Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 1, 1990
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Pretty Boy Floyd
Leather Boyz with Electric
Toyz
MCA .Jecords
Pretty Boy Floyd are the antithe-
sis of originality. As a poor imita-
tion of Motley Criie's mid-80s nou-
veau glam days, the Boyz' album
fails in all facets of that genre where
a creative mind might have pro-
gressed: no new song subjects, no
twist on the glam rock persona, no
new interesting fetishes. They also
apparently have never beard of end-
ing a plural noun with an s; perhaps
the z is a sign of phonetic intelli-
gence. Save their well-knit sound,
this debut merely covers previously
charted territory in an attempt to be
the next fave of the MTV metal set.
Their success in this endeavor seems
possible, but not because they mesh
musically.
Their cheap attempts at anthemic
music that would catch the MTV
metalheads attention fail as pathetic
gasps at being the next Poison.
They sing, "Only the young under-
stand what we mean." What they ap-
parently mean, as related in their
song "Your Mama Won't Know," is
females young enough to care what
their mothers say must not think
about the fact that their mamas
won't know if we do or we don't so
please turn me on because I can't
behave. Please.
They try to entice the listener
(especially teenagers) in the cheapest
way possible but come on, they can
think of something better than that.
Or at least a more novel way of say-
ing it. This subject has been covered
by better musicians in better songs
years ago. Until they can describe it
better, they should sing about a dif-
ferent subject. Unfortunately, their
dicks function as their brains and
they can talk of nothing else except
their way-cool outlaw image.
Every song on Toyz tries desper-
ately to be decent metal with a
rock/pop edge. The Boyz' instrumen-
tal tightness suggests they have
enough musical talent and energy to
make up for other inadequacies. It all
falls flat in their ridiculously stupid
song writing and their overwhelming
lack of any glimmer of innovation
in their sound. Their imitative look
does not help either. Every new
glam band from L.A. does not have
to look like Motley Crue.
-Annette Petrusso
Grumbles From the
Grave
by Robert A. Heinlein
Del Rey/Ballantine $19.95
This can be a very moving book
if you're the right person. If you
don't know who Robert Heinlein
was, you might find this interesting
anyway since he was one of the
most influential science fiction writ-
ers of the past 30 years. He might
not have been able to win the world
over to his ideas on the military's
role in society or a woman's place in
the home, but his best stories, those
that successfully mixed his old-fash-
ioned storytelling style with modern
speculation, are unforgettable.
This is a collection of letters,
mostly from the 1940s and '50s,
edited by his widow, Virginia Hein-
lein, after his recent death. That
brings up the problem of expecta-
tions. This isn't a manifesto of
Heinlein's voice rising from the
grave to tell us things he only now
dares say, hoping that we might ac-
ally listen this time. This isn't the
last message of the robed man on the
book cover who stands on a moun-
tain of papers and books to gaze off
e over the clouds. The only thing he
e really tells us is that he won't tell us
much at all.
There's a reason for this. Toward
the end of the book there's a letter
- from a member of a cult inspired by
- Heinlein's novel Stranger in a
Strange Land. The letter asked Hein-
- lein why he refused to support these
cults. The reply was an essay-long
l letter, the sum of which was, "I was
s asking questions. I was not giving
g answers," and "Those who take these
as answers are cheating themselves."
d The problem is that answers are
e exactly what's needed in this kind of
e book. Yes, there is stuff here that
Heinlein fans haven't seen before -
n and others might find some of the
t anecdotes interesting - but other-
o wise the letters just aren't enough to
d tand on their own. Furthermore,
a1 they are often confusingly arranged,
a and the "Editor's Notes" are poorly
h placed. This would be easily forgiv-
d able, though, if this book actually
said something significant.
.
Well, they ain't Floyd, and they ain't pretty and they wish they weri
Motley Crie but they ain't that either. They're just another one of thosi
bands that think rotation on Headbanger's Ball is the meaning of success
Robert A. Heinlein is sadly gone, but his thoughts linger in the book
Grumbles From the Grave, a collection of his letters.
Art of Noise.
