The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 25, 1994 - 9 *Carter's spirit is 'unstoppable' By ANDY DOLAN Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine could be easy to dismiss as just another novelty act with a silly name and an off-the-wall musical approach. But if you look a little deeper, you'll find a band that isn't afraid to take stabs at any and all political, societal and musical institutions, holding nothing sacred. If this attitude reminds you of a certain musical genre that exploded in the late '70s with bands like The Clash and The Sex Pistols, it should. After all, in this age of escapism and complacency in the music world, Carter USM is one of the few bands to capture the original punk energy, in spirit as well as in sound. Throughout their four albums, which have experimented with practically every form of pop music from the last two decades, Carter has been comprised of lyricist and vocalist Jim Bob and guitarist Fruitbat. On their albums as well as during live performances, a sequencer and drum machine provides their rhythm section. According to Fruitbat, however, this was originally not intended to be a permanent arrangement. "Jim Bob and I were in another band, and one day Ijust got bored and decided to break the band up," Fruitbat explained. "There was a gig booked in a couple of weeks ... so we decided to form another band, but we didn't have time to get any band members, so we decided to use a tape machine. It was meant to be temporary, but it worked so well that we just decided to make it a part of our sound." Almost too conveniently, this sound added rock 'n' roll purists to the long list of people that Carter USM just seem to constantly annoy. However, the most obvious rebelliousness in this band is in their pun-ridden, cynically :scathing lyrics that attack any institutions that the band feels are in need of a good jabbing. As Fruitbat explained, this philosophy has gotten them into some trouble in their home country of England. "We like causing trouble," he stated mischievously. "The Catholic Church didn't like the fact that we had condoms on one of our posters; we've had trouble with the Rolling Stones, with stealing some of their lyrics and we've had trouble with the government about writing anti- army songs, things like that." Even when Carter aren't writing songs that get them banned from commercial radio in England, their lyrics still stab at mainstream attitudes as well as more specific targets. Songs such as "Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen" sum up the band's attitude, with lyrics that attack overall ignorance and complacency. "Cheer up! It might never happen / drive-by shootings on the streets of Clapham," Jim Bob sings over Fruitbat's manic guitar riffs, "It might never happen, but I think it probably just did." "The period that each album was written in is really obvious, I think," Fruitbat said. "The albums are very topical, so whatever's going on at the time gets put on! It's quite good in a way that our albums usually only last a year because some subjects might become out of date." Whatever Carter USM happen to be doing at any given time, they do it with a lack of inhibition that is, always refreshing to hear. "When we formed the band, we said we wouldn't set any limitations as to what our music should sound like," Fruitbat explained. "Sometimes, when I come up with an idea for a song, Jim Bob might say, 'Can we write a song about that?' and I'll say, 'Of course we can! We can write a song about anything!"' Maybe Carter USM should spread a little of that spirit around - there's a lot of bands that could use it. "Look, Batman, I'm the star. Andrew Lloyd Webber picked me to star in 'Sunset Boulevard,' so I don't want any lip." 'Paper' delivers By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO Marty's fearofmotherhood,Bernie's The question burning in the mind prostrate or Alicia's financial of journalists everywhere regarding problems aren't interesting - they Ron Howard's new movie "The simply detract from the excitement of Paper" is undoubtedly: Is it realistic? the collective goal of the characters, CARTER THE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE perform at St. Andrews Hall with special guest Lotion on Sunday,March 27. Tickets are $7.50 in advance, doors open at 8 p.m., 18 and over. Call 961-MELT. x The Ramones play al the hits and more By MATT CARLSON Gather around boys and girls, and let me tell you a tale of an era when grunge meant the yellow grime around the rim of a toilet bowl and MTV was still a dream in some enterprising young sap's noggin. Once