Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1994)
ArtscoEntertainment Nebraskan Tuesday, March 29, 1994 Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen, right) takes hostage his own wife, Jane Spencer-Drebin (Priscilla Presley), in the comedy “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.” MUSIC REVIEW Newest ‘Gun’ hits the target; viewers aren’t left spinning “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” 7\ r\ f\ It’s not the best of the series, but for the record, “Naked Gun 33 1 /3” is definitely not an insult. Director Peter Segal makes his feature film debut with the third installment in the “Naked Gun” series, but he gleaned a lot of help from producer Robert Weiss (“The Blues Brothers,” “Amazon Women on the Moon”) and co-writer/ producer David Zuckcr (“Kentucky Fried Movie,” both “Airplane” movies) to help save the movie from being a complete waste. The cast of “Naked Gun” veterans, spear headed by the ever-bungling Leslie Nielsen, also comes back together to help make a decent final entry for the series. Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Nielsen) has re tired and is married to Jane (Priscilla Presley), who is a successful lawyer. Unfortunately, the two arc having marital problems, and Frank’s old partners Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) and Ed (George Kennedy) arc calling on him for some help. A terroristic threat has been made, and Frank needs to go undercover to find out what’s going on. Newcomers include Fred Ward, Kathleen Freeman (“The Blues Brothers”) and Guess? jeans supermodcl Anna Nicole Smith, all form ing the terrorist group that plots to detonate a bomb at the Academy Award ceremonies. While the beginning and ending of “Naked Gun 33 1/3” arc both good, the middle 40 minutes are hit-and-miss, saved only by Nielsen’s wonderful deadpan humor. The opening sequence — playing up the infamous subway scene from “The Untouch ables”— must not be missed, and the climactic bomb search at the Academy Awards is a hoot as well. Naturally, this “Naked Gun” film has a Clethora of cameo appearances, including ones y Pia Zadora, James Earl Jones and “Weird Al” Yankovic. 11 also makes some commentary on current issues, from gun-wielding postal workers to the movie “The Crying Game.” “Naked Gun 33 1 /3” is a definite for the loyal fans and a suggestion to general comedy-liking types, but don’t pay more than four bucks to sec it in any case. — Gerry Beltz “Acideaters” The Ramones Radioactive Records A Ramones album is a Ramones album is a Ramones album. And that’s all there is to it. Since the dry years of the ’70s, the Ramones have been churning out Brand X tunes with tommygun bass and military sing-song vocals. Their sound is the common de nominator ofalI rock-and-roll, wi th no guitar solos or faddish trap pings. It is fast, basic and will never change. And this, dear friends, is a beautiful thing. So there is no insult in saying that “Acideaters,” the Ramones’ newest release, sounds just like all their other albums. Even though it’s a tribute to hippy-age bands 1 ike the Who, C reed an ce C learwa te r Revival and Jefferson Airplane, the Ramones’ style is foremost on the album. The new addition to the band, C.J. Ramonc, has assumed Dcedec Ramone’s bass/vocal job with a flashy spunk. Just as Dcedee used to, C.J. shouts on three of the album’s songs: “Journey to the Center of the Mind,” “My Back Pages” and “The Shape of Things to Come.” The only Ramone under 35 yearsold,C.J. signals the begin ning of the blitzkrieg boppers’ sil ver age. “Acideatcrs” also features a motley crew of throaty celebrity guest stars who scream or strum be h i nd Joey’s apoca lypl ic ca 11 le c al I: Pete Townshend, Sebastian Bach and porn empress Traci Lords. It’s futile to resist the immov able rocks of rock-and- roll. — Patrick Hambrecht “Chant” The Benedictine Monks of Silos, Spain EMI/Angel records It’s not hard to see why Europe ans initially sniffed with disdain at EuroDisney. After all, any place that can put a compilation of Gregorian chants at # 1 on the charts is bound to look down its nose at Mickey and Donald. The Benedictine MonksofSanto Domingode Silos, an isolated mon astery in Spain, have been record ing Gregorian chants since 1973. “Chant” is a collection of record ings made over twenty years and has already gone platinum in Spam (platinum in Spain is 100.000 cop ies; gold is 50,000). 11 went to # 1 on the pop charts late in 1993 and stayed there for weeks. I nth is coun try, since an AP wire story on the monks ran January 11, copies of their previous works disappeared from shelves. Gregorian chants take their name from Pope Gregory I (A.D. 590-604), who devised them as a means of accompanying the liturgy of Mass. The chants are nonrhythmic and monotonal. Some of the selections on “Chant” date back to the time of Gregory I. The 19 selections are all in the original Latin and possess a haunt ing beauty complctclydifTercnt than any other music on the charts to day. In the words of a Benedictine choral director, “Chants are mystic breaths which incorporate the soul of the artist in his work and in turn speak to souls.” The brothers ofSanto Domingo de Silos arc taking