Stale tale
‘SNL- opener unfunny
By Frazier Moore
AP Television Critic
NEW YORK (AP) — Nations
come and go. The hundred-dollar bill
gets a fresh new look. Then there’s
“Saturday Night Live,” hopelessly
stuck in the past.
What about all the grand talk of
bringing this 1970s relic into the !90s,
of “reinventing” it for the new sea
son?
Sadly, that was “Saturday Night”
jive.
That’s the disappointingnews from
NBC’s Studio 8H, where “SNL”
launched its much-awaited, suppos
edly do-or-die 21st season Saturday
night, with Mariel Hemingway asguest
host.
The program served as an apt warm
up for the 1996presidential campaign:
empty promises of change. From die
O.J. Simpson sketch where “Judge
Ito” orders lawyer “Johnnie Cochran”
to declare, “Live from New York...!,”
totheself-congratulatinggrouphuddle
as the final credits roll, Saturday’s
show was “SNL” business as usual.
After all the hype, was it too much
to hope for at least one genuine sur
prise during the long, long 90 min
utes? In introspect, yes.
If anyone from producer Lome
Michaels on down really believes this
is a different show from last April —
or April 1976 — they’re delusional.
Sure, there are new people on board,
but the show’s the same old heap with
just another'coat of paint, traveling
the same road, stuck in the same ruts.
Of course, this is hardly the first
time Michaels has promised great
things, then failed to deliver. In fact,
year after year he’s like Lucy in the
“Peanuts” strip, swearing she’ll hold
the football. The viewer is Charlie
Brown, always falling for it.
This time, the only auspicious sign
comes from the freshman class of rep
ertory players. Although it’s prema
ture to rate the six rookies, one of
them, Darrell Hammond, is clearly a
welcome addition thaftks to his imper
sonation skills (his was a dead-on Ted
Koppel in an otherwise limp
“Nightline” send-up).
As for the new crop of writers,
they’re clearly saving their good stuff
for later in the season.
The show’s brightest elements?
Musical guest Blues Traveler, which
traveled in at the last minute to sub for
the dropout formerly known as Prince,
and Hemingway, who displayed an
unexpected gift for comedy. Neither,
of course, will be back soon enough.
Who’s next week’s guest host?
Chevy Chase. Now there’s a fresh
idea! * *
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Music Reviews^
“Prize”
Wanderlust '
RCA Records
Grade: A+
Sometimes in the music indus
try, a virtually flawless work
emerges from a virtual unknown.
That’s exactly the case on
Wanderlust ’s debut album “Prize,”
an album of sheer blissful music.
Wanderlust—-if it must be con
fined to being compared to other
bands, for its sound is truly unique
—might be compared as such: Take
the pop hooks and vocal harmonies
of the Beatles, the insightful lyrics
of Bob Dylan, and throw in a couple
of Rickenbacker guitars (most well
known to be used by the
Rembrandts) and you start to get
the idea. '
every second oi rrize is ex
quisite. A little-known group, Wan
derlust truly experienced a
Cinderella story (the fairy tale, not
the band). When the band members
went out to shoot photographs for
their demo, they knocked on the
door of a house to ask if they could
use the porch for pictures.
The house belonged to a man
who worked at a recording studio,
and at his behest, they sent him their
demo tape. He passed it on to his
friend, Michael Musmanno, who
offered to produce for them.
They recorded four songs for an
EP„ but before the EP could be
pressed, offers came flying in and
Wanderlust signed with RCA for a
seven-record deal! (More master
pieces are coming!)
RCA told Wanderlust to finish
what they had started, and thus
“Prize” was born. One track, “Sun
dial” cuts off suddenly, because it
was the" end of the tape for the
original demo.
The album opens with “Wanna
Feel New,” a catchy song that sets
the pace for most of the album, a
sort of laid-back, real-pop-music
by-real-pop-musicians feel to it.
Wanderlust could be the guys next
door who offer to give you a cup of
coffee if you come over and listen
to them.
The title track picks up right
where “Wanna Feel New” leaves
off, swinging in with an edgy-sweet
guitar and a inference to Cracker
Jack. Who can fail with that, right?
This Week At
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Candy, Sharon, and Shane
Creating a fantasy that
ends at 1 o' clock!
