toward noisy ambiance. But in- Various - The Wild Life (original) even a little more punch. It's hard to Parade (a member of the Dykes on
stead of giving the material any depth, Soundtrack, MCA) describe, but well worth listening to. Bikes club states her motto: "Live
she' fat bo twitB sJ.K. fast, die hard, and leave a beautiful
Tae Oftta PlB'.L.B. The soundtrack for The Wild Life corpse"), and at a Reno quik-wedding
(Midnight) ace-Were Outta Place (according to friends, one of the more chapel. His introductions have a cer-
Exiniht impressively trashy teen pics of late) is N 11 1E L T tain blunt charm: "It's always ob-
Extreme cave-teen grundge from a big improvement over the awful noxious when a bunch of teenage girls
NY, pure enough to satisfy the most Teachers LP. Side One starts out Barnes & Adult want to talk on the radio. . ." Some of
sounds. The dcto oesville garage rather dreadfully my by taste, although tasy Barnes-Amazing Fan- the bits sound rigged, though that may
dhe LP s escription on the back of it has to be admitted that the first Scott Goddard-Yur Fool (Enigma) be more a matter of overly slick mixing
"This band sounds like Neanderthals tracks are at least closer to real heavy Two rather mild novelty-pop records tapes rather than fakery. The semi-
banging rocks together. Their raw, metal (Eddie Van Halen's"Donut from the L.A. area. Barnes and Barnes mu(kazoos etc.), bute this provide's an
savage garage rock and roll has been City" and Hanover Fist's "Metal of the did the joke classic "Toly-Poly Fish hour of solid amusement and another
untouched by modern recording Night") than the bogus stuff most film- Heads," and have produced two ex-rs
techniques, the likes of which haven't rackshave. Ratherpoor-sounding cellentrecent records on the Rhino strong candidate for the '84 time cap-
teniqe hear o likt0 eswhcave n't production dominates the new-wavier label by the infamous Wild Man sue. Face it or not, this is real
how man Thi salu s lik eing.im-d songs; Andy Summer's "Human Fischer. But the expected insantiy Americana for the 80s. D.H.
prisoned in a longhair 17-yee-ngod- Shout" sounds all too much like a Police never materializes on Amazing Adult Grsin: an on Gershwis;
parent's cellar as the kid practices Unit demo, and Bananarama's "Wild Life," Fantasy. The humor doesn't run much Gragger: Fantasy on Gershw 'sr
3in his "Learn to Play the Guitar though far more harmonic and deeper than the song titles ("Life is two pianos. Katia andMnts for
melodically appealling than usual from Safer When You're Sleeping," "ZZ Top Labeue, duo pianists. (AngelleEMI)
this bland Brit trio, still sounds a bit Beard," etc.), and the production is Once aain he Labeue sisters have
rough. Things improve with the much too synth-poppy slick-it deadens tne ag n abu sique
promising stripped-rock-roll band What whatever eccentricity is left, and turned out an album of unique duo
Is This? and their "Mind Have My Still without eccentricity B & B don't have piano music. This time its more music
I;" with Van Stephenson's OK M.O.R. much to stand on. Scott Goddard used of Gershwin, and music of Gershwin
rocker "Make It Glamorous;" with to be in the Surf Punks and he does a arranged by Percy Grainger, the ec-
Peter Case's sweet Byrds-y poper nice cover of their "Tijuana Weekend" centric Australian, mop-haired,
"Who's Gonna Beak the Ice;" and with as well as the Bickies'"Manny Moe and vegetarian composer pianist who lived
M SIC Sio? Louise Goffin's catchy-enough Jack" on the six-song YouraFool EP.m ith e norlyp ablthisentury.Thma
collaboration with Go-Go Charlotte Cof- He takes predictable snipes at suburbia rlaxmigpeanlyblefreezy mtnsi
fey, "No Trespassing." The definite in "The New Mall" and "Panic Van relaxing, pleasantly breezy tunes it
BRIA RWOODhighlight of the LP, though, is the Three Nuys," and has a slap at that latest of has.lt The Labeques handle all the dif-
O'Clock's "I Go Wild"-a more ragged La Est Things in "Cowpunk." The acu lwe l nica par oith e scores
yet whimsical (adding French Horn, music is bouncy sarcastic pop, in the awesomely well as usual, with all thei
$300 pF man!) re-recording of a class song realm of Wazmo Nariz and Klark Kent; pyprobate spin t an vervecordei
already better tracked on the Clock's friendly enough, but undistinguished. olyprisasi their tedecy t amecrdoutnth
Baroque Hoedown EP. Less im- It's not easy to do comedy-pop records is their tendency to hammer out thei
Any Recod or Tape mediately compelling than the original, that really work, and these two are modic lines so inten s y to make the i
List Price this version still exerts its own fey never as amusing as they'd like to be. oitremethardeenofenewodshaexno
charm. The Wild Side LP has little D H. trmey hr fhaigwolhaen
Expires 11-23-84 value as a state-of-music sampler, but Mal Sharpe-The Last Man on the trouble picking up on it! N. G.