upon a time, in the mid- 1970s, popular music was in a state of utter disrepair. Sure, the New York Dolls had just formed and Aerosmith was still on smack, but the Stooges and the MC5 were fading away and Sid Vicious was a middle-class prep- boy with a comb in his pocket. All of the hippie bands had blown their minds out on LSD retiring to mountain communes to discuss the ramifications of the universal quotient of love multiplied by the number of bong hits they had taken in their heyday. Everywhere you looked, kids were listenin' to either the gutless, whiny cock rock of Led Zep or the early forms of emotionless disco. People were wearin' bad clothes, smokin' bad dope and dancin' to bad music. But then, when it appeared as if Robby Plant would actually climb that ol' stairway to heaven and rule over us with an iron fist and screeching voice, four gallant young lads from New York City took the stage to battle dull music. The Ramones may not have been dashing, but their energy and relentless guitar frenzy was strong enough to shatter the ear drums of unsuspecting folk everywhere. It's been exactly 20 years since the Ramones first played to a live audience, and the band is still blasting away full speed. And during this time of the great alternative music hubbub, many a good band is praising the Ramones as an influence (Nirvana and L7 to name a couple). "We think that the state of music today is better than ever, but it still isn't that great," said drummer Marky Ramone. "But it's better than the shit that was coming out in the '80s, that crappy, third-rate, rehash Led Zeppelin, heavy metal crap like Cinderella and Whitesnake. Yuck. But I think things are getting a little raunchier now due to grunge stuff." Rock music has the Ramones to thank for that. They were at the forefront of bands like the Heart- breakers, Blondie and Television that began around 1974 to challenge the rock power establishment. "You had yourElvis, you had your Beatles, you had your punk," he said. "Out of that extended all of the speed metal, hardcore and grunge. But she Ramones were really the epitome of the street sound in New York City." That sound is a ferocious, buzz- sawing three-chord bliss that supports songs with titles like the classics "Beat On The Brat," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "I Wanna Be Sedated," as well as recent tunes like "Heidi Is A Headcase." Perhaps the Ramones greatest attribute, however, is that they play with more intensity than any band performing today. "The intensity of the Ramones is very hard to (characterize)," said Marky. "We're one of a kind in no category. Idon'tmean to be conceited, butIdon'tseeitanywhere. The Seattle sound was good in the beginning, but now all those bands sound alike. I have respect for some of them, but they all start out soft, then they get loud, soft, and it's overindulging." But for such an influential and intense band, there has been relatively little radio support for the Ramones and no Top 40 hits despite pleas from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, an appearance on "The Simpsons" last fall and a new biography, "The Ramones, An American Band." The lack of respect from the media doesn't bother Marky. "It doesn't matter because we've survived this long," he said. "If there's some brave DJ out there who's willing to give us a shot at something like that, then we'd be very happy. But we don't worry about it. "We should get played on the radio more," he continued. "We have a lot of good songs. I don't know what the problem is but maybe it's because in the '70s when we started out stations didn't want us rocking the boat. They didn't want us to knock off the Fleetwood Macs, the Foreigners, the Journeys or the Disco Ducks." Marky and the rest of the Ramones -- Joey, Johnny and C.J. - are attempting another shot at radio play with their latest release, "Acid Eaters," which is ironically an all-covers album featuring a scorching slab of psychedelic and garage-rock hits from the '60s. Most are of course redone in typical Ramones fashion like Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes' "Journey To The Center Of The Mind" or Credence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain." But some are done with surprising subtlety such as The Animals' "When I Was Young" and The Seeds' "Can't Seem To Make You Mine." The album, one of their best in recent years, features guest stars like Pete Townshend on The Who's "Substitute" and "film" star Traci Lords on the Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love." The project came about when the band was working on covers to