ARTS Th icianDilyIMnda.Mach ,,9 Pg Hail Raimi 's conquering "Army" by Michael Thompson The idea is simple. So simple that people might not get it on the first viewing. "Army of Darkness" is notjust acomedy and notjusta horror movie. This film, like most other Raimi movies, is in a class by itself. Sort of like if someone were to released "The LM REVIEWI Army of Darkness written by Sam and Ivan Raimi; directed by Sam Raimi; with Bruce Campbell and Embeth Davidtz (featuring a killer cameo from Bridget Fonda). Most of the film is set on high speed, wasting no time on things like characterization or serious plot develop- ment (running contrary to the popular belief these things are best left out). Raimi's story is so ridiculous thatit would be insulting to the audience and even his characters ifhe tried to make anyone believe that any of this was really happening. The result is pure fun. There really aren't too many movies where you can sit back and laugh at a corpse. This film, however, lets you laugh at over a hundred dead, decaying bodies marching to the beat of a different drummer. The special effects dominate the film, but hey, this is a movie about dead people. The Raimis have let their imaginations run wild with this movie because they wer given more money to do it with. Hundreds of skeletons, lots of explosions, and the modifications on Ash's car are unquestionably tech- nological breakthroughs. Bruce Campbell's performance as Ash is as convincing as ever. Ash is sort of an every-Stooge. He has the anger of Moe when he fights, the plain- ness of Larry when he talks and the stupidity of Curley that got him into this mess. And if you think I'm leaving out Shemp, watch the ending credits. Campbell delivers one liners with as much authority as Sylvester Stallone. And as a romantic lead, Campbell's got Sly beat. The only other real star of the movie is Campbell himself. He also plays Evil Ash, the badguy trying to steal Ash's only way back home. As Evil Ash, Campbell goes camp crazy, shooting off one-liners left and right. Sometimes they're funny and other times they're silly, but it's hardly ever boring. Some of Evil Ash's one-liners will be funnier to those who have seen the other films, but don't worry, you'll only be missing one out of the twenty jokes per second. Embeth Davidtz does a good job as the damsel in distress. It's her role, however, that drags the film a little. She is so underdeveloped that she almost becomes useless. But in the end it really doesn't matter. Raimi of course has a brief cameo as does his brother, Ted. "Army of Darkness" is no "Evil Dead 2," but it is a step above Raimi's "Darkman." Of course there is always the possibility of a sequel which in this rare case is a good thing. ARMY OF DARKNESS is playing at Showcase. Three Stooges awake at the Dawn of the Dead." Our hero, Ash, goes on a trip one weekend to a secluded cabin and has areally bad night. Before it's over he has been transported back in time to the 13th century. Oh, yeah, he lost his right hand also. Ash wants to go home, but new problems arrive and Ash has to fight the Evil Dead again. Although this is the third in the Evil Dead series, you don' thave to know anything about the other two films to understand this one. Michigan born director Sam Raimi sums up the contents of them in a quick five minute montage at the beginning of the film A member of the audience watching Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness." Classic punk on "D.I.Y." by Tom Erlewhine Nothing was the same after 1977. After that, rock & roll was forever changed, cleaned of all the dreck that had been hanging around for the better part of the decade.As the myth says, the punks came out of nowhere and saved rock & roll. And the myth is more true than false. Punk wasn't the purely natu- ral force some would like to believe, yet it was purer than anything else on the market. Punk in it's classic form, a two- to-three minute blast of raging guitars and vocals, died a quick death, suitable to the intense life it lived. The music itself spiraled into hard-core, a dull load roar that endlessly recycles itself. More importantly, hundreds of bands took the do-it-yourself spirit of punk to heart. Rock & roll as we know it would not exist without the revolution of '77. Lastmonth Rhino Records unveiled 'D.I.Y.," an ambitious