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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1992)
Rap makes its move into mainstream music Hip hop hysteria has engulfed this coun try, and where is it seen more these days than pop music? Rap has taken America by the throat, dressed it, moved its booty and told it how to think. Some see this movement as just another fad, but with rap’s proliferation into mainstream music, critics are being forced to take notice. Rap in pop music is a fairly new occur rence. Only for about five years have we had rap on the radio nationwide. Run-DMC first broke the barrier in 1987 with its collabora tion with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way.” For the first time, rap was being heard on every pop music station in America. America couldn’t ignore rap- It wouldn’t r-■'----- --— go away. It kept eating at the pop music machine, trying to become an integral piece. Tone-Loc went on to prove that other rappers could push the right buttons. So a steady drum beat and a sampled guitar riff kept “Wild Thing” on everyone’s lips. Then came the bum rush. It was a fashion to listen to rap, buy rap and dress like rappers, either in a fly B-boy style or like a rough “gangsta.” The fashion and the fad pushed several rappers over the top to pop superstardom, call sellouts and others give credit (well, no one gives credit to Vanilla Ice). They became; bigger than selling 11 * millions of albums, exciting the teeny bopping masses and enraging hard-core rap purists. With world tours, dolls and Saturday morning cartoons, these soda pop rappers seemed to be the future of pop music, if not rap. Thankfully, pop-rap music has moved foreword into new styles: the play ful style of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, the hard core edge of LL Cool J and Naughty by Nature, the soft style of P.M. Dawn, the ragamuffirFinfluenced style of DAS EFX and the “backwards” style of Kris Kross. This diversity gives hope for the future quality of rap. But rap has done more than enter the pop music field of play^It has integrated into other genres of music. Technotronic and C+C Music Factory brought rap into their house music. R & B artists such as Janet Jackson use rappers as a new dimension to their records. So even if rap were to lose its following in pop music, we would still see its influence in R & B and house, and rappers would still be in business. Is rap music the future of pop music? Well, it’s the now of pop music. On|y time will tell the fate of rap, but with current trends the way they are, it doesn’t look like rap will die any time soon. —Greg Schick is a rap fan and Diversions contribu tor. Hair Raising Experiences Just $10. Ride all the rides on the Midway of the Nebraska State Fair for just $10. Seven Special Days on the Midway. Friday, Sept. 4 Tuesday, Sept. 8 Wednesday, Sept. 9 Thursday, Sept. 10 Friday, Sept. 11 Saturday, Sept. 12 Sunday, Sept. 13 6 p.m.- midnight 6 p.m.- midnight 6 p.m.- midnight 6 p.m.- midnight 6 p.m.- midnight Noon - 5 p.m. 4 p.m.- midnight THE NEBRASKA STATE FAIR FAIRLY BURSTING WITH FUN! September 4-13 / Lincoln Al Schaben/DN Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chill Peppers ["jHi’wflYHoiii books*" ! WEIRD MUSIC... New Age A Space Music, World Music, Folk, Bluegrass, Traditional, I Irish, Scottish Music, and Soundtracks on CD A Tape STRANGE BOOKS... Astrology, Course in Miracles, Kundalini, F..S P. A Psychic Phenomena. Aura A Chakras, Crystals, Recovery, Healing, Yoga, I Manial Arts, Massage, Buddhism A Zen, Taoism, Indian Philosophy, " Prospenty, Right livelihood. Writing, Women's Issues, Relation I ships. Men's Issues, Meditation, Psychology, Native American, a Dreams, Angels, Magic, Kahbala, UFO's, Ghosts A More. ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES... Tibetan Bowls, Crystal Bowls, Rainslicks, Wind Chimes, Bulk A Packaged Exotic Incense, Candles, Stone Spheres, Crystals A I ' Gemstones, Massage Oils A Creams, Imported Soaps. Drums, j | Necklaces, Earrings, Pendants, Rings A Lots of Fine Jewelry, Posters ■ : clip Unique Greeting A Fncndship Cards, Self Help/Stress Reduction ■ I 1 spes A Some Other Cool Stuff I I THIS NO-HURL GUARANTEE... If your mind is a little open A you're not completely mental, stop in I I A D... 001 uni<Iuc *lore We re * non-traditional book A music shop A we • value people who arc curious, friendly, cool A if you're like this • you'll probably be OK here f |SAVH 20% ON BOOKS & 10% ON EVERYTHING ELSE BY PRESENTING THIS AD & I ■ YOURSELF TO ONE OF OUR CLERKS BEFORE SEPT. 30111. 1992. AFTER THAT J YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN. ■ ■ 3231 SO. 13th In ihc Indian Village Shopping Center 421-1701 ! • Hours M-F: 10-7, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5 j ^ "SINCEJ986* YOU/UWS^nSJMICE FOR INTERESTING MUSIC & BOOKS" J Memory of Elvis alive and young Even as fads come and go, we still have Elvis. When staid George Bush invokes His name for shame less politics, we know Elvis is more than a mere phenomenon. Elvis is our rock ‘n’ roll deity. The spirit of Elvis still moves us, even as we understand that the mortal Elvis could hardly move His own bowels near the end of His life; such a mess was Elvis with His ruined body, riddled by His vices and destroyed by the fame that made Him great. As if to compensate for our own silliness, we, through popular cul ture, revere Elvis, yet mock Him at the same time. In cheap tabloids, we see that Elvis has been sighted alive — a second coming of the rock ‘n’ roll Jesus. And yet, He usually is spotted doing something extraordinarily ordinary. Elvis’ latest and most significant sighting was at the movie, “Honey moon in Vegas,” where he ap peared in the guise of imitators of the King. Through all His impersonators, See ELVIS on 11 TRACKING ‘OB-SCURE’ SOUNDS Search for eccentric escapes categories, fascism’ LISTEN TO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL? (OR THEY ONLY LISTEN TO RAP OR JAZZ OR CLASSI CAL...) AS A MUSICIAN, I FIND THE IDEA OF EXCLUSIVITY IN MUSICAL PREFER ENCE A TYPE OF PERSONAL FASCISM. JOHN CAGE, A GREAT MUSICIAN/PER SON WHOJUSTDIED, THOUGHT OFMUSIC AS ANYTHING A PERSON MIGHT HEAR: TRAFFIC NOISE, ANIMAL SOUNDS, ERIK SATIE PIANO PIECES . . . ANYTHING AUDIBLE COULD BE MUSIC. SOM ETI M ES WH EN I TALK WITH PEOP LE ABOUT MUSIC, ALL THEY SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT IS ROCK: ALTERNATIVE, INDUS TRIAL, FUNK, HARDCORE, RAVE, ACID HOUSE AND RAP (THIS LIST COULD GO ON FOR QUITE A WHILE STILL.) PEOPLE I TALK WITH AT THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC, ON THE OTHER HAND, KNOW ABOUTSONATAALLEGRO FORM,CANON/ FUGUE, LIEDER, THE TRISTAN CHORD, IMPRESSIONISM, FREE ATONALITY . . . (THIS LIST COULD BE EVEN LONGER.) WHEN I TRY TO TALK WITH EITHER OF THESE GROUPS OF PEOPLE ABOUT MU SIC FROM THE FRINGE... THIRD-STREAM JAZZ, ETHNIC MUSIC, ELECTRONIC MU SIC, FREE IMPROVISATION, ETC ... I ENCOUNTER INDIFFERENCE, SOMETIMES SCORN (THAT RHYMES WITH JOHN ZORN.) THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT THERE IS A LOT OF GREAT MUSIC OUT THERE THAT ISN’T HEARD ENOUGH. BEFORE YOU DIAL THAT 800 NUMBER FOR THE NEW K-TEL RELEASE OR GO OUT TO PICKLES OR TWISTERS TO BUY THE MOST OBSCURE/ALTERNATIVE, PSYCHE PUNK, ACID-NOISE CD., TRY CHECKING OUT YOUR ‘FREE’ SOURCES FOR SOME MUSIC YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD BE FORE. GOOD PLACES ARETHE LOW-END FRE QUENCIES ON THE FM DIAL. