The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 3, 1990 - Page 11
Concert review
Hunt proves quite a Pistol
The Wonder Stuff
Nectarine Ballroom
October 1, 1990
by Mike Molitor
T he first thing that Miles Hunt
said when he stepped onstage was
"Fuck the whole lot of ya." The
second was "We're the ugly cunts
from England. And they call us the
ugly cunts from England." The band
then launched into "A Wish Away,"
which got the 200 or so people at
the Nectarine dancing away. For a
guy that said he loves touring
America (as opposed to Europe), he
didn't seem exactly cordial. But then
again, that's his style.
Throughout the band's hour long
set, Hunt seemed like a long-haired
version of Johnny Rotten. Not only
did his facial expressions recall the
ex-Pistol, but he actually looks quite
a bit like him. And of course, his
playfully sardonic remarks were
straight out of London circa 1977.
When someone yelled out a request,
he said "We choose the set, that's
what you pay us for, you ugly
cunts." He had a lot of stage pres-
ence, to say the least.
And the band backed it up with
an extremely tight set. Favorites like
"Don't Let Me Down Gently" and
"Radio Ass Kiss" had the house
rockin'. The band also played about
six new songs from their forthcom-
ing record, which they claim will be
titled Kill Every American. O f
these, the best was "Caught in My
Shadow," which was fueled by a
catchy mandolin line.
Throughout the band's
hour long set, Hunt
seemed like a long-
haired version of
Johnny Rotten
A violin (or rather, fiddle) player
added spice to quite a few of the
songs. Not that Hunt and Co. would
have been boring without it - the
band turned in a great set. But some-
times it was difficult to tell if
Hunt's biting remarks were part of
his standard stage patter or if he re-
ally was in a bad mood. There werd
several songs. the band could have.
and should have played; I won't list
them here, but I can think of about'a
dozen. And he refused to make eye
contact with the crowd, even whel
someone was waving one of hiS
records in his face. But then again,
part of the band's image is bei
brash. They lived up to that reputa-
Lion Monday night. And probably no
one there would complain about the:
quality of the music.
Too Much Joy opened the show
with a high-energy set. Although the
vocals were plagued by sound prob=
lems, the audience was quite recep-
tive to the band. And of course, they
played a 2 Live Crew song. (The au-
dience was given a choice between
"The Fuck Shop" and "Dice
Almighty" and chose the former).
The band jumped around as best they
could, given the two square inches or
so of room they had on the crowded
stage. They closed their half-hour set
with "That's a Lie" and thanked the
crowd for making them feel like Bon
Jovi.
Civil conflict
Like the Civil War battle from which they took their name, Antietam plays an amalgam of rock 'n' roll styles
that is constructed around conflict. This inner tension comes from a fusion of lazy, yearning, plaintive,
wistful folk chanteys reminiscent of the days of Southern glory and white intellectual discordant feedback
as expressive of urban alienation. This is not to say that they sound like R.E.M. doing New York Dolls
covers. Their music thrives on the interplay between the realities of "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"
claustrophobia and the desire to roam in the bluegrass of their home state, sort of like cruising the Nevada
desert with the top down and a case of beer and running smack into a Liberace gig at the MGM Grand in
Las Vegas. Lurching, convulsing, and hiccoughing their way through bizarre song structures and rhythms,
Antietam plunge themselves headlong into the myths that they've created with a conviction that is
intoxicating. Live, this conviction translates into an anguished desperation of irrepressible urgency.
Antietam play at Club Heidelberg tonight. Doors open at 9 and cover is $4.
Various Artists
Wld At Heart
44yGram
The soundtrack to the provocative
movie Wild At Heart contains a lot
of songs that lean directly on the
film, but congratulations are in order
to the producers, David Lynch and
company, for finding such perfect
tracks. Although they lean, they still
stand on their own. Besides, how
many producers have wanted to put a
.lassical and heavy metal track back
back on an album?
"Im Abendrot" is a beautiful yet
tortured classical piece performed by
Gewandhausorchester Leizpig. The
orchestra sounds wonderful, but
what's included on the album is only
an excerpt. Why not include the
whole thing or at least more? This
seems to be a bit of a wimpy ma-
neuver.
