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 # Y* . d TheM~dganDaly-go ~pri~ce~godfr~W-2 r: _ ___ __ _ "::y% "IiiiiYii . , : 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 ".'~ TEXASVILLE is showing at r . :. i Showcase..' r t.:, L I MI T E D :.:.. >s 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 .