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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1989)
Julian Cope Cope still fails to set himself apart By Jeff Clark ■ Tho Signal Georgia State U. Julian Cope is a puzzling case Mis polished psychedelic pop breaks no new ground, but all of his albums, both his solo works and and those with his for mer band The Teardrop Explodes, con tain some memorable songs Cope is so obsessed with his idols that his music practically screams out “Doors! Stooges! Bowie!”That in it itself is not such a had thing; in fact, almost every neo-psychedelic band around has the same habit. But Cope’s version is seeping with incompleteness — an in sincerity that effectively flattens his overreaching intentions Afy Nation Underground is Cope’s first record since 1987’s St Julian, by far his best album While Underground is more conventional musically, it lacks the cohesiveness and bouncy enthu siasm that made St Julian click Only two numbers really stand out: his cover of The Vogues' “,r) O’Clock World" and his own “Charlotte Anne," which is re petitious hut “haunting." Both of these1 tunes sound great on the radio, although the latter is marred by Cope's hokey poetry •Julian would probably lie better otT if he exorcised a few of his role models. Until he sheds the image-obsessed shell, he'll amount to nothing more than a forgotten blip on the '80s and ’90s music scene. MlUlSI I C Dead Milkmen: A handful o’ nuts By Mark Piorowski • The Cavalier Daily U. ol Virginia l know it's thi• queers Stuart / They're in it with the aliens / Building landing strips for gay Martians. — Thu I>ead Milkmen, on “Stuart" Middle America, beware. The Dead Milkmen are back with a new album, Beelzebubha, which targets one of this Philadelphia-based band's favorite pet peeves: the paranoia, closed mindedness and general ignorance that they consider the dominant traits of many bucolic Americans. I<ead singer Rodney Amadeus Anony mous and Co paint a frighteningly au thentic portrait of rural hell in a wild collection of 17 songs. He dusts off his best white-trash accent in "R.C.’s Mom,” a stinging indictment of macho stupidity in the land of trailer parks: I'm gonna beat my wife / I'm gonna beat her with a leadpi(>e / I’m gonna beat her ! with a two-by-four. But Beezlebubba doesn't just lambast middle-Amencan morons. It also cele brates the anarchy that arises out of the boredom of youth. Following this vein, “Punk Rock Girl" is musically the best cut on the album, and one of the most ; entertaining lyrically: We got into her opr and then ne started rollin' /1 asked her ‘How much did thiscost?’/She said, ‘nothin'man, it's stolen.' Musically, Reelzebubba is somewhat monotonous Many of the songs, with ; the exception of “Punk Rock Girl," sound remarkably similar. However, the essence of The Dead Milkmen is j found m their creative and subversive lyrics. The music is, for the most part, an added bonus. Milkmen fans who wen- afraid that the band had reached its peak with its | last album, Bucky Fellini, have nothing to fear. Beelzebubba is the Milkmen at their very best and their very worst For them, that’s pretty good Listen up — The Dead Milkmen let loose some dairy diatribe tor America on their newest album. Beelze bubba From led to right Rodney Amadeus Anonymous. Lord Maniac. Jasper Thread and Dean Clean SOUNDbites in wtxi rii>M Violent Femmes 3 l get nervous whenever a great bind makes a comeback, because greetoess. especially in rock music, lends to be transitoiy And toe Vtoleni Fem mes oere a grato band — ewn toougb toey never recorded a gram atom The Violenl Femmes «ere greet because toey took dramas. and etoen they let home, toey (to harder torn atoms! anyone else Draw ing toeir energy bom Gordon Gano's toner conHid - he is had preacher and had snot-punk—toe femmes slacked veto savage abandon and an impish sense ol humor. The most surprising Bung about toe new album is its consistency On previous records, toe Femmes never stomped toe same ground twice It lacks toe funous energy ot toe earlier slutl. but it's hardly an embarrassment They handed toe production them selves Guitars sting drums sound solid and Gano s whine pierces without grating There's cynicism and compassion here, along wito generous helpings ot toe humor tod rescued so many Femmes songs from seB-mduigence I hope you got I*/cause if you natty got*/you fust to come back and see me a leu mu* nee Kara Hate bits,* has gained a new conMnos. B toe songs lean a lot closer to I0B1 than punk, it's because Gano has stays had a lot more in common wito Johnny Cash than Johnny Honon. j rmgni not 00 cnwonging, out«ts wnotivf. lonely and a lol ot ton. Angst tor grownups. ■ Glen Hirahbmf, The Montana Kaimin, U. of Montana iiniWutiaari llOBO No Sleep At All WM couk) be better Van a vicious> conglomera tion of heavy natal power? How about a live con glomeration of heavy metal power? And not |ust any heavy metal, but the thrashing speed^netal ol Motor head Formed In 1975, Motortwad has gone through numerous personnel changes, but their music has always been the battling guitar and screaming vocal sound that resulted in several U K top-live albums and top-30 singles No Sleep At All is a run through the band's past hits All 10 tracks on the album have the same manic beat and the melodies and guitar work boast a rigid uniformity Highlights include the driving power of "Built For Speed" and "Overkill " ■ Jim Morgan, The Daily Pennsylva nian, U. of Pennsylvania Old style may be history, but Rush still rocks with best By C. Fredrick Lathrop ■ The Slate News Michigan State U. Since its debut album in 1974, Rush has become perhaps the premier arena rock attraction in music history. The band’s live shows are always well-received, and the sheer musical brilliance of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart takes on an even grea ter dimension in a concert setting. The outstanding element that exists in Rush’s first two live albums, 1976’s All The World's A Stage and 1981 's Exit... Stage Uft, is an incredible sense of timing — both were released at critical points in the band's career, when it was on the verge of a drastic chunge in musical direction. Since 1981, the band’s collective musical vision has taken it in a direction not always appreciated by fans and critics. Rush has now become the ultimate high-tech band, smoothing out its previously aggressive styl ings in favor of synthesizers and state-of-the art electronics. It is this side of Rush that is presented on the new double-live A Show Of Hands. Although difficult to do, it is important to disregard Rush’s past when weighing the merits of this album. The days of “Free Will" and lengthy conceptual pieces are gone. This is what Rush does now — exceptionally well. The most striking aspect of this album is the incredible sound quality. Lee’s bass and pedals come through the speakers with a substantial, but not overwhelming, amount of muscle, particularly when he latches on to Peart’s drums. Lifeson also makes his pre sence felt, slashing his way through the mix with sharp, metallic guitar lines. Musically, there are some exceptional mo ments and few disappointing ones. The band engages in some breakneck jamming on “Marathon" and “Mission," displaying ele ments of tightness and adventure not found on the studio versions. Lifeson cuts loose on one of his more impressive solos on “Turn The Page,” which is also better live. It’s a shame that Rush's recent albums have been given the cold shoulder by fans. Rush shouldn't be penalized for exploring new avenues. A Show Of Hands is a must for anyone who appreciates amazing sound and incredible talent, not those who insist on dwelling in the past. Steady Rush lineup: Neil Peart. Ales Lifeson and Gaddy Lae.
