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Bang Sonic! Issue 7
From ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu Wed Mar 23 21:01:50 1994
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 19:52:54 -0500
From: "Colin P. Macinnes" <ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu>
To: ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu, dell@wiretap.spies.com, ftp@fir.cic.net
Subject: Bang Sonic! Mar94.txt
BANG SONIC!
the Atomic-Powered alt.rec.music.comp E-mag
Mar94 Vol.I Iss.7
Bang Sonic! is published once a month as both a stand alone Macintosh document
and as a text only file. The Mac version is about 150k but it has a swell
photo of Trent Reznor on the cover. Once you get the stand alone "doc" just
de-bin-hqx it (then, naturally, "unstuff" it.) So simple a child could do it.
THE CATCH (because there is always a catch):
Stuffit-Lite and Stuffit-Delux have been know to have difficulty de-bin-hqxing
Bang Sonic! If you experience difficulty, try using "Binhqx v.4.0" or better
yet, "HQXer". Either one will take care of business for you.
Bang! is available in assorted Usenet newsgroups. It could show up anywhere,
but look for it in:
alt.zines rec.music.misc
alt.music.alternative rec.music.reviews
Bang Sonic! will also be available via:
FTP: Gopher:
etext.archive.umich.edu etext.archive.umich.edu
gopher.well.sf.ca.us
We also keep plenty of copies on hand at:
ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu
**************
CONTENTS
Nine Inch Nails - the downward spiral
Ace of Base - the sign
Pet Shop Boys - very
the Cranberries - everybody else is doing it...
Marc Almond - 12 years of tears (live)
Red Red Groovy - "25"
The Next Big Thing - by Frankie Machine
The Wisconsin Project Juggernaut - by Danny Ocean
Hit Lists from Around the World
New Releases of Note and Interest
Mail From YOU to US!
******************************************
Nine Inch Nails
The Downward Spiral
Nothing TVT / Interscope Records
Oooohhhhh THAT'S SCARY!
Five years ago Trent Reznor blew in from nowhere (Cleveland, same thing) with
songs that captured the hearts and minds of disaffected youth everywhere.
"Pretty Hate Machine" summed up the essence of teen angst and despair, flailing
rebelliously at nothing really in particular. Also, you could dance to it.
Nine Inch Nails had the black-leather clad, chain smoking, self-alienated
members of society at its feet.
"The Downward Spiral" is the record it seemed might never get made. This
sophomore effort (disregarding, for the moment, the "Broken" and "Fixed" EP's)
was shrouded in mystery and surrounded by controversy. It was recorded in the
former Manson Family estate. There were reported clashes with co-producer
Flood. Now that all is said and done, it sounds about how the follow up to
"Pretty Hate Machine" ought to sound. Darker. Angrier. More ambitious. More
polished. You can still dance to most of it.
This is, however, a concept album. Though albums centered on grand themes
frequently collapse under the weight of their own lofty ambitions (Elvis
Costello's "The Juliet Letters" and Shriekback's "Sacred City" for instance),
"The Downward Spiral" manages to tell a tragic tale without becoming bogged
down and self-absorbed.
The official story is that "'The Downward Spiral' portrays a person's need to
get away from the pain of indulging in things that are not necessarily right
for them, whether it be through drugs, religion, or self-destruction." While
this may or may not sound promising depending on your point of view, it is an
accurate characterization of the album's tone. "The Downward Spiral" starts
off kicking and screaming, but eventually descends into a terrifyingly cozy
netherworld.
SWEET DREAMS AREN'T MADE OF THIS
Side one is where the dancing is. The far reaching impact of Ministry's
terror-dance-metal is felt throughout, much to no one's surprise. "Mr. Self
Destruct" launches the assault, with a raging introduction to the self-loathing
that follows. The tempo shifts from the building blues-shuffle of "Piggy" to
the speedy rip-gun blasts of "March of the Pigs." There is a lot of middle
ground on side one as well, plenty of hit single fodder. The side eventually
ends with a sense of unraveling, of sanity slowly slipping away.
