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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1989)
*-*J nuw*** ■ • Staff Reporter Guadalcanal Diary Flip-Flop That other peppy purveyor of the Athens Pop sound, Guadalca nal Diary, has again released an other witty and irreverent album, “Flip-Flop.” Guadalcanal Diary has not quite achieved the notoriety of its Athens, Ga., counterpart R.E.M. because the two bands’ styles dif fer significantly. R.E.M.’s more serious and in coherent lyrics are a direct contrast to the bulk of Guadalcanal's off beat and quirky tunes. Both bands rely on the guitar, but Guadalcanal generally uses a stronger and louder sound. “Flip-Flop,” the band’s fourth album, will probably not be the breakthrough album. The band hasn t really broken any new ground since its 1985 debut album “Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man.” This is really too bad because Guadalcanal Diary’s music is cer tainly some of the more original, enjoyable music on the scene to day. The music has been described as a country-western flavored pop, which adds to its exciting flavor when combined with some of the more interesting lyrics around. But it ain’t Hank Williams Jr. Murray Attaway’s tenor fits in great with Jeff Walls’ lyrical guitar licks. The driving backbone of Rhett Crowe’s bass and John Poe on drums is awfully good. Guadalcanal Diary has dealt with a variety of subjects besides love and death. A general content ment of living is a common theme. That contentment was trans lated on “2X4 with Litany,” the 1987 album’s best song. On “Flip Flop,” it’s dealt with on “Always Saturday,” also the album’s best song. “A shower of whispers glow and bloom/ Late night movie Fills the room/ Streetlights twinkling like dew/1 close my eyes, it ends too soon.” Someone in the band must’ve broken up with a rich girlfriend, because a lot of hurt feelings showed with4‘The Likes Of You” and “Pretty Is As Pretty Does.” Listeners might feel bad for the guy, but they’ll enjoy the aggres sive tones in both songs. “Whiskey Talk” is a great dis play of bar-room gusto, as well as the album’s hardest-edged tune. Walls bums up the vinyl on this. The band is featured at its most interesting with “ . . . Vista,” which harkens back to “Watusi Rodeo” from “Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man.” There is lots of quirky fun with this one. In short, “Rip-Flop” will not disappoint any Guadalcanal Diary fans and is a welcome treat for new listeners. New Order evolves from sad to glad uj ifiai » Senior Reporter New Order Technique Qwest Records New Order seems to be the latest of the emerging-into-mainstream bands to get caught up in the good feeling of the mass markets. albHffik, Seventy-five percent of New Or der’s four members once made up 75 percent of Joy Division, one of the giants of late 1970s depression. After lead singer Ian Curtis’ suicide, the remaining three members went on to become New Order, eventually add ing a fourth member. At first, they followed in Joy Divi sion’s footsteps, releasing a number of singles and EPs filled with droning talcs of sadness and loneliness, backed up by simple guitars and basses. Then, on LPs like “Power, Cor ruption, and Lies,” and “Low Life,” they seized upon a more com mercial-style synthetic dance sound, and they haven’t let go of it yet Gradually the band’s mood has improved, and “Technique” is merely the latest installment in this series of increasingly good-feeling dance pop. mere are some new sounds on “Technique,” most notably a little 12-string acoustic guitar and a slick, funk tone on the electric guitar. But all this really goes to show is New Order’s ability to make any instru ment, including voice, sound like it was played on a computer by a robot. This is about the only band that can do a song with absolutely no i-— keyboards until the final chorus (“Guilty Partner”), and still have it fall firmly into the synth music cate gory. The guitar, bass and drums sound like keyboards, keyboards and keyboards. New Order has also reached a new level of optimism, mellowness, and self-satisfaction on “Technique.” The members seem to have found themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as they don’t write annoyingly simplistic songs about iL On “All The Way,’’ the lyrics to the chorus are “It takes years to find the nerve/To be apart from what you’ve done/To find the truth inside yourself/And not depend on any one.’’ Nice sentiments, but consider ing the wall of shimmering key boards that follows, the only possible reaction is “Ick.” Then on Side Two’s first song, “Run,” they sing, “I don’t know what day it is, or who I’m talking to/ But I know that I’m OK, because you’re here with me today/I haven’t got a single problem now that I’m with you.” This is New Order? Isn’t anyone out there moody and depressed anymore? Visual education important; artifacts attract visitors LENTZ From Page 6 Mrs. Lentz’s husband Donald, collected the artifacts during his 10 trips to the Orient where he con ducted research on Oriental music and culture. Mr. Lentz was director of Uni versity bands from 1937 to 1973, and a professor of ethnomusicol ogy at UNL. He believed the visual aspect of education is an important part of learning, Mrs. Lentz said. As a result of this belief, she said, all works are authentic. “My husband collected truly ethnic artifacts, not touristy things,” she said. “He believed the ethnic art leads to a better understanding of a culture.” Mrs. Lentz said she’s not wor ried about not having enough people visit the center when it reopens. She said she’s surprised how “beautifully accepted” the center is. “It’s amazing how many classes from different disciplines come to the center,” she said. “Art, history, anthropology and poetry classes have come. 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