'S
Bob Mould tries tosme
Sugar's new record is his happiest album to date
By TOM ERLE WINE
Bob Mould has always been noto-
rious for agonizing self-introspection.
In the past year, not only has he suf-
fered through the difficult birth of the
new Sugar album and the deaths of a
O Sugar
File Under:
Easy Listening
Rykodisc
couple of friends, but he has been outed
by several musical and gay publica-
tions. So what does he do in response?
He makes "File Under: Easy Listen-
ing," the most light-hearted and fun
album in his career. And it's brilliant.
After recording two marvelously
tortured solo records after the breakup
of Husker Du, Mould formed Sugar
and released "Copper Blue," which
was almost unanimously hailed as a
return to form.But the thing is, it wasn't
- his songwriting and records have
been consistently strong since 1984's
"Zen Arcade." It would be one thing if
he was only a incisive lyricist or only a
brilliant guitarist; Mould can write songs
that are blazingly intense with undeni-
able pop hooks.
Mould's music has never been about
social causes - it has been about per-
sonal discovery. Even his most per-
sonal material is written in a way that
makes them easy to identify with. Which
is why he's a great artist: his songs are
universal,not specific, yet they are filled
with personal details. In Sugar, Mould's
writing began to open up, incorporat-
ing more narratives and character
sketches. With "FU:EL," he offers his
most open, friendly songs to date. In
context of his career, the lyrics and
songs make perfect sense. However,
coming on the heels of intense pressure
from militant homosexual organiza-
tions to kehis mu Ke o xplicitly pro-
gay, the album Also seems like a big
"fuck you" to I-he groups that forced
him out in the first place.
But, that's reading a bit too much
into the record. After all, it's a wonder-
ful pop album, filled with swirling
guitars, sweet pop melodies and even
country-styled ballads. It shows Mould
refining and expanding his style. His
guitar still burns with a force that few
guitarists have been able to replicate
and his words stillsting. "FU:EL"might
not mark a great step forward, but that
doesn't mean it's not an impressive
album. In fact, just the opposite is true:
it shows that Mould is able to mature
without losing selling out.
With its simple, but rich, pop plea-
sures, "FU:EL" will sound just as good
in twenty years. I another splendid
album in a career filled with remark-
able music.
Bob Mould (far right) and Sugar are waiting for their favorite thing to come rolling down the tracks.
Stephen King keeps the horror :_ming
Jackyl
Push Comes to Shove
Geffen
* What is there not to like about
Jackyl? Witty lyrics, Southern pride,
stories of trailer parks, lots of greasy
guitars and most of all, POWER
TOOLS!
With so many exciting things going
on all at once, it explains lead singer
Jesse James Dupree's passion with
whippin' outhis "power tool" onstage.
Anything for the fans!
Jackyl's cunning lingo and music
are so powerful, they fail to fall into a
sophomore slump with "Push Comes
to Shove." It's hard to believe any band
could make two consistent albums with
such suave flair. The answer must be in
the power tools.
And yes! More power tools!
"Headed for Destruction" is such a
kickin' tuie that features a grizzly Husq
Varna-esque chainsaw. R.E.M. should
take lessons.
Another ass-kicking groove is "I
Could Never Touch You Like You
Do." Dupree screeches "The magic's
in your hand / it takes your magic for
the dam to break / and I would crawl
across the burning desert sand /just to
have the voodoo that's in your hand."
One of the most intriguing tracks
on the album is "I Am the I Am." The
song starts off with aConfederate drum
march and goes into the lyrics "I am I
am the Iam I am the Iam /I am I am the
I am I am the I am / I am I am the I am
I am the I am /I am I am the I am /I am
now." No power tools, though.
The biggest surprise is the final cut
on the album, the culturally enlighten-
ing "Chinatown." Dupree starts the
track with some mumbling in an Asian-
sounding language. Most people aren't
familiar with Dupree's multilingual
abilities. However, he doesn't seem to
enjoy this new experience. He sings "I
seen bigger towns than this/And this is
one town I won't miss /just let me go,
I won't leave a thing / Just my ass to
kiss."