The second side is like a completely different album. It's just as disturbing
as the first side, but in a quiet, spooky, more personally threatening way. "A
Warm Place" is a disarmingly serene instrumental that leads off side two.
Shortly after that the insects start buzzing and the imagery becomes
disconcerting. The Shakespearian ending won't lift spirits, but it does
provide a sense of closure, and there is something profoundly gratifying about
that.
"The Downward Spiral" is a beautiful, brutal nightmare. It was painted on a
much larger canvas than the beloved and revered "Pretty Hate Machine." Trent
uses a far more sinister palette of colours as well. "The Downward Spiral" may
not be for the squeamish, but even they can dance to it.
VITAL STATISTICS
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Released on Nothing TVT/Interscope Records
Catalog number 92346-2 / halo eight
Total playing time: 65:08
14 tracks
Mr. self destruct
Piggy
Heresy
March of the pigs
Closer
Ruiner
The becoming
I do not want this
Big man with a gun
A warm place
Eraser
Reptile
The downward spiral
Hurt
Produced by flood and trent reznor
******************************************
Ace of Base
The Sign
Arista Records
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW
There must be mysterious forces at work in the universe. That is the only way
to account for something like this happening. First Abba, then A-Ha, now Ace
of Base. There must be Ouija spirits involved. Why else would all these
world-dominating Nordic supergroups have names that start with the letter "A"?
How else could they mysteriously achieve world domination?
Last summer Ace of Base swept through Europe like a crabby German fighting
hyper inflation. Borders be damned. Take no prisoners. That isn't too
difficult to account for because in spite of historical mystique, Europe is
really just a less hygienically sophisticated version of Canada. That is why
every artist who meets with ridicule in America falls back on the boast of
being "big in Europe." They probably are. So what. So is David Haseloff.
More recently Ace of Base have rolled over the American charts like a
high-priced hooker. This means nothing as the Americans also have no taste.
Look at American beer. American cigarettes. American cars. America's taste
is in its collective, McDonald's stuffed mouth. But I digress (ed. actually,
to digress you must have started to make a point which you have thus far
neglected to do.)
PABULUM FOR THE MASSES
Being evil is far better than being innocuous. At least with evil there is the
potential for something interesting to happen.
The faux dub groove that Ace of Base roots itself in, is not a bad place from
which to start. UB40 has managed to dig itself out of it once or twice. These
arrangements never get fleshed out though. Paper thin and no place to go. The
tone varies but the character is almost nonexistent.
>From the big boss grove of "All that she wants" Ace of Base give the impression
that they are the next Massive Attack. The tension dissolves quickly and the
intrigue is shallow. By the third track they are trying to board the KLF's
"Last Train to Transcentral." Ultimately, they lack the courage of their
convictions and end the round lacking punch.
They earn bonus points for ambition. Ace of Base look to exploit the
dreadfully underutilized spy-music genera, however "Living in Danger" ends up
sounding suspiciously like "One Night in Bankok" by Murry Head.
There are some interesting moments on the album when Ace of Base shrug off
their signature reagee shuffle in favor of a more conventional dance beat. "My
Mind" starts off with a Shamen-esque exclamation "there's a base in your mind"
followed closely by the ominous "Sprockets" instruction "dance!" The song is
little more than filler but at least it is moderately interesting as a change
of pace.
It isn't difficult to figure out how Ace of Base managed to conquer America.
After all, the Americans are a weak-minded people ripe for toppling. Just ask
the Japanese. Then ask the Ouija board.
VITAL STATISTICS
Ace of Base - the Sign
Released on Arista Records
Catalog number ARCD 8740
Total playing time: 45:50
12 tracks
All that she wants
Don't turn around
Young and proud
The sign
Living in danger
Dancer in a daydream
Wheel of fortune
Waiting for magic (total remix 7")
Happy nation
Voulez-vous danser
My mind (mindless mix)
All that she wants (Banghra version)
Ace of Base are:
Buddha
Joker
Linn
Jenny
******************************************
Pet Shop Boys
Very
EMI Records
TOUCH ME . . . I'M KITSCH
"West End Girls" made the Pet Shop Boys the flavour of the month in 1984. In
the ten years since they have been unique in their level of consistency. They
haven't kicked out the unproductive half of their membership (a la Wham!, Tears
for Fears, O.M.D.). They haven't attempted to reinvent themselves with each
album (a la ABC, David Bowie, Elvis Costello). At this point, people have a
good idea about what to expect from the Pet Shop Boys. Lush, layered intricate
melodies. Clean, compelling rhythms. Deadpan pop-tart vocals.
