The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 21, 1990- Page 7 CLAN gontinued from page 5 He addresses the so-called anti- Jewish sentiment among Blacks with a nonchalant shrug, "From the stars we are born and genetics/ anti- semitic? Ridiculous, chill." And he recalls the destruction of African his- ory with a proper amount of venom in "Verbs of Power," "It was the pimp that drove the mountainous elephant/ it was ignorance that made this irrelevant." What Brother J. and the X-Clan 'mbrace without fear or shame is the reality of Black anger. The group's name refers to Malcolm X's rejec- tion of the slave name given to his ancestors when their true African name was relinquished. X eventually Z went on to rename himself El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, rejecting his anger and even hatred of the white oppressor. Now, 25 years after Malcom X's death, the X-Clan stands its ground. X-CLAN groove on Sunday at the Power Center at 7:30 p.m. with ISIS opening. Tickets are available for $12.50 (plus the evil service charge). RECORDS Continued from page 5 includes a lyric goof-up by Jerry Garcia. Other than that, the release sounds exactly like killer low-gener- ation sound-board tapes. If you don't have access to such tapes, then Without A Net allows the average Dead fan to hear the band's complete sound; most concert tapes traded among Deadheads completely ob- scure the cymbals and can make it difficult to pick out whatever MIDI experiments the boys might try. The version of Bob Weir's "Victim or the Crime" (the only song from their last two studio albums on WaN), clearly illustrates the spooky, swirling keyboard effects Mydland used to add to the tune. Unfortunately, I had to write used to" in that last sentence, because Brent died last summer. Without A Net is deadicated to Clifton Hanger, Brent's alias when staying at hotels on the road. WaN, then, is the definitive document of the Dead's electric sound in the late '80s. It includes only one song that Brent sang lead on (their cover of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy") leav- ing us with no official, CD-sound- quality live versions of Brent songs such as "I Will Take You Home," "So Far From Me," and "Easy To Love You." In comparing this fall's performances to Without A Net, one of the first things missed is the lush vocals Brent provided. While the Dead are thankfully continuing their long strange (stop me before I clich6 again!) whatever, I'm damn grateful for the existence of the tapers, as well as these new CDs. -Brian Jarvinen Fred Brown Statement Gofer It Fred Brown's Statement seems to be the result of a guy being able to . play a few instruments and having the resources to put out an album. "Something I Want" opens up the album with a sound similar to a cassette-tape jamming. The song is a disco version of any Peter Gabriel tune but lacks enough repetitive, obnoxious rhythm to be disco and the guts (never mind the talent) to be Gabriel. Brown drones: "What is it about you? Blow me away/ Take me be- yond my dreams/ Drive me insane" on "Mystique," which is indicative of the rather corny content of the majority of the lyrics on this album. On "Kiss Away" Brown shows that he can hit home with his state- ments when he explains, "We kiss because we like the taste," but his ability to connect is far from the norm. His voice is so strained on the track, "Heaven," when he squacks the high notes to announce "...it feels like heaven" that the listener is embarrassed. Basically, all the songs on this album are too long. I felt my mus- cles untense when it finally ended. The Statement, in a word-Blaaahh! --Kim Yaged Yongun Li expresses rebellion and loneliness by Ami Mehta For those who can't frequent distant lands to discover and experience different cultures, there is art. Art captures much of the charm and mystique associated with foreign places, allowing one to see vicari- ously through an artist's eyes. A shining example of this is renowned Chinese artist Yongun Li's artwork, through which China can be seen in its classical state as well as in an ab- stract sense. Li's exhibit, China: Impressions and Dreams, depicts his native country in a variety of mediums and styles as well as his own character. Born in China in 1948, Li studied Art History and obtained his degree from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1980. In 1979, Li and a number of other mainland Chinese artists made history by designing The Stars, the first unauthorized ex- hibition of Chinese art since 1949. With this act of defiance, the artists wanted to give free reign to artistic expression and reinforce the notion that it belonged to the people. These exhibitions provided an outlet for Chinese artists seeking to express themselves in their art and set the stage for an era of liberation for fu- ture artists. Li's independent and expressive nature continues to show through today in his artwork. While his early paintings illustrate themes of nature, such as mist rising from villages and boats in harbor, with traditional Chinese brush styles, his more re- cent work demonstrates his discovery of abstract painting with watercolor and ink. Having left his native vil- lage at an early age to go to boarding school, Li had grown accustomed to loneliness as a companion. Throughout all of his painting styles an air of solitude and melancholy prevails. China: Impressions and Dreams takes the viewer through a m6lange of elements that evoke many differ- ent emotions about China in a tradi- tional sense as well in a more con- temporary light. Li's array of tech- niques includes not only traditional Chinese styles such as brush paint- ing and ink washes but also a west- ern influence which was achieved by the use of oils in his recent work. CHINA: IMPRESSIONS AND DREAMS is on display at the Chinese American Educational and Cultural Center located at 2300 Washtenaw Ave until November 30. The display can be seen Mon. through Fri.,10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. WRITE FOR ARTS!!! CALL 763-0379!!!!