The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 8, 1991 - Page 7 The Milltown Bros. come to Motown by Annette Petruso "I think L.A. is the weirdest place... There's so many plastic peo- ple walking around, it's bizarre. Women with their faces tucked back and big scars on the back of their necks where they've had their faces pulled and stuff. Lots of false breasts as well," reflects Simon Nelson, guitarist of the Lancashire- based British guitar band the Mill- *own Brothers, on the weirdest things in America. The Milltown Brothers aren't strange by any means, save their own normalcy and lack of concern for many things outside their own mu- sic, which isn't quite the vortex of Chapterhouse, nor the preachy gui- tar pop of Ned's Atomic Dustbin. "I think I see us as one of those ImoSt traditional songwriting ands that sort of, like, you say, fall between (indie and pop)... but at the end of the day, bands like R.E.M. and U2 fall between those two ex- tremes as well, and they're massive bands," Nelson says. This divergence is most evident on the band's American debut al- bum, Slinky, featuring an assort- ment of styles and sounds. And no, *t's not named after the toy. "It's actually sort of a slang word that we just used and bumped around," Nelson says. "It just means some- thing that's happening, something that's pretty good. It's got a bit of a sexual slant to it as well as you can probably imagine." Most distinctive, and consistent, is Matthew Nelson's (yes, he's Simon Nelson's bro) voice, a nasally pubescent cry which greatly resem- bles Bob Dylan's in style. The band's music is based mostly in blobs of Hammond organ combined RECORDS Continued from page 5 dramatic, and the build-up to the chorus makes you want to sing *along. The album's first single, "Get A Leg Up," should do all right, and like "Now More Than Ever," this tune is aided greatly by the changes of dynamics and ar- rangement. "Crazy Ones" is the standard, "Tumblin' Dice"-influenced cut you expect to find on any rock re- cord, but it transcends mere imita- tion. The only true slow tune, "Last *Chance," features the sweet inter- play between guitar and drums of Mike Wanchic and Aronof (one of the best drummers in the biz'), and the way the faint organ of John Cascella leads into the heavy bridge is a sign this band really knows what they are doing. "Melting Pot" is the record's representation of the Mellencamp diatribe, but instead of being cheesy, the way the words are sung over the fiery backing track sound cool. This record is a true success, but the main question is, "Does John Mellencamp still matter?" Will people treat this record the same way they treated Sting's Soul Cages, as another fine record whose sales fell way below expectations? Even if that doesn't happen, Mellencamp, as he sings on the third tune, "Ain't ever satisfied." Regardless of what he may think, the fans will appreci- ate what he they have waited years for. The only way he could truly piss us off is if he doesn't tour... -Andrew J Cahn NOTES Continued from page 5 0 itself to our arts and culture. 5000. NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND will appear every other Tuesday, right here... Stay tuned. with distinctive, not quite jangly guitar bits and rhythms, climaxing and falling throughout the course of every song. "(The Hammond organ has) a good sound. It goes with the guitar very well. It's very uplift- ing," Nelson says. The Milltown Brothers make moody music with a grim happiness to it. "It's just emotional things, really, because I concentrate on creating more on the musical front. I sort of do the original chords on a lot of things. But from Matthew's point of view, I think it's a lot of personal experiences and I think he won't admit it, (but) he's met a few girls in his time and things like that, a few sordid relationships, but also sort of environmental things. He's quite interested in that as well, and he does read a lot... so, from a ly- rical point of view, there's various things," he says. "I would say it's very easy to write a song. It's very hard to write a good one." One of the Milltown Brothers' best tunes, besides the single "Which Way Should I Jump?" which sounds like John Mellencamp could have produced it, is "Nationality." The song's tone un- dulates from piano to bass and guitar to a Stone Roses-like jam conclusion. Matthew Nelson's up- lifting vocals and an emphasis on cymbals give "Nationality" a crash, a tension which is never really re- solved but just fades away. "That was written at the time of the soccer World Cup and we all noticed how patriotic everybody became. Suddenly there was this massive jingoism that was going on, and everybody was sort of glued to the TV. And then, when the record came out, the Gulf War was sort of happening. And it's just frightening what nationality can do. I mean, you've got so many cases of extreme nationalistic feelings in the past and what they can do. People think they are better than somebody else. Lots of people can get killed, so it's about that really," he says. Image has always been a problem for the Milltown Brothers. Some of their songs, such as "Which Way Repulsion dir. Roman Polanski For a while, it seemed that Roman Polanski was on his way to becoming one of the greatest Hollywood directors of all time. Through a bizarre se- ries of events, however, the director of such classic movies as Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown became a fugitive from the law who still cannot set foot on American soil. His wife, Sharon Tate, was one of the victims of Charles Manson's murderous rampage in Southern California. A few years later, a distraught Polanski found himself on the other side of the law when the police accused him of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Rather than stand trial, Polanski fled to Paris, where he now lives. Polanski's brilliance and deep talent is evident in Repulsion. The radiant Catherine Deneuve stars as a childlike woman, innocently repulsed by men and sex. Deneuve's sister leaves her alone in the apartment they share for two weeks, causing Deneuve to retreat into her own world and ultimately go insane. Her performance, like the film as a whole, is quietly powerful. Her character is not a raving madwoman, but a shy quiet girl who has re- pressed her emotions and desires for so long that when they explode, they are beyond her control. Polanski cleverly