"Very" allegedly marks something of an image overhaul for the Pet Shop Boys.
They would have you believe that this isn't the old, stand-off-ish, aloof,
cooler-than-thou Pet Shop Boys. They have put on Devo hats and jumpsuits, and
are making a concerted effort to smile. Thankfully you can't teach an old dog
new tricks and though the cosmetics may be different, the sarcastic essence
remains the same.
The album opens with the stompy and sinister "Can You Forgive Her?" which boils
over with bile and disgust. You can smell the resentment flooding from the
speakers. However, this is a peppier version of the Pet Shop Boys. The
massive Angelo Badalementi arrangements are gone, replaced by the always
invigorating Anne Dudley. The new happy-happy Pet Shop Boys are full of irony
and mistrust, but they are trying to put a smilly face on their bitter
contempt.
"'You're much too kind', I smiled with murder on my mind"
-from "Yesterday, When I was Mad"
The catchy, kitschy disco that the Pet Shop Boys purvey has never sounded more
polished. They span the genera, such as it is, covering all of the bases there
are to cover. High-NRG chirping. The cool glide of more traditional house
music. The over the top, melodramatic production value of "The Theater" would
make Trevor Horn proud. Even the two contemplative, slow-dance songs are
perkier than is generally the case when the Pet Shop Boys slow the tempo down.
BET SHE'S NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND
"Go West" closes the album and if ever there were a doubt that this is the new,
fun-loving, devil-may-care Pet Shop Boys, this song puts those doubts to rest.
Covering the Village People would make the London Symphony Orchestra sound
jovial and goofy.
"Go West" also points to another key element in this album. The Pet Shop Boys
have always been somewhat "glamorous" without stating as much. There are no
declarations (unless covering a Village People song with an all male chorus
singing backup can be considered a declaration) and yet the lifestyle issue
pops up more frequently and less subtly on this album than in previous work.
Just another benefit of the all-new, less austere, party-time Pet Shop Boys.
VITAL STATISTICS
Pet Shop Boys - Very
Released on EMI Records
Catalog number D135187
Total playing time: 53:18
12 tracks
Can you forgive her?
I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing
Liberation
A different point of view
Dreaming of the queen
Yesterday, when i was mad
The theatre
One and one make five
To speak is a sin
Young offender
One in a million
Go west
Produced by the Pet Shop Boys
additional production by Stephen Hague
mixed by Stephen Hague and Mike "Spike" Drake
Orchesta arranged and conduc
ted by Anne Dudley
******************************************
The Cranberries
Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?
Island Records
FURTHER INTO THE FOG I FALL
Being touted as the next great, important band is something of a mixed
blessing. On one hand you get the attention that most bands spend their entire
careers hoping for. On the other hand there are impossible expectations and a
vast array of pre-conceived ideas to overcome.
The Cranberries received a fair amount of attention from the press after
releasing their debut album. Lead singer Delores O'Riordan has been compared
to virtually every female pop singer since Kate Smith. "Oh, she sounds like
Sinead." "Oh, she sounds like Harriet Wheeler of the Sundays." "Sarah
McLachlan." "Kate Bush." "Elizabeth Fraser." et al. . . .
Besides being patently unfair, these comparisons are wildly inaccurate. While
Delores' impassioned and compelling voice bears a passing similarity to some of
the afore mentioned singers, the truly defining sound of the Cranberries on
this album comes from the producer. Stephen Street.
The Stephen Street sound is unmistakable. It is late-model Smiths, early-model
Morrissey, and Bradford's "Shouting Quietly." Mr. Street produces perfectly
balanced little songs where the guitars never get out of hand unless it is to
prove a point. Where the string arrangements just hang around for contrast.
