68- The sigan Daily Weeked Mazine --:Thuryday, March 2 21998t
® State of the Arts
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The Michigan {y Weekend Magazine -- rsday, March 26, 1998- 1B
WHEN I GET THAT FEELING ...
Call me a stubborn kind of fellow -
I firmly believe that Marvin Gaye was
and always will be the greatest Motown
artist and convincing me otherwise
would be nearly impossible.
Sure, being born in Detroit and
weaned on the soulful sounds of
Hitsville, U.S.A., I love The Supremes,
The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and
the Miracles, the Jackson 5 - hell, even
Barrett Strong and DeBarge. But people
who dare dis Marvin, in the words of a
certain wise man, make me wanna holler.
Never before have artist and show-
man come together as perfectly as in
Marvin Gaye, wielding the power to
seduce and destroy with a breathy bal-
lad or a social protest, which makes the
chances of someone talking bad about
him slim to none.
The chances of finding scores of
people who would agree with me in
regards to Gaye are substantially better.
The number of those who identify with
my Marvin Gaye fascination, however,
may diminish once they find out how it
began.
Two words: "Sexual Healing."
Briefly discussed in a previous column,
my encounter with "Sexual Healing" in
my early childhood set the stage for my
current feelings about Marvin.
I don't remember much about the early
'80s (except for my love for Miss Piggy
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and hatred for brown corduroy overalls)
but I remember standing in my family
room, something called MTV playing on
the TV, via something called "cable."
Then, a pulsating beat began, backed
by a kind of beep-clap melody line, and
something strange and primal came
over me - I started to sway back and
forth. Next, the side-to-side sway
moved into a simultaneous shoulder
and hip motion, which, finally, escalat-
ed into an all-out booty-shaking, body-
caressing, kiddie-porn grind.
Infuriating my father and amusing my
mother, it was that grind that first showed
off my gift for dancing and natural knack
for finding a beat, which, sadly, is a skill
that so many males of my age lack. This
moment of great satisfaction and self-
discovery is etched into my head as one
of my earliest memories - and it isn't
just the earliest, it's also the most indica-
tive of my personality.
In fact, my life has been little more
than a series of Marvin Gaye-themed
vignettes, bumping and grinding in front
of the television set that is southeastern
Michigan and when I get that feeling... .
Right now, I think I'm in less of a
"Sexual Healing" place, actually, and in
more of a "What's Going On" phase,
just beginning to open my angst-ridden
eyes to the cruel world that lies beyond
secondary education. And, brother,
brother, brother, I really want to do
something about my future. And for
some reason, I can listen to that song
countless times and it'll be as fresh and
poignant as the first time.
But the uncertainty of "What's Going
On" is killing me - I'm ready for
"Let's Get It On," already.
At age 20, 1 have already passed my
physiological sexual peak, depressingly
enough, and am anxiously awaiting
some bumping and grinding outside of
my parents' family room. I've always
been somewhat of a late bloomer, how-
ever, and will just have to be patient
until the "Let's Get It On" epoch
arrives.
Until then, I
can walk around
campus with "I
Want You" boom-
ing on my inner
sound system,
leering and fanta-
sizing as any
healthy 20-year-
Bryan Lark old should.
Daily Arts Editor All this Gaye-
induced horniness
and anticipation makes me long for the
more innocent, less conflicted days of
yore and wonder which Gaye tunes would
sum up my past psychological states.
The carefree, incredibly cocky days
of senior year are perfectly summed up
by the self-confident strains of "Got To
Give It Up," a pseudo-disco number.
"I used to go out to parties and stand
around," Gaye sings, "'cause I was too
nervous to really get down." That's the
first three non-alcoholic years of high
school, but the next line of "My body
yearns to be free," seems more appro-
priate to the devil-may-care drunken
tomfoolery that somehow got me into
this fine institution.
Or, "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)"
comes to mind in reference to a brief,
adolescent "Save the Planet" phase, in
which I passionately took part in a
cleanup effort for the Rouge River. But
anyone who's driven through Dearborn
in the summer and inhaled the scent of
the Volkswagen-, spare tire- and feces-
filled Rouge, knows my acting locally
was fairly futile. (That's not Chernobyl
fallout - that's my water supply!)
Perhaps a fonder and less putrid
Marvin memory was that great fling in
the summer of '96 that just sort of dis-
sipated, set to the tune of "When Did
You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop
Loving You" - further details would
make this column more of a therapy
session than it already is.
Many of Gaye's songs can thus be
applied to other episodes of my life,
even if I wasn't explicitly thinking of
them at the time - "It Takes Two," in
fifth-grade sex-ed class; "How Sweet It
Is," for that first kiss; "I Heard It
Through The Grapevine," as that nasty
rumor circulated in junior high.
Of all the great musical memories
that are Marvin Gaye's legacy, "Sexual
Healing" is all I need to get by, for obvi-
ous reasons - who doesn't like having
their emotional stability leaving them
from time to time.
