I fl surreal mix of electronics and kitsch
I takes over where pank and disco left off
From the abandoned ware
houses of London’s West End
to the chic clubs of New York,
Chicago and Los Angeles, the cry is
heard: “ACCEEEID!”
Dancers sporting Afro wigs, bell
bottoms, clogs and smiley-face T
shirts gyrate to the electronic, synthe
sized, monotonous beat, “jacking”
(contorting) their bodies through
strawberry-scented smoke as digi
tally sampled snippets of basslines
from “Shaft” and bad Abba songs
waft through the speakers. Psyche
delic lights flash on buttons em
bossed with sayings like “Bum,
Baby, Bum!” and “Jack Your
Body.” But as dancers hold up two
fingers and shout “peace,” laughter
follows. The dancers find the hippie
saying ridiculous. And they wear
their outdated clothes with their
tongues firmly planted in cheek.
The scene above only can be de -
scribed as the 1970s on an acid trip -
literally.
The scene is called Acid House, a
counter-cultural music, art and fash
ion movement that takes 1980s nos
talgia to new extremes with its high
camp, satirical interpretations of old
disco and acid rock, hippie drug cul
ture and ’70s fashion. The hideous
’70s smiley face grins down on the
scene as its mascot.
Acid House is an intense, cullish
I
variation of Chicago House music.
Chicago House - a hypnotically re
petitive, electronic genre of dance
music based on digital samples of old
disco records re-mixed with a thump
ing bassline - was created in an
underground Windy City club called
The Warehouse (hence the name
House music). Acid House takes the
genre a step further by mixing creepy
noises, subliminal messages and
sampled dialogue from campy old
films and disco songs into the generic
House bassline. Acid is basically
“body music” - mindless, beat
crazy fun designed for dancing.
When songs by House groups like
M/A/R/R/S, S-Express and Bomb the
Bass debuted on London dance
floors, the Brits went wild. A craze as
trend-prone as punk was bom. Lon
don nightclub-goers shaved off their
Mohawks, donned Rccboks, gold
chains and welcomed the changing of
the pop cultural guard.
The trend experienced a new twist
in the summer of 1988 and became
Acid House, according to SPIN
magazine’s London correspondent
Sean O’Hagan.
“When a trippy, electronic Chi
cago record called 'Acid Trax’ by
Phulurc appeared on the scene, it
singlehandcdly changed the rules of
the game,” O,’Hagan wrote.
Sound wizard Todd Terry, of the
-1
House group Todd Terry Project, has
claimed that the term “acid” is de
rived from the black slang word
“bumin”’ - stealing another musi
cian’s work — but the Brits embraced
the more obvious interpretation:
drugs.
The drug connection to Acid
House makes sense -- most of the
music is trancelike and surreal...like,
well, an acid trip.
The Acid House drug of choice is
Ecstasy.
“It is THE club drug,” an Acid
House fanatic said in Britain’s New
Musical Express. “It relaxes you,
makes you dance and talk and helps
you meet new people.’’
In essence, Acid House is a self
indulgent, hedonistic movement.
Since most of the music is created by
anonymous producers who use
pseudonyms, the musicians are invis
ible to their adoring public, so the
dancers wind up being the stars.
Some of the hipper-than-thou
musical savants.claim Acid House
will become as big as punk or the
l%0s Mod scene. Call it the “Third
British Invasion,” if you must. Or
perhaps “The British Interpretation
of Black America Invasion.” We’ll
sec.
But beware if you’re in the market
for Acid House. All the Acid music
compilations arc imports and run at
least S12 an album -- so know what
you’re in for before you buy or you
might wind up with something you’ll
want to bum, baby, bum. Following
is some House and Acid advice:
Jack The Tab, “Acid Tablets
Volume One.’’ (Castalia Records,
U.K.): Rumors claim this Acid com
pilation of various “bands” is really
a compendium of work by Psychic
r
TV (or Psychick TV - spellings seem
lo vary, according to the hand’s
whims). Former Soft Cell and Psy
chic TV member Dave Ball did a lot
of the keyboard work. Regardless,
some of the most caustic, surreal
Acid around is on this LP. Side One’s
“Psyche Out’’ by King Tubby con
tains a spasmic, trippy layer of syn
thesized whistles with samples of a
gothic ghoul repeating the line ‘ ‘apa
thy has to pass’’ over and over. And
“Oxygen” by Griselda contains a
great sample of Peggy Gravel’s “I
hate nature” speech from John Wa
ters’ 1977 cult film, “Desperate Liv
ing.” The L.P.’s best track is “Meet
Every Situation,” a digital celebra
tion of burping, contorting keyboard
noises, a basslinc that could have
been lifted from any Godzilla movie
soundtrack and hilarious samples of
nasal-voiced New York housewives
talking about drugs. The rest of the
tracks arc industrial, funked-up may
hem that aren’t recommended for the
unimaginative. (Grade: B +).
The Todd Terry Project, “To
The Batmobile.. Let’s Go!”