Where you can understand the lyrics because they generally mean something. All
of the earmarks of Street's guitar based anguish-pop are here on "Everybody
else is doing it, so why can't we?"
That isn't to diminish the importance of the band on this album. The
Cranberries are not a Smiths clone with a woman up front for camouflage
(although that really wouldn't be such a bad idea for a band.)
There is something very quaint about the songs on "Everybody else is doing it,
so why can't we?" Something that makes them seem personal and familiar. None
of them are terribly long (and that is of great benefit to a generation of
listeners with severely limited attention spans). They are also as catchy as a
cold. By the third or fourth trip through the album, singing along becomes an
almost irresistible impulse. Talk show legend Larry King is fond of noting
that the measure of a good song is whether you can hum it whilst walking down
the street. Larry would most certainly dig the Cranberries.
The lyrics are pure and full of youthful vigor. Just like the poems that
everyone writes in high school except not as stupid. The topics are standard
fare; love lost, love found, why is the world just one big bloody conspiracy to
make me miserable. They arouse a basic, instinctual desire to give poor
Dolores a big hug and a kiss on the forehead and to try to fix her up with this
friend of your brother that is a really sweet guy who's heart she will have no
problem breaking so that she will have some sense of self-esteem.
Of course Dolores doesn't need to be set up with your brother's friend because
she is a huge, international rock star that is on MTV at all hours of the night
and day and has all sorts of manic depressive men with great hair throwing
themselves at her feet. This all happened because the record industry has been
kind enough to build up a lot of hype around her band. And her band has been
able to live up to the demands of all of that hype because (in part) of the
talent and experience of Stephen Street. So if Dolores is going to give anyone
a big, wet kiss, it ought to be Stephen Street and not your brother's friend,
which takes the pressure off you to set them up.
Sometimes life works out okay.
VITAL STATISTICS
the Cranberries - Everybody else is doing it,
so why can't we?
Released on Island Records
Catalog number 314-514 156-2
Total playing time: 41:04
12 tracks
I still do
Dreams
Sunday
Pretty
Waltzaing back
Not sorry
Linger
Wanted
Still can't...
I will always
How
Put me down
Produced by Stephen Street
******************************************
Marc Almond
12 Years of Tears (live)
Sire Records
GATHER 'ROUND THE camp CITE
The tag "live album" carries a lot of baggage with it. Not too long ago live
albums were the domain of overblown metal bands that had outlived their
usefulness. The punk movement and the alternative genera it spawned were
supposedly a reaction against these overwrought behemoths. However, of late
the pioneers of new music have flooded the market with concert albums. The
Cure and Depeche Mode are prominent among the offenders. Now that
"alternative" bands are starting to churn out double-live albums, the time has
come to see just how genuinely "alternative" they still are.
Unlike his contemporaries who became rich and corporate, Marc Almond began
commercial and grew increasingly odd with passing years. When "Tainted Love"
broke Soft Cell into the mainstream it began a long, strange odyssey for Marc
Almond. Fourteen solo albums later, Almond has become the embodiment of
"camp." This live set is as peculiar and unconventional as befits a man who
has spent his professional career doing Quixotic battle against normalcy.
The concert opens with the uncharacteristically accessible disco strains of
"Tears Run Rings." It's dance rhythms and rollicking piano solos belie the
nature of the performance. This is not nearly so much a rock concert as it is
a cabaret extravaganza.
WELCOME TO THE CABARET OLD CHUM
Dramatic in the extreme. Vaudevillian at times. The core of the set is
contained in the torch and cabaret songs. For much of the time it is just Marc
and a piano. This recording is conclusive evidence that Marc Almond exists in
an aesthetic paradigm that is completely unlike anything else in modern music.
He lives in his own little universe, and it is very rarely sunny there.
Eventually Marc breaks into the enormous sounding dance production of "Jacky"
and suddenly it is the 1990's again. Though the strings and the horns are back
in the mix, it is just as campy and unconventional as the torch songs earlier
in the show. Though the subsequent pop songs use more traditional
arrangements, the point is still the same. This live performance, and Marc
Almond in general, is
absolutely unique in its eccentricity.
