Page 8--The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, February 6, 1991 0* Motorbooty No. 5 (magazine) The world of pop culture criti- cism is a large one, with an extreme gap between the flagship of the fleet, the slick, sold-out, let's-keep-the- undersexed-readers-happy-with- plenty-of-gratuitous-breast-shots magazine called Rolling Stone, and the homegrown, dittoed 'zeens put out by frustrated pundits who often think their overly-sheltered world view is the only one, and that you suck if you don't agree. Fortunately, a magazine exists which is dedicated to exposing the very best of the subterranean sages that make life bearable for the friends of that ever- popular guy named Art, and is only slightly insulting to it's readers. Naturally enough, this magazine, Motorbooty, got started right here in Ann Arbor, but like most things with artistic merit that developrhere, its key staff soon split for the coasts. Some of the rest, including graphic genius Mark Dancey, are quite busy playing in A2's other ul- tra-hip export, Big Chief. This partially explains why the current is- sue, number five in three or four years of publication, is the Winter 1990 issue, came out in December 1990, and is still full of material 61989. The other reason is that un- less one works for one of the which- part-is-the-advertising-and-which- part-is-the-"joumalism?" newspapers or one of the aforementioned slick New York publications, writing about art pays roughly two dollars an hour, if you're lucky. This time around, the "As -long as it happens to somebody else, Ev- erything's Funny!" issue contains the usual mix of cultural misfit sub- ject matter you won't read about in very many, if any, other places, and heapin' helpins' of graphic skull- fucks described inside the box (one Comment from an unqualified ob- server - Lloyd Dangle's "A Detroit Punkography" is a way better sum- mary of the legendary Bookie's scene than the recent obituary published in Orbit). Motorbooty's comics review Motorbooty megazine - local infraintellectual journal and pop-cul- ture colander - runs, in addition to the tour guides and boznoid Detroit rock homages (reviewed all around this article), various comic strips and sundry illustrations of decent to really great quality. Post-geek comix in a world of Doonesbury can be a kind of embarrassing - the old under- ground, now at "ground-level," is still fighting for acceptance, while Pfeiffer, Garfield, and, yeech, 8th-grade X-Men books keep the potential readership at bay. Motorbooty's comics give us a look at what's happen- ing among the insurgents. Editor and prime drawist for the magazine Mark Dancey (the "Minister of Graphic Violence") is responsible for the cover and much of the interior art. From his trio of luckless jerks on the cover to his neat Detroit-rock corporate logo parodying the old White Panthers guitar-pipe- rifle badge, his hard yet sinuous organicist style, sometimes suggesting Celtic/Mayan glyphs, gives the magazine a sharp look. While he doesn't have any "normal" paneled comics in this issue, Dancey's graphic sensi- bility informs the whole issue. And the bleeding mime is nice too. Dancey's style is also suggestive of Peter Bagge, a big-time comics maker from Seattle who's plugged Motorbooty in the pages of his own comics. Ex-editor of Weirdo and ex-progenitor of Neat Stuff, Bagge is currently the instigator of Hate (roughly bi-monthly from Fantagraphics). His autobiographical one-pager is typical good Bagge, fusing acrid observations on human character with quasi-"monster trucks" drawing style. Aurora, Illinoiser William Neff's junkie nerds and pointillist Vargas cheerleaders are some of the more interesting characters in the magazine, real or not. In "Science Fair," we learn the cyberConfucian aphorism, "Reality is only for those who cannot handle hard drugs," and watch Neff demonstrate handily the ability of graphic narrative to deal with real hu- man concerns in a flippant, irreverent manner without losing any impact, gravity, or meaning. Lloyd Dangle is a solid cartoonist, the least aggressive artist in the is- sue. He subscribes to the primitivist-ugly school of cartooning, of which Lynda Barry, Mark Marek, and Aline Kominsky-Crumb are some of the better-known graduates. This particular cartooning idiom dictates subject matter as well as visual style, and Dangle's "Tales of the Uncommitable" is autobiographically honest and nice 'n' cynical about relationships. Dangle also drew the "Detroit Punkography" covered outside this, and his Iggy is wonderful. Another example of the type of irreverently serious social commen- tary that's all too rare in graphic narrative is Terry Laban's "The Leather Jacket." Studying class differences from the viewpoint of an article of clothing? THIS is what comics are for. Laban's sketchbook lines are per- fect for the tale. All of these artists are exemplary of the new comics, and take part in the late-in-coming utilization of a very American art form. Motorbooty houses the good stuff and nothing less. -Evan M. Corcoran and Antonio Roque very fucked-up horn" (his own de- scription) Sonny Sharrock get to let it all hang out. Performance artist Jeffrey, who opened for Big Chief in Pittsburgh once, is introduced to the world (if you thought Daniel John- son tapes were cool when they still came out on Radio Shack-quality archival supplies, Jeffrey is the recording artist for you). The main focus of the issue is a 20/20 hindsight look at the history of the incredible music made right here in Motortown. It is a little known fact that one of the birth- places of punk rock is in a building you may be sitting in right now, the Michigan Union (damn hard to recall, considering the swill that usually "graces" its "stage" today). A long historical analysis on