;1 Footsteps and a man saying The
Lord's Prayer which is continually
undertoned by various sounds
throughout the sermon, introduces
"Slaughterhouse." Then, all heavy
metal bell breaks loose. This song
has it all: heavy repetitive bass line,
a deep, hoarse sounding singer who
occasionally hits falsetto, slashing
guitars, and bang-your-head drums.
"Cool Cat Walk" sounds like its
tle: blues undertoned, then over-
powered by an orchestra of sound.
TEXAS
Continued from page 9
rest of the cast, including Cloris
Leachman, who won an Oscar for
her portrayal of Ruth Popper in Pic-
*ure Show, are mere presences on
screen.
Instead of rekindling a romance,
Farrow becomes the best friend of
Jackson's wife, providing a mildly
amusing situation. They discuss
their past in a couple of scenes, but
their relationship doesn't develop in
any interesting way. And Crawford,
who was Jackson's best friend and ri-
val suitor as a teenager, is reduced to
bit player as a crazy mayor. It's
possible that he's never really recov-
The song starts off great but lasts
too long and the bluesy part be-
comes too insignificant. Further-
more, a subsequent track, "Up In
Flames," sounds too much like
"Cool Cat Walk" with lyrics. What,
a surprise, Angelo Badalamenti
wrote both of them. Listening to the
latter track, one cannot help but pic-
ture the extra-large woman who
sings it in the movie. What's worse
is that this song drags on too long.
Enter Nicholas Cage. Ok, maybe
you need to see the movie to fully
appreciate this one, but when Cage
sings "Love Me," he plays one of
our times best Presley imperson-
ators.
The oldie "Baby Please Don't
Go," written by Joe Williams and
performed by Them, also receives,
added meaning from the movie, but
isn't it fun all by itself? The very
oldie "Be-Bop A Lula" performed by
Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps is
a direct reference to the movie's lead-
ing woman, Lula, played by Laura
Dem.
Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" is a
mellow, coarse love song. He sings,
"I never dreamt I'd meet somebody
like you... I don't want to fall in
love with you... Nobody loves no
one." The guitar playing is pretty;
the music and Isaak's voice slice
you.
Picture a song emitting from a
shoebox-size radio that's older than
your grandfather placed on a window
mantle with the sound spreading
through the busy, hot summer
streets where people wear as little as
possible and meander lethargically.
"Smoke Rings" is what jazz was
meant to be.
"Perdita" has a peculiar bass solo
that introduces the song which
seems to almost want to become a
demonstration of psychedelia, until a
riveting sax intercedes. The piano
chimes incessantly, leaving this
song in utter defiance of any and all
labels.
"Blue Spanish Sky" is one of
those songs that you only listen to
because it's on the soundtrack. "Dark
Spanish Symphony" appears on the
LP twice, once with a string orches-
tra and again in a '50s version, but
why?
Child-like pressing of piano keys
builds to a full orchestra that creates
"Dark Lolita." This is the album's
most beautiful piece, but it, like "Im
Abendrot," is too short. It seems as
though Lynch is afraid someone
might take their tender side too seri-
ously.
Aaaahh... "Love Me Tender," the
finale - Cage does Presley. Who
can deny it? Elvis lives.
-Kim Yaged
Remarks: The Story of
R.E.M.
by Tony Fletcher
Bantam/ softcover
Tony Fletcher doesn't understand
certain things - for example, words
like "Army Brat" and college
"orientation" don't need to be ex-
plained to an American audience. In-
stead of chronicling R.E.M.'s his-
tory and placing them in the context
of their music scene, he makes sub-
jective comments, like this one on
personal appearance: "And the only
sign that R.E.M. might fall foul of
rock's familiar excess themselves
was Peter Buck's embarrassingly
long haircut."
He describes the band's rise from
modest beginnings to minor (read:
college) success to pop stardom, in
the context of Athens, Ga. with con-
stant reference to the U.K. scene.
