‘Tubthumper’ thumps out commercial sound
By Les Zaczek
Freelance reporter
Chumbawamba is a) an exotic
dance, b) a new candy bar or c) a
tongue twister. Actually, it’s
none other than a British ex
punk band with a dance record
whose new single is climbing up
the charts and which recently
found itself at number one on the
Billboard Hits of the World, beat
ing out the likes of Will Smith
and Mariah Carey.
The title track single seems to
have all that’s needed these days
to sell millions — a good beat, a
chorus that's catchier than hell
and humorous lyrics: “he drinks
a whiskey drink, he drinks a vod
ka drink, he drinks a lager drink,
he drinks a cider drink...” The
party is definitely on for Chum
bawamba and their listeners.
Chumbawamba sounds a lot
like the early ’90s Manchester
dance bands such as EMF and
Primal Scream, with a little less
guitar and more emphasis on
electronic instruments, funky
drum loops, jazzy trumpet inter
ludes and soulful female vocals.
What sets this band apart front
others like them is their luscious
past. Springing up front the
British squatter-punk scene in
the early ’80s, Chumbawamba
was intent on defying the main
stream. A self-released single on
their own label Agit-Pop quickly
flew to the top of the indepen
CO REVIEW
ICHUMBAWAMBA
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.
■
Tubthumper
Chumbawamba
■ TYPE: dance music
■ PUBLISHED BY:
Universal Records
■ RATING:
dent charts. Soon enough, the
band recorded a full-length
record in support of “Live-Aid,”
and "Never Mind the Ballots,” a
response to the U.K. elections in
1987.
Just when the band was being
discovered for their melodic
punk rock with strong political
iyrics, they changed their style to
put out “English Rebel Songs,”
an a capella folk album. Not sur
prisingly, many of their fans did
n’t appreciate this sudden musi
cal turn.
But to these purveyors of anar
chism, consistency didn’t matter
much, so in 1990 they took yet
another direction and released
“Slap,” a dance record that
seemed to fit well with the
changing British scene.
Seven years later, Chum
bawamba is back to claim their
piece of the pie in the world of
commercial dance music. Who
knows? Maybe they just got sick
of their day jobs, living in bro
ken-down buildings and playing
for a bunch of punks who don't
have enough cash to buy their
records.
The problem with this album is
that the band seems to have for
gotten what they set out to do in
music in the first place. If their ha
tred for authority and convention
is really sincere, then it would be
nice to know why this record
sounds so damn commercial.
Don’t get me wrong — there
are some good ideas floating
around on “Tubthumper. ” “The
Good Ship Lifestyle" has an in
teresting song structure and a dri
ving rock-out chorus that brings
back Chumbawamba’s punk
roots.
There are also some strong po
litical sentiments in the lyrics,
which are rarely present in dance
music these days. A good exam
ple is in “Smalltown,” a slower
track with a jazzy feel: “This is
Tearoom England. They’ll kick
your face in so politely. This is
tearoom England, they’ll kick in
your face so nicely...”
Check out "One by One,” an
all-out blue-collar anthem. "Pon
tius Pilate came to our town. Up
to the dockyards to see the pick
et line. We asked him to help, but
he just turned around. He’s the
leader of the union now ... He
washed his hands, and he
dreams of his reward. A seat in
the House of Lords.”
"Mary Mary" is a techno mas
terpiece with a catchy trumpet
riff and some driving bass that’s
bound to get the laziest ravers off
their butts.
In fact, almost every track on
this album sticks in your head
like a Pepsi commercial. The pro
duction is slick, the beats are
good and you can dance to it. If
this is what you are going for.
then “Tubthumper” is worth
owning. It’s bound to keep the
party going, and you may find
yourself humming the melodies
many mornings after.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a
lot of revolutionary musical ideas
that set Chumbawamba apart
from most of their "one-hit won
der” peers. This band is definite
ly good at what they do, it's just
that what they are doing is not all
that exciting. Judging from their
interesting history and an even
more fascinating name, we
should expect a lot more.
Gerlinger gets jazzed for concert combos
The Jazz Cafe in the Gerlinger
Hall lounge will offer smooth
sounds in a mellow atmosphere
By Thomas Valinoti
Freelance Reporter
Imagine reclining on a cozy sofa and sipping
espresso, while relaxing to mellow jazz tunes.
Beginning tonight, The Jazz Cafe will provide
students with the opportunity to do exactly
that.
The cafe will open its doors at 8 p.m. in the
Gerlinger Hall Alumni Lounge. This will be
the first in a series of such events produced by
the EMU Cultural Forum.
Special guest artist Rob Scheps will play
saxophone with University Assistant Professor
Gary Versace, bassist Dan Schulte and drum
mer Alan Jones.
Two combo groups from the University’s
School of Music jazz program are also sched
uled to perform. Their performance will fea
ture botli music by familiar jazz composers and
a variety of original material and arrangements.
Scheps, whose musical tour has taken him
all over the world, is no stranger to the jazz are
na. The Eugene native has traveled far and
wide to continue his jazz career. Scheps grew
up in New York, where he studied jazz at the
New England Conservatory.
For six years he performed around the
Boston area. From there he moved to New
York to continue his career. He has performed
on Broadway and with the New York City
Opera.
Scheps also made his mark on the other side
of the world when he traveled to Tokyo, Japan.
There he performed at the Blue Note Club with
renown cometist Terumasa Hino. He ap
peared on Hino’s album “Bluestruck.” On top
of this, Scheps has performed with George
Russell’s Living Time Orchestra since 1987 as
a featured tenor saxophone soloist. He often
leads his own groups and is a member of the
Bob Moses group and a faculty member at
Mamies College of Music.
The Jazz cafe was created about two years
ago to provide a local University venue with a
typical jazz club setting. Cafe performances fea
ture local artists and University students, with
occasional special guests.
The cafe was originally held in Beall Concert
Hall, but the hall did not possess the attributes
of a true jazz venue, and the cafe was relocated
to Gerlinger Alumni Lounge.
The lounge is complete with couches, fire
places and antique furniture. It meets the needs
of the cafe that Beall Concert 1 lall could not.
As an added bonus, espresso and light
snacks are also available at the cafe. With the
smooth sounds and a mellow atmosphere, the
lounge is the perfetf spot for a bit of jazz.
Admission to cafe is $3 for students and $5
for general admission. The EMU Cultural Fo
rum promises to bring more events of a similar
nature this year, as well more nights of the cafe.
For more information, call Gus Baum at 346
0634.
#
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