Imagine a world where everyone
appreciated the genius of Marvin Gaye
by gyrating in every family room, living
room, drawing room, bathroom and
bedroom to Marvin's moaning of "Get
up, get up, get up, let's make love
tonight." Wouldn't that sort of natural,
unbridled movement be liberating to
our stuffy society?
OK, then, imagine a 5-year-old blond
boy grinding and groaning those very
same lyrics. Ain't that peculiar-not to
mention disgusting and even a little bit
illegal. It's not that perverse, remember,
I was only a child -- sweet, innocent,
prone to getting that feeling.
- Giving yourself to Bryan Lark can
never be wrong, ifthe love is true. E-
mail htim at blarkJaumnich.edi.
New Detroit bands
revitalze city's post-
Motown music scene
By Gabe Fajuri quite a following recently. Others would
Daily Arts Writer argue that ska has taken the reigns of
Face it: Motown is no more. The days the scene as of late.
of The Four Tops, Martha and the The Articles, an instrumental and tra-
Vandellas, The Temptations, and count- ditional ska band, are the perfect cure
less others are gone. Certainly, music of for the blues whether or not one likes
the Motown era will always hold a spe- their style of music. Exceptional musi-
cial place in the hearts of music con- cians, the band members signed to New
noisseurs everywhere, but the Detroit York's infamous Moon Ska Records
music scene today is radically different last year.
from what it was 50-some years ago. As of this writing, its debut record,
Detroit is still a hotbed of musical "Flip F'real," is No. 1 on the Tower
activity, just as it was back in the good Records bestseller list in the "Reggae"
old days. In the past few years, several category. Well-known for an incredible
major record deals have been struck live sound and formidable stage pres-
with Motor City bands. ence, the Articles are constantly gigging
Hoarse, The Suicide Machines, locally. The band will be playing on
Charm Farm, His Name is Alive, Full April 18 with the legendary Skatalites
on the Mouth and ICP (Insane Clown and Let's Go Bowling at the Majestic.
Posse) have all signed their sounds There are, of course, those who like
away to major labels. As for unsigned their ska to rock a little harder. Veteran
bands, rumor has it that The Atomic scenester Telegraph always aims to
Fireballs (a nine-piece jump- please at countless local shows. Next
blues/swing band) and the Wildbunch month, these musicians take their act on
(straight-up rock 'n' rollers) are the lat- the road with punk comrades The
est music industry "discoveries." Suicide Machines.
Does this make Detroit the "next big The Suicides' new record "Battle
scene?" Hardly. But that doesn't mean Hymns" (Hollywood Records) hits
there isn't a tremendously talented stores on April 7, while Telegraph will
group of musicians in the area that are be releasing a CD-EP on Chicago's
worth hearing. Jump Up! records
Then there's sometime in April.
Sponge. The only several m ajor The two bands will
band to come out of kick off the tour
Detroit and disap- record deals together on April
point not only folks ve e struck 17 at Clutch
from its hometown Cargo's in Pontiac,
butseemingly the with CMO ity Other local ska
rest of the world as favorites include
well, this alt-rock bands. The Exceptions and
group has been __The Parka Kings,
rather silent since both with multiple
the release of its sophomore album, releases on Jump Up! The Beauty
"Wax Ecstatic," on Columbia Records. School Dropouts (whom Jeff Sanguis,
The hope was that Hoarse, favorite lead singer for Telegraph, has called
sons of the RCA label, would take "the best up-and-coming ska band in
Sponge's place as the Detroit represen- Detroit") and good ol' boys Gangster
tative of the rapidly deflating alternative Fun also deserve attention from anyone
rock scene. The release of its com- interested in the Motor City ska scene.
mendable major-label debut, "Happens While rap seems to be vastly under-
Twice," didn't cause sparks to fly and represented in the current scene, the
attention to turn to the Motor City, as Insane Clown Posse has done a decent
had been hoped. job of trying to fill that gaping hole all
Bottom: Cortesy of Hollywood Records
Rt:CouotesyofMicaelLavin
The faces of Detroit music: Jimmy
Paluzzi of Hoarse (top), Jason Navarro
of The Suicide Machines (bottom) and
His Name is Alive (right).
by itself. Famous for their colorfullv
disgusting lyrics and Faygo-filled live
shows, the nearly undisputed "bad
boys" of rap cannot be controlled.
Proving that shock value has some
worth, Hollywood Records signed
musicians Violent J and Shaggy 2
Dope, only to drop them like a bad
habit upon the release of their latest
album, "The Great Milenko." Island
Records came into the picture not long
after, to re-release the "Milenko" album
and give the band a new contract.
According to Pollstar Magazine, ICP is
one of the top-40 highest-grossing live
acts in the nation.
As opposed to shows full of cheesy
theatrics and super-cheap soda, the
See DETROIT, Page 16B
1
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an opera by
Benjamin Britten
based on the
short story by
HenryJames
March 26-28 at 8 pm
March 29 at 2 pm
Mendelssohn Theatre
So what is the best band in Detroit at
the moment? Some would still cast
their vote for Hoarse, stating that com-
mercial success doesn't equal artistic
success. But some musicians in the area
put their money on Empire State
Games, a band that has been gaining
, New
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