From October 2-16,
48th is closed from
Comhusker to
Superior, take 27th to oQ (/)
Superior, east to 48th % Jr
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Ti
“I Walked” is the third track of
the album, as the first single, though
just about all the songs on the al
bum could make it as singles. When
the chorus snags your ear, you can’t
change the channel.
Singer/guitarist/songwriter Scott
Sax said, “My brother said he felt
an overnight walk was one of the
most therapeutic things you could
do, because you feel yourself pass
through all these emotions as yes
terday physically fades away, stroll
ing beyond the grayness into a new
sun. You evolve and start over just
as the day does.”
Everyone has (or has had) a
friend like the character in
“Troubled Man:” someone who
says love isn’t for him and that
other things are more important.
The song pokes fun at the charac
ter, saying such people refuse to
_ listen.
As the slow guitar riff of “Sun
dial” begins to ebb through the
speakers, and the sound of an acous
tic guitar rings true in the back
ground, as do a slow jazzy Byrd
like quality, and a gorgeous, almost
hypnotic flair to the playing. Sax’s
vocals ring out, his voice a beacon
to all.
“Coffee In The Kitchen” is a
personal favorite, with a hook that
will sink into you and fail to ever let
go. It has that carefree sound to it
that will make you smile. “While
you’re buyin’and sellin’A’ll be on
my seventh dream/Screamin ’ and a
yellin’/I’ll be laughingat themovie
screen/Coffee in the kitchen/Sugar
and a little cream,” the chorus hums.
One might wonder if “Before
We Fade” is a confessional, as it
comes across as a story one might
tell to their best friend. The melody
skirts at the darkness, a song for the
evening, a tale of lies and dreams.
Rob Bonfiglio, lead guitarist, proves
that in his hands, the Rickenbacker
guitar is a truly blessed instrument,
with notes that slide over you like a
lover’s touch on a cold night.
Take pause on “Deepest Blue”
to sit down and get a cup of coffee
or smoke a cigarette, as it’s a beau
tiful contemplative lapse from the
rock overtones, as you can imagine
someone standing against a flat gray
sky, the wind blowing through their
hair, as they are trapped in memo
ries of times past.
“Brand New Plan” is like a figu
rative Gilligan’s Island about all
the plans people make in life and
how so many of them never bear
fruit, and the reference to the show
isn’t exactly masked. It undergoes
a transformation from a quiet un
dertone to the wistful chorus “I
always felt like Gilligan/Dreamin’
up a brand new plan/Just when ev
erything goes my way/The Profes
sor comes walkin ’ in/Saying' Sorry
but we’re stuck again.’”
When the opening rockish riff
of “Stage Name” kicks in, another
faster paced song jumps up for at
tention. The constant beat of the
drums, the guitar which comes in
waves, and the lyrics which merit a
great deal of thought. Again, Wan
derlust proves their ability to write
catchy choruses.
The closing number of the al
bum is “Flash and Shadow,” a soft
gentle song which may bring a tear
to your eye. The first half is all
acoustic and when the electric gui
tar comes in, the pace of the song
isn’t hindered in the slightest. It’s
raining outside. Wanderlust is sit
ting on the porch, playing as the
rain falls down on them.
The lyrics for the song sum up
the general feel of Wanderlust.
“Everything is flash and shadow/
Everything is black and green/Ev
erything is chutes and ladders/
Everything’s anything in between.”
Whatever praise is given this
album, nothing can compare to ac
tually hearing it, and meager words
can \ capture the majestic splendor
of Wanderlust’s debut album,
“Prize.” Go buy it. Now. And while
you’re at it, thank RCA for the next
six albums, may they be as good, if
not (may miracles never cease) even
better.
— Cliff Hicks
PSOJ&
Antic nets Grant trivia query
LONDON (AP)—Now you too
can score with Hugh Grant.
His escapade with a Hollywood
tart will be a question in the 1996
British edition of Trivial Pursuit:
“Which film publicity launch
was in its gestation stage when Hugh
hooked a hooker?”
Grant was promoting “Nine
Months” in July when Los Angeles
police arrested him with a prosti
tute on Sunset Boulevard.
He pleaded no contest and was
sentenced to a fine and an AIDS
education course.
“It is only in the adult version,
not the family version of the game,”
Brian Highley, who compiles que
ries for the game, told The People
newspaper. -
He’s invited Grant and his girl
friend, model Elizabeth Hurley, to
the new edition’s launch.
“I hope he has sufficient sense of
humor tocomealong,” Highley said.
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