Below the Waste
China/Polygram
Anne Dudley and Johnathon
Jeczalik, survivors of that abrupt, ir-
revocably messy and bizarre scene re-
ferred to as the Art of Noise, haven't
got much less to lose. Their
"breakthrough" LP, In Visible Si-
lence, was a nauseating compromise
into the mainstream, and beside be-
ing a collaboration with the aborted
computer personality Max Head-
room, was the beginning of a long
trail of full steps into suckhood.
Lacking the vision and
experimental scope of Trevor Horn,
who produced the superlative Who's
Afraid of The Art of Noise?, and
having no place else to go but
America's Top Ten, they embarked
on an embarrassing line of cover
tunes ("Dragnet," "Peter Gunn,"
"Kiss") and then released a greatest
hits album - the clearest sign of
wallowing in one's own recorded
output.
AON had, and has, a musicality
of an unparalleled scope. At their
best, they dallied about with sub-
classical ideas and electronic con-
cepts similar to Walter Carlos. They
invented strains of fusion through
sampling (unheard of then) and beat
machines that appealed to all people
But it was an obvious case of regres
sion for a band that arrived years be
fore its "acceptable" time.
Things are looking up, now. Be
low the Waste is an adventurous al
bum, with several conceptua
strengths to it: there's no obviou
hit single; rather than collaborating
with rock n'roll ghosts, the ban(
works with African musicians an
singers; and most importantly, th
AON explores here. There are mor
forays into classical styles, as wel
as technological experimentatioi
with dance.
The unique characteristics tha
make the Noise funky are added t(
the contribution of a "group" calle
Mahlathini and the Mahotell:
Queens. "Yebo!" is a brisk blend o
African chants and soul sonics witl
pseudo-funk (phunk) motions an
the bass drum in constant motion, a
is "Dan Dare," another Om styl
journey into human consciousness
utilizing the Noise's gift in render
ing an image for the listener withou
ever using lines.
Overall, Below the Waste is a re
spectable work - very low-key an
obscure; certainly their most matur
one in quite some time, even if i
doesn't deliver highs like "Beat Box
and "Close to the Edit." It may b
disgustingly critical and close
minded to down the post-Trevo
Horn Art of Noise... but one ca
dream.
-Forrest Green I
There is, however, a lot of nifty
information about Heinlen's house,
his travels, and his arguments with
editors. It's not as impressive as his
novels could be, but that's okay. It's
okay because this whole book is re-
ally one long eulogy, and once you
realize that, you can see that it's
quite well done. The letters, the pic-
tures, and the story descriptions all
outline Heinlein's personality. He
was the sort of man who built his
own houses, and worried about in-
sulting his fans by not answering
the stacks of mail he received, and
organized political movements when
he saw the need, and was incredibly
eager to fight for his country in
World War II.
In the back there's a chapter that
had been cut from his novel
Podykane on Mars. It's a death
scene, never meant to be a self-eu-
logy, but it fits in with the rest of
the book. It ties in beautifully with
his character, his stories, his ideals,
and the many powerful messages he
refused to reveal outside his stories,
even up to the day he died. This is
what makes up the best of the book
and also what makes it moving.
--Antonio Roque
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'I
NT H E SPOT LIG H T
Basement Arts presents two one-
act plays this weekend in the Frieze
building's Arena Theater. One For
the Road, written by Harold Pinter
and directed by Fred Adler, and
Picnic on the Battlefield, written
by Fernando Arrabel and directed by
David Perrine will be performed
tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 5
p.m. There will be two additional
shows tomorrow and Saturday at.
6:30. Admission is free and the
plays sound neat.
BaRRSS
TB lER
I
AAI - Lo~ -
ip
1 01IN 1 M MitI l iilIDI
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FORM YOUR OWN GROUP & GET 1 FREE TRIP FOR EACH 20 PAID
MEAT
Continued from page 7
maniacal look. Derrick Bostrom's
solid drum fills completed the merry
trio much more than adequately.
Even though all of the set was
amazingly excellent, this reviewer
could not help but think this stop
was not an On Night. Even as the
crowd passed mangos to the band
members and Cris made horns on his
head out of them, it seemed like they
were holding something back instead
of playing from their huevos.
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