The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 23, 1992-- Page 9

Renaissance lunch
Hullo, it's Wednesday again,
and guess what we want you to
do? Spend your lunch at the
Museum of Art - ArtVideos at
Noon strikes again. Today, you
can brush up on drawings by
Italian artists of the Renaissance.
It's produced by the BBC and it's
free. Call 747-0521 for details.
Jerry rigged
Yeah, yeah, we know, it's just
so uncool to watch TV (except,
of course, "Murphy Brown" and
The Weather Channel.) But
Wednesday nights on NBC just
might keep you home. At 9 p.m.
there's "Seinfeld," the to-die-for
sitcom that's about nothing. It's

MINK
Continued from page 5
aspect of things," says Kimbrough.
"I know there's a little contingent.
of people here who come to our
shows and just kind of stand up front
with their arms folded and just
watch my fingers, which is simulta-
neously flattering and unnerving.
But fuck, who cares? Just listen to
the music, that's what's impoitant,
not our chops.)
Walt Mink's truckload of talent
also led to the band being a three
piece.
"I've always played in trios.
There's something about that mini-
mal set-up with maximal interplay
which is really cool. I was always
the type of guitar player that really
liked to cover all the bases. Joey is
real fluid, and fills a lot of space, as

is Candice. We're all the same in
that aspe2ct."
As far as lyrical content, Kim-
brough is more than happy to leave
the soapbox at home and just talk
about life.
"I usually just write about per-
sonal experiences, as boring as that
sountds."
So Walt Mink has no agenda, no
Big Message?
"There's a big message if you
want there to be one. If you listen to
it and it makes sense to you, then
yeah, there's a message," laughs
Kimbrough.
"There's definitely big messages
for me."
WALT MINK plays the Blind Pig
tomorrow night, with the Maitres
opening. Tickets are only $5.00 at
TicketMaster (p.e.s.c.) and at the
door. Doors open at 9 p.m.


CROSSING
Continued from page 8
performance. Even though he dyed
his hair and let it get fashionably
greasy, his squints and repeated
deadpan delivery aren't convincing.
But long, unwashed hair isn't the
only '70s relic in the film. The cos-
tuming and production design are
outstanding. The sideburns, plaid
pants, tight Levi's corduroys, zip-up
sweatshirts and big collars are nau-
seatingly perfect . Not to mention,
the film features many Detroit land-
marks such as Lafayette Coney
Island and Tiger Stadium. The run-
down houses spaced so close on the
yards with no trees serve as wonder-
ful backdrops for the boys' run down
lives. Broken lawn ornaments sit by
the porch, while broken rakes and
shovels occupy the overcrowded
garages out back.
Inside, things are just as dreary.
Mort's mom is no Mrs. Cleaver and
his room'is carpeted with clothes and

old dishes. Happily, they've never
met John Hughes.
Unfortunately, the pacing of the
film is where this film takes a de-
tour. Using a palate of basically
medium shots and close-ups, the
film becomes static and slow. Like
his previous film, "Coupe DeVille,"
Binder makes the mistake of spend-
ing too much time focusing on the
guys driving in the War Wagon.
C'mon, even Thelma and Wheezie
got to stop for a drink. Also, there
must be at least 200 aerial shots of
the Ambassador Bridge (one for ev-
ery beer consumed). The result is a
lot of "talking-heads" scenes that
drag down the pace considerably.
But toward the last act, the film
picks up speed. So, if you're gonna
go along for the ride, be prepared for
a little boredom in the middle and
just enjoy the scenery along the way.
CROSSING THE BRIDGE is playing
through Thursday at the Ann Arbor
1&2.