(Broadway): Todd Terry is credited
by some as the founder of House.
Whatever the case, this LP partially
started the craze with House classics
like “Bango” and “Back to the
Beat.” Terry uses various vocalists
and samples of dialogue from the old
“Batman” TV scries and mixes them
in with numerous keyboard and drum
machine programs. The result is a
sound that’s a cross between the
German computer group Kraftwcrk
and hardline Brooklyn and Bronx
rap. (Grade: A +).
Various Artists, “The Best of
House Music Volume One.” (Pro
file Records): This 1988 double LP
contains some of the best House hits
from the genre’s early days. Ralphi
Rosario and Xaviera Gold’s “You
Used to Hold Me,” a staple on New
York dance floors the past two years,
sounds like it could have been re
corded in the ’70s with its metronome
beat and Gold’s sexy, catty lyrics
about her “man.” J.M. Silk’s “Jack
Your Body” originated the “jack
your body” phrase London trendies
shout like a club mantra. Jeanne
Harris’ “Just Another Man” is vin
tage House with its piano work and
synthesized violins. This compila
tion, with its vocals, lyrics and pas
sion, shows off House music’s black
soul roots without relying solely on
computer programs, ((trade: B +).
Various Artists, “The Hits of
House.” (K-Tel, U.K.): Don’t let
the label name fool you. In the U.S.,
K-Tel no longer releases overly ed
ited compilations of bad lop 40 stuff
like it did in the ’70s, but overseas in
England the label still thrives, as
“The Hits of House” compilation
herewith demonstrates. This is the
best House music you’ll find -- that is,
if you CAN find this rare import that
I’ve only seen on CD for SI 7.00 and
up. But if you do locate it, grab it. It
contains the House classic “Theme
rrom 5>-bxpress by S-bxpress, a
campy, techno tribute to hilariously
awful early ’70s “black power’’
films like “Shaft” and “Cleopatra
Jones.” “We’ll Be Right Back” by
Steinski and Mass Media is nothing
but snippets from old commercials
mixed in with a rap beat ~ and it is
surprisingly funky. Cookie Crew’s
“Rok Da House” and “Females (Get
On Up)” arc both fun British inter
pretations of American black rap. All
13 tracks arc infectious, danccablc
House songs you’ll never get tired of.
(Grade: A +).
Tekno Acid Beat, “Pure Acid.”
(Temple Records, U.K.): Also ru
mored to be a Psychic TV project,
this compilation is more longuc-in
chcck than the Jack the Tab LP, as
song titles like “Godzilla vs. The
Space Mutants” attest. The funniest
track is “Liquid Eyeliner” by DJ
Doktor Mcgatrip and Misla Luv. The
song eviscerates everything that was
so horribly cheesy about ’70s disco:
sirens, chants, tinny beats. “Liquid
Eyeliner” contains samples of bad
disco songs like “In the Bush” and a
Donna Summer riff played at 78 rpin.
Dig it, baby. (Grade: B).
I
Party at OSCAR'S
with
The Limit
All Weekend
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
800 "O" St. Haymarkct
I
I
I
I
Including 15 types of sandwiches and
a variety of salads.
Bring in this ad for a FREE large drink \
with purchase of any sandwich. Expires
■ July 31, 1989.
■ 13th & "O"
Lincoln Square We DeliverI 474-DELI
(Below Dillards)
_ ^^^aweeklyguidetoentertainment
CVg^ in the midwest
Events for June 29 through July 5
Lincoln
June 13 through August 13
“American Ceramics Now: The
27th Ceramic National Exhibi
tion,” Sheldon Memorial Art
Oallery
June 27 through July 1 “Steel
Magnolias,” Nebraska
Repertory Theater, Howell Thea
ter, 8 p.m.
June 29 through July 2 “84 Char
lie Mopic,” Sheldon Film
Theater, 7 and 9 p.m. with mati
nees Saturday and
Sunday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
NO SCREENINGS ON FRIDAY,
JUNE 30
June 29 The Regulators, The Zoo
Bar, 9 p.m, ,$3
June 29 Village Tavern Band, Ante
lope Park Bandsheli, 7:30 p.m.
June 30 and July 1 The Nace Broth
ers, The Zoo Bar, 9 p.m., $3
June 30 Lincoln Municipal Mando
lin Ensemble, Antelope Park
Bandsheli, 7:30 p.m.
July 1 Laurie and Sean Benjamin,
Antelope Park Bandsheli,
7:30p.m.
July 2 First Municipal Band Concert,
Antelope Park
Bandshell, 7:30 p.m.
July 3 The Tablerockers, The Zoo
Bar, 9 pan.,* $2
July 4 C.J. Chenier and the Red
Hot Louisiana Band, The Zoo
Bar, 9 p.m„ S5
July 5 John Walker, Foundation
Gardens, noon
July 5 Triple Play, The Zoo Bar,
9p.m.f $2
Omaha
June 29 through July 2 “Much
Ado About Nothing,”
Shakespeare On The Green,
Elmwood Park, 8:30 p.m.