A newer, schmaltzier Nick Cave croons away his past A Campus Area Condominium for the Cost of an Apartment By Mike Rubin Nick Cave has never been an easy guy to like. The former lead singer of Australia's infamous Birthday Party has long been the subject of heated debate by critics and fans, pegged alternately as a pretentious fop or a creative genius, a moribund gloomy Gus or an honest observer of human relations gone sour. The spiritual father to an entire genera- tion of pale, unhealthy-looking, black-clad chain smokers, at his best Cave is the master of musical melo- drama, the foremost of what critic Chuck Eddy calls "the Yale Drama School reject" style of singing/emoting/regurgitating, capable of breathing new emotional life into a tired rock beast. At his worst, he overracts like a street mime in heat, numbing the listener into annoyance or boredom. At the very least, Cave has be- come the Engelbert Humperdinck of the death rock circuit. Certainly both have gotten their share of negative health-related press this year - Humperdinck due to rumors that he has AIDS; Cave due to his heroin arrest and subsequent detox and reha- bilitation. Since the 1983 disintegration of the Party, Cave's solo ventures have eschewed the chaotic and incendiary sprawl that gave the band its' power in favor of a smoother (dare I say, schmaltzy) approach to singing and songwriting. Gone are the guttural growls, the gurgling and gargling, yowling and yelping which charac- terized the Birthday Party era. It is replaced by a deep-throated croon much closer to a Las Vegas lounge lizard than a fire-breathing dragon. The B-Party Cave always sounded as if he were having his appendix re- moved in mid-song, sans anesthesia; post-Party Cave is more like a jaded patient etherized upon a table. With- out a doubt, his gooey 1986 all- covers LP Kicking Against the Pricks is as long a way from getting down on all fours and barking "Hands up, who wants to die?!!" as one man can get. "The Birthday Party were the geeks in the big rock and roll cir- cus," said Cave. "There were a lot of other people flying around on the high wire, or sticking their heads in lion's mouths, but the Birthday Party were definitely down in the sawdust, covered in feathers and chicken blood. The power that came from the Birthday Party was violent. Everything about the band, the mu- sic, the lyrics, the performance, our relationship with the audience, was all based on aggression and violence. With the Bad Seeds (his backing band), the relationship has much more to do with music. I'm directing my rather meager talents towards classic songwriting, something with more concept behind it, based on melody, rather than sheer force or guitar power, like the Birthday Party." In the Bad Seeds, Cave has as- sembled an all-star lineup almost as noteworthy as the singer himself. This year's touring model includes Blixa Bargeld, guitarist for Ein- sturzende Neubauten, Kid Congo See Cave, Page 12 Cave will be singing this weekend at Saint Andrews in Detroit Wolfgang Press to try their hand in touring America For Exam Preparation, Choose to EXCEL! . Learn to Anticipate the Exam " Improve Your Test-Taking Skills . Use Your Study Time More Effectively . Achieve Your Maximum Potential Score EXCEL Test Preparation 996-1500 1100 South University .. INSTANT CASH! 1 We're paying up to $6 CASH for single compact discs. More when traded! By Greg Baise Monday, February 6, 1989: the eve of the Wolfgang Press' second North American tour. The English trio has been in the United States since the previous Friday. "We came over early to rehearse with two American people, that we haven't met before, who are going to be our soundman and tour manager," ex- plains singer and bassist Mick Allen. So have you already toured Eng- land to promote your new album, Bird Wood Cage (4AD/Rough Trade)? "The fact is that we haven't played live in England. We played just once last year, while we were working on the album. It's not easy to play in England, at good places anyway. Certainly not for us because -" and here Allen hesitates; "- we're not that well known." Not well known? But an album you were on hovered at the top the British independent charts during the summer of 1987! Oh, well.... The Wolfgang Press are probably best known in America as contribu- tors to that album, Lonely Is An Eyesore, a compilation released by 4AD, every Cocteau Twins fan's fa- vorite label. Their moody track, "Cut The Tree," differs greatly from the thick, bass-driven post-punk of their latest album. Influences like the Public Image Limited of Metal Box and the minimalist, Beefheart- inspired Pop Group appear all over the new album, like on the two sin- gles, "King of Soul" and the just-re- leased "Kansas," which features funky wah-wah guitar integrated with a PiL-esque rhythm. That funk displays the Wolfgang Press' liking of R&B, the real stuff like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Public Enemy, Otis Redding. The band even covered "Respect" on their 1985 debut, The Legendary Wolf- gang Press and Other Tall Stories, which, like all of their releases, is on 4AD. The blond-dreadlocked Allen elaborated on the diversity of their musical influences: "We're open to making any kind of music, whether it's considered dance or mood or soul music. We don't think about music in terms of labels." The band actually got signed to 4AD in an earlier incarnation, Rema Rema. They made a demo for Chrysalis, which Peter Hunt, co- founder along with Ivo of 4AD, liked. Rema Rema released an EP before metamorphosing into Mass, who released a single and an album. Then, after another personnel change, the Wolfgang Press was formed by Allen, guitarist Mark Cox, (both of whom have been in the band since Rema Rema) and keyboardist Andrew Gray. They all contribute to the programming of their drum machine. The 4AD-approved dance/deep thought/downer style of the Wolf- gang Press should contrast with the death blues songs of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, musically if not the- matically, as the Wolfgang Press opens for Cave tonight. Allen noted the difference. "Some people are very good at telling stories, like Nick Cave. He's very good at that. But when I write words I don't tell sto- ries. It's more like suggestions and things like that." He modestly added, "They're important to me at times, but they're not necessarily important to other people. There's certain things that we say that are pretty universal and you don't have to dig into the song to get its meaning or what- ever." Have you ever thought.. . You could own a campus condominium for the cost of an apartment? " Roomates' rents assist with meeting the mortgage payments * Fixed mortgage payments vs. yearly rent increases Your parents could benefit from a campus housing investment? * Tax benefits * Real estate appreciation potential " Control over yearly rent increases * Strong campus area housing market You could enjoy Ann Arbor's premiere li festyle? * 26 floors of spectacular views * Studios and 1 bedrooms featuring windows which span the entire length of your condominium * 24 hour concierge and security * Plush lobby and lounge * Priveledges of Ownership vs. the Hassels of Renting Tower Plaza Condominium, 'Above the Rest in Campus Housing" Bring 'em in and we'll give you a quote. also records and tapes BOUGHT-SOLD-TRADED / 7 r lrecords CL a- r: D ne LL.. 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