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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1996)
Music Reviews Mango Jam “Somewhere In the Middle” Road Work Records Grade: B Mango Jam is very... different. When the first track of “Some where In the Middle”, starts, the idea comes across that this is a light record. About two-thirds of the way through, a thick organ comes in, and suddenly that idea is thrown into File 13. When “Miss Minnie” kicks in, the jams are flying, organ buzzing and harmonica in full overdrive. It’s almost blues meets funk, with a good Caribbean element thrown in. The “Mr. Valentine” hits, and it’s about as Caribbean as a rock song is going to get, with congas and organ, sounding almost like Jah Wobble. All of the album wanders around like this. At times it gets very Ca lypso; at others, very rock; still oth ers, very funk; even others, very blues. Mango Jam is nothing i f not var ied. Some of the tracks strike home, like “Mr. Valentine” and “Cus tomer,” but others are simply in stant passes, like “Luau Feet.” “Somewhere In the Middle” is something to try if you’re feeling daring one day, but not if you want to know exactly what you’re get ting into. —Cliff Hicks The Drags “Dragsploitation...Now!” Estrus Records Grade: A From the sandy soil of New Mexico come The Drags with “Dragsploitation ... Now!” This is the band’s longest release to date, and The Drags represent the ’60s revival punk sound very well. This 20-minute, 10" record has more power and fury than most records twice its length. Side one starts off the title track and lures you in—only to slap you in the face with the unforeseen ter ror-filled screams of female bass player Lorca. After you recover from the opening instrumental, the band comes back with “Can't Change My Style,”anice littlenum ber about people’s inability to change. Once the onslaught of the first side is over, you flip the record over and the second side starts with equal fury. “Mr. Undertaker” begins and features once again the backing vocal power of Lorca. The medley of “10th Man Theme”, a raw and sloppy surf song, and “My Girlfriend’s In The F.B.I.” com bine perfectly. Minimalist to be sure, this record sounds as if it was recorded in the era of mod. The raw guitar sound/ noi se blends very well with the crass and dry vocals of guitar player C.J., sung sincerely. The drum kit only consists of a kick-drum, snare and a hi-hat — but isn’t that all you need anyway? As an added bonus, if you order this masterpiece from Estrus, the record company will even throw in a Drags airplane flight bag, com plete with the Drags logo. In a few words, The Drags “Dragsploitation... Now” holds the power and raw energy that most bands only can dream about. If you’re in the market for good mu sic, you definitely should own this. But if you are happy with medioc rity, let this one pass you by, and get the new Alanis Morissette. —Brooks Hitt Comedy sparse in ‘Mr. Wrong’ Sorry Ellen, but your first movie sucks. Seriously! You took jokes and ideas ■ from your televi Mnifin sion ser*es and mu v It# spliced them all to Review ^er„for “Mr. And we thought Dr. Frankenstein created a monster. Martha Alston (DeGeneres) is a thirty-something woman with a good career and a rotten single life. The pressure is coming in fromall sides to get married, but Martha is happy just where she’s at... sort of. The first half-hour of the film is where the lion’s share of the laughs await Actually, it’s where mast of the laughs occur as we watch Ellen ... I mean, Martha deal with some really pathetic men. But when she meets Whitman Crawford (Bill Pullman), all doubts of single life are cast aside. WHAT?!? Bill Pullman in a ro mantic-comedy? Oh, now THERE’S a stretch! Anyway, Martha falls hard for this perfect guy, but eventually finds what Whitman is like on the inside. He writes really bizarre poetry, likes to steal beer and has a possessive — and cosmi cally stupid—ex-girlfriend, Inga (Joan Cusack). Naturally, everyone else loves Whitman, and he becomes more and more obsessed with Martha as her life goes down the proverbial toilet until she ends up in a Mexican jail. Look for familiar faces Polly Holi day as Martha’s mom and Dean Fam: “Mr. Wrong” Stars: Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman, Joan Cusack Director: Nick Castle Rating: PG (mild language, mature humor) Grade: 13 Five Words: “Fatal Attraction” comedy without laughs Stockwell (A1 from “Quantum Leap”) as a private detective hired by Martha. DeGeneres’ performance is noth ing past what she has done in her “Ellen” television series; acceptable by television terms, but as a film, it just See WRONG on 14 Children hurt at Jackson concert LONDON (AP)—Police arrested a rock singer at the British music industry’s Brit Awards after he alleg edly attacked three children perform ing with Michael Jackson. BBC Radio identified the man de-* tained Monday night as Jarvis Cocker, a member of the British pop group Pulp. “Jarvis did not assault anyone,” said his spokesman, Scott Piering. Scotland Yard said one 11-year old boy was punched, another got a cut on the ear and a 12-year-old was thrown to the stage. Cocker was released on bail this morning. The incident occurred during Jackson’s performance, but not within range of television cameras. The award show is to be broadcast in Britain tonight. A statement from Jackson’s record company, Epic, said the singer was shocked and angry over the incident, “but is immensely proud that the cast remained professional and the show went on.” Piering said today that Cocker did “take a stroll on stage” during Jackson’s performance, but that he did not “push, shove, molest or touch any children there.” “We couldn’t believe our eyes that Jarvis was on stage,” he said. “Every one was getting wondrous at Michael Jackson’s enormous production num ber. “Jarvis deflated it a bit, but Michael did not notice any of this going on.” Performing for the first time since he collapsed in New York last year, Jackson sang “Earth Song” and re ceived a “Special Artist of a Genera tion” honor. David Bowie, the former rock ‘n’ roll rebel known for his futuristic fan tasy rocker image, received an award for “Outstanding Contribution to The British Music Industry.” Also at the ceremony, British band Oasis won three major awards, for best group, best album — “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” — and best video, “Wonderwall.” Towns look to buy writer’s home PARIS (AP)—Two dozen eastern French towns are pooling their cash to make sure seedy figures don’t end up cultivating the gardens of Voltaire’s estate. The proud chateau on the Swiss border, where the 18th-century writer and philosopher spent the last 20 years ofhi s 1 i fe, now is owned by two women. In their 80s, they can’t maintain the $6 million mansion. The aging landlords say plans to split the estate among their seven children and 13 grandchil dren have been foiled by a bitter fam ily feud. The only option they see is to put it on the market. So the mayors of Femey-Voltaire, where the estate is located, and 23 neighboring towns are trying to come up with the cash to make sure the estate doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. “In respect to Voltaire and his battles for freedom, we have to do everything we can to make sure the chateau isn’t bought with money from drug traffick ers or the Russian mafia,” said Alex Decotte, cultural director of Ferney Voltaire. The French are especially con cerned about the fate of their prized chateaus these days. Last month, a Japanese heiress was jailed on charges of forgery and breach of trust after buying 10 prominent See VOLTAIRE on 14 I ^c**»««n'7S|W*,Spri",6rHt f escape • come to our H&R Block location right here on campus. 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