The Michigan Daily --Wednesday, February 13, 1985-- Page 7
Records
(Continued from Page6)'
Bedard started the Kingpins for
playing dance music, a more accessible
sound for younger crowds who just
can't sit still. And dance you will to the
B-side of the single. Like "What a
Shame", "Tight Shoes" is an original
by Bedard, and more representative of
the Kingpin's emerging style. It's fast
and punchy, with slappy drums and
slanging guitar work. Carl Hildebrandt
(Bedard's old bass player from the
Bonnevilles who has since been
replaced with Ted Harley) plays a
stand-up, with some masterful string
thwamping, for a joyous, hepped-out
sound. The rhythm just won't let up.
Constant cymbals and a snappy back
beat keep the tention crackling at the
surface. Drummer Conlin is in top
form. Bedard plays an acoustic Gibson
on this cut, for a more vibrant,
swinging sound.
"Tight Shoes" is a humorous piece
about a gorgeous girl who's a slave to
fashion and can't dance. The lyrics
sparkle with Bedard's slightly twisted
wit: I told her she looked bored as
as she could be/she said
confidentially "my feet are
killing me!" These little quips are like
those of a sharp stand-up comic. As
with a good joke, you're still laughing
when the song is over.
The B-side is the better cut on this
single. It's highly danceable and more
typical of the Kingpin's style: upbeat
rockabilly. The heroes of this genre are
Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Elvis
and Buddy Holly. Bedard and the
Kingpins pay homage to these legen-
dary greats with their repertoire of
cover tunes. The single should make
you come back for a second helping.
Their live shows are great fun, but wear
comfortable clothes. George Bedard
and the Kingpins have determined that
dancing in tight shoes can be hazardous
to your health.
-Kate O'Leary
Ian McCulloch-September
Song (EP) Korova Records
"September Song", the new 12-inch
single from Ian McCulloch, is about the
most unique release from any "new
music" name to date. Foreshadowed by
the acoustic and symphonic Ocean
Rain from McCulloch's Echo and the
Bunnymen, this 3-song EP marks a new
plateau in uniqueness from McCulloch.
Just what this plateau is is am-
biguous, perhaps deliberately so. Con-
sider the title track, "September
song". Ask your parents about it: Frank
Sinatra recorded it once. Consider the
implications at this point. Ian: the new
Frank? Methinks not. Just listen to the
variety of instruments used-about as
original as you're going to get from the
80's.
No standard instruments are used:
no drums, no guitars, no electric bass.
What can you hear? Plenty. Enter the
symphonic McCulloch, complete with
harpsicord, accordion, violin, bass-
viola, the whole shot. Well, he's sure not
the new Sinatra. The new Bernstein?
Probably not. The arrangement is just
a little too novel to be tagged as
classical.
The long version of "September
Song" (two appear on the record)
begins with a drawn out churn from a
bass viola that is pulled up from its
dismal-sounding depths by a chorus of
violins, a bit more authentic than those
of Ocean Rain's "Silver". But before
you get carried away with this Mozart
allusion, throw in some accordion and a
bit of a waltz step. So about now the pic-
ture you have is about as confused as I
am writing about it: There's Sinatra,
belting out a love ballad, with a voice of
a slightly effeminate Jim Morrison, as
17th century aristocrats waltz
step, while britched Bohemians keep
time and swing their steins in a Vienna
pub. Such is the image this record con-
jures. Sure it's a weird one. Funny
thing is, I kind of like it. The sheer
novelty and anti-commerciality of it
are enough to prompt purchase, and on
top of that it's musically superior to just
about anything coming out of the made-
up, dippity-doo world of popular music
today.
This is definitely no sell-out. In fact, it
seems McCulloch had to revert back to
his own label to release this one. Sire,
the same company that made Echo and
the Bunnymen get rid of their "echo"
machine and get a real drummer
before signing a contract, seems to
have rejected McCulloch's solo effort
on commercial grounds. And indeed,
they were to some extent justified.
Here is a record for more the
conoisseur than the patron. Much like
Baroque art of the 17th century
spawned its own brand of weirdity,
called Mannerism, so now does com-
mercialized music spawn its own Man-
nerist in Ian McCulloch.