Located near Lord & Taylor it has a few collectible items, which Street (Rhino Records) Recent albums was written by
easily puts it a few marks above the Sharpe differs from the average Byron L. Bull, Neil Galanter, Dennis
average rock soundtrack. D. H. record comedian in that he leaves the Harvey, and Joseph Kraus.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
SICILIAN DOUBLES OR ROUND DOUBLES
2 10" CHEESE PIZZAS7
$5.49 PLUS TAX
.99 additional itemsO
2 16" ROUND OR 2 12" x 17"
SICILIAN CHEESE PIZZAS
$7.98 PLUS TAXj
$1.29 additional itemsC
FAST FREE DEUVERY2
som rry ro iiat s
blecNO COUPON NEEDED.
MUST REQUEST WHEN ORDERING
he PZZA EXPRESS NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS
EXPIRES 12/30/84
7 310 MAYNARD AT DOOLEY'S
6 Weekend/Friday, November 16, 1984
I N T E R V I l
phone. Or yours (laughs). take one and we used it. I love shooting ctions of fi
D: Do you feel pressured to make like that. something
films that make money? D: You talked before about what the you think C
R: No. This will be the first one, term "commercial" means. What R: There
Welcome to L.A. made money but it about accessibility? Do you think don't think
was so entangled that I'm not sure who Choose Me Is accessible to the general they don'tI
saw it. Choose Me will be the first public as opposed to an "art" audien- things they
movie I've ever made that actually has ce? this advert
returned a profit to somebody in a R: Nobody really wanted to book seduction
direct line. Remember My Name ac- Choose Me until it started to be shown bury your o
tually returned a profit, but it did it in around. We were in the Seattle Film fake versio
Europe and again, by the time that was Festival and we did really well so they and people
sorted out, nobody knew who owned it booked us in their best "art" theatre their own e:
Director Alan Rudolph's latest or anything. I've never understood and boom, the first week we set a of thems
film, Choose Me, is a what commercial means. I think record. Because of that, we got a very, diminished
audiences are all that count; the film very quick opening here in Los Angeles. One of the (
kaliedoscopic tale of people looking and the audience. There's sort of a ver y qk e gh osgels. Onedo the
for love in all the wrong - yet barrier between filmmakers and the We were actually caught off-guard. We radio talkcs
audinceand t'tknow asthe didn't even have ads two days prior to shows acr
somehow the right - places. During audience and it't known as the the opening. Anyway, we set a record around the
the early 1970s, Rudolph served as distributor. When it's the major here. Because of those two openings, people call
assistand director for several Robert! studios, it's even worse because they'll it's starting to get booked all over the psychologi
Altman films, including The Long do a film that will make $500 million - country. I'm finding that strangers, change m;
as l Lactually if it makes $500 million it's a who I've never met in my life are "Okay, her
Goodbye and Nashville. Like movie - and that's all they want so the paying money to see this movie and have to bre
Altman's, Rudolph's films, which marginal films and filmmakers are they'rehavingagoodtime. Themoney it all rath
include Welcome to L.A. and unattractive to them. Choose Me is so is nice, but the fact that peopleoare teresting v
Reme Wmber My Na.me, are low budget - it cost $800,000- but the seeing it is the best. rather abs
characteristically idiosyncratic, it realy iook hike Mregularmove nd a D: It seems to be getting good it's not a h
diverse and extremely personal: In a feels like it and the performances are as R: Generally, on a hit or miss level, how to be e
recent phone interview from Los good as any as in any movie around. It it's gotten the highest ratio I've had. can recogn
Angeles, Rudolph spoke with Daily took that kind of basic minimum to be Welcome was an absolute split - it was your own
Arts editor Fannie Weinstein about ab tomakea filmwithrelativeease, truly one of those love-hate things. worthwhile
the making of Choose Me, his D: Wat type of restrictions if any, Remember My Name, which seems to
goh did the low budget place on you? be the most accepted film I've done, D: Liket
problems with Hollywood, and R: Time. We shot it in 23 days. Co- was seen b the fewest number of is about in
what he wants his audience to get producer Carolyn Pfeiffer and I have people. This o jb
don e four film s to g eth er a n d a re abou t onIut f e s r g t b c u e o t o h
out ofhisfilms. to do a fifth so we really know each there weren't any compromises made. to be sear
otherFordnaftelysandreisiyknowbaly I think audiences want to experience does this fil
other. Fortunately, and this is probably something. I think they go in larger today?