nine-disc, 172- song collection chronicling punk rock and its aftermath. The final four vol- unies reached stores February 16, com- pleting what is certain to be the most comprehensive collection of the punk era. Every disc is beautifully packaged, with informative liner notes, rare pic- tures, and new artwork by several of today's hippest artists. Project coordi- nator Gary Stewart often used original single versions instead of re-recorded. album versions. While there are the inevitable gaps (the Clash, Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello aren't in- cluded due tocontractual reasons), most of the major artists of the time are rep- resented. Appropriately, the series begins with the most infamous punk band, the Sex Pistols. Instead of the familiar version of "Anarchy in the UK" from "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pis- tols," a demo version opens up "Anar- chy in the UK: UK Punk I." After that the momentum doesn't let up, with an amazing string of classic singles run- ning through "Anarchy" and the second disc, "The Modern World: UK Punk I." Unlike the hard-core bands that followed, the original punk bands knew the value of ahook; most of these songs have riffs and melodies that are hard to forget. The Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Jam, Buzzcocks, Wire, the Adverts, X-Ray Spex, Boomtown Rats, Stiff Little Fingers, the Fall, Sham 69, and the Soft Boys are all here, making these two discs indispensable. '"D.I.Y. shifts gears with the next two discs ofthe series. The two volumes ofUKPop,"TeenageKicks"and"Stany Eyes," coverthe British new wave fairly completely. The songs on the two discs are classic, three-minute pop and rock & roll singles with a penchant for clev- erness, performed with energy and verve. Singlesof thiskind were scarcely made during the late '70s, and they still sound exciting today. Both discs are excellent, featuring familiar tracks by XTC, Squeeze, Joe Jackson, and Nick Lowe, but the real treasures are in rela- tive obscurities like Wreckless Eric, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Bram Tchaikovsky, and the Revillos. Beginning with the fifth disc, "D.I.Y." moves to the states. "Blank Generation: TheNew York Scene (1975- 1978)," contains the music that started the entire punk revolution. Unlike Brit- ish punk, American punk was a pure reaction to the music of the time. Origi- nally, American punk was concerned with bringing rock back to it's roots - three-chord rave-ups about girls, cars, fun, and rock & roll. As time moved on, the music became more refined, with the minimalism of the Velvet Under- ground and the Modern Lovers playing a large role. There was too much music in New York for everything to fit on one volume, but "Blank Generation" is a terrific attempt. Not only are the brutal three-chord good times of the Ramones, Dictators, and Mink Deville included, but so are the more serious songs of Sure, the band members of XTC aregrinning, all the way to the bank. Television, Patti Smith, and Richard Hell, plus such diverse acts as Blondie, the Heartbreakers, Dead Boys, and Sui- cide. Along with the two British punk discs, this is absolutely necessary. Although the sixth and ninth discs, "We're Desperate: The LA Scene" and "Mass. Ave.: The Boston Scene," aren't as glorious as the first five, they are hardly marginal. More than any of the other discs, "We're Desperate" and "Mass. Ave." paint complete pictures of the scenes they are covering; since they were smaller, all of the music can fit on to one disc. Both discs contain some of the rawest records of the series yet they also contain some of the shallowest music. Still, it's hard to go wrong with X, the Germs, the Weirdos, the Dils, the Plugz (all on the LA disc), Willie Alexander, Nervous Eaters, Mission of Burma, the Neighborhoods, Human Sexual Response, Classic Ruins, and the Lyres (all on the Boston disc). In many ways the two American power pop discs, "Come Out and Play" and "Shake It Up!," are the most spe- cialized and inaccessible of the series. The audience for power pop's synthesis of the prettiness of the Beatles and the Beach Boys with the loud power chords of the Kinks and the Who has always been quite small - the music is too lightweight for most alternative fans and it too strange for mainstream tastes. Yet there are many