JsSte ARTSg)ENTERTAINMENT
Writers take shot at Oscars
Eastwood may be
big winner with
Old West movie
Playing the Oscar prediction game
is like playing Russian roulette—it’s
better left to the professionals.
With this in mind, here are our best
guesses for who will take home this
year’s gold-toned eunuchs. Read ‘em
and watch the Academy Awards’ pre
sentation show tonight, 8 p.m. on
ABC.
Best Actress:
Gerry: Since “Indochine” and
“Passion Fish” have not played in
Lincoln, and “Love Field” was only
here for seven days, it’s between
Emma Thompson and Susan
Sarandon. I have to give the nudge to
Sarandon. Sure she was good in
“Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but
she was dynamic in “Lorenzo’s Oil.”
Anne: My vote goes for Thomp
son in “Howards End.” She’s delight
fully funny and a tremendous talent.
Sarandon was good, but Thompson
was better. Pfeiffer was good too, but
she was better in “Batman Returns.”
Best Actor:
G: I think this is a two-way race
between Clint Eastwood and A1
Pacino, with Denzel Washington as a
long shot. Eastwood has been long
overlooked by the academy, and
“Unforgiven” showed everyone he
was more than “The Man With No
Name.” However, Pacino is up in two
categories, so statistics are on his side.
I’ll give the edge to Eastwood.
A: In a perfect world, Washington
would win. But Hollywood is senti
mental and both Eastwood and Pacino
are long-time veterans lacking in statu
ettes. Washington has one already,
and it’s recent. Too bad for Downey
and Rea, both gave great perfor
mances, but they’re out of their league
—- and luck — here. My guess is an
unforgiven” sweep.
Best Supporting Actress:
G: Again, two of the nominated
performances have not played Lin
coln, and the idea of Marisa Tomei
winning for “My Cousin Vinny” had
tocome from deep in left field. Vanessa
Redgrave was terrific in “Howards
End,” but Judy Davis actually had
some screen time in “Husbands and
Wives.” I’ll give the nod to Redgrave
for quality over quantity.
A: Davis gets my vote. She’s a
great actress, and certainly wonderful
in Woody’s film. Redgrave’s nomi
nation was nice — she glowed, but if
you blinked, you missed her. I agree
about Tomei: nice, but no cigar.
Best Supporting Actor:
A: Again, in a perfect world, Jaye
Davidson would get this one for his
amazingly sensitive performance in
“TheCrying Game.” But let’s face it,
the academy is filled with old fogeys
like Charlton Heston and that film’s
subject matter may be too shocking
for them. David Paymer’s nomina
tion comes from the little-seen “Mr.
Saturday Night,” that will hurt him,
and Nicholson already has two. Pacino
may have a shot — voters may want
to give him something, but I think
Gene Hackman has it sewn up—he’s
waited 21 years to win another Oscar
and everybody in Tinseltown likes
him.
G: Sorry people, but Hackman
does NOT have this one wrapped up.
He was good, as was Nicholson, but
credit should be given where credit is
due, and that is to Davidson for a truly
riveting performance. Definitely.
Anyway, the academy should have
nominated Robin Williams for
“Aladdin,” instead of Paymer.
Best Director:
A: Eastwood hits with
“Unforgiven”—finally a mainstream
picture for this director’s dark vision.
He deserves a nod, but in Utopia, Neil
Jordan would share it with him for
“The Crying Game.” As far as the
others go, Robert Altman’s “The
Player” wasn’t nominated for Best
Picture, James I vory’s “Howards End”
will take all the pretty awards (cin
ematography, costuming, etc.) and
who is Martin “Scent of a Woman”
Brest?
G: This one was a tough ie. Yea,
Eastwood was excellent (which makes
up for “Firefox,” and “The Rookie’^,
but Jordan and Ivory also did excel
lent work with their films. I’ll throw it
to Jordan.
Best Picture:
A: The cowboy takes home book
ends. Eastwood and “Unforgiven ” will
take this statue home, despite the film’s
dark, gritty nature and lackof likable
characters. If the statue was mine to
give, J’d said it home with the pro
ducers of “The Crying Game.”
“Howards End” made everyone feel
B stands for brash, broken-up bands
CoutHyMIHMMHttli*
Bonechina
“Bonechina”
Moistest Records
Most people probably knew them
better as Elysium Crossing. Fran their
union in 1987 to their breakup in
recent months under the tag of
Bonechina, Thomas Irvin, Julian Win
ston-Terrance, and Sham us Adams
gave Lincoln some undeniably great
music. '
Bonechina's self-titled, self-pro
duced swan song cassette, released
just before the recent split, yields a
glimpse at the band’s talents during
the prime of their musical career.
Recorded in January of 1992,
"Bonechina” varies from a creatively
distinct brand of riff-laden metal to
the obscure Far East fluidity that made
the band a Lincoln standard for six
years.
The album is highlighted by the
intertwining guitars of Shamus Adams
and Eric Pierce. Their work is almost
epic on the dominating track “Cipe,”
and the hair shaker’s dream, “Crabs.’’
Bonechina’s guitar sound reveals
shades of light and dark that recall the
masters of the 1970s and is
hiply complemented by the gothic
monster bass lines of Winston
Terrance.