The big shortcoming of the book
lies in the fact that Fletcher makes
little reference to the American side
of the ocean, especially the college
scene where R.E.M. first gained no-
toriety. This blatant deletion makes
the band float in time - it's hard to
tell what was happening in Ameri-
can music at any point in time. For
example, it's really hard to remem-
ber what bands were popular when
New
{O'ti on
Join the Dailyl
Cawl 6-052
Reckoning came out (God knows
who M-TV was pushing those days).
Besides, the U.K. was not that key
to R.E.M. and their history, save in
the Fables of the Reconstruction
era.
Though it would be natural to fo-
cus on the leaders of the band,
Michael Stipe and Peter Buck,
Fletcher goes overboard. In the be-
ginninghe represents Mike Mills
and Bill Berry as essential but rarely
mentions them in depth. By the sec-
ond half of the book, they all but
disappear.
Fletcher does discuss in some de-
tail the influences on the band. He
even talks about the music itself. He
describes in depth what makes Peter
Buck's guitar playing unique. He
digs up many intriguing anecdotes
about the band, like the Men's Club
they formed, but the tales become
ridiculous because Fletcher adds
inane comments like "nothing can
stop them."
Fletcher also supports his astute
theory on why R.E.M. made it -
being in the right place at the right
time - throughout the book. But he
blesses us with his "insightful" song
analyses and other irrelevant com-
mentary that have no place in a rock
biography. We don't want his opin-
ion.
An example of this kind of point-
less drivel is: "And as much as it
may be about bringing together a
number of talented musicians, a
group is essentially a boys' club for
eternal adolescents whose collective
adventures become an on-going pub-
lic saga." This is obviously wrong
considering the number of people
who are in bands because of the
(gasp!) music. Figure out this reve-
lation: "Michael Stipe's own politi-
cization was not surprising given his
long-term interest in... health
foods."
The book thoroughly covers ev-
erything a long-time fan would al-
ready know. If Fletcher had put
R.E.M. in an American context, the
book would be a little more relevant'
to the audience who will buy it.
Most remember the band from early
in their career and won't care about
what Fletcher has to say. I didn't.
-Annette Petrusso
#
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V:
THE PUERTO RICAN SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION
as part of the
1990 HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION PRESENTS
The Right to Self-Determination:
the Case of Puerto Rico in the United Nations
by Juan Mari Bras, A.B., J.D.
Prof. of Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico
.;Y
ered from the loss he suffered in Pic-
ture Show, but we never really find
out.
There are many nuances of this
film which would be lost on the
viewer who has never seen The Last
Picture Show. Texasville is a film
in which we get to see what has
happened to familiar characters some
30 years later. They're older, more
run down, and life has lost its edge
for them. The immediacy and impor-
tance of their lives seems gone. Un-
fortunately, the same can be said of
this movie.
DATE:
PLACE:
TIME:
ADMISSION:
October 3, 1990
Henderson Room (Michigan League)
7:30 pm
FREE!
One of the best known Puerto Rican political leaders. He has been involved
in the struggle for Puerto Rican independence since the 1940s. He is the
author of several books dealing with the political status of Puerto Rico and
served as spokesperson for the Puerto Rican Committee to the United
Nations from 1983 to 1989.
Brown Bag
DATE:
TIME:
LOCATION:
SPONSORED B
Lunch with Juan Mari Bras
October 3, 1990
Noon.
414 Mason Hall
3Y: Latino Studies Program
r.. .;y; x
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TEXASVILLE
is showing at
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Showcase..' r t.:,
L I MI T E
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M
OWN___
The Office of Minority Affairs
is hiring for fall positions in
the Student Leader
Development Program.
Applications are located at 1542 Fleming
3
Day "Dress for Sd!e!#R||
Ideaf forStudents-
Look your best when interviewing)
Ideal for Business People-
Look your best every single day!
Men's
100% (U.S.A.) Wool
and Wool Blend-
Suits
FACTORY DIRECT PRICES
REGULARLY $350 - $499
Building.
Please come and fill one out.
a
y -
Application Deadline is
October 10.
I .