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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1998)
Musicians, comic artists compose soundtrack By Christopher Heine Staff writer Kat Bjelland, a punk rock singer since high school, sat on her bed after a party thrown by friends on her 32nd birthday. She was enjoying one of the many gifts given Soherthal night: a collection of the popular comic books “Witehblade.” By the end of the reading that night, the lead singer of notorious female punk band Babes in Toyland had an idea. “I wanted to blow people’s minds with a sound track to my end-of-the-world dreams,” Bjelland said in a formal press release. From that brainchild a new marketing mar riage was bom: the comic book soundtrack Two years ago, Bjelland was commissioned by Dreamworks Records to produce the album. She quickly^ recruited several notable musicians (Lydia Luncbr«f Menage Jestfs afftf ? - o5 The Jerks) and a co-writer, David Wohl. The result was the first offi cial release of its kind - “Songs of the Witchblade: A Soundtrack to the Comic Books.’ BjeUand said the creative expe rience for the album was more than just another project “It was scary because I didn’t have the usual parameters (to work With),” she said. “I was venturing iritoiineharted territory.” Bjelland’s work with _ Minneapolis-based Babes in Toyland helped her employ the noisy and spooky familiarities of modern punk rock to the soundtrack. On the band’s 1991 release “To Mother,” Bjelland at times sings with a ghostly voice to punctuate her lyrical themes. Her work on the sound track shows the 5uzz Oabourrut, Utsud vocatiet oftumihcot* act The MoMnet... vocalist has not lost interest in express ing her darker side. “The music is ethereal and haunt ing, ” Bjelland said. “But it’s not confined to one genre - it’s too weird for that” Chris Delay, | assistant manager at Cosmic Comics, 200 N. 66th St., said the sound track works well with the comic book. “The album has an appropriate gothic feel that fits well,” he said. “It tells a story and sets a mood for the city.” “Witchblade” is set in New York City and its heroine, Sara Pezzini, is taken from &sm Mvstaine, fincmt man Mo&iefoth *&.. fftmmmrtdtng Officer ofFkzzlnl, the television series, “NYPD Blue.” On the recording, Bjelland I plays the animated version of I Sara Pezzini, who enjoys charac | teristics one would expect from a 1 heroine. | She is a powerful, muscular I force who deals with evil in an I illuminated world divided I between reality and mythology. Bjelland said it was natural for her to emulate the Pezzini character on the soundtrack because they are both complex per sonas. “My voice lent itself to her character pretty well,” she said “She goes through so many per sonality changes, and so do I. “Besides, we both like screaming our heads off.” Bjelland, in a phone interview from Minneapolis, said she enjoys the “realms of mythology in comics.” The history of rock ‘n’ roll is sprinkled shar ing performers with similar inclinations to Bjelland. One only IWprtventethe Parkneee 00 embodied in Jackie Estacado. has to think of David Bowie’s “ Z i g g y Stardust” or today s Maniyn Manson to understand the music’s con nection to mythology, fanta sy and animation. Could the comic book soundtrack become an industry trend for musi cians? Delay, who has worked at Cosmic Comics for more than three years, believes the answer is a resounding “yes” because oi a grow ing market for comic book byproducts. Witchblade (sound track) is a pretty good sell er,” he said. “It’s selling right along with the toys and the T-shirts. “People get into a cer tain character and believe they have to have every thing associated with it.” Delay said musicians like Bjelland have always been fans of comics. Performers such as Gary Kat&jsltand, had vocaUat of\ Babee tnfayiandaa... She wee i&toeon to wee? the ffftcbrituSen woman know me The Wftehbtede. Newman and Glenn Danzig, he said, have made unofficial attempts at producing comic book soundtracks but met little recognition for their efforts. Delay agreed that rock ’n’ roll musicians seem to be both attracted and inspired by the realm or comic rantasy, due to their similar natures. I “Both mediums tend to deal with darker themes,” he said. ’ Bjelland, who worked on the pro ject for 18 months, said her desire to do a project like “Witehblade” stems back to childhood “When I was young,” she said, “I remember telling my dad while I was sitting at the piano that I wanted to do soundtracks to scary movies. “This is {Hetty close.” ... “Witehblade” is now available in stores, and while you shouldn’t expect another Babes album, it might be just interesting and cer tainly as ethereal. Effects don’t save drowsy ‘What Dreams May Come’ By Jason Hardy Senior staff writer It is widely believed that when people die they go somewhere. It could be heaven, could be hell, could be somewhere else. Well, wherever I go, I sure hope this movie isn’t show ing there. Polygram Films’ latest release, “What Dreams May Come,” offers a lot of exciting and creative imagery but little in the way of an interesting plot line. The story attempts to com bine elements from a number of dif ferent religions but ultimately comes off very vague and confusing, requir ing the viewer to say, “OK, I guess that could happen,” quite often. The film tells the story of Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) who dies unexpectedly and goes to heaven, which is, for him, existing in one of his wife’s paintings. However, nice as it is, he simply can’t get over losing his wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra), who is somewhat of a mental case to begin with, but even more so after Chris’ death. When he is told that Annie can never join him in heaven he decides he has to find her and embarks on a journey through heaven, hell and everything in between to save her from her own agony, just like he always did on Earth. A major problem with this story is that the leading lady is quite unlikeable. Basically, she’s just a mental wreck who is totally depen dent on Chris for even the slightest of life’s challenges, and it’s hard to believe that their love for each other is strong enough for a connection between earth and the afterlife. Annie, a severely depressed painter, is such a weak person that it’s hard to understand why Chris, the man with it all together, would care about her so much as to ultimately serve only as her crutch in the marriage. The Facts Title: "What Dreams May Come’' Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Annabella Sciorra Director: Vincent Ward Rating: PG-13 Grade: C Flve Words: Wake up and stay home The plot is too complicated and much of the film is spent building up to the climax, which is ultimately lacking. The ending is cheesy and angelically optimistic, and in the end, the notable special effects just aren’t enough to make this film worthwhile. The acting by Williams is impres sive at times but his character is only explored superficially and we never really know what inspired or cultivat ed this intense love for his wife. Also, Courtesy Photo CHRIS (ROBIN WILLIAMS) and Annie Nielsen (Annabella Sciorra) are reunit ed in the cinematic wet-paint dream “What Dreams May Come.” Chris struggles throughout the film to regain his wife in the afterlife. Cuba Gooding Jr. does a fine job in his portrayal of Albert, Chris’ friend from Earth who is also in Heaven. Unfortunately, he isn’t on the screen for much of the movie. The plot limitations put on him and Williams greatly hinder this film and both heavenly characters could have been fleshed out much more. While the images and ideas illus trated in “What Dreams May Come” are exciting, the overall effect is a shallow attempt at representing the afterlife and a dull portrayal of two people’s love for one another. Rather than seeing this movie I recommend drinking a warm glass of milk and hitting the sack. Hopefully, you’ll find something a little more interest ing in your own dreams.