SOUNObites
Milli Vanilli
Girl You Know It's True
If you've just broken up with
your loved one, this romantic
dance record might soothe your
soul There are few departures
from the subject of love - the group
uses the term “baby" 40 times and
“girl" 79 times on the album. The
first two singles — the title track
and “Baby Don't Forget My
Number," both utilize a rap-like
beat behind soulful melodies.
Although somewhat derivative,
Milli Vanilli’? debut is an effective
package of dance grooves and love
lyrics. ■ Len Anderson, The
Argonaut, U. of Idaho.
Paul McCartney
Flowers in the Dirt
This strong collection of songs
should bring back the ex Beatle
from a protracted musical and lyri
cal slump McCartney uses a myr
iad of talents, sounds and innova
tions on the record, including the
songwriting ability of Elvis
Costello. "My Brave Face,” the
Costello co-penned rocker which
opens the album, is the perfect
track to open a record containing
better, more developed tracks than
McCartney's recent records.
Perhaps the most interesting song
on Flouers is “Ou Est Le Soleil,"
which appears as a bonus track on
Cl) and cassette. ■ Marc Freeman,
The Daily Collegian, Pennsylvania
State U.
The Cure
Disintegration
If you consider yourself a die
hard Cure fan, this album will
grow on you. It’s a melancholy
record which explores the psyche
of Cure vocalist and ringleader
Robert Smith, and many of the
songs are dreamy numbers wuth
repetitive guitar and synthethized
textures. Those who aren't fans of
the band are likely to find
Disintegration overly depressing
However, those who truly enjoy the
Cure can save this album for a
rainy day. ■ Stacey Taylor, The
Daily Vidette, Illinois State U.
COURTKSY Of JIVF RCA
Slave Raider, a Minneapolis group, is one of the bands on the Miller band network. The network
pays bands to endorse its products
Band endorsements questioned
By Burl Gilyard
■ The Minnesota Daily
U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities
For many rock bands, a shot at corpo
rate sponsorship is a dream come true.
Endorsement of a major product can
result in increased profits, new contacts,
and valuable exposure
Problems arise, though, when sponsor
ship conflicts with musical integrity
Several bands have found themselves in
a quandary after becoming part of the
Miller Genuine Draft Band Network,
which has served as home to groups such
as the Del Fuegos and the Ding Ryders.
“1 don’t think in this situation there’s
any conflict at all, because they don’t ask
the bands to be anything other than what
they are,” says Steve Knill of Good Music
Management, which handles Network
member Slave Raider and other local
Minneapolis groups. "It’s a promotional
association and that's all it is. They sup
port the bands through promotional
materials and in return the bands hang
a banner and the name Miller is on the
promo. They don’t have to like the prod
uct, they don't have to use the product,
but it’s certainly understood that they’re
not gonna go up there and drink (,'orona."
Knill concedes, however, that the prod
uct-music association can go awry, and
cites the Del Fuegos as an example
“Their audience didn't accept them doing
a TV commercial for Miller And the
record they had out at that time didn’t
expand enough on that audience that
they could afford to lose the hardcore peo
ple who are totally against corporate
sponsorship of any kind, so I think it was
a bad timing mistake on their behalf”
Tom Mason, a member of the
Minneapolis group Dream Diesel, says he
would turn down any beer sponsorship.
“There’s a certain amount of slutting I
won’t do!” he says “If you're going to put
a beer lube! on your music, you're just
See ENDORSEMENTS, Page 14
CDs cause
meltdown of
vinyl market
By Brian Thomas Cake
■ The Review
U. of Delaware
and Torn Ason
■ The Purdue t xponent
Purdue U.
And pop she's . tick buying
astairwav tick tick cnickh .toheav
en heaven ssccraatch.
That's the sound of music coming from
the grandduddv of reproduced music
the LI’ Once the industry leader, the
long playing record is now viewed by
record industry executives, recording
artists, retailers and fans alike as a for
mat whose days are numbered
The ascendancy of the compact disc m
recent years has led to a decrease in sales
of both new and "classic" l.i’s. And as if
the situation for vinyl records wasn’t bad
enough, the cassette single is taking an
ever-increasing chunk of the vinyl 45’s
market share
According to the Recording Industry
Association of America, l.P sales
dropped 33 percent in 1988, while Cl)
and cassette sales rose 31 percent and M
percent respectively An even sharper
contrast was recorded in the singles
department, with vinyl singles dropping
11 percent and sales for the cassette sin
“I get a great deal of satisfac
tion seeing a record spin on
the turntable, but I listen to
CDs now.” „
— Owen I home,
Rainbow Rt*cords
gle skyrocketing 341 percent
Why is the LF following in the steps of
the eight-track tape? Industry experts
say consumers are opting for the dura
bilty and mobility of the Cl) and cassette
formats
The main deterrent of the vinyl LF is
that it is not mobile," says Joe Maxwell,
owner of Rainbow Records in Delaware
“People can pop a cassette or CD in a car
or Walkman and take their music with
them They can’t do that with an album "
Nationally, LPs are expected to com
prise only about 5 percent of the indus
try’s total revenue by 1990 Leading
record companies are beginning to phase
out older LF titles, as more consumers
are replacing classic LFs with CDs.
“Research shows that people who have
bought CD players and have a large
record collection are buying CDs of
things like the Beatles that they have on
LF. but want a permanent, almost inde
structable copy of,” says Bob Miller,
music director for WAZY radio in
Indiana
Because of the decline in LF sales,
major labels are putting stringent return
policies into effect, making it risky for
retailers to maintain large stocks of LFs
A&M Records, for example, has adopted
a one-way sales policy concerning the 45.
The label, while charging retailers HO
cents less for vinyl 45s, is also accepting
no returns on 45s.
Before long, such policies may lead to
vinyl being phased out altogether “Once
Columbia or WEA or one of the other
major la is-Is offers no new releases on