Finally, Marc Almond busts into "Tainted Love" for the first time since he left
Soft Cell. As a new version it adds nothing. It isn't as slick as the
original and the live performance does not increase the energy level. As a
historical artifact it is probably significant.
The set closes with eight minutes of "Say Hello Wave Goodbye." As the camp
hero sings his way into the sunset, it is apparent that he is one of the few
members of his generation that hasn't betrayed his vision for a sack of cash.
If "12 Years of Tears" is any indication, Marc Almond will never play to a
packed house in the Rose Bowl.
VITAL STATISTICS
Marc Almond - 12 Years of Tears
(Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Edited Highlights)
Released on Sire Records
Catalog number 9 45247-2
Total playing time: 74:54
14 tracks
Tears run rings
Champagne
Bedsitter
Mr. sad
There is a bed
Youth
If you go away
Jacky
Desperate hours
Waifs and strays
Something's gotten hold of my heart
What makes a man
Tainted love
Say hello wave goodbye
Produced by Gregg Jackman
Recorded September 30th, 1992
******************************************
Red Red Groovy
"25"
Continuum Records
IT'S A SUNSHINE DAY
Red Red Groovy contributed tracks to the "This is Techno" collections that were
full thrust raging rave assaults. While there is a load of double barrelled
dance music on this long player, the Red Red Groovytrain makes a number of
other stops along the way.
To be sure, Red Red Groovy are able to turn up the sweat machine and let fly
with the BPM. "Is this Heaven?" (which was included on "This is Techno Vol.
4") features a blistering dance rhythm under a vast array of vocal samples.
James T. Kirk repeatedly asks, "Lovely, isn't it?" and indeed, it is. However
this all out dance barrage is more the exception than the rule on this album.
During certain portions, "25" is as beautifully atmospheric and subdued as
anything by Ultramarine. "The Fabric of Space" begins with a whisper and then
gently sneaks into an 808 State flurry of activity. Long stretches of the
album blend together to create grand dub landscapes. Then, like a sucker
punch, Tiffany starts singing and it's back to the shopping mall.
Not actually Tiffany, but it might as well be. On three separate tracks there
is a female vocalist that seems to belong on an entirely different album. It
is as if the Little Mermaid unexpectedly swam into the recording studio.
A couple of the other songs feature traditional vocals as well, but to far less
jarring effect. On the funky, hip-happening "View (the Universe)" the female
lead singer has a vaguely B-52's quality. The male vocals that pop up on a
couple of songs are of the space-waif-boy variety. Somewhere between Candyflip
and Fini Tribe. They are hardly even noticeable behind the triple-phat Beastie
Boys base line and the Odd Couple organ riff on the super-trippy seven minutes
of "A Flower."
Call it diversity of incongruity. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? As an
album it is considerably more interesting that a collection of bang-bang
dance-dance tracks. Parts of "25" are undeniably brilliant and beautiful,
flowing together as naturally as scotch and soda. Dance music for the moon.
Except for the few unscheduled stops in Debbie Gibson-land, Red Red Groovy
pilot a course through some exquisite terrain.
VITAL STATISTICS
Red Red Groovy - "25"
Released on Continuum Records
Catalog number 19303
Total playing time: 70:58
17 tracks
the Footprint of memory
View (of the universe)
Ibiza bar
25
Come to me, ecstasy
the Time has come
Another kind of find
Euphorigin
A Flower
Suspicion
the Fabric of space
the Two eternities
Burning like the sun
Divergence of now
the Vision
Is this heaven?
Beginnings of sorrow
******************************************
THE NEXT BIG THING
Early Seventies Stones
MARCH 1994
by Frankie Machine
"To get the fish, drain the pond." - R. Bresson
One of Fin's scotch and sodas, and you'll be contemplating Conrad Viedt as he
wanders around the rain drenched pavements of 1919 Berlin. Two, and you begin
to realize where all the flour and hats of mid 80's death punk originated, and
why it killed itself. Three, and your off on a winged journey to happier
times. Streamlined plastic and chrome times. Times when everyone thought it
would be pretty nice to date Mary Tyler Moore.
