Page 6
Daily Nebraskan
Thursday, April 9, 1987
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Beefeater, that D.C. pioneer of funk
punk fusion, has finally called it quits. The
band was kind enough to leave us a 12-inch
EP on Olive Tree Records, "Need A Job."
Beefeater takes up where the Bad Brains left
off and is even more versatile. While the Bad
Brains fused hardcore, reggae and funk, Bee
feater throws in bits of just about everything
else and lets you know it.
fifth column
by bryan peterson
All four band members share vocal and
percussion duties on this release, produced
by Kenny Dread, who handled studio chores
on the thrash-reggae craziness of HR's (Bad
Brains vocalist) solo LP. Most of the songs are
fairly unstructured but hold together by the
bandmembers' talent.
Bass notes jump all over, punctuating a
distorted guitar sound. A flurry of percussion
rains down, unleashing uncountable beats on
unknown instruments. All this adds up to
great backing for some well-crafted lyrics.
Beefeater is at its best during a free-lance
jam session on "Apartheid," its best live song.
The frustrated frenzy of "Laurel Grove" is no
slouch either, as it tells the story of a rela
tionship gone wrong.
"In America" explores the madness that
spawned John Hinckley, the San Ysidro Mc
Massacre, a man threatening to blow up the
Washington Monument and the arms race.
Now you said who is crazy?
But relax, it's not all serious. Among oth
ers, just try "Better 'n' Me," which rocks with
the best of current underground hits.
And do not despair over Beefeater's dem
ise: A followup to the band's earlier "Plays
For Lovers" album on Dischord is almost
upon us.
I first encountered Chumbawambalast
summer at St. Albans, north of London, where
the band was playing at an international
youth fair under a Big Top tent. Quite a sight
it was, with 12-inch Mohicans dancing with
14-year-old German girls in pigtails. Despite
enormous cultural and lingual separation,
crowd members united to enjoy Chumba
wamba's audio-visual presentation.
The members of Chumbawamba vary in
number from about six to 10. Their varied
talents are used to create visual and musical
messages and slogans, mostly concerned with
social or political themes. It's not what they
say but how they say it that will keep most
people's interest.
While the new album lacks Chumbawam
ba's visual aspects, "Pictures of Starving
Children Sell Records" backs up the title
theme with vibrant, resilient songs. Horns, an
accordion and a lilting keyboard back up
more traditional instruments. Bouncing bass
notes are dropped at just the right times,
complementing a variety of guitar styles. And
in between songs ironic commercials from
the same giant corporations who simultane
ously exploit Third World labor and contrib
ute to Live Aid can be heard.
In keeping with the fashion for charity, not
changeHere's our contribution: We've called
it Slag AidFor every pop star that we slag off
today, a million pounds will be given away!!"
The crowd cheers, and thus begins a
vicious satire of the slew of Aid projects
designed to feed the world's hungry. After
stars like Paul McCartney (whose "crocodile
tears will irrigate the desert"), Freddie Mer
cury and David Bowie are denounced, Chum
bawamba announces that Cliff Richard, that
shining beacon of moral worth, will be cruci
fied. Again, the crowd cheers.
It does make one wonder: Band Aid, Live
Aid, and Sport Aid raised some $100 million,
an amount equal to that which "the world
spends on arms every two hours, 40 minutes."
Chumbawamba is not against charity in
and of itself. The band is, however, revolted
by the maintenance of a global system that
perpetuates poverty in an international scale
war and war preparation, the destruction
of surplus food, unjust puppet governments
kept in power by bigger countries in a
pathetic game of global odmination, greedy
multinational companies who establish
empires while paying a pittance in wa
ges .. . the list is endless.
The band's solution? Feed the world,
Starve the rich.
"And when the system starts to crack, we'll
have to be ready to give it all back."
EMMA (M.A. Draje Records, De Konkur
rent dist.)
This double longtime squat in the counter
cultural haven Amsterdam before being for
cibly evicted last year. For quasi-legally
occupying a vacant building, the folks at
Emma did a great job. By the time of eviction
they had constructed a bar, restaurant, re
cording studio and living quarters for many.