accompany The Doors' "Take It As It Comes" (from '92's "Mondo Bizarro") on an EP. "We weren't influenced by these bands," explained Marky. "The Amboy Dukes sucked, we never really liked Bob Dylan and we hated the Jefferson Airplane. But the songs were good so that's why we covered them - for the fun of doing them." As for a new studio album, Marky expects one to be released this fall. But until then, you should enjoy the "Acid Eaters" trip and catch one of the most revered live bands ever as they play the State Theater in Detroit tomorrow night. THE RAMONES wsg. Frank Black play Saturday March 26 at the State Theatre in Detroit. Tickets are $18.50 and showtime is at 7 p.m. The Paper Written by David and Stephen Koepp; directed by Ron Howard; with Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei and Robert Duvall. The answer is yes. And no. What Howard has created comes close to an accurate 24 hours in the life of a New York daily newspaper, but is ultimately undermined by subplots and sentimentality. The result is patchy, but thoroughly enjoyable. Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) is the Metro editor of The Sun ("It Shines for All"), the sixth-largest daily in the nation. His very pregnant ex- reporter wife Marty (Marisa Tomei, whose stomach looks like a beach ball) wants him to take a cushy nine- to-five job at the Sun's uptown rival, The Sentinel. But Hackett is obsessed with getting to the bottom of a murder, so much so that he steals a juicy bit of information right off the desk of the Sentinel editor. Of course, he has to battle Alicia (Glenn Close), his bitchy managing editor from hell,not to mention Bernie (Robert Duvall), the editor with "a prostrate the size of a bagel." Throw in columnist Dan McDougal (Randy Quaid) as a reminder that yes, reporters are involved in putting out a paper. Along the way this colorful bunch goes through the expected twists, turns, emotional breakdowns and hospitalizations. But on the way to print this film (probably the fault of the Koepp brothers' script) takes a few too many diversions. Just when things are getting heated in the newsroom, the plot shifts to someone's personal life. It's not that which is to put out the paper. All of the subplots come to a climax simultaneously, which makes for three on-the-edge-of-your-seat minutes, but ('The Paper') comes close to an accurate 24 hours in the life of a daily newspaper, but is ultimately undermined by subplots and sentimentality. that is followed by a mellow lull in which you can imagine Howard reclining in his director's chair, smoking a cigarette. And he throws in some sentimental moments-Hackett looking at his newborn child, Bernie seeing his estranged daughter - to make sure it ends on a good note. The film has some golden moments. Keaton and Close's characters go to hand-to-hand combat over what front page to run (though laughs Close's character is a reprehensible display of misogyny); Jason Alexander makes a nice cameo as a psychotic city parking commissioner; Spalding Gray plays a stuffy Sentinel editor to perfection. And can we really fault a film which takes such good-natured stabs at the New York Times? The Sentinel newsroom (clearly a parody of the Times) is decorated with roll-top desks, brass lamps, stuff-shirt waspy editors and reporters who cry when they can't get a story. The faults of "The Paper" can't really be attributed to Howard. The characters are too caricatury to be dramatic, too broad to be comedic; the story is too cute to be a drama, too deep to be a comedy and too talky to be an adventure. It wants very badly to be realistic - to promote the film, Universal has made up newspapers which contain inter-views with the characters, a preview of the film and even a crossword. It is realistic - in parts. But the film wants to be more than the script allows it. So it winds up being fun. And what's so bad about that? THE PAPER starts today at Showcase and Briarwood. U U Aloha Entertainment State Theatre On State Street at Liberty Adults $5.00: Students $3.00 24 hr INFO LINE - 994-4024 tif "RIVETING AND EROTIC!" I)A%,,f A.. ~NI WW.I 1K __ the TPiano a jane camnpion film Winner of 3 Academy *2:00 4:30 7:00 9:30 Awards Fri and Sat Late Shows The Snapper Blue 11:30 pm - Only $3.00 7:00 *2:00 4:30 9:30 Heavy Fritz *2:00 shows Sat & Sun only Metal the Cat I Engaging 5-inch Bumper Plaque or 1-inch Lapel Pins, Just $6 Send Check To: Evolutlonaries 315 N. Tejon Colorado Springs, CO 80903 KREAN UISINN A good atrmosphere -- Friday, April 15 perfect for dates 0 I Students receive 10% off dinner! (313) 662-9303 113 E. Huron Ann Arbor Hook m «w ...