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY HAS SOME GEMS IN ALL TYPES OF MUSIC, AND THE LISTENING BOOTHS IN WESTBROOK’S MUSIC LIBRARY GIVE YOUACCESSTOMORETHAN10,000TITLES (AND THEY ARE NOT ALL CLASSICAL EI THER.) — Nick Wilson is a music major and Diversions contributor. Raves gain popularity Techno, rave or house — it has been the mainstay of almost all European dance music for more than two years now—and its rising popularity could be what kills it. For the electronically based techno bands, a chart rating is the end of favor with club DJs who will no longer play the record as it has lost its hard-core appeal. Hard-core appeal is very impor tant to the average raver. Rave be gan as a reaction to the lack of innovation in the music industry and thrived on remaining outside the corporation music world. Another aspect of this is the culture that has grown up around rave music, The place to hear rave music is at outdoor raves, where up to 10,000 ravers meet to dance the night away. Raves are big-business events. Tickets frequently cost $40or more. Because raves are illegal, gather ings organizers divulge the location only at the last minute, via a re corded phone message. Inside a rave there are attractions such as fairground rides and an assortment of top DJs and bands who pump out the techno music. Ravers do not dance in couples, but in rows — all facing the stage like a pagan ritual, with lasers re placing sun worship. The dancing is an energetic business, making use of the feet and the arms that fly in circling, jerky motions. The dress fashion that has grown up around rave works around the practicalities of dancing. Crew cuts, baggy trousers, loose topsandsports boots are standard. Rave is also associated with drug usage, particularly thestimulant Ec stasy. Proponents of the drug insist it is less harmful than alcohol. How ever, the drug raises the body’s temperature. This, combined with hours of vigorous dancing, has caused a small number of ravers to die from heat exhaustion. Other illegal drugs associated with rave are amphetamines, LSD, cocaine and Special K I L A\K Alcohol is generally absent from rave events as it impairs motor mechanisms and dulls the effects of other drugs. Not surprisingly, drug use has given rave culture a certain notori ety. Techno bands feed off this. Song titles and band names with the word ecstasy or “E” in them are fast becoming a cliche Rave, like all music trends, will undoubtedly pass, but already in its short existence, rave has made one fundamental difference to the mu sic business. Small bands in Europe have stopped looking to the major labels for support and instead re lease limited editions of their songs direct to the DJs. Only if the song catches on in the clubs does it then go on general release. Rave is now becoming popular on the East and West coasts of America. Perhaps here too it will rock the foundations of the music industry. — Matthew Grant is our token European and a Diversions contribu tor. Lisa Pytlik/DN 1 227 NORTH 9TH STREET. BASEMENT LEVEL LINCOLN. N.E. 68508 PHONE (402) 438-3808 PRESENTS DRINK SPECIALS MON: $1.50 CALLS $2.00 OLD STYLE PITCHERS TUES: .35 DRAWS 4-11 51.00 WELL DRINKS 10-1 WED: SI.50 PITCHERS 4-11 . Si .00 LONGNECKS THURS: SI.00 ROLLING ROCK 52.00 TOXIC WASTE .25 DRAWS FRI: .25 DRAWS 4-11 $3.00 LITE/BUD PITCHERS $2.50 OLD STYLE PITCHERS FAC : S2.00 PITCHERS 4-7 SAT: $1.00 LONGNECKS $1.50 WELL DRINKS .25 DRAWS SUN: .75 WELL DRINKS $1.25 LONGNECKS SEPTEMBER BANDS 10th 2 Below and Deus Ex Machina 15th Dashboard Saviors (produced by REM’s Peter Buck) 19th Guilt Tttp 20th Guilt Trip (All Ages) RANDOM DRINK SPECIALS NIGHTLY LINCOLN'S ONLY . POST MODERN DANCE CLUB HOME OF THE 4* TOXIC WASTE 4* | Sidewalk Sale I I located Room 56, inside the Campus Recreation Center I\0-50% Off Ifire Stock |