The Veldt (Dave Burris, Danny Chavis, Daniel Chavis, and Marvin Levi)
may be teasing with Marigolds, but we think they're quite a heady brew.
The Veldt shouldn'trap. Shepulls out an impres-
Marigolds sive flow in the jams "The Hate That
Stardog/PolyGram Hate Produced" and "The Final Solu-
Straight outta North Carolina, this tion; Slaver's Back In Effect,' but
explosive quintet is both:aggressive through the album's duration we hear
and ambient. Combining the best ele- her teaching in a bold speaking voice.
ments of Brit guitar wash with manic Souljah'sbeatsareminimalisticbut
snatches of gothic swirl and hip-hop densehitting like It Takes A Nation Of
snathes f gthicswir an hiphopMillions.., fresh for '92. Eric Sadler
breakbeats, the Veldt create quite a keeps.the spa rieStheL
heady brew.Theendresultisamelange keeps the mix sparse while the.LG
reminiscent of an adolescent Cure and Experience pounds a nightmarish
a not-so-self-conscious Smashing triphammer rhythm into your skull..
Pumpkins. Even with one-fourth of the Bomb
This six-song EP crackles with a Squad andCube'sguitarist Al "Purple"
sonic superblastofethereal energy. OnHayes in the house, the upbeat cuts are
tracks like "Pleasure Toy" and the in- startlingly inhuman in their vitriolic
clatter.
cendiary "She Stoops To Conquer" ateo
twisterella guitars do the shiver and Notenoughknowledgegetsdropped
shake over a boombastic bottom.Pro- here either; Like PE's most exciting
ducer Lincoln Fong (Lush, Cocteau records, this is more of a wake-up call
duce Licol Fog {LshCoceauthan a listing of disquieting truths. The
Twins) pushes the bass-heavy low end hostive o is Souahs me
to mosh-pit proportions, especially on most effective lesson is Souljahs mes-
the edgy "Tinsel Town." sage to her fellow Black women, "Um-
The beautiful "Willow Tree" em- bilicalCord To The Future,""The chil-
phasizes the Veldt's moody, 4AD in- dren cannotraise themselves/lf you do
fluences, all drenched in six-string not teach them, they will not know."
chimes and punctuated by Daniel Souljah isn't all that hard on the
Chavis'youthfulandexuberantvocals. separatismissue,simply telling Blacks,
Marigolds is a delicious tease. The Know your enemies from your
album NOW, please. friends. However, her hasty motion
into the comforting shelter of "exact
-Scott Sterling Blackness" will end the album on a
rather cold and nihilistic note for the
Black listeners. We find her dissing
Sister Souljah Harry Allenasatwo-facedbackstabber,
360 Degrees Of Power then taking a dubious side with Five
Epic Percenters Poor Righteous Teachers.
Sister Souljah is the single most Although the Nation of Islam does
inspiring and captivating presence in agreat dealof good for Black peoplein
rap today, but what results has her solo the cities,Souljah'schoiceleader Louis,
album yielded? Farrakhan does have his shortcomings.
To be perfectly honest, Souliah Elijah Muhammad's son Warith D.
Beats International
Excursion on the Version
Go! Discsa/London/PolyGram
Beats International's past, namely
leader Norman Cook's past life as a
member of Brit pop outfit The
Housemartins and BI's last album,
leaves its heavy mark on BI's latest
album Excursionon theVersion.While
BI's exploration of the point where
reggae,dance,pop and disco meet,with
a little funk and techno thrown in for
good measure, sounds fun, Excursion
on the Version is nodifferent from BI's
last album. There's nothing new or
intriguing - Excursion isn't bad for
those reasons, but the potential in such
a project makes it disappointing.
If the music itself, is isolated in
time,Cook'ssqueakycleanvocalsover
somewhat contrived reggae/dance
rhythms doesn't exactly fit. It's not
startlingenoughtowork.Infact,Cook's
smooth pop edge resembles George
Michael's own vocal chords a bit too
much for Cook's ego. Just check out
"Change Your Mind," a tracks that
sounds like Michael's return from his
fate as the next Elton John. Ah, dreams.
BI's use of (modified) toasting and
a little rap, along with another vocalist
who thankfully sounds nothing like
George Michael, gives Excursion on
the Version variety, yes, but to what
end? Is there a blatant one-world mes-
sage in all of this mish-mashing of
musical styles-KCand the Sunshine
band unwittingly paying their dues to
disco and reggae with a Georgie
soundalikehandling thevocals,as"The
Sun Doesn't Shine,"seemsto suggest?
Underlying the music is Cook and
company's politically correct message.
But whatever important issues and
points of view that BI is trying to get
acrossseemundercutby their very feel-
good sound and emphasis on non-
groundbreakting melding of different
musical styles. BI lacks aself-conscious
jollity that someone like Jimmy
Sommerville retains thoroughout his
work, Perhaps the very exploration of
sound is supposed to reinforce theirPC
message, but it's not that different from
the lastalbum undereutting that notion
and anything BI wants to say.
Excursion onthe Versionopenswith
a credo, "Everybody get on your feet
androcktothisbrandnewbeat"(B rand
New Beat"), which BI doesn't live up
to. The Excursion maybe kind of cool,
kindofinfectious,butit'snotalongtrip
from their previous work, and, there-
fore, not far from home. It's certainly
nota "brand new beat."
-Annette Petruso
An Italian Gilligan
Mediterraneo
dir. Gabriele Salvatores
by Annette Petruso
Those bumbling Italian castaways!
No Mary Ann is present, but the Academy Award winner for Best Foreign
Language Film, Mediterraneo, is very reminiscent of Gilligan's Island. Eight
sailors from an Italian war boat find themselves stranded on aremote island in
Greece during World War H. Of course, most of them shouldn't be soldiers
anyway and each has an individual quirk tolfill out the plot.Leader Lieutenant
Montini(ClaudioBigagli),forexample,isahigh schoolteacherin reallifeand
isanartistonthesideThepriestofthelocalGreekOrthodoxchurchconvinces
himtopaint frescosinthechapel.Montini isdistantthoughtfulandcaring,like
Gilligan's captain.
The film delightfully chronicles their occupation of the island, a jobwhich
tursintoawayof life when theband is apparentlyabandoned by theirItalian
leaders. After. finally discovering life in the town on the island, the soldiers
settlein,marryingandfornicatingwiththelocals,playingsoccerwith thekids,
and generally waiting to get the hell off. But even before theygot stuck on the
island,the film reinforces the stereotype of the incompetentItalian soldier that
has haunted that peninsula's residents for centuries.
Mediterraneo, however, is more light-hearted than that, and probably
means to poke fun at the stereotype, using it as a-device, rather than further
condemningItaliansatwar.Thefilm basically worksas an amusing adventure,
nicely exploring characters' inner tensions and how people can go stir-crazy
when left some place they don't want to be. Though Mediterraneo looks slick
atpoints,likean American made-for-television movie,theGreek islandseems
like a bright paradise.
The film isn't particularly superficial, either. One of the first things the
soldiers see when they storm the island is graffiti proclaiming that "Greece is
the tomb of the Italians."Further, Stra7zabosco's (Gigio Alberti) relationship
with his mules, while droll, is also a touching testament to loneliness, as is
innocentFarina's (Giuseppe Cedema)love for the villageprostitute, Vasilissa
(Vanna Barba).
ThoughGilligan'slslandwas(secretly)unappreciatedlydeep,Mediterraneo
will never suffer the same fate.
k11i t11 PTP N +A r u r n -stu l:ai -r lxr - 'nnn - - L.. . .n
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