Chris Cornell
“Euphoria Morning”
A&M Records
GRADE: B+
Starting a solo career is always a
gamble. The risk factor increases
considerably when the artist makes a
solo debut shortly after leaving a very
prominent group.
This is the situation facing Chris
Comeir.
Fortunately, he enters the arena
with the vigor and ferocity for which
he is nov' famous.
- On “Euphoria Morning,” Cornell
still sings with the rage and passion
that proved to be one of the unques
tionable strengths of the recently sep
arated band Soundgarden.
By isolating Cornell, the talents
he brought to Soundgarden become
apparent in terms of performance,
songwriting and production.
Songs such as “Preaching The
End of the World” and “Follow My
Way” would not have been out of
place on Soundgarden’s last album,
“Down on the Upside.” The songs
have the same texture and layering as
“Burden in My Hand” and “Blow Up
The Outside World.”
The album serves as an indication
of a direction Soundgarden may have
taken - had it stayed together.
Perhaps it’s best that Cornell
experiments with his new sound in
the solo format so as not to soften
Soundgarden’s tougher sound.
Fans of the early works from
Soundgarden will be disappointed
that none of the songs sound as heavy
as songs such as “Loud Love” or
“Outshined.” This is evident with the
release of the first single, “Can’t
Change Me,” a catchy, well-written,
polished song but one that pales in
comparison with Cornell’s past work.
On “Euphoria Morning,” Cornell
makes good use of the freedom a solo
career can offer and shows a wide
range of influences, including a few
nods to the premier bands of the
British invasion. Throughout the
album, a heavy Beatles influence
exists, especially on tracks such as
“Moonchild” and the title track.
Songs such as “When I’m Down”
and “Disappearing One” find Cornell
singing in a slower, bluesy style that
tries to sound like Ray Charles but
sounds more like something off of
Led Zeppelin’s “In Through the Out
Door.” “Flutter Girl” has a
Radiohead-esque flavor.
Although the album has no clear
direction, it does show that Cornell is
capable of having a successful solo
career, and his soulful approach lends
itself to a variety of styles.
Of course, considering his perfor
mance in 1992’s “Singles,” it could
be in the cards for Cornell to be the
flannel-clad, picture show crooner.
Maybe a Seattle Sinatra is a little
far-fetched, but anything’s possible.
- Patrick Kelly
NY Mayor Giuliani
opposes art exposition
NEW YORK (AP) — Art fused
with politics Monday as an exhibit fea
turing elephant dung on a painting of
the Virgin Mary became the latest issue
in the duel between Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Giuliani - who like the first lady is
an all-but-declared candidate for the
Senate seat in New York - has threat
ened to cut $7 million in funding if the
Brooklyn Museum of Art goes ahead
with the show Saturday. He has called
the exhibit, which also features bisected
animals and a topless woman in the
place of Jesus at the Last Supper, “sick”
and offensive.
Clinton, however, declared Monday
that the museum shouldn’t lose its fund
ing - money that makes up a full third of
its budget.
“It’s not appropriate to penalize and
punish" an institution such as the
Brooklyn Museum,” Clinton said while
visiting^a Harlem school.
At the same time, she. said she.
shared “the feeling that I know many
New Yorkers have that there are parts of
this exhibit that would be deeply offen
sive. I would not go to see this exhibit.”
Giuliani, who is Roman Catholic,
accused the first lady of supporting the
use of public money “to attack and bash
the Catholic religion.”
Included in the exhibit is “The Holy
Virgin Mary” painting, which depicts
Mary with dark skin, African features
and flowing robes. It includes shel
lacked clumps of elephant dung and
dozens of cutouts of female private
parts from pornographic magazines.
The work - part of the British
“Sensation” exhibit - has fueled a
debate about freedom of expression and
public support of the arts. It has also
brought both financial peril and public
ity to a museum used to operating in the
shadows of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art and other Manhattan attractions.
Cardinal John O’Connor of New
York has sided with the mayor, while
civil rights activists have'said that
pulling the museum’s funding would
A
66
Its not appropriate
to penalize and
punish ... the
Brooklyn Museum ”
Hillary Rodham Clinton
first lady
violate the First Amendment. The New
York Civil Liberties Union was plan
ning a rally to support the exhibit, and
conservative Republicans were plan
ning one against it.
“Virgin Mary” artist Chris Ofili,
who is noted for using elephant dung in
his works, has refused interviews - a
stance that has not halted the furor.
