The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 6, 1995 -11 Pere Ubu Raygun Suitcase Tim Kerr Records ' After what seems like a million hardAto-find records and almost as many obscure or collapsed record la- bels, the almost-always-wonderful, consistently weird Pere Ubu is back ih action, unleashing their supreme ien'e fiction symphonies on the hip TinKerr label. 'A new label and a new record seem to' sit the members of the band; ' Raygun Suitcase" is one of their fin- et-releases in recent years. "Raygun" mixes the nasty, weird atonal bits that the group has always excelled at since they crawled out of Cleveland's in- dustrial wasteland almost 20 years ago in a punk/avant project called Rocket from the Tomb (which also spawned shockabilly stalwarts the Cramps) with the gentler pop sensi- bilities that their latest albums like 1992's "Worlds in Collision" and 1993's "The Story of My Life" evinced. There's nothing radically differ- ent from Pere Ubu's usual plans from outer space on this album, with the exception of the warped cover of the Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl." But that's just fine, since their sound, style and music are radically different from almost every other group out there. All the songs fea- ture David Thomas' garbled, warbled, choking vocals and his decidedly different viewpoints. Buzzing, droning guitars, clanking percussion and loads and loads of theremins flesh out songs like "Electricity," "Turquoise Fins," "Vacuum In My Head" and "Red Sky" into four and five-minute ex- cursions into pop weirdness. There's beauty and charm in Pere Ubu's pop universe, however; their space-punk-pop-freaky music re- veals that this group did weird first and still does it the best. They're the masters. Long live Pere Ubu and "Raygun Suitcase." - Heather Phares The Softies It's Love K Beautiful acoustic guitars, sweet, close harmonies and poignant lyrics aren't the sole domain of folk-waif types and VH-I singer/songwriters. Nope, indie rock can go unplugged too, and no group does it better than the Softies. After some lovely seven inches, the Softies, also known as Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia (formerly of Tiger Trap), release their debut album "It's Love," 14 cuts of charmingly melan- cholic acoustic music. Songs like "Hello Rain," "I'll Love You More," "This House" and "Follow Me" fea- ture the duo's beautiful voices and adept guitar playing - and that's it. No other instruments or players ap- pear on "It's Love," which gives the album a special intimacy and cohe- sion. "Fragile, Don't Crush" and "Heart Condition" are two of the best songs on "It's Love," and feature Melberg and Sbragia's ironic, poignant sense of humor along with their abundant musical skills. The Tallulah Gosh cover, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Thank God," lives up to that band's reputation for clever and insightful pop songs. All in all, "It's Love" is a terrific debut. The songs and sound are dif- ferent than other acoustic-rock albums but not off-putting to fans of groups like Liquorice or even the Indigo Girls. Except, of course, the Softies are much, much cooler. - Heather Phares . The Softies kick acoustic Indle-rock butt. , - MICHIGAN It's super sci-fi symphonies all the way with weird-rock legends Pere Ubu. Artist David Hockney taks ab)Out himself New show of his drawings and watercolors Qp ns at the Royal Academy in London I- NDON (AP)-The best place through the door and my dogs." $WoTk as an artist, David Hockney Hockney is a Yorkshireman, born 4yg, is Where people don't value in J1937 in Bradford which has been ;.you do. a center of the English woolen in- For the Englishman David dustry for 600 years. He spent his Hockney, one of the world's most first 20 years there before going to popular living artists, that place is art college in London where he was Los Angeles. He first went there in taken up by art dealer John Kasmin 1964and has been a permanent resi- in 1961. Two of his drawings were dent since 1978. "1 lived in Paris bought that year for the Museum of for two years, in the center, and it Modern Art in New York and was terrific for a while but too many Hockney has been successful ever people came to call and I couldn't since. "The moment I first sold pic- work," Hockney said. "In the Hol- tures to earn a living I felt rich. I've lywood Hills if you're a painter not been rich ever since," he said. "I manypeople look you up and that's didn't have much money but I did (ine. I don't want to talk all the time what I wanted. There's a point cn television about art." where, for an artist, money can be a Hockney was in London to attend burden. Things could be an abso- a show of his drawings and water- lute burden. I don't want that to 4olors at the Royal Academy. "I happen. You are a rich 'man if you $till feel myself very much an artist do the things you want to do." n the English tradition. I live wher- Hockney has made the freeways, ever I happen to be," he said at the architecture, gardens and pools of show. A BMW 850CSi automobile, Los Angeles the subjects of some of Wvhich the German carmaker gave his best-known paintings. He has Uockney to paint, stands in the made extensive drawings ofhis trav- courtyard of the Royal Academy els in Egypt, Japan and China, and during the exhibition. BMW now designed for the theater and opera. tas 14 cars painted by renowned "I'm not that connected to an art 4rtists from nine countries to paint world. I live a very quiet life in Los bars, including Roy Lichtenstein, Angeles and I pursue my own inter- Frank Stella and Andy Warhol. ests," he said. 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