The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 04, 1990, Page 10, Image 10
The Church’s latest album is quality effort By Brian Meves Staff Reporter The Church “Gold Afternoon Fix” Arista Australia’s one-time, best-kept secret now is hardly a secret. The Church’s seventh album, “Gold Afternoon Fix,’’ may be the band’s most polished effort yet With the popularity of their last album, “Starfish,’’ and with their first Top 40 hit,4 ‘Under The M ilky Way,” many music fans opened their eyes and ears to The Church. The band has remained rela tively intact over their 10 years together. The three primary mem bers, Steve Kilbey (vocals, bass), Marty Willson-Piper (lead guitar, vocals), and Peter Koppes (rhythm guitar, vocals) still make up the nucleus of The Church. “I think what’s happened is that everyone’s got their things off their chest,” said Steve Kilbey, the group’s bassist and principal vo calist/lyricist, in a press release. “No one’s got an ax to grind, coming on and saying, I’ve written this song I want to do. Now it’s more like everyone’s got their own stuff done, everyone wants to interact more.” “Gold Afternoon Fix” is in deed a true Church collaboration, more so than any past efforts. They co-wrote all the music, and the lyrics are sung by whichever band member wrote them. In this case, Willson-Piper sings “Russian Autumn Heart”, Koppes sings “Transient” and Kilbey sings the remainder. Noticeable as well on “Gold Afternoon Fix” is a straightfor wardness both musically and lyri cally. The best songs on the album, “Metropolis,” “Terra Nova Cain” and “You’re Still Beautiful,” are the most upbeat and likeable of all. Throughout all three songs, Willson Piper rings his guitar in and out in a most unique fashion; somewhat of a trademark Church guitar sound. Kilbey adds in the usual mystical sounding vocals that Churrh fans have become accustomed to hear ing. The one downfall of the album, however, must be its length. With 13 songs soaking up 58 minutes, after awhile it begins to wear thin. The mystic vocals and ringing guitars sound fine, but do become quite monotonous in time. Despite the length and duration of “Gold Afternoon Fix,” it still is Courtesy of Arista a quality effort by The Church and maybe their best ever. The sound and production are flawless and polish the whole album together into one that could be their shim mering gold. Punk Continued from Page 9 They came to repossess my dong.” No, it really happens in Ernest Hogan’s “The Frankenstein Penis,” the story of a man who receives an 18 inch member from a quack transplant surgeon but falls behind on his pay ments. Then THEY come to repos sess it. If that is not enough, there is the one about the guy who gradually shaves his entire body in preparation for the surgical self-removaJ of his own member. No ordinary SF is this. As the editors write in an introduction to Michael Blumlein’s “Shed His Grace,” ‘‘Blumlein had called our bluff. We had demanded SF that would shock and disgust -- and this was IT. ’ ’ Actually, the above story reads — — — — — — — — — — —■"* like a Readers’ Digest article in comparison to some of the other in cluded stories, notably T. H. Parkin son’s “The Sex Club.” Yet, most of the stories make no mention of sex at all. There is “Geor gie and the Giant Shit,’’ an alleged allegory of capitalism by Greg Gi bson that recalls the /any children’s books of James Magorian. A list of highlights would include most of the book. Since it must be trimmed, one would include Bruce Sterling’s “We See Things Differ ently,” in which an Islam journalist interviews a rebellious American rock star after the downfall. Also a must is Rachel Poilack’s “Burning Sky,” which is really two stories about women, sex and fulfill ment in the future. Or, for a story about men, women, sex and fulfillment in zero gravity, check into Rudy Rucker’s “Rapture in Space,” a tale of the first televised intercourse in space. Scattered in between such tales are a number of poems and surreal collages which provide breaks in the text and add a touch of Dada discom fiture. With such a variety of contribu tions, Semiotext(e) SF provides the reader with an unrestrained voyage through the farthest edges of Cy berpunk and other fringe science fic tion literature. r — — — — — — — — — — — 475-6363 ' 500 off Any Pizza Name__ | Address_ Limited delivery area | Expires June 15. 1990 — — — — — — — — — % ■ 475-6363 i $1.00 off j Any Pizza i 11 am.-4 p.m. | Name_ I Address_ | Limited delivery area Expires June 15. 1990 | CHIP DAVIS CONDUCTS MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER WITH A FULL SYMPHONY: THE BIGGEST FRESH AIRE CONCERT EVER! Special rehearsal performance at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln Sunday, April 8, 7 p.m. Tickets $5 each on tale at the UNL South Stadium Ticket Office, April 2-6, 9 a.m.-noon, and 1-4 p.m. Phone order* will be accepted with Viaa or Matter Card during offica hour*. For information call 402-472-3111 Kasta Continued from Page 9 hopes “the active participation in the developmental process of the pro gram” will demonstrate minority community support for the program. “Personally, I consider it axiomatic that the Minority Community is very supportive of this show,” Smith said. Smith said that minority commu nity support and participation will “demonstrate that support to all con cerned.” Smith, a Lincoln native, gradu ated from Lincoln High School in 1968. He attended UNL from 1969 to 1972, studying business and social work, and also did undergraduate work at the University of Vermont. More recently, he has been living in California and working as a man ager for a “mom-and-pop” fashion business called Mariposa. While working for Mariposa and its owner, Melanie DeBo, Smith lived in Ari zona, New Mexico and both Northern and Southern California, he said. He returned to Lincoln - a place he terms “Heartland, U.S.A” - last fall to ‘ * handle some family situations and pursue some educational goals at my alma mater, the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln.” He currently is studying languages and business. Smith hopes to finish his bachelor’s degree requirements at UNL and “possibly go on to law school.” Smith said he is glad to be back in Lincoln and that he hopes his efforts as a minority activist will be benefi cial to members of the minority community. “We are vulnerable; we arc get ting threats from white hate groups. I feel fortunate to be working as a community activist,” Smith said. In the face of threats to minorities, he said, sometimes it can be frighten ing to be a minority group member. Smith hopes to help alleviate the problem. “It’s nice to be back home. I feel that this is an important time for minorities to come together asagroup . . . we can raise community con sciousness.” Cowboy Continued from Page 9 Credit Dillon and Lynch as well for being less concerned with look ing pretty than with taking on very complete identities. There also is good work turned by Le Gros, playing the incompre hensibly brainless sidekick to Hughes. Druggie-novelistWilliam S. Burroughs makes a cameo ap pearance as a junkie priest that Hughes befriends in a methadone program. Burroughs' writing greatly in fluenced James Fogle, who wrote the book “Drugstore Cowboy” based on his experiences as a drug addict in the early ’70s. Fogle cur rently is serving a 22-year sentence at the Washington State Peniten tiary in Walla Walla, and is to be transferred to Wisconsin Stale Prison for an additional term for a drug store robbery in which his partner was killed by police. ‘' Drugstore Cowboy ’ ’ comes to the Sheldon Film Theater Thurs day night and will play through Saturday with screening times at 7 and 9:15 p.m. -*—1