this all in bewil derment. Deluged by calls and re quests for interviews,one said “You have to understand; we’re monks, not rock stars.” Therein may lie part of the reason for the monks’ success, especially among 18-to-24 year olds. Grown tired of a jaded music industry cynically pandering to the lowest, commonest, sleaziest de nominator, the unpretentious monks and their ancient music are a refreshing, even spiritual, break. It’s a class act. And you don’t even have to be Catholic to enjoy it. —Sam Kepfield The Brian Setzer Orchestra “The Brian Setzer Orchestra” Hollywood Records Rockabilly bigband? Why not?! Brian Setzer, the driving force behind the renowned Stray Cats, has assembled a new project that combines rock ‘n’ roll with big band swing: The Brian Setzer Or chestra. Setzer’s Gretsch guitar and surprisingly rich vocals front the 17-piece band, which includes five saxophones, four trombones, piano, stand-up bass and drums. “The big band thing makes total sense to me because it’s an exten sion of the roots and the vibe of the rockabilly sound (which made the Stray Cats famous),” Setzer said. “The original rockabilly guys were influenced by big band jazz and blues, and that music has always been a big influence on me, so it feels completely natural.” Setzer’s new material shines with gorgeous playing and water tight arrangements. The Orchestra has also jazzed up a few romantic traditional to bring Nat King Cole, Bobby Darrin and Carl Perkins into the ’90s. With the renewed interest in Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Setzer said he hoped the album would appeal to a variety of poten tial audiences, from modern rock to new- adult contemporary. —Todd Ellington “Afrodisiac” The Veldt Polygram Records J>J> The Veldt gimmick is a good idea for a band — a mixture of nasally Shai-styled soul and melo dramatic Depechc synthesizers. It almost works. But there’s something off about the Veldt’s new album, “Afrodisiac.” Despite a masterful production, or because of it, this recording is mindlessly tame. The blandncss of this “Boys to Yaz” experiment reeks of “corpo rate rock” aspirations, and it is a shame. You can almost hear the talent of these North Carolina mu sicians trying to wrench away from their music’s formulaic sound. Despite theoverwhelming flaws, splatters of good stuff arc hiding between “Afrodisiac’s” 18 tracks. “You Take the World,” an emo tionally gorgeous song, certainly deserves radio play. Other elements suggested the Veldt could become listcnablc, like Danny Chavis’ sin cerity-squared vocals or an occa sional riff All the same, this album drones like an outboard motor. “Afrodisiac” was produced by Ray Shulman, a major producer who usually works with moody British bands like the Sundays or Ian McCulloch. He smothered this album in h is trademark fash ion with a thick layer of repetitious white noise. Whatever his intention, he sure botched this album. —Patrick Hambrecht Beyond Books - A Guide to This Week’s Entertainment Bars/Bands Tucs. - Zoo Bar. Monkey Meet The Coffee House: Jared Royal Grove: Crash Alley Wed. - Duffy's Tavern: Willie Wisely Trio Royal Grove: Crash Alley Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi Yia Yia's Pizza: Justice Leauge of the Blues Zoo Bar. Too Slim and the Taildraggers Thurs. - Morgan's Upstairs: Lost & Found Ninth Street Blues: open stage jam Royal Grove: Crash Alley Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi Zoo Bar. Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs Eli. - Duggan's Pub: Too Smooth Knickerbockers: Kill Creek with Straw Dog Morgan’s Upstairs: Lost & Found Mountains Grill & Deli: Fate Ninth Street Blues: Wrex Royal Grove: Crash Alley Sidetrack:. Joyce Durand, Paul Newton, Sam Schultz Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi Zoo Bar. Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs SflJ. - Duggan’s Pub: Too Smooth Knickerbockers: Dali Automatic with The Johnsons Morgan's Upstairs: Lost & Found Mountains Grill & Deli: Fate Ninth Street Blues: Wrex Royal Grove: Crash Alley Sidetrack-. Joyce Durand, Paul Newton, Sam Schultz Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi Zoo Bar: Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs Sun. - Duffy‘s Tavern: The Sissies Laser Shows Mueller Planetarium - Morrill Hall Fri. &. Sat. - Led Zeppelin at 8,9:30 & 11 p.m. Music Performances Tues. - Kent Hall at Kimball Hall 8 p.m. Thurs. - Van Clibum Competition Winner at the Lied Cen ter 8 p.m. Eri- - Giovanni Pergoiesi’s “Stabat Mater” Westminister Presbyterian Church 7:30 p.m. Sal. - Music by graduate composition stu dents of Professor Randall Snyder Kimball Hall 8 p.m. Dance Wed. - Cosmopolitans at Pla-Mor Ballroom 8 - 11:30 p.m. (Dance lessons at 7 p.m.) Theater Thun. - Sat- - “The Empty Plough” at the Johnny Carson Theatre Lied Center 8 p.m. (Sat 2 p.m.) Fri. - Sat. - “Sound Fields” at the Omaha Magic Theater 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. - “Love Letters” at The Lincoln Community Playhouse 8 p.m. (Sat 2&8 p.m.) Readings Sal- - “In Search of...” and “Karaoke Love” 2 p.m. Temple Building Rm. 221 Event of the Week Thurs. - Dr. Downs Hypnotist Show at The Royal Grove, Doors open at 8 p.m.
