36 ▼ jun« 1902 ▼ just out
SPELT
Outlawed Super Grain Makes Comeback
E
xtremely popular throughout Europe before the 20th century,
Spelt, also known as “Dinlde”, was outlawed by Germany's Third
Reich in favor of higher yielding wheat. Fortunately, small farmers hid
the seed, ensuring its future. I oday, it is once again very popular in
Europe, where the nutty, whole grain flavor is highly revered. Con
taining more protein and crude fiber than wheat, it is of particular in terest to those
individuals who have wheat allergies since it is easily digested and substitutes well.
At Food Front we have Spelt grain and flour in our Bulk Department and
packaged Spelt flour in our Grocery Department. Recipes available.
2375 NW Thurman, Portland, OR 97210 • (503) 222-5658
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HELMUT KOGLER
C O N C E R T
An eclectic mix
of music from
around the
world. In styles
ranging from
classical to
swing.
GAY FREEDOM BAND
Saturday, June 13,
8:00 p.m.
Metropolitan
Community Church
1644 N.E. 24th Avenue
Sliding scale admission
$3-7 at the door
Is Ethel Merman
far behind?
Judy Garland’s music is out in a new collection and the
“mope-rock.” kings have a new release
b y D r . T a n ta lu s
K, everybody. It’s lesbian and gay
pride month, and not a moment too
soon to bring your Cary Grant im
personation out of the closet and
blast off into the Judy Garland zone.
So all together now: “Judy! Judy! Judy!”
Unlike our rival River City reviewers, Just
Out doesn’t attract a ton of freebies, so the receipt
of some selections from a relatively new Judy
Garland box set put
our heads into quite
a spin. So, thank
you,
Capitol
Records. Now that
the thanks are out
of the way, let’s
talk some dirt.
It seems clear to
us that somebody
at Capitol Records is operating under some pretty
stereotypical assumptions about what gay and
lesbian audiences want to listen to. No doubt they
call this “target marketing” or something equally
nonoffensive and implausible.
Well, we are here to remind you that our
collections are Filled with more than Barbara
Streisand, Judy Garland, Holly Near, Ethel
Merman, Liberace, the Weather Girls, the Pet
Shop Boys and the Village People.
Which brings us back around to Ms. Garland.
Because she is such a well-known commodity,
reviewing her music is a little bit like reviewing
Christmas: you all know what to expect. Is there
anyone out there who doesn’t know what she
sounds like? Is there anyone who doesn’t know
the take of tragedy: the grand successes; the failed
marriages; the overdose of drugs before it became
a popular sport?
The selections we received came from a box
set that contains live concert recordings, previ
ously unreleased material and the obligatory in
troduction by daughter Liza Minelli. Fans will
probably be enamored of this collection, but oth
ers might consider whether they need this much
Judy Garland in their life to make them happy.
As often happens with boxed sets, the result is
a rather mixed bag. Judy had a great voice, and
her recordings of national standards like “Rock-a-
Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” "That’s
Entertainment,” and (of course) “Over the Rain
bow” are classics of that show-biz genre. They
are certainly superior to her previously-released
duct with Liza of “Don’t Rain on My Parade”
(ouch!) and even Pavarotti couldn’t help her
through “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,”
although it might be fun to hear him try. Lord
knows they are superior to anything Liza has done
in the last decade.
Just as fun, and much less stereotypical, is the
latest recording by the Cure, the so-called “mope-
rock” kings of the modem age. While musically
they are several light years away from Ms. Gar
land, they emit a similar sad aura. Thus it is not
surprising that they chose to quote Shelly on their
liner notes (“Our sincerest laughter with some
pain is fraught/Our sweetest songs are those that
tell of saddest thought...”)
In their previous recording, Disintegration,
singer-songwriter Robert Smith compressed his
considerable angst into songs of indescribably
sadness. Their latest release. Wish, finds them
somewhat less mournful and perched halfway
between Disintegration and its predecessor, the
prop-oriented KL ks Me! Kiss Me! Kiss Me!
From a point-headed intellectual viewpoint
O
(Nurse Consuelo’s specialty) the Cure’s music is
attractive because no one else seems to be work
ing the same musical territory, an aural landscape
that has been painstakingly developed over the
past 14 years. The Cure, like many rock bands,
rely heavily on guitar, bass and synthesizer, but
unlike many minimalist groups, they know how
to create a big sound from the few instruments
available.
Their trademark style is one of carefully struc
tured and elaborately produced layers of sound,
placed on top of one another until each song is
awash with a multiplicity of competing and com
plimentary waves of music. At their best, the
Cure are able to create their own musical uni
verse, consistent within itself, which draws the
listener inevitably inward.
Robert Smith’s voice, which might charitably
be described as heartfelt, and often as tortured,
adds to the musical mix. But don’t be fooled by
this description: Smith is no dog howling at the
moon. His over-the-top singing is the epitome of
rock: deliberately defiant, it packs an emotional
wallop that others would surely envy. In fact it’s
hard to imagine that a “regular” singer could even
perform with the rest of the group.
Despite Smith’s acknowledgment of his
hangups, fears and excesses, there is never a hint
that he has given up trying to find his way. There
is no sense that he has lost his feeling of self-
worth, only that he recognizes his limitations and
struggles against them. The saddest songs may
indeed be the sweetest, but Smith uses them in
order to purge his demons.
We don’t mean to make too much of this
analogy, but gay pride month is a time when gay
and lesbian people are encouraged to Fight their
own demons, particularly the ones imposed upon
them from the outside. They can do so through
song, as the Cure tries to do. They can do so by
marching and rejecting the stereotypes that the
world continues to impose upon them, as Capitol
Records occasionally does.
As Andrew Holleran put it in Dancer from the
Dance, ‘The point is that we are not doomed
because we are homosexual, my dear, we are
doomed only if we life in despair because of it....”
New and noted: Those of you who enjoy
pianist Jim Blackburn and bassist Dulhic, who
regularly perform at Hobo’s will be glad to know
that they have released a tape called Straight
Ahead. Well-recorded, it contains the standards
(Gershwin, etc.) that you expect to hear. Next
time you’re in their neighborhood, don’t forget to
ask about it.