The insightful lyrics of lead singer
Thomas Irvin are crowned by the
romantic essay, “Spiral Groove,’’
serves a distinguished place in Lin
coln hard rockn^^™™^^*^
— Carter Van Pelt
Courtesy of March Record:
Big Hat
“Inamorata”
March Records
In the press release accompanying
Big Hat’s latest CD, “Inamorata,
there is a page with the headline “Big
Hat does not sound like..This is
followed by a lengthy list of bands
that Big Hat actually sounds quite a
bit like: the Cocteau Twins, Sinead
O’Connor, Kate Bush, Laurie Ander
son, and This Mortal Coil, to name a
few.
Still, this does not mean that Big
Hal are derivative. Their ethereal,
mellow music and the haunting vo
cals of Y von ne Bruner certain! y bring
those bands to mind, but there’s some
thing about this Chicago foursome
ihatrs unique.
Maybe it’s the fact that they don’t
have a guitarist, bassist or drummer,
instead, they rely on electric violin,
trumpet, samples and “miscellaneous
percussion.” Maybe it’s because they
do a cover of the Violent Femmes’
“Country Death Song.”
I (km ’ l know exactly what it is, but
“Inamorata" is a good introduction to
Big Hat It’s kind of a sampler, con
sisting of four songs from a 1990
cassette-only release, remixes of songs
from an earlier CD, “Shimmer,” and
some other moody tidbits.
It sounds like their live show is
something to see too—Bruner tosses
rose petals into the audience, 9ong
titles are displayed on artists’ easels,
ami the percussionist plays a 10-foot
tall tree of pots and pans.
— Matt Silcock
I
Courtesy of Imago Records
Base head
“Not In Kansas Anymore”
Imago Records
Like a lot of people, you probably
didn’t hear Basehead’s amazing de
but album, “Play With Toys.” One of
last year’s best releases, it featured a
unique sound, where band leader
Michael Ivey mumbled about beer,
girl troubles, racism and tlte state of
the world over impossibly laid-back
funk guitar and sleepy hip-hop scratch
ing.
Some people called it rap, some
called it alternative, but the only thing
it could be really be called is music by
Base head. Now, Ivey and his cohorts
are back with a sophomore release,
“Not In Kansas Anymore.”
Lyrically, Ivey sounds a lot an
grier. He's still mumbling, but mum
bling with a vengeance about his frus
tration with racism and life as a black
man today. He gets right to the point
throughout the album, using enough
four-letter words to make Ice Cube
blush. - ,
On “Brown Kisses PL One” ami
“PL Too" Ivey rails about losing jobs
to white men, being wrongly harassed
for shoplifting and police brutality,
all to the refrain of “Kiss my black ass
too.”
This may sound depressing, but
Ivey’s lyrics are often just ashilarious
as they are negative. Also, his bleary, '
intoxicated singing/rapping style
sounds as if he’s hanging out at the
comer bar, telling these things to you
over a few beers. His lines are so
conversational, it’s surprising they
even rhyme.
—Matt Silcock _
Best Picture payday
Movies nominated for or receiving the Best Picture award can expect a
payoff at the box office, but the amount varies depending on how long the
film has been in theaters and how much of the country has already seen
it. Here’s how this year’s Best Picture nominees have fared so far:
Total box office sales
Millinnc ? V ?
Source: Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. AP
too good — Oscar likes angst. Forget latter. There was too much coniro
“Scent of a Woman” and “A Few versy with “The Crying Game,” and
Good Men.” They were great, but “Howards End” was just too damn
Oscar almost always goes home with long. Eastwood’s vision of the dark
a movie with a message. side of the Old West will take this one.
G: Whoa — the biggie and the
toughie. It’s between “Crying,” ,, „
“Howards” and “UnforgnJ” !’ll SK5LS&
have to give my supporting nod to the fanatics.
‘Breathless’
Saxophone player to bring
smooth sounds to Pershing
Courtesy of Kenny G
Kenny Q will play Tuesday night on stage — or perhaps
strolling down the aisles — at the Pershing Auditorium.
Kenny G has been known to
walk through the audience, grin
ning ecstatically while he plays a
wireless saxophone.
Bom Kenny Gorelick, his grin
and sound is no stranger to stages or
airwaves.
- You’ve probably heard him be
fore without realizing who you were
listening to, because “that” sound,
the identifiable smooth, suave sound
of G has been around for 10 years.
G’s talent on tenor, alto and
soprano saxophones is showcased
on recordings bv artists Aretha
Franklin, Smokey Robinson,
Natalie Cole, Dionne Warwick,
George Benson, Michael Bolton
and Whitney Houston.
After four albumless years on
Arista records, G recently com
pleted his seventh record, “Breath
less,” which enlists the vocals of
Pea bo Bryson and Aaron Neville.
To G’s fans, it comes as no
surprise that the 14 compositions
on “Breathless” cross over the lines
of jazz, rhythm and blues, pop,
funk and MTV.
Because of his compositional
versatility, Billboard magazine
named G “Jazz Artist of the De
cade” and Rolling Stone’s Readers
Poll knighted him the No. 1 instru
mentalist.
Now, G, on “The Breathless
Tour” will play Tuesday night on
stage—or perhaps stroll down the
aisles — at the Pershing Audito
rium.
Tickets for the G concert are
available from Ticketmaster out
lets and the Pershing for $22.50.
— Compiled by Staff Reports