Detroit music's artistic decline by Daily alum Mike Rubin and Rob Michaels delivers the bad news in depressing black and white. Mysterious author "Toke" (most likely Dancey) supplies an excellent interview with rock artist Gary Grimshaw, which unfortunately sheds no light on what one of the most under-appreciated artists in a issue full of them has been doing since he moved to San Francisco again. One of the most impressive collections of MC5/ Stooge memo- rabilia outside of John Sinclair's Guitar Army polemic keeps the eye enchanted (the reproduced original Gimshaw artwork for the 5's "Kick Out The Jams" LP is worth $3 alone) while the brain tries to deter- mine how much of it to believe (Ministers of Dis-information, in- deed). Hint: read parts of the "Detroit Rock Chronology" with several grains of the chemical of your choice. The jokes contained inside won't lose all their humor until some poor rock critic of the 21st Century discovers an extra copy of Motorbooty right underneath the se- cret stash of Necros singles in Barry Henssler's basement and quotes one of these gems as truthi t --Brian Jarvinen But if you're looking for current record-buying advice, you'll have to closely examine the table of contents, as there are no record re- views. Motorbooty excels at letting its subjects speak for themselves, with the editorializing left in each piece's introduction for the most part. Author Harry Crews and jazz guitarist/"jazz saxophonist with a RECORDS Continued from page 7 of Ringo's friends, this recording might not have been worth making. --Andrew J. Cahn Bruce Cockburn Bruce Cockburn Live Gold Castle Canada's Bruce Cockburn has found that having a really zealous audience can sometimes be a prob- lem. Although the compressed, kaleidoscopic imagery of his lyrics betrays both humor and wonder through the purest poetry in all of rock 'n roll, this tends to be overshadowed by the way that they also often decry - with unparalleled eloquence - the political and envi- ronmental tragedies of various third- world countries. When Cockburn's largely activist-minded core of fans come to see him live, they come ex- pecting a shared venting of social outrage - and little else. So despite the brilliantly musical moments found on Bruce Cockburn Live, a 70-minute set of concert tracks from the Canadian singer's 1989 world tour, one hears roars of approval only on a couple of occa- sions, when the veteran songwriter's material rebukes right-wing dictator- ships. And that's even before an au- dience in Canada - the concert was recorded at Toronto's Ontario Place - where Cockburn's a major pop DAILY ARTS NEEDS WRITERS with some background in these areas: Folk Jazz Classical Music star. During his March '89 gig at Ann Arbor's Power Center, the guy looked like he was practically. pulling teeth when he tried to engage an overly serious, Guatemalan-tex tiled crowd in a whistle-along vera sion (included here) of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."' from Monty Python's Life of Brian,', The real surprise of that sets though, was the way Cockburn and his two sidemen ably conjured a va- riety of sounds broad enough tQ. match the dazzle of his lyrics. His secret weapon is virtuoso inr strumentalist Fergus Jemisop" Marsh, who simultaneously gener- ates gurgling basslines and washes of synthesizer with a strange, corn-y,- puter-interfaced instrument called th MIDI Stick, which looks like a 10-, stringed two-by-four. AndCockburn himself, both on 12-string rhythd and electric leads, plays guitar with remarkable stylistic facility and flair. Live's mostly representative as- semblage of material from Cock. burn's 18-album career includes only, one song from 1988's Big Circum-,: stance, his most colorfully textured- LP yet. But a couple of more cuts from 1986's World of Wonder, make this retrospective a viable 0 alternative to the 1985 singles- compilation, Waiting for a Miracleii And by including lyrics for 13 songs, Bruce Cockburn Live offers a thorough, worthwhile entire to a' global vision that has always been: more poetic than partisan. - Michael Paul Fischer TOBY Continued from page S Dance Books Art Telephone 763-0379 for more information S i GENERAL MOTORS VOLUNTEER SPIRIT AWARD in association with C 198 The University of Michigan The Michigan Union/ Student Organization Development Center fAttention Student Volunteers! Submit Your Applications for the GM Volunteer Spirit Award! Deadine for applications 1is: Fri., February 15, 1991 Applications available a 2202 Michigan Union I - I 1 New Offerings at Counseling Services Black Women Graduate Suport/Therapy Group For Info, contact: Gwyneth AwaiACSW at 764-8312 12 Week Workshop/Support Grouo on Compulsive Overeating Contact: Jocelyn Towler, MA at 764-8312 Coping as an African-American Student at U of M Contact: LaReese Collins, ACSW at 764-8312 Black Male Graduate Support Group I SURPLUS SPACE SAVER FILING SYSTEMS Two units: one large, one small. May be seen in operation. Phone Property Disposition for additional information. themselves. Tina (Jvette Soler) suddenly tells the audience that she is having an affair with the", film class teacher, just in time to, be murdered by his evil twin. The, tag line to Popcorn shouldn't be, "Buy a bag, go home in a box," but "Buy a bag, you'll leave your lunch in it." POP CORN is being shown at- Showcase and Fox Village. . . '' r Contact: LaReese Collins, ACSW at 764-8312 764-2470 P, Genuine Draft TH-E Wisim NTf f I QAI1I1 Friday, FEB 15.*7:30 pm U of M vs. M.S.U. (Host) Saturday, FEB 160s 7:30 pm M.S.U. vs. U of M (Host) TICKES: $12 & $10 Students: $20 reduced to $5 with I.D. (day of game or on campus) Trimark Pictures presents A Steve Miner film Starring: Julian Sands .y ' S4 Y K n f V WOLVERINE HOCKEY.. AtTHME! y-iKu:Y--N-r-u ii . , 1 i