pleasures in these two discs, from Cheap Tricks "South- ern Girls" and the Flamin' Groovies' "Shake Some Action" (on Vol. I) to the Cryers' "Shake It Up (Ain't It Time?) and the Romantics'"What I Like About You" (on Vol. II). Anyone with any interest in power pop will find much to treasure on these two discs. While "'D.I.Y.""functions as a per- fect introduction to any punk and new wave neophyte, experts won't be wast- ing their money buying the series. An estimated 75% of the tracks have never appeared on CD before, and Stewart's practice of using the original single version also makes "'D.I.Y."more than worthwhile for collectors. Just make sure to buy the CDs, because each disc contains four (usually essential) bonus tracks that aren't available on the cas- sette version. Various Artists Azagas & Archibogs Original Music Every once in a while, I stumble across a rare recording which awes and disturbs me. This humbling collection of 1960'sNigerian high-life slapped me with the realization of how little the Western world actually knows about African music. Most corporate labels are too entrenched in regionalism, prim- ing their consumers to be solely con- cerned with the "latest" musical belches of Americana. Although this CD pro- vides a refreshing glance eastward, its skeleton of hep, butnow-obscuredance- bands can'thope to flesh out the genre's once healthy figure. And yet, the music is vivifying. Each of the nine bands combine local rhythms with diverse cultural in- flections, jump-starting the mix with swinging afro-jazz horn sections pio- neered by 1950's dance bands, like E.T. Mensah and Tempos. The CD's title refers to the tongue- in-cheek humor many 1960's Nigerian dance-band leaders usedin naming their ensembles. Catchy names like Charles Iwegbue & His Archibogs and Prince Kayosun Dosumu & His Dandies are reminiscent of early American jazz goofus (Red Nichols and His Five Pen- nies, The Chocolate Dandies, The Harlem Hot Chocolates and the like). Since these recordings predate the redirectional influences of rock 'n' roll, guitars are mostly relegated to melodic support, while some choice horn play- ers step out to strut their goods. Of course, the percussion solos in songs like "Kuru-Kere" are infectious in their daunting complexity, slapping the skins of both Yoruban "talking drums" and Western drum kits. The linguistic diversity of the vocals reveals the hodgepodge of influences, ranging from spoken English introduc- tions to Ibo and Bini lyrics. But unfortu- nately, this unifying music was short lived. With the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967, the Ibo leaders; de- clared their independence, leaving be- hind Lagos and their Yoruban band- mates. Juju quickly jumped into the spotlight as the new Yoruban music of choice. To my knowledge, these nine hip-shakin' bands are the sole recorded representatives of this history. -Chris Wrod Mother's Finest Like A Negro Scotti Bros. I just don't get it. Just two listens to the sly, riveting work putin by Mother's guitaristJohn Hayes and vocalists Joyce Kennedy and Glenn Murdock convince me they should rule rock 'n' roll. Now. In their fiercest jams "Like A Negro" and "HeadBangin' and Booty Shakin'," feral, spastic guitar lines work as the corroded platter for Kennedy and Murdock to serve up wild cries of revolt against everything from censorship to racist law enforcement officials. A few unpredictable bass solos and guitar frenzies break up the already dissonant jams (that's describing them nicely), bringing Mother's Finest closer to the classic '70s funk than the '80s rock that they themselves had a hand in influencing. An often raw, uncompro- mising mix keeps the noise very crude and, somehow, purer in this age of digi- tal codification heresy. This is rebel- lious stuff for a time when the M in rock music staples like MTV stand for none other than money. -Forrest Green II The Undertones think they are just so cool now that they're on "D.I.Y." Don't resort to this if you want to leave town this summer... MICHIGAN STiUDENT ASSEMBLY WINTER '93 ELECTIONS March 17& 18 POSITIONSAVAILABLE: MSA President & Vice President (Elected together as a slate) MSA Representatives in: Talavnt e iOti S ;y,' of SUMNMER SUBLET IDDI FMEN1 it ' Architecture Art Business Engineering Law 1 LSA 1 Medicine 2 Nursing 2 Pharmacy 1 Rackham 9 1 1 1 4 I