Art critic Jeffrey Hogrefe of the
New York Observer said, “They wanted
to get some publicity, and they got it....
I think it was pretty calculated.”
The Brooklyn Museum’s director,
Arnold Lehman, has been silent. But
elsewhere, opinions about the work -
even from those who haven't seen it -
abound.
In his weekly sermon at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, O’Connor said he was “sad
dened” by what appears to be an attack
on the Virgin Mary. And Gov. George
Pataki said he was grateful no state
money was involved in the exhibit.
The governor dodged the question
of whether Giuliani should cut off fund
ing. But Clinton argued that personal
reactions “should not lead to the penal
ization and shutting down of an entire
museum.”
Other works in the exhibit include a
series of Siamese-twin type man
nequins, some with sex organs in place
of noses and mouths; a work consisting
of two halves of a pig suspended in two
formaldehyde tanks; and “Wrecked,” a
version of the Last Supper with a top
less woman standing in for Jesus.
«... « . . - Courtesy Photo
Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs will play selections from their new album, “Pork Que?” at the Zoo Bar.
The Pigs bringing the Bacon
ZOO from page 12
“I write all kinds of music,”
Bacon said. “This band allows me
to play what I write. It’s kind of self
indulgent.”
Even though the genres he
draws from are diverse, Bacon said,
“It’s all where rock and roll comes
from.”
The term Tex-Mex-Blues-a
Billy is fitting, but it doesn’t do jus
tice to the band’s live show. With
songs like “Una Mas Cerveza” and
“No Mas Tequila,” Bacon’s Spanish
influence comes through with his
humor.
Energetic antics on stage also
characterize Bacon, who is known
for climbing on his polka-dot bass
while playing.
“Sometimes we get a little
goofy,” Bacon said. “We never play
it straight; it’s impossible to do
that.”
So far, Billy Bacon and the
Forbidden Pigs (or simply “The
Pigs” as they’ve come to be known)
have produced five albums. Guest
musicians such as Eagle Joe Walsh
and Grammy award-winning fiddle
player Michael Doucet have also
contributed to their albums. The
Pigs’ most recent release “Pork
Que?” is on Bacon’s own label,
Swine Song Records.
Songs from “Pork Que?” as
well as from their other humorous
ly titled albums such as “Dressed
to Swill” and “The Other White
Meat,” can be heard Wednesday
through Saturday at the Zoo Bar,
where The Pigs have performed
several times in the past eight
years.
Bacon said the band’s shows at
the Zoo Bar are “always the high
light of the tour” because of the
crowd’s energy.
“When you’re getting energy
back (from the audience), it fans
the flame,” Bacon said.
But the party isn’t just for the
audience; The Pigs plan on having
their share of fun too.
Although fond of the Zoo Bar,
Bacon said he has “very blurred
memories of the Zoo. A little bit of
Old Style has been tossed down
there.”
So how does one prepare for
The Pigs?
Bacon had a piece of advice:
“Leave your worries at the door,
and bring a designated driver.”
He also added that fans who
come to ail four shows receive a
special prize: a date with Billy
Bacon.
Author focuses on American Indian spirit
(jUBEL from page 12
job,” he said. “Most of the schools
around here don’t even mention it.”
He wrote his first children’s book,
“Red Hawk’s Account of Custer’s Last
Battle,” as a fictionalized re-telling of
the 1876 battle of the Little Bighorn
through the eyes of a 15-year-old
Oglala Sioux. He sought to show the
bravery both in the Indians as well as
the U.S. soldiers and offer a more well
rounded account. It all stemmed from
a TV show Goble watched with his
son.
“I was watching this dreadful
......
series on General Custer and I thought
‘Could I possibly do something for
children about this battle?’ because the
TV show was terribly biased and inac
curate,” he said.
Since his initial book, Goble has
written and illustrated 24 children’s
books focusing on different aspects of
American Indian heritage. While
some of his stories may not be com
pletely factual in a concrete sense,
they are effective, and that’s some
thing Goble still hopes to be in the
future.
“I hope I’ve done the same thing
for one or two young people that my
mother did for me,” he said, “to spark
them to read some more.”
As long as his heart is in the right
place, he feels he’ll be able to accom
plish that goal.
“I remember once I was at a South
Dakota education meeting with a lot of
teachers in the room. There was one
Indian person in the room, and at the
end of the meeting, she got up and said
she was amazed at how this
Englishman had captured the spirit of
her people,” Goble said. “That’s what
I’ve tried to do.
“I think the spirit is more impor
tant than the details.”
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