Daily: Choose Me is being billed as a why we got together, her case is very numbers to films that actually do most R: It's al
serious comedy. How do you explain similar to mine in that she's looking to of their thinking for them, but I think if might beth
this? be proud of what she does before
Rudolph: I can't give you the plot anything else. Sosheformed a com- you can make it accessible, audiences Angelets
because there isn't one. It's a rather pany to do specialized films with wantChooseMe participate in them aexperience almost two pposedt
unique film. It's called a serious special filmmakers. The way Choose Cheq e los them dohand almst os trtwoaredpool
comedy, I guess, becausedthere aren't Me came aboutkis that one of her par- requires them to do that. It just works try are peo
any jokes but the tears are funny. It's tners manages Teddy Pendergrass and critics have sat all by themselves and for erown
like a mirror on the audiences he sent me the first thing Teddy had done watched the movie, they've all been un- to a human
emotions. The audience becomes a part after the automobile accident which left
of it, like they do in the theatre. It's as him paralyzed from the waist down. It sure about it enoughpeoplesthat who haven eotherhm
funny as the audience will allow it to be. was a demo produced by Luther Van- seen it wiaughter it's contagiouu o have n s eut th
At first the audience doesn't know dross called "Choose Me." He said if I really liked it. and it's on
whether to laugh or not which is always could ever use it in a film it wasD:Yuvsadttonofheu- up
kind of awkward. available. It was literally hot off the
D: Choose Me is the third film you've machine. Teddy had just done it and he
both written and directed. Do you couldn't get a recording contract
prefer directing films for which you've because they didn't think he could sing.
written the screenplay? I heard it and said, "This is fantastic,
R: Well nobody else will direct them I'll make a whole movie around it."
so I guess I better (laughs). I've had Carolyn's company was about to make
more luck with them, that's for sure, a movie and she said, "Here, this is how
The three films I haven't written were much money we have at most." So I
all done for studios and they were all made a budget and a schedule without
unpleasant experiences. You wind up ever writing a script just to see what I
rounding off a lot of edges. When I would be confronted with. David
make a film independently and write it Blocker, who's the co-producer, is a
myself, I find I can touch it a lot better; whiz at that, but he kept saying, "Well
I'm a lot closer to it. how do I know what to do?" I said "Just
D: Do you see yourself as rejecting assume it's two or three people in a
the commercial tradition of film- room talking all the time." So he camex%.
making? up with twenty to twenty-three days if it
R: I don't understand the whole was just a regular movie with no ex-
system. Hollywood and I just do not traordinary expenses and everybody
seem to get along. Distribution is worked for as little as they could. I
clearly a third of any film and it's the wrote the script in about a week basedr t
one that ultimately gets the film to the on all these elements. I think any film-
people. I'd say that's were most of the maker has at least one and probably
problems come from in the so-called more films in his head at all times and
Hollywood system. Choose Me is the whatever was going on in my head
first film I've ever made that is ac- came out really quickly. It was actually
tually getting out to the right public. the best writing experience I've ever
The producers are also the distributors had. I think if we had had any more
and they know exactly what the film's time, the film wouldn't have been any
about. I can call them up and say "Why better. The shot of Keith Carradine and
don't we put the poster in this part of Genevieve Bujold at the dinner table,
the theatre instead of that part," which lasts about six minutes, is
whereas the studios disconnect their basically the rehearsal on film. It was Rudolph: 'Choose Me' mixes odd characters
Weekend/Friday,