When push comes to shove, Jackyl
kicks ass. The band's cutting edged
creativity and use of power tools will
almost surely land them a slot at
Lollapalooza 1995, and maybe even a
slot in the Rock-'N'-Roll Hall of Fame.
Not since Cinderella's "Long Cold
Winter" has there been an album of this
caliber.
-Brian A. Gnatt
Arcwelder
Xerxes
Touch and Go
Like many Touch and Go bands,
Arcwelder have a heavy, grinding
musical core. Unlike many Touch and
Go bands, however, Arcwelder also
appreciate agood melody and pop struc-
tures. Songs like "Smile" and
"Freebird" effectively blend both grind
and melody, while "I Hear and Obey"
and "The Carpal Tunnel Song" has the
band cut loose. "Xerxes" has enough
crunch and enough melody to keep
fans of both Helmet and Husker Du
satisfied.
- Heather Phares
Zane Massey and
[The Foundation]
Soul of Grand Central
Bart Records
When Zane, Hideiji, Yoshiki and
Sadi, the founding fathers of Zane
Massey and [The Foundation], first
began playing together outside of New
York's Grand Central Station five years
ago, who would have thought they
would eventually be given the chance
to produce "Soul of Grand Central?"
When producer Teo Macero hap-
pened to hear these dudes play, that's
See RECORDS, Page 10
By KIRK MILLER
In junior high Stephen King was
the author of choice. Everyone read at
least one of his books and formulated
their first attempt at scholarly criticism
("I really identify with Cujo.") Unlike
other eighth-grade literary idols like
that were not good enough for his first
two collections, but apparently unlike
anything else in the '70s they improved
enough with time to be included here.
The best selection, a "Stand"-like
ditty called "The End of the Whole
Mess" begins with "I want to tell you
about the end of war, the degenerations
of mankind, and the death of the mes-
siah." Even after this subtle opener the
ending is a wonderful surprises.
For the politically incorrect there is
"The Ten O'clock People," the first
horror story written about the evils of
corporate non-smokers. It might be the
best thing King has written since the
tampon/shower scene in "Carrie;" af-
ter all, his strength has always been
empowering the disenfranchised,
whether it's premenstrual telekinetics
or lung-polluting office slaves.
So it's not quite the same thrill as it
was, but King thankfully has shown
little "mature" growth in his shorter
work. It's a fun read that deserves a
look.
Nightmares and
Dreamscapes
Stephen King
Signet, paperback
Dean Koontz and V.C. Andrews, King
never cheated his audience with one
dimensional characters or schlocky
melodrama.
His short stories were by far the
most entertaining. "Night Shift" was a
damn scary selection; good trucks gone
bad, precocious kids hanging out in
corn fields and Satanic lawnmowers
were all ludicrous plotlines that ended
up as fun reads (and bad movies). The
It's not quite the same
thrill as it was, but
King thankfully has
shown little "mature"
growth in his shorter
work.
consensuson his nextcollection, "Skel-
eton Crew," was thatit wasn't quite the
match of the first one, but good cheap
thrills anyway. Still, it didn't look like
he had enough material for a third book
of the same tacky caliber.
I was wrong.
Even though "Nightmares and
Dreamscapes" is not a classic like his
first two collections, it's still the quick-
est 691-page read I've ever gone
through. Sure, a third of it is pure
padding; there is a non-fiction essay on
baseball, a script and a few older stories
I I
Don't a-AII
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Jackyl, featuring Jesse James Dupree - the Jimi Hendrix of the chains
BEAD
DAILY AT&.
I RTSU Explore and E
~WRITE FOR IT, TOO.
Wednesdays 9p.i
aw.
U U
EMMAUS
FELLOWSHIP
10 minutes south of1-94 and US-23
University Studer
Gathering
provocative discussions
innovative worship
great music
spiritual counsel
stimulating community
Sunday worship
10 a.m. & 6p.m.
n.
rnt
Campus Chapel
Christian Reformed campus ministry
1236 Washtenaw Ct.
668-7421/913-0397
ANN ARBOR YPSILANTI
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