Emma became a stop for numerous "alter
native" bands who toured Europe, as well as a
regular venue for native "A'dam" bands. The
30 bands on this two-album set took advan
tage of Emma's recording studios, and the
result is a well-recorded, varied presentation
of mostly European underground music.
Nineteen of the bands on this collection
reside in the Netherlands and range in style
from the supersonic speed of BGK's lengthy
burst to the jazz-like improv of Zak In As.
Aside from the American noise-mongers Sonic
Youth, the bands originate in Western Europe.
One side is set aside mostly for industrial
noise. Some of it is evocative and challenging,
as in numbers by The Ex or If, both from the
Netherlands. Sadly, some of it comes off as
gooey, vacuous sludge. 4
Aside from industrial noise, the other
major genre of underground music repres
ented is good old punk rock. Here again there
are both dull and exemplary contributions.
Italy's Indigesti cranks out a good rocker,
even if the lyrics are confusing. Combat Not
Conform demonstrates the bet of current
German thrash music. "Media Control" shines
as a compulsory sing-along by CNC's fellow
Germans Tu-Do Hospital.
The indescribable new-somethingness of
the Morzalpronk track, whose only lyrics are
'MEEEP', felt out of place sandwiched between
punk songs and left me yearning for more
variety. Yet the compilers have released quite
an amalgmation as it is. This is best realized
in a song by the Gentry. The song itself is
good, but the vocalist materialized a hideous
Elton John apparition I thought I had safely
hidden away in my subconscious.
The beauty of this compilation is its versa
tility combined with an effect of whetting the
listener's appetite. I was left both satisfied
and hungry for more. All in all, the Emma
compilation is a great and an excellent
representation of some of European under
ground music's most recent trails.
Review By Kevin Cowan
Staff Reporter
Chalk up another canister of celluloid
rubbish for the proverbial trash can of worth
less commercialized film.
Blake Edwards' "Blind Date" is an ill
timed, innane attempt that belongs in no
theater, commercial or otherwise.
Edwards, seemingly trying to copy the
approach used in "After Hours," opens with a
half-successful, yuppie dreg named Walter
(Bruce Willis), who's in desperate need of a
date for "the big business dinner." Walter's
Kill-for-a buck car dealerbrother finds him
Plot spoils surprise in 'Blind Date'
none other than the infamous Kim Basinger.
The previews tell you what happens next.
Bruce has specific orders not to get Kim
drunk; he does. Kim gets unrealistically
strung out and promptly destroys Walter's
tragic yuppie existence.
The problem is that it's not funny. It's not
entertaining and it's certainly not worth the
money. It's not even worth seeing for free.
If Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell were to
get together and make a film about the pros
and cons of dating of having a good time
this would be the piece of garbage they
would come up with.
But why? Why does Edwards offend me so
with this rendering?
First, the comedy is non-existant. Edwards
continually tried to build up to something
funny, then destroys it by placing serious
dialogue in place of the punch line; thus, the
ill-timed comedy with an anti-climactic effect.
Secondly, the characters. Bruce Willis
should have stayed with "Moonlighting." His
dialogue, in particular, isn't that bad. But
Willis doesn't strike me as the yuppie type.
Basinger appears as a down south girl who
wears too much makeup and has a serious
drinking problem. Two or three sips of cham
pagne and she's running amok, spouting
blatantly unnatural monologue.
The whole film is the same, bogus, redund
ant and irrelevant attempts at a witty comedy.
To the best of my knowledge, I have never
been so provoked that I wanted to leave the
theater.
My best advice is to wait for this to arrive in
the video stores, rent it, and record over it.
But don't waste the time to sit and be aggra
vated by this movie.
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Howell
April 16-18,2 1 -25 and
April 28-May 2 at 8 p.m.
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TICKETS:
S6 StudentsSr. Citizens
S8 All Others
(S4 Student Rush
15 min. before curtain)
Write or Call: University Theatre Box Office! "
12th & R Streets, Lincoln, NE 68588-0201
University of Nebraska Lincoln
M 7PM X?
EAST CAMPUS GREAT PLAINS ROOM
Advance tickets available at Pickles, Dirt Cheap & NE Unions
Students: $5.50 Advance $3.50 at the door
General Public: $7.50 Advance $3.50 at the door
Sponsored by: Black Special Events, Black Entertainment and
Concerts and Coffeehouses
