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REVIEWS
W ant
Rufus Wamuright • Dreamuxrrks Records
| f you
D
i
p
% haven’t
i taken a
chance on
Rufus
Wainwright
m
fi- >
yet, I’d say
this would
he a gixxJ
time to get
busy.
To facili
tate your
duty, here’s the skinny: He’s music royalty (the
spawn of folk heroes Loudon Wainwright HI
and Kate McGarrigle), he’s a singer/song-
writer/pianist, and he’s openly gay— better yet,
openly fruity. Want, which goes on sale
Sept. 23, is his third album, following a self-
titled 1998 release and 2001’s Poses. (The
dehut was filled with smoky torch songs; the
follow-up threw some catchy pop hixiks into
the cauldron.)
These 12 ditties came to Wainwright in “a
two-month hurst of creativity,” according to
press materials. So fruitful was his prolificacy,
fans will he treated to a second volume of
Want sometime next year.
Dripping with bizarre imagery and blunt
confessions, Wainwright’s moody lyrics draw
from a PBS-m eets-M TV mind capable of
making cultural references that are equal parts
highbrow ( Poses contains a sting inspired by
the cult documentary Grey Gardens) and low
brow (the title track on Want manages to
name-drop John Lithgow). His words draw
instant attention from the opening line: “Men
reading fashion magazines...straight men," he
observes. “Oh what a world we live in.”
What follows is a symphonic carnival of
extremes, complete with touching ballads,
bouncy Gershwin-esque orchestrations and
even a tuba solo. This easily could have led to
the type of big-budget bombast that distances
the listener from the artist, but, thankfully, the
end result here is a more intimate peek at this
guy’s unique personality. (As “Vicious World”
fades out, Wainwright is caught on mike cute
ly squealing, “Super!")
Some local color enters into the picture on
the sedate “11:11.” I’m.dying to know the
story behind these lines: “Woke up this morn
ing at 11:11 /Wasn’t in Portland and 1 wasn’t
in heaven/Could have been either by the way
I was feeling.”
— Jim Radas ta
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E veryone D eserves M usic
Michael Franti and Spearhead • A RTISTdirect
B
y staying human,
civil rights
activist Michael
Franti and his band
Spearhead drop
another well-crafted
and delightfully
uplifting C D on the
masses of thinking,
feeling music lovers. Everyone Deserves Music
is a cornucopia of styles, enlightened lyrics
and beautiful melodies by one o f the world’s
most respected and prolific musician/activists,
whose songs address topics including A ID S
and gay rights.
For this one, the San Francisco-based hip-
hoppers build upon a number of musical styles
that bubble over and become infectious. The
:
reggae flavor of “Pray for Grace," one of my
personal favorites, gets you in the rruxxl to
dance and rejoice in the face of despair. The
classic-rock feel of “We Don’t Stop” and “Dive
Why Did You G o Away" add a funkier texture.
Then there’s the title track. It blossoms with
forgiveness, love, truth and empowerment and
musically combines soul, rock, funk, folk and
bits of classical to great effect.
And, of course, there’s what I like to call
the Peace Movement’s Anthem, “Bomb the
World." Sounds like an oxymoron, but listen
to the lyrics: “You can bomb the world to
pieces, but you can’t bomb the world to
peace.”
This is a soundtrack for the voiceless. It
deserves a listen for protesters and nonprotest-
ers alike— for those overwhelmed with a lack
of hope and despair, for those who feel
empowered or underpowered. G o ahead and
pick it up. You deserve music.
— Andumy Davis
W E LLS
FARGO
presents
THE NEXT STAGE.
WINNINGSTAD THEATRE
PQRTUN 0
CENTER
STAGE
THEATER
L I V E '
WORLD PREMIERE!
INE MESS
503-274-6588
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www.Pcs.anG
T he G rotto
Kristin Hersh • 4AD
n “Sno Cat,” the
first track of
Kristin Hersh’s
sixth solo recording,
quiet is king. A finger-
picked acoustic guitar,
Hersh’s familiar
weathered voice.
Giant Sand’s Howie
Gelb adds a subtle bit of piano. The recording is
so organic you can hear Hersh tapping the Ixxly
of her guitar during the song’s fadeout.
Her recording approach and dark lyrical
honesty recall N Y C singer/songwriter Nina
Nastasia’s 2003 release, Run to Ruin, but
Nastasia owes a debt to Hersh. Because
before the listening public had Nina Nasta
sia, or C at Power, Hersh carved a place for
dark and brave female singer/songwriters.
But her ghostly acoustic presence isn’t the
whole story.
In the mid-1980s, an indie-rock band
fronted by two women put on live sets like
lightning supernovas. Making hallucinogenic
pop music for an audience used to seeing XY
chromosomes front and center, Throwing
Muses featured Hersh’s shriek front and cen
ter. Signed to the high-profile altema-labcl
4A D , the Muses blazed a (sometimes psychot
ic) trail, clearing the way for Liz Phair and PJ
Harvey to howl.
After releasing a handful o f solid records,
half-sister Tanya Donnelly left the band to
start Belly, and Hersh started having kids.
In the midst o f transitional weirdness,
Hersh became a solo artist, exploring qui
eter spaces.
In T he G rotto, lyrics fall into place, with
slight and oblique repetition. T h e picture
forms, a winter moment, an escape from
her lover: “I thank gixl you’re comatose/as I
pull back the bed clothes." Angry and diffi
cult moments o f marital anti-bliss, of life-
snuffing inertia.
T he original lineup of Throwing Muses hit
the road last year for a final hurrah, and Hersh
promises her new project, 50’ Wave, will tour
soon. “Harder, faster, more intense," she
promises on TTirowmgMusic.com. Nothing
could sound more different from The Grotto.
W hat to do with the flip-flop of Kristin
Hersh’s sonic fancies? Pick your poison. Either
way you’ll be witnessing the continuing evolu
tion of an honest artist.
— Con Taratoot JF1
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1
S EP TEM B ER 30th IS GAY & LESBIAN AUDIENCE NIGHT!
J o i n u s a f t e r t h e s h o w t o r h o r s d o e u v r e s a n d a c h a n c e to win
fre e tickets f r o m o u r hostess, the fa b u lo u s P O IS O N WATERS
T h a n k s to o u r G ay a n d L e s b i a n A u d i e n c e N ig h t S p o n s o r . . .
ju s tr r n i
The Backers
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