Page 18-The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 7, 1990
Records
continued from page 15
versive. But by dropping the original
song's killer bassline and instead
sketching around it, he unfortunately
castrates what might be his most
venomous jam. The diluting of "We
Cpn Funk" is actually typical of the
Deceiver's career. When he wants to,
Prince can get funkier than any of
his influences. But he leaves the best
jams to the Time and instead,
cameos on them. His rap on "The
Latest Fashion," a surprising retread
of the Time's "My Summertime
Thang," is great.
Thetransition between the an-
archic "We Can Funk" and the next
song, "Joy in Repetition," is clut-
tered by party noise left over from
Lovesexy. Taken from that context,
the noise represents a bridge between
the question of faith and the search
for transcendence. The graffiti bridge
is an image for the transition from
humanity's petty prejudices and spite
to a place of utopian splendor. The
same concept was behind "The Lad-
der" and "Purple Rain."
Graffiti Bridge represents, at
best. a transition for Prince's career
as well. By submerging himself in
the collective identity of his con-
temporaries, he puts to rest the ques-
tion of his ego. And the gamut of
musical styles he marches through
will most likely satisfy every audi-
ence. Most refreshingly, "Still
Would Stand All Time" and
"Thieves in the Temple" are vocally
vamped songs that show outstanding
progress in the Deceiver's singing.
Who knows, maybe he'll come clean
next time around.
-Forrest Green III
Bob Mould
Black Sheets of Rain
Virgin
"Whichever Way the Wind
Blows" hinted at what was next.
After the controlled somber cries
on the eloquent yet angry Work-
book, Bob Mould, ex-Husker Du
guitarist, unleashes his furor on this
dark, bitter second solo release.
While Workbook meditatively
weaves strings with acoustic guitars,
Black simply smashes itself with
electric everything. No song breaks
up the winding trek into the depths
of despair.Workbook crescendoed and
gave some hope; "See A Little
Light" and "Compositions for the
Young and Old" tempered the de-
spondence. Black punches con-
stantly with consistently stinging
words and sounds. It feels different,
more like the songs were written on
Mould's terms while on Workbook,
circumstances controlled him.
Black displays Mould's im-
proved vocal form, until the last
song, "Sacrifice/Let there be Peace,"
in which he falls into the frothing
spittle kind of passionate singing
that makes his voice sound some-
what deformed. But the songs he
sings are uniformly vivid accounts
of despair. Because he uses "I" and
"you" in each lyric, the album feels
personal and poignant. The replete
and somber nature imagery twists
today's earth consciousness into a
description of Mould's despondency.
Songs like "Stop your Crying"
and "Out of your Life," the choice
cuts on the album, exemplify all the
best elements of the album: great
guitar bits by Mould, ace choruses
and everything else just falling into
place. Even in some of the less lyri-
cally strong cuts, like "The Last
Night" and "Hear Me Calling," at
least the guitars and/or choruses are
above par. Even though "It's too
Late" seems vaguely reminiscent of
Twisted Sister's "We're not Gonna
Take It," Black Sheets of Rain
proves "mature" Mould's original
greatness.
-Annette Petrusso
My Life With the Thrill
Kill Kult
Confessions of a Knife
Controlled Bleeding
Trudge
Ajax
One World (12")
wax Trax Records
Long stuck in mail-order hell,
Wax Trax Records has lately been
achieving a degree of success with
some of its more popular bands,
such as Front 242. It's not in any
K-Marts yet, but one can get most
of its catalog in local record stores.
Although these three records will
reaffirm Wax Trax's commitment to
innovative music, they are unlikely
to enhance its financial standing to
any large degree.
The most polished of this lot is
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
(too long a name?). Best described as
a industrial-dance band with satanic
tendencies, the Kult continues in the
same vein as earlier singles such as
"The Devil Does Drugs." About half
the songs are wonderfully funky
dance tunes, such as "Waiting For
Mommie." By far the best song is
the single "Kooler Than Jesus,"
S
S
These cool dudes think they'll be rock's next BIG A.Q.R. hit maker.
They're wrong.
Dancing in the Dark
Barbara Boothe and Kevin Clayborn dance in "A Stumbling in the Dark."
Boothe will be performing tonight and tomorrow in the 10th annual
September Dances Gala, at the Performance Network. Various works
will be danced to scores written by local artists, and others to popular
musicians such as Bob Dylan. For more information, call 663-0681.
U
-
- Z
Ann Arbor's Original And
Oldest Sidewalk Cafe.
Serving The Campus For Over 30 Years.
U
ME="
PROGRAM IN
FILM AND
VIDEO STUDIES
NEW COURSES
FALL TERM 1990
Studies
Film and Video 400.
Filmmaking l
Film and Video 405.
Computer Animation I
Film and Video 420.
Documentary Film
which features a plethora of
humorous samples and a kinetic
techno beat. The other half of the
songs, however, lapse into boring
See RECORDS, page 19
Shehan-Shah
Vegetarian and Indian Cuisine
Luncheon Special
Combination plate
vegetarian & non-vegetarian
$4.95
7 Course Lunch Buffet
$6.25
11:30 a m. - 2 p.m., Fri., & Sat., only
September Special
10% off Dinner Menu
with this ad*" Mon. - Thurs.only
214 E. Washington, Ann Arbor
...
668-7323 ~
Reservations Available
CAAS/Film and Video 440.
African Cinema
Dominick's * 812 Monroe
Located across from the Law Quad.
For further information on these courses contact:
Program in Film and Video Studies
2512 Frieze Bldg-
Tel. 764-0147
..W
PUMP
continued from page 16
listening. In this time of repression
of thought and voice (heard about
Luther Campbell yet?), Harry's criti-@0
cisms seem especially timely. While
it's slightly improbable that Mark's
parents would never figure out that
he is broadcasting his rants and raves
from one floor below, the frustration
Mark showcases is very real. The
other kids in the film know it and so
does the audience. Harry encourages
his audience to talk hard, which is
just what he himself does. If his
words don't hit home they will at
least land somewhere in the
neighboring vicinity.
PUMP UP THE VOLUME is
showing at Fox Village.
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news.:I
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US. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
US. INFORMATION AGENCY
US. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Career Opportunity
Saturday, October 27, 1990
Applications must be received by
September 21, 1990
The Wrinen Examination is the initial step
in competing for a carer as a Foreign
Service Officer.
Applicants for the examination must be:
" At least 20 years olddon the date of
mated teller machine access- a credit card cherkhnnk r"nvPr and nthPr arivantaaPc g1210EIA C44G vrn;4-+.'21'1 /AO'l ICAI