Wednesday, July 28, 1993 - The Michigan Daily Summer Weoky -13
They wanna be adored?
Adorable's style of British pop comes forth few years too late
By SCOTT STERLING
"I think people always have a fond
memory of history. They always think
that everything was really rosy in the
past. They forget that when they were
actually in that past, they were com-
plaining,"summarizesAdorable'slead
mouth Piotr (sounds like "Peter")
Fijalkowski.
If Adorable's debut album,
"Against Perfection," is any indica-
tion, Fjalkowski and his merry co-
horts are similarly guilty of possessing
mental sieves themselves. Charging
out of the gate like MTV's "120 Min-
utes" circa 1987, Adorable's music
invokes visions of mid-period Echo
and the Bunnymen, the Chameleons
withoutsomanychordchanges,orany
morose, trenchcoat-wearing, weeping-
willow tree haircut-sporting Brit band
that moaned and groaned through the
late'80s.Understated,chiming guitars
buoy along on solidstate, rudimentary
rhythms, whileFijalkowski's slightly-
clippedlanMcCulloch impersonations
soar over the top of everything.
And when itall comes together, the
results are actually quite impressive,
DOWNEY
Continued from page 10
minds him that he's usually the best
thing in less-than-great films,
Downey nods in a pained manner.
Laughing knowingly, he admits to
often asking himself, "'My god, am
I jinxing these? Do I have, like, a
problem? Is there something wrong
with me? ... Am I cursed?' Little
questions like that."
In particular, the final product of
"Chaplin" was a stern disappoint-
ment to him, as he "longed for the
film to be able to be 'Citizen Kane'
but it just wasn't possible."
But with Downey's circular,
whimsical conversational style, he
consistently turns back to the sudden
importance of stability and commit-
ment, as symbolized by his impend-
ing fatherhood. Eagerly demonstrat-
ing lamaze breathing for the group,
Downey discusses his plans to be a
"rocking dad." Priorities have been
readjusted, as he now can split his
family fromhis workandsay, "here's
what really matters and here's what
you do with your life."
It's all about a new lifestyle for
Downey, about becoming grounded
and actually taking pleasure in it.
Anddifferentlifestylesappeartofas-
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such as the brilliantly blissful "Sun-
shine Smile" which comes across as
nothing short of the Jesus and Mary
Chain covering something from "Por-
cupine" in My Bloody Valentine's at-
tic.
But don't think Fijalkowski's get-
ting away with murder, he makes no
bones about wearing his influences
proudly on his sleeve.
"I really enjoyed the Mary Chain,
back when they were organizing riots
at their gigs. I like the Bunnymen al-
ways mouthing off in the press. I liked
the Smiths always being up to some-
thing. I didn't really see that in any of
our contemporaries," he asserts.
He also makes it very plain that any
band that doesn't admit to these or
other more current influences are bla-
tantly copping out.
"So many bands feel the need to
hide behind already established 'cred-
ible' music. It's not even pretentious,
because it's just so predictable. In one
of our music papers every week, they
publish some band's all-time favorite
records. Every week, everybody cites
the samerecords. It's allDavidlBowie,
Rolling Stones, maybe a song by the
ClashortheJam, PattiSmith-there's
not much point. I reckon they just use
the same list every week and just
change the name at the top," laughs
Fijalkowski."It just seems tome that
the bands you grew up with would be
the ones that changed your lives, not
the ones your parents listened to."
It was bold proclamations such as
these that garnered Adorable their
initial press and considerable notori-
ety, most of it not very favorable.
"Everyone in the music press shouted
me down, so I was obviously wrong.
Irecanteverything Isaid, and humbly
apologize to everyone," Fijalkowski
says, tongue obviously firm in cheek.
This is all made even more curi-
ous in light of the runaway success of
British pansexual adrodg-rockers
Suede, whose singer Brett Anderson
has enamored himself to press and
fans alike by saying things quite simi-
lar to past Fijalkowski quotes. What
gives, Piotr?
"That is interesting, isn't it? Oh
well. It's just a case of ... one person
says something, and because they're
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Adorable wants you to like them - to really like them.
not a cool person in the eyes of the
press, then these are stupidthings to be
laughed at. Somebody else says them,
and because they are a cool person,
they're considered pretty hip."
So now Adorable is embarking on
their next conquest, the good of U.S.
of A., which is notorious for either
reducing England'slatesttoindielimbo
or catapulting them to superstardom.
So when the day is done, why should
we devote our hearts, time and cash to
the Adorable lot?
"You don't have to buy our record,
just make an effort to listen to it on-e,"
Fijalkowski finally says after much
deliberation. "If you dontlike it, that's
fine. That's all I ask. I'd rather they
didn't like it than be indifferent, or not
have heard it at all."
ADORABLE plays at Industry (1S.
Saginaw, Pontiac) tomorrow night
with Baltier Space and El Magniftco.
Doors at 8 p.n., and tickets are only
$1 before 11 p.m. Call 334-1999 for
more information.
,w
cinate him. He talks about "Heart
and Souls" costar Charles Grodin's
trailer with thesatellite dish on it(sohe
can watch all the East Coast games),
vegetarian Woody Harrelson doing
yoga on the set and pleading with
him not to eat cheese and Tom
Sizemore's undercover efforts to
sneak into studiooffices during film-
ing. Downey's gift at mimicry, then,
stems not from a desire to parody or
burlesque, but from a keen actor's
eye and an unquenchable interest in
character.
These are Downey's gifts, along
with an uncanny ability to come
across as genuine, despite the plastic
trappings of a studio press junket
interview situation. Downey makes
eye contact with the reporters. He
entertains. He tells stories and
bounces ideas around.
Though a veteran of these con-
trived interviews, Downey avoids the
jaded stance one might expect from
such an established star. It would be
ridiculous to say he enjoys this studio
chore he's required to fulfill, but he
definitely makes the most out of it,
reflectingonthequestionsand zinging
one-liners wheneverpossibletolighten
the tensionand falsenessofthepseudo-
intimate press conference.
Whether or not this ease and grace
came with the change in lifestyle or is
justaconsistentpartofDowney'schar-
acter, Downey appears comfortable in
his skin and yet ever-eager to reject it
for another, professionally speaking.
He seems excited about thisnew phase
in his life, and about the way his re-
cently-acquired personal stability has
affected his acting.
"I really care about (my work)
now,"Downey saysquietly.Theprod-
uct, the filmitselfhas taken on alasting
shape and meaning for him. The sig-
nificance a film can have has affected
thewayheviewshiscraft.Rubbinghis Robert Downey, Jr. performs with Geraldine Chaplin and Paul
beard with his palm, he adds, "I really Rhys in "Chaplin," the role for which Downey received his first
care now because I realize something Academy Award nomination.
- Oliver Stone says it, too. He says,
'You know, this is forever."'
Indeed, for Downey, both the work
and the life have come to stand for
something real, which endures.
HEART AND SOULS opens August
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