Here's to R.E.M. and The Clean

by Greg Baise
Just when you thought you've
been tribute-recorded to death come
two more "essentials" dedicated to
bands who walked a very similar
line around the beginning of last
decade but ended up antipodally,
R.E.M. in fame and the Clean in ob-
scurity.
You all know the R.E.M. story'
right? Yeah, that's why you're in
college, or something like that ...
well I kid you not when I tell you
that the R.E.M. tribute album is a
killer. I think I read about it in that
Tower phreebie a while ago and
thought it was so ridiculous that it
was some kind of put-on, but it's not
- it's disorientatingly "real."
The absolute highlight is the en-
tire Steelpole Bathtub segment,
which is a cover of "We Walk" that
fits into a niche in the Twilight Zone
where pool shark Jack Klugman falls
into the Little Girl Lost dimension,
accompanied by Carol Burnett laugh
track potential ambience. Each band
involved gets to give a paragraph re-
lating their impressions of R.E.M.
and the Steelpolers take the pig here,
too, with easily the most accurate as-
sessment of R.E.M. I've ever seen.
The songs are in more-or-less
chronological order, and the shitty
half of the R.E.M. catalog is tackled
by some contempo heavyweights,
like When People Were Shorter and
Lived Near the Water and Jawbox.
And are you not going to be
charmed out of your darned pockets
by Mitch Easter and friends tackling
"Shiny Happy People," let alone
Tesco Vee's Hate Police buzz-blud-
geoning "Losing My Religion"? You
bet your frolicking-naked-in-the-
kudzu-sexual-experiences you are
going to love it. I can only hope that

songsmithery of the Velvets' third
album with trademark Kiwi post-
pop. If you've heard them, you know
that something funny was going
down in Dunedin around the same
time Athens was beginning its
Golden Age. You've probably also
noticed, no matter what, that the
Clean ain't exactly a household
word, which is your household's loss

Various Artists
Surprise Your Pig:
A Tribute to R.E.M.
Staple Gun
Cleaned Out!
Dark Beloved Cloud

the Saccharine Trust tribute record is
done as well.
Speaking of well-done, this nifty
Clean trib 7-inch is even more de-
assifying. The Clean were the pro-
genitor of the fertile Flying Nun
scene in New Zealand, blending the
RECORD REVIEW

- trust me.
When was the last time you heard
a Clean cover, besides the ones you
do "yourself"? Me neither, but
here's five bands (including The
Kicking Mums on a bonus flexi!)
that keep the wicked piss inside the
songs of the legendary New Zealand
band that spawned one of the great
music scenes that you've probably
never heard of. Airlines makes me
bow in recognition as they mate Joy
Division's "Transmission" to the
most intense piece of Clean no-bull-
shitting - that being the mystic
netherworld drone of "Point That
Thing Somewhere Else."
If you've been missing out on
R.E.M., all I can say is, "Good for
you." But if you've been missing out
on the Clean, try to find their
Compilation on Homestead - I
wouldn't want you to lack
"perspective." (Dark Beloved Cloud,
5-16 47th Road #3L, Long Island
City, NY 11101).
- Greg Baise

F I

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hilarious, it's self-aware, and it
stars one of the greatest
schlemiels of all time, George
(Jason Alexander). Jerry himself
is awfully good, too.
Fowl play
We've got your lunch hour
tomorrow planned, too. Just
cancel all your appointments and
hold all your calls, and be at the
Taubman Lobby of the Univer-
sity Hospital at 12:30 p.m. Yes,
it's life-size and miniature carved
water fowl. John Foster does the
honors (carving demonstration,
that is), and you can call 936-
ARTS for more information. And
yes, it's free.
'Mad' Hunt
Oh, by the way, starting
tonight at 9:30 p.m. is "Mad
About You," a twentysomne_
thingish sitcom starring Paul
Reiser and Helen Hunt. We're a
bit suspicious of Reiser - after
all, he was in "Crazy People" -
but the real gem is Hunt ("Project
X," "The Waterdance.") Hope-
fully, this silly little show is only

ii

Reiser
a stepping stone for her enormous
talent to great movie roles
someday. Watching it can't be
any worse than, say, "Giligan's
Island" reunions.

i

ANN ARUOR I4
5TH AVE. AT LIBERTY 761.9700
DAILY SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM
$3 25 ALL DAY TUESDAY' exceptions
STUDENT WITH ID. $3.50
NOW SHOWING
CROSSING THE BRIDGE (R)
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (PG-13)
Present This Coupon
When Purchasing A
Large Popcorn &
Receive One
EXPIRES 9.30/9r

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