But enough art history, more about
the music. The flip-side of the single,
"Cockles and Mussles", a nursery
rhyme set to violins and harpsicords,
amid the pub chant of McCulloch's
baritone voice is no dance tune. But its
ingenuity and overall uniqueness make
it a welcome and enjoyable alternative
to the synthesized tribal chanting of
Frankie Goes Etc. and Duran Duran. It
reminds me of the Door's "Spanish
Caravan"-off-beat, a kind of reaction
against the contemporary, as well as
having plenty of merit on its own.
In short, Ian McCulloch has produced
the kind of record that echoes the "out-
of-the-mold" reactions of the Clash's
Sandinista! or the out of character style
of Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out
Door. Miniature in that its material
can't compare to a full album's. But
McCulloch's work takes these reactions
one step further. Not only is it out of
synch with any notion of "today's
sound", but it escapes a label from any
age. "September Song": 60's voice, 50's
song, 17th century instruments, 18th cep-
tury tempos, and an 80's musician. Sign
of things to come? Probably not, but en-
joy it while you can.
-Hobey Echlin
Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton turn in strong performances in the well-acclaimed The Falcon and the Snowman.
This falcon
fli
By Emily Montgomery
HE FALCON and the Snowman as
a movie title better fits a Disney
animation than a true-life drama. The
film is based on the story of Christopher
Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, two
upper middle-class Americans who in
the 1970s sold United States gover-
nment secrets to the Russians.
"Falcon" and "Snowman" are the two
informant's code names. Boyce calls
himself the Falcon, because of his affec-
tion for the bird, and after a few scenes
of Lee coking up, the origin of Snowman
becomes obvious.
Timothy Hutton portrays Boyce, an
all around, clean-cut, intelligent, son of
a former F.B.I. agent, who in the sum-
mer between his studies at a seminary
and his first year pre-law takes a
position at a National Defense Agency,
where he acquires access to highly
confidential satellite surveilliance in-
formation. Boyce works in a place
called "The Black Vault," deciphering
messages as they come in from
numerous telegraphing machines.
When Boyce accidently receives a
message that was meant for the C.I.A.,
he discovers that the United States is
plotting to overthrow the Prime
Minister of Australia, historically an
ally. Boyce is appalled and decides to
take action-what better way to rectify
the situation than to trade information
to the Soviets?
Boyce's second mistake is his choice
of altar boy turned addict, Daulton Lee,
as his accomplice; Lee carries
stupidity to new proportions. He treats
the Russians with the same tact as he
does his drug clients. To him it's just
another score, but when he is held head
down in a dirty toilet bowl inside a
Mexican prison and commanded to con-
fess to a murder he didn't commit, he
realizes that the situation is slightly
more serious.
The Falcon and The Snowman is an
engrossing film. Its high-action scenes
captivate the viewer despite the story's
inevitable conclusion of Boyce and
Lee's convictions.
1 Nn4rnn is~ er.~nneino as Rnir hut.
sympathetic, searching stereotype has
played so many times in numerous
previous films.
Penn's colorful portrayal of the less
likeable Lee is vivid. Penn, as Lee,
carries every scene he appears in,
which, since he does the actual dealing
with the Russians, make-up a majority
of the movie. If the real Daulton Lee is
just half as repulsive as the whiney
voiced, beady eyed, irresponsible user
Penn portrays, then I have no quibbles
with the life sentence he received.
The film's major flaw is that Hutton's
portrayal of Boyce seems too sym-
pathetic. True, Boyce might have had
different reasons from Lee for turning
traitor, but his deeds are equally as
wrong. The film ends stating that Boyce
was given a 40-year sentence. That's no
longer true. It was increased to 68 years
s high
a few years later when he escaped and
was recaptured with the added convic-
tion of bank robbery. Are these the acts
of a person deserving early parole?
Nice guy? I doubt it.
Falcon, to its credit, has fine support
in David Suchet as Alex, Lee's Russian
contact. Suchet's consistenly calm
demeanor while dealing with the in-
competent Lee adds occasional comic
relief to what might otherwise be an
unbearably tense film.
Films which choose to profile, in-
teresting, though certainly less than
heroic subjects, such as Boyce and Lee,
always run the risk of overglamorizing.
Although Falcon and Snowman crosses
this line at times, fine performances by
Hutton, Suchet and, more precisely,
Penn make an entertaining and
engaging film.
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