6 - The Michigan Daily Summer Weekly - Wednesday, June 1 9
0 ,1992
S I 'Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful
O T objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives
us modern art.'
- Tom Stoppard
Still smashing, 'Kins are set to do
by Scott Sterling
Storming out of Chicago with their
vicious psychedelic softcore debut al-
bum gish,1991 was definitely the year
of the Pumpkin. Veering precariously
between the slash and burn guitar rush
ofsongslike "Tristessa,"and the fuzzy,
surreal atmospherics of "Rhinoceros,"
gish grooved like a '90s Zeppelin for
the Lollapalooza generation. Narrated
fromtheloftyperchofsinger/songwriter
Billy Corgan's gorgeously twisted
psyche, the record effortlessly flew out
of the stores and into countless
alternateen hearts.
But here's where showtime really
begins. Savoring the precious time af-
ter an exhilarating (as well as exhaust-
ing) tour with Pearl Jam and the Red
Hot Chili Peppers, the Pumpkins are
currently drawing up plans for their
encorepresentation. The first step is to
road test the new batch of songs on the
road.
"It's not a real tour, so to speak,"
says guitarist James Iha from his Chi-
cago apartment. "We're only playing
five shows, to see how the new songs
sound live. We'll play some old songs,
but the shows are going to be at least
it again
aboutit too much, or I get sick. We did
it for better distribution and stuff," Iha
explains.
Before going into an as-yet-unde-
termined studio with whizkid producer
Butch Vig, the Pumpkins will be traips-
ing through Europe playing festivals,
most notably the massive Reading fes-
tival in England. There's also a track
("Drown") on the upcoming Cameron
Crowe-directed Seattle a go-goSingles
soundtrack.
The 'Kins have also found other
ways to keep themselves busy, like a
secretgigatChicago'sintimateLounge
Ax bar("We were billed as the Turnips
... It went really well.") And most
interestingly, some dates opening for
Guns 'N' Roses.
"In Oklahoma, it started out pretty
good, until after the second song. I said
to the audience, 'We'd like to dedicate
our set to Satan, and all of his followers
around theworld,' and fromthereit was
alldownhill.That's whenthe boosstart-
ing coming. I loved it."
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS will be
playing at St. Andrews Hall this Friday
nni1 Rontrdnv Rnothchnwme nrp .enfd nt
01
The Smashing Pumpkins: (from left) Drummer extraordinaire Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist/comedian James Iha,
vocalist/boy genius Billy Corgan, and bassist/love goddess D'arcy. Ain't life grand?
half to three quarters new stuff." Anew factorintheupdated-for-the- "James Iha Revue" solo project, "I still
And despite the massive success of '90s Smashing Pumpkins equation is mightdoan album with Ry Cooder,"he
their debut, the Pumpkins aren't look- moremusicalcontribution fromtherest deadpans.
ing to just assemble a "Son of" gish of the band. And then there's the Major Label
follow-up. "Billy's still the main contributor," thing. Like many underground heroes
'That would be kinda retro ... The Iha says. "I've been writing songs for beforethem, the Pumpkins are stepping
new songs don't really sound like any- the band, but I always fail to hit that into the ring with the big boys, inking a
thing on gish. They're a step forward, 'Pumpkins' sound. If they end up in the deal with Virgin Records.
like a new spring day, with all the band, cool, if they don't, then it's for "We don't know what the hell's
butterflies, cockroaches, and the leaves me." gonna happen. The major label thing
decaying ontheground,"Ihasayswryly. While there are no plans for the always grosses me out, so I can't talk
A blind photographer
and an Edwardian fix
New films from Australia and Forster arrive
Proof muchonehas totrustotherstodescribe
dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse what is going on around him. Martin's
Proof s premise sounds odd: Mar- difficult childhood has put him in this
tin (Hugo Weaving) is a blind amateur position, and Andy tests the strength of
photographer,withahousekeeper,Celia Martin'saffectionatetrustforhim,forc-
(Genevieve Picot), who's sexually ob- ing Martin to grow beyond it. Again
sessed with him, and a normal friend, like Harold and Maude, the film is
Andy(RussellCrowe),hegetstoknow funny too. Though writer/director
over the course of the film. The key to Jocelyn Moorhouse gives Proof a
the beauty of this movie is Martin's slightly feel-good ending, the power of
motives as a photographer -he takes the script and the brilliance of all the
snapshotsofthingsaroundhimas proof performances makes Proof worth see-
of the truth that his eyes cannot see for ing. Proofis showing at the Ann Arbor
him - and as an employer - he has 1 &2.
power over Celia because she wants -Annette Petruso
him, therefore she cannot pity him.
Like the touching message in Harold Where Angels
and Maude, Proofstirssomething deep Fear to Tread
inside the viewer. This Australian pro-
duction gives insight into how a blind dir. Charles Sturridge
person perceives his world, especially If you're expecting this adaptation
the basic difficulties in physically get- of E.M. Forster's first novel Where
ting around, butmore profoundlyhow Angels Fear to Tread to be the light
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Philip Herriton (Rupert Graves) meets Gino Carella (Giovanni Guidelli) as his sister-in-law Lilia Herriton(Helen
Mirren) grins and CarolineAbbott (Helen Bonham Carter) watches warily from the background.
comedy of manners that Room With a
View was, you might leave the theater
very bored.Angels'beauty comes from
its texture,its absurdly funny moments,
its darker social statement on middle
class British snootiness and explora-
tion of personal (and cross-cultural)
motivation. The film even looks rather
dim,exceptintheoutdoorshots in Italy.
Perhapsthiskindoflightingisasymbol
for some greater despair on the part of
the British.
Angels'plotcentersaroundthegrim
rlerritonfamily: the bossy mother(Bar-
bara Jefford), her similarly authoritar-
ian daughter Harriet (Judy Davis), her
submitting lawyer son Philip (Rupert
Graves), and her browbeaten daughter-
in-law Lilia(Helen Mirren). Philip rec-
ommends that the widowed Lilia go to
Italy to travel and fall in love with the
country (and escape the oppressive
Herriton household) as he once did.
With the vicar's daughter, Caroline
Abbott(Helena Bonham Carter) serv-
ing as chaperone, Lilia ends up falling
in love with a much younger Italian,
Gino Carella(GiovanniGuidelli),mar-
rying him, staying in Italy, and bearing
his child. The rest of the film then
centers on the tragedies that beset Lilia
and her Italian baby,how they are dealt
with by her British relations and how
Italy, Miss Abbott, and Philip change
each other.
This throughly enjoyable adapta-
tion of Angels was directed and pro-
duced by the team of Charles Sturridge
and Derek Granger, respectively, who
also created adaptations of Evelyn
Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and
Handful of Dust. As they did in the
Waugh series and film, Sturridge and
Granger carefully outlay inspirits for
See ANGELS, Page 12
01