manipulates the audience to increase the shock value of Deneuve's mental breakdown. The casting is inspired; her angelic beauty lulls the audience into thinking that she is incapable of the ghastly acts she commits when she goes insane. When her relationship with an ardent ad- mirer unfolds, the film seems more like a traditional romance than like a suspenseful horror story. Polanski uses subtle devices to suggest Deneuve's growing insanity. The telephone rings urgently, symbolizing the unwelcome intrusion of the outside world into Deneuve's apartment, while the decaying body of a dead rabbit becomes a metaphor for her decaying mental state. The genius of Polanski lies in his ability to tell an outrageous story in a straightforward manner, an ability that is sadly lacking in Hollywood these days. Once compared to Hitchcock, Polanski is now a mere footnote in the history of cinema. His unfulfilled potential is a loss for all film lovers. Repulsion will be playing today and tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. -Aaron Hamburger The Milltown Brothers' Simon Nelson professed to love "fey and delicate" women. Perhaps the bros (counterclockwise from left to right, Simon Nelson, Barney James, Matt Nelson, James Fraser, Nien Brindle) appreciate that quality in themselves as well. Should I Jump?," sound like the band could be from a Midwestern haven for boys with a slight '60s- electric-folk fetish. "When we first came over to the States, we got an American manager and he'd seen the photograph of us in the N e w Musical Express and he saw the name, the Milltown Brothers, and he thought we were from Pitts- burgh or something. So maybe we should come from Pittsburgh, Cleveland or wherever. I don't know, Milltown, I mean, Milltown could be anywhere. It just happens that the mill towns we're talking about are in the Northwest of England, the cotton mill towns. "As for the musical sound, quite a few of our influences, we would admit, are American, ranging from the Byrds to Dylan to R.E.M. even. It's that sort of folky-tinged sort of rock-pop sort element that we've been interested in. But I mean there's a lot of British things that are playing a part in what we do as well," Nelson says. Midwestern implies blandness, and the Milltown Brothers are ac- cused of that quality as well. "Oh, we're very ordinary boys. That's ac- tually not true. People have just got to discover it. They're not willing to look any further than the fact that we don't wear fashion-breaking new clothing or we don't say outra- geous statements in the press... And it's a little bit neurotic, the British music press, and I think they love to see either a pretty girl as a lead singer - they absolutely love that.... (They write) about the Darling Buds, the Primitives, that sort of thing. They slap them on the front cover because they have a nice- looking girl," Nelson says. "And now it seems pretty boys are in fashion. There's lots of those. Maybe twenty-one-year-old art stu- dents have something to say about the state of the world that's become so outrageously important. We're not ordinary boys, really. I've been to university. I've got a degree, you know. I'm not fixed... I don't think you need to rely on your image, you ought to rely on your music and the strength of songs because that's what'll give you a career in the long run... "It's just the fact that we call ourselves the Milltown Brothers, which is slightly old-fashioned. We come from a very old-fashioned part of the county. And we, um, write songs." See the MILLTOWN BROTHERS open for the Wonderstuff at St. Andrew's Hall on Wednesday. Tickets are $6.50 in advance at TicketMaster (p.e.s.c.). 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University 662-1222 South State St. kinko's the copy center , -,) ul 1811 THE UNWERSrrY OF MICHIGAN OFICE OF THE PRESDENT 2074 FL2M1NC AhAMN RATO- BUILDING ANN ARBOR, MK}IJGAN 48149-1340 313 764-6270 FAX 936-0775Ocoe8,19 October 8,1991 Dear Student: As you know, the University of Michigan has engaged in a new mission for the twenty-first century-the challenge of diversity. To make progress toward this goal, we need a commitment and a plan. During the 1991-1992 academic year, I have chosen to use the Presidential Initiative Fund, a gift of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, to sponsor a Michigan Mandate Leadership and Learning Student Competition. On behalf of the Competitions planning committee, I am asking for your support and cooperation in making this information available to your peers and encouraging their participation. The purpose of the Student Competition is to provide incentives, resources, and recognition to individual students or student organizations for creative proposals that promote the goals of the Michigan Mandate for creating an ethnically diverse multi- cultural university. Students or student groups may apply for grants ranging from a minimum of $200 to a maximum of $3500. The proposals should be for projects that encourage innovative and/or experimental programs that are not part of an ongoing activity or program. The projects may be of an educational or training nature; they should help bring about social and cultural diversity, develop intercultural leadership skills, and strengthen communication to improve understanding and cooperation among campus- wide groups. Any graduate or undergraduate student or student organization may apply. Applications may be picked up at the Student Organization Development Center (SODC), the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA), and the North Campus Commons Administrative Offices. They should be submitted to the Student Organization Development Center by November 1, 1991. In addition, there are resource teams available to students if they are in need of assistance with the application process. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Student Organization Development Center at 763-5900 or the Office of Minority Affairs at 936-1055. I am confident that you will realize the importance of this effort to engage individuals from a wide variety of cultures present at this University. It is also important to encourage and promote intergroup cooperation among the participants and the intended audiences to truly develop mutual understanding in a diverse and pluralistic campus setting. In order to achieve the goals of the Michigan Mandate, complete involvement, energy, and 4 a