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Page 8-The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 3, 1988

Records
Men Without Hats
Pop Goes The World
PolyGrarh
I know what you're thinking.
Yeah, you kind of remember a hit
song from way back when... in the
halcyon days of "new wave" music.
Come to think of it, you even
bought that single, "The Safety
Dance." Well, by now I suppose you
thought this band had passed into
oblivion, along with Missing Per-
sons, A Flock of Seagulls, and day-
glo haircuts.
Out of nowhere, though, here
comes their third album- Pop Goes
the World. And even its cover art
seems to confirm their unhipness
today, emblazoned with silly cartoon
lettering and... a giant baby's face?
But hold on just a second... this
is a classic case of how one's pre-
conceptions can force one to pass off
an excellent pop album.
Surely, Men Without Hats' im-
age problem lies in a history of de-
ceptively dippy-sounding singles.
Although their 1983 debut LP,
Rhythm of Youth, spawned that
novelty hit, it contained other songs
like "The Great Ones Remember"
which showed a feel for grand
melodies rare among the silly syn-
thesizer bands of the day. But five
years later, the new album's title
track is sneaking onto the airwaves
with a strange chunk of minimalist
Disney-pop.
The swirling, Pink Floyd-like
kyboards of "Intro" might leave you
wondering for a moment. Could this
even be some kind of "concept-al-
bum?" (Actually, it is - but don't
let that spoil the fun.) Reassuringly,
though, then comes the hushed sto-


rybook narration and clinking-xylo-
phone keyboards of "Pop Goes the
World."
But "On Tuesday" is instead a
beautifully wistful ballad with
acoustic guitars, violin, ana ine
lovely flute of Jethro Tull's Ian An-
derson. The next cut, "The Bright
Side of the Sun," is a solemn piano-
and-vocals piece, eerily reminiscent
of The Beatles' "Let it Be." And the
fifth track, "O Sole Mio," is a su-
perb example of the band's sweeping
synth-pop; Men Without Hats con-
jure more charmingly melodic
danceability than colder, aloof New
Wave alumni like New Order. With
its majestically cascading piano,
"The End (Of the World)," the al-
bum's final cut, achieves the uplift
of some of earlier Elton John's sub-
lime ballads.
Of course, MWH don't appeal to
image-mongers anymore. In "Walk
on Water," singer Ivan is even so
unconscious of fashion as to remi-
nisce nostalgically about the "good
old days": "They said we were a new
beginning/ They said we were a
brand new start/ We were none of
these things/ But they said we could
sing/ So we sang about the state of
the art."
Well, that was then and this is
now. And in 1988 the difficult truth
is this: if you like great pop music,
there's no excuse for avoiding Pop
Goes The World.
-Michael Fischer
Descendents
Liveage-l
SST Records
1987 was a year of ups and downs
for fans of these Californian power-

popsters. Last spring, the Descen-
dents treated us to All, a caffeine-
powered collection of irreverent, self-
deprecating lyrics and hyperactive
guitar lines. But word soon followed
that All was, in fact, all - for the
band. Fortunately, though, in the
wake of the band's break-up comes
Liveage!, an appropriately titled live
album.
Culled from a frenzied gig last
summer at Minneapolis' First Ave-
nue club, Liveage. shows us the
Descendents at their immature, im-
passioned best, singing the virtues of
love, food, and coffee. First Avenue
helped launch the careers of such
Minneapolis acts such as Husker Du
and Soul Asylum, and in the grooves
of Liveage!, you can almost feel the
spirits of these bands bestowing their
blessing on the Descendents'
perfonnance.
Liveage! is an excellent sampler
ofthe band's catalogue, spanning
material from the frenetic 19 seconds
of "Weinerschnitzel" from their
Bonus Fat EP to more recent and
complex numbers from All, such as
"Coolidge" and "Clean Sheets." Other
highlights include the wistful but
energetic "Get the Time," penned by
drummer Bill Stevenson (formerly of
Black Flag) and a scorching version
of the Beach Boys' "Wendy."
The production is stellar - Milo
Aukerman's earnest vocals sound as
clear as on any studio effort, and Karl
Alvarez's throbbing bass lines propel
songs like "I Don't Want to Grow
Up" and "Silly Girl." The only major
flaw with the album is its length -
roughly 31 minutes for side "All" and
side "All!" combined- but the18
beauties crammed into that space are
worth the price of admission.
The Descendents may have never
made it big (They "couldn't sell out a
telephone booth," their self-titled
anthem says), but a listen to them in
action proves that it wasn't for lack
of talent. Liveagel is the sonic
equivalent of a bottomless cup of
java.
-Jim Poniewozik