I'm on my fourth.
This column was going to be concerned with the future of music for the unkempt.
If CJD ("Cool Jazzy Disco") will come to sustain those of us who like haircuts
and new clothes, then the rest of us will fall back on the innocence and hard
edged purity of the "Exile on Mainstreet" Stones. Crass and simple manifesto
choruses about visceral pleasures and the will to attain them shall scream from
every transistor A.M. radio (a retro technology that will soon replace the
disc-man). Specially designed and mixed for a two inch speaker run by a
nine-volt battery, the early Seventies Stone's influence will rear its
percussive head to reclaim the youth who have grown tired of the "more flannel
please" drones emanating from the West Coast. Got different badges, but they
wear them just the same.
At least that is how Danny and Sleepy, down at the other end of the Marlin's
cocktail dispensary, see it. Mr. Ocean goes so far as pointing to the new
Charlatans and Primal Scream material as proof positive. Some fell into heaven
and some fell into hell.
Well, that is what I meant to drone on about, but after four scotch and sodas
the mind drifts elsewhere - more Sade than Slade. Fin flew to New York for
lunch last week. He felt like a steak sandwich, and where do they make the
best steak sandwiches - 21 of course. I'm not sure I buy that one, he's using
it in order to convince a young woman she should become the next and only
Marlin Cigarette Girl. Why not - it worked for Robert Stack. Which brings me
back to the subtle glory of a good scotch. Served at USO's from Bangor to
Illiana, filling the fighting man with spirit like smoke in a glass. It is the
kind of thing you should be drinking on the night you run into Joan Leslie.
For wearing black and telling jokes, nothing pleases like a smooth and elegant
scotch high-ball.
Next one is on me.
Frankie Machine.
******************************************
(It is a distinct honor to introduce a new feature this month. Bang Sonic!
proudly invites you to...)
Throw Yourself Under the Wheels of the Wisconsin Project Juggernaut
as It Careens into Pop Music
by Danny Ocean
Like an Olive in a Glass of Champagne
In the 1980's, and still today, every "alternative" band that picks up a guitar
has owed an inestimable debt to the Velvet Underground. Well, in much the same
way, every band that has hired a section of out-of-work string players has owed
a debt to Scott Walker.
Walker has a special place in pop history. Starting out as an expatriate
American named Scott Engel who had big hits in England as one of the Walker
Brothers (yes, his actual brother was the other one), had his career ended
there he would have been remembered primarily for penning "No Regrets" (much
later a hit for Midge Ure), and for being a classier version of that breed of
losers with LA circa '85 haircuts and suitcases full of Wang Chung ripoffs that
have to move to Japan to be stars. But when he broke up the Brothers and went
solo, he turned into something very unique, and has remained one of the longest
lasting cult stars to remain unrecognized by the American critical
establishment.
This is hardly the case in England, of course, where the recent reissue of all
of his solo work was promptly greeted with five out of five marks by the
hipsters at Select. However, his influence on pop musicians has rarely been so
acknowledged. The only people who have gone out of their way to celebrate
Walker have been Julian Cope (who, judging by his current work, desperately
needs to listen to some Walker again before it's too late) and Marc Almond.
Cope compiled a Walker collection called The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker in
the early '80's. Almond wrote the liner notes to the 1990 collection Boy
Child. Much less has been heard from Prefab Sprout, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Nick Cave, Art of Noise, Morrissey and Marr, Martyn Phillipps of The Chills,
American Music Club, Momus, or even Catherine Wheel. True, Catherine Wheel
covered Walker's "30 Century Man" on a recent EP, and Phillipps has been vocal
about his love of Walker, at least to the fanzine The Big Takeover. But his
influence ranges much farther and wider than that.
So why is it one should prick up one's ears every time a band uses strings, and
strain to hear the Walker influence? When Walker went solo in 1967, he made
records that combined in an utterly distinctive way heavy strings, Jacques Brel
balladry, poetic, melancholy lyrics with a strongly psychedelic tinge, a deep,
mournful, almost impossibly rich voice, and a lathering of late '60's British
pop feel.
