Page 5
Fats Waller: Alive, well
By________________f_________________f happy little organization converted
By arwulf arwuif sugary pop into highly entertaining
I HAE Aweanessforpoplarjazz, with aome kickass intrumen-
HAVE A weakness for popular tation,wand of the estimated 900 aides
music of the 1930's. The naive Waller recorded in his short life, few
yrics and simple melodies offer a arecnyth ins st llent.
fluffy-headed escape from gruelling are anything less than exce ent.
realities, be they economic disaster, selections were initially so
(circa 1931), or futuristic angst, (cir- syrupy that he refused to record
ca 1985). Somehow the seething them,suasion, when, after monetary per-
c 95botherations receded as the little suso, he did give it a try, he
dumpling of a tune unwinds itself: massarced the stuff, making it into a
circus of bawdy lyrics and irreverent
clowning, sung in his "Bathroom
Baritone."
Even the stright-ahead jam mem-
bers are peppered with good-natured
vocal interjections; Fats eggs his
musicians on, spurring them to in-
credible heights of wailing and
sailing, throwing little digs at them:
C'mon, boy, make that thing
I've got no time, sweat!
to sit and worry, Cedric, on your feet and earn
got no time your salary, son, blow!
I'm in a hurry, Turn the band loose!
going no place Fats Waller grows on you.
having the time of my life . .. I've been collecting him now for ten
What makes these silly numbers years, mostly buying this exciting
ork is the interpreters. A droopy Harlem music on overpriced French)
love song, when sung by a droopy reissues. Only recently has the
crooner, can cause instant droopage American RCA begun to recirculate
among listeners. How much Crosby his mammoth output.
can one stand after a certain point? The music of Fats Waller can be
Luckily, many of these songs have heard every Thursday in May at 7
come to us as timeless performances p.m. on the "You've Got To Be
by Fats Waller and his Rhythm. This Modernistic"program, on WCBN
ARTS
Tuesday, May 21, 1985
Husker
By John Logie
T'S BECOMING impossible to dis-
tinguish the bands that are playing
sixties-ish pop from those bands that
are truly psychedelic in more than a
paisley-shirt sense.
I point this out in order to try to at-
tach some value to my upcoming
statement, that Husker Du is in fact
New Psychedelia.
They are New Psychedelia in a sen-
se almost completely unlike the sense
in which Prince's sporadic bursts of
Hendrix licks are. Husler Du is New
Psychedelia ina sense entirely unlike
the sense in which The Psychedelic
Furs claim the label.
Having never seen a photograph of
the band members, I expected four or
so emaciated guys with pale skin and
shaved heads. I, sad to say, expected
at least a tinch of the hardcore anti-
fashion. Husker Du is made up of
three guys that look like the attendan-
ts at the nearest Speedway gas
station. The drummer vaguely
resembles Monty Python animator
Terry Gilliam. The bassist sports a
handlebar moustache like the
Oakland A's did when they won the
World Series.
The concert was not staged in any
The Michigan Daily
Du=psychedelia
way. If the microphones had not faced harder, more harmonic, and, more
the audience, the band might not gripping than the original. The final
have. The lighting was almost cer- song of the evening, was a cover of
tainly the nightclub's. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Without losing the verve that Theme". Again, seven-tenths missed
caused them to be lumped in with out, but the glimmer of initial
hardcore bands, Husker Du sings recognition and subsequent delight
with mood and feeling. On top of that, among the remaining three-tenths
the band also understands of the stemmed from the astounding
proper use of feedback, and this revelaton that the song wasn't
makes for overwhelming musical necessarily as bad as we remem-
density. bered it to be.
Husker Du also knows how to cover Husker Du is New Psychedelic, but
songs. Their dense, intense cover of in an expansive sense. They pick up
The Byrd's "Eight Miles High" is where the original psychedelic bands
brilliant, but I'm sure seven-tenths of left off, and innovate. They are more
the crowd didn't recognize it. The than a hollow, fashionable echo of the
band also played a new cover of The past. They are Psychedelic, and
Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" which was current, with guts.
young men 16 -35
Y BL. . .
"OF THE MAN WHO
RECEIVES IN GIVING"
FANCISCANS
DIRECTOR OF VOCATIONS, FRANCISCANS, TOR
2006EDGEWATER PARKWAY
, SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND 20903
Please send me the free booket at no obligation.
Name Mg M
Address
fr City State Zip
booklet (Check preference) Priesthood Brotherhood
Dance Theatre Studio
Records
*Up On the Sun-
The Meatpuppets
(SST Records)
U P ON THE SUN, the newest
release from The Meatpuppets,
is like a psychedelic ride through the
desert. With its "feeling good" coun-
try-western party flavor, this wild
pastiche of music is a unique
representative of the American
southwest.
The Meatpuppets are a trio hailing
from Phoenix, Arizona. Up On the
Sun, their third album with SST,
marks a clear departure from this
band's hardcore roots. Although '84s
brilliant Meatpuppets II began this
move with its almost sped-up Neil
Young/Grateful Dead style, the new
album carries it through almost com-
pletely. Up On the Sun is slower. The
playing is tight, tame, and clean.
Musically, the band has progressed
Wnto a more subtle realm. Accom-
plished musicians, The Meatpuppets
are extremely tight-even switching
tempos and using a funk style on one .
number. The arrangements of Up On
the Sun include keyboard as well as
some guitar harmonics which would
make the Edge jealous. Curt Kirk-
wood has dropped the soulfully
wailing quality of the last album, op-
ting for a more laid-back approach.
One of the extraordinary gifts this
*band possesses is their ability to draw
the listener into their outdoors-ey
good-times groove. The instrumental
"Maiden's Milk" is sheer fun. It con-
jures up the image of musicians
jamming away on a jeep ride through
r
LJE' OJF -- s.LuJ.J
Songwriter Kirkwood has a flair for
somewhat psychedelic lyrics that
capture the relationship between
man and his environment. There's a
great deal of desert imagery, such as
the poetic "Animal Kingdom": Up in
the mountains there's beautiful
rings on fingers that dance to in-
visible sound. "Hot pink" is an
especially "trippy" little number. As
Kirkwood drones: hot pink volcano
in the heart of the tornado is
skaking the lemon tree.
Up On the Sun is a unique album by
impressive musicians with a spon-
taneously human approach.
Everything on it sounds completely
effortless; you almost wish you could
have shared the fun they had while
recording it. Go buy yourself a six-
pack, and join The Meatpuppets for a
psychedelic musical tribute to the
American southwest.
r
1
r
r
T
Classes in ballet,
modern, jazz, tap,
and ballroom.
For current class
schedule and
more informafion
call 995-4242.
the desert-only instead of singing,
the driver whistles along. "Swim-
ming Ground" is a slightly impatient
riff on which Kirkwood and company
rap about their wait for rain: The
best place I ever found wasn't
close to any town, was a little
swimming ground . .. When the
rain comes, you can bet you're invited
to jump in with them.
-Beth Fertig
711 N. University (near State Street) " Ann Arbor