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Hugo Largo and the Squalls at the U-Club
Hugo Largo got Michael Stipe to play on their debut record "Drum" last year. They have an etheral and
oozy sound like the Cocteau Twins. A few years ago the Squalls had their first hit with "Elephant and
Radio." They come by way of Athens, Georgia and play poppy and upbeat stuff. Both bands will be
performing tonight at the University Club in the Michigan Union. (The University Club is a private club
for University students, faculty, and their guests.)


Sting,

Whitney

Houston receive

4

Grammy!
(Continued from Page 1)
roll," he shouted, and the crowd
roared approval.
After again announcing that he
had, in fact, won the award, Little
Richard revealed the Academy's
choice: Jody Whately, a Madonna
sound-alike from the old dance band,
Shalamar.
Whitney 'Houston, a winner two
years agd with her debut album,
took honors at the 30th Annual
Grammy Awards for best female pop
vocalist for her effervescent single,
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody,"
from her LP, "Whitney."
"Somewhere Out There," a sweet
ballad written by veteran songwriters

for vocalists

of

the

year

James Horner , Barry Mann, and
Cynthia Weil for the animated film
"An American Tale," won as song of
the year. "We wrote it for the mice,"
Weil said.
Guitarist The Edge, born David
Evans, pulled out a list as he
accepted the Grammy for best rock
group with vocal: "The Joshua
Tree." He thanked luminaries such as
Martin Luther King Jr., Amnesty
International, Bob Dylan, Jimi
Hendrix, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Morris the
Cat, President Reagan, and college
radio stations.
After "Joshua Tree" won as

album of the year, lead singer Bono
quipped, "It's really hard to carry the
weight of the world on your
shoulders."
"We don't see this as a peak for
U2," Bono said backstage. "It's just
a beginning. We've got 12 songs
ready for the next album."
Sir Georg Solti, conductor of the
Chicago Symphony, won a Grammy
in the best orchestral recording
category with his recording of
Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
Vladimir Horowitz, the pianist
who had 20 Grammys entering the
ceremonies, won another for best
classical instrumental performance

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for "Horowitz in Moscow."
Michael Jackson's "Bad" album
won an early Grammy, for best-
produced non-classical recording.
Bruce Sweiden and Humberto Gatica
were the producers.
In 1984, Jackson's "Thriller"
album won eight Grammys. "Bad"
was one of the nominees for album
of the year.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the
South African vocal group featured
on Paul Simon's "Graceland" album,
won a Grammy for themselves for
best traditional folk recording for
"Shaka Zulu."
Robert Shaw's recording of
requiems by Gabriel Faure and
Maurice Durufle with the Atlanta
Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
won Grammys for best engineered
classical recording and for producer
Robert Woods. The Atlanta group's
recording of Paul Hindemith's
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard
Bloom'd" won as best choral
performance,
Guitarists
entertain
(Continued from Page 7)
sion of The Byrds' "Eight Miles
High," and by now my guitar-freak
friends were in a daze, elatedly slap-
ping high-fives. And judging by the
ovations, quite a few of us who
don't know an E-string from a G-
string will eagerly await the return
of these brilliant artists as well.

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