Personally, I cannot imagine what anyone's first impression of Walker will be.
My good friend Frankie Machine simply said "Oh, yeah, of course!" Me, I tried
to like it, but couldn't quite deal with it. Until one day, when I popped it
into the house sound system over at Sleepy La Beef's infamous opium den.
Suddenly it all came clear. The sheer, ineffable strangeness of listening to
the Brel, the strings, the LSD, and the despair that go into Walker's sound is
indescribable, but very cool once you pick up on what he's doing, and how it
makes you feel.
Perhaps the best way to convey the feel and the sound of Walker to neophytes is
by comparing him to those he has influenced. Prefab Sprout's expansive
orchestral swing owes more to Sondheim, perhaps, but Walker is in there, too.
In The Chills, Walker is mainly visible in the subdued sadness, and in stringed
up tunes like "Water Wolves" on Soft Bomb. Art of Noise massive synthesized
strings on their later ambient work bears the traces of Walker as well. Echo
and the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain sustains a closer analogy to Walker in its combo
of big strings and resigned sadness, as does American Music Club's "Johnny
Mathis' Feet." But AMC's song blows up that sadness to huge, theatrical
proportions even closer to Walker. Morrissey and Marr use bits of Walker
throughout their work, in the mood that runs through the Smiths into Viva Hate
on songs like "Late Night Maudlin Street." But Morrissey's lyrics are too
close to the British kitchen-sink literary school, and the music too close to
Beatles-y pop to really replicate it exactly.
This is where Momus, Cave and Almond come in. These artists are the truest
inheritors of Walker's sonic legacy. Momus, on the tight budget he always
works on, never really gets the size and scope of Walker's sound, but on Poison
Boyfriend especially, he gets the feel, French influence included, of course.
Cave, while he remains rooted in American country music, also plugs into the
Walker Big Drama mode on tracks like "Lament" on The Good Son. Almond,
unfortunately, uses way too much techno-ish dance stuff on his recent stuff to
really get it, but in his early solo career, on albums like Untitled, Vermin in
Ermine, and especially Stories of Johnny (the title track, for instance), the
drippingly romantic, despairing lyrics and huge orchestral sound is pure
Walker.
As rich an influence Walker has been on these people, his influence has been
confined to artists that really are strong artistic personalities in their own
right, and as a result you couldn't say that any of them are slavish imitators.
For one thing, all of them have a range of other influences that they combine
with Walker in fascinating ways. But that is another column.
For now, all you need to know is that Walker is one of pop's hidden geniuses.
He was a tortured romantic soul that went mad in the early 70's, and
disappeared, much like Syd Barrett, but Walker is a Barrett that threatens to
come back to life any year now. Before he disappeared, he recorded Scott,
Scott 2, Scott 3, and Scott 4, all of which have been re-released. If you want
a good taste of his finest moments before you have to plop down the bucks for
all of those, consider Boy Child, also out on CD now. He returned briefly in
the '80's with Climate of Hunter, a hodgepodge of new pieces put together by
friends and admirers, which is also excellent and on CD.
Well, until next time, this is Danny Ocean saying, Keep your ears open in these
exciting days, pop music's best since 1982.
******************************************
Hit Lists From Around the World
foreigners have the best taste anyway
British Top 20+3
as of March 12, 1994
28: Pop Will Eat Itself - Ich Bin Ein Auslander
26: Carter USM - Glam Rock Cops
23: Beautiful South - Good As Gold
A strong start for the long-awaited new hit for one of the more
unconventional British pop bands. 'Good As Gold' is no less
deserving a hit as anything else the band have ever produced,
commercial enough for radio to love it yet with a kind of
twisted irony in the lyrics that few others are capable of.
It deserves to go higher - but will it?
20: Suede - Stay Together
19: Janet Jackson - Because Of Love
18: Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting - All For Love
17: Marcella Detroit - I Believe
With Shakespear's Sister having imploded, the real talent
within it gets to work with gusto on her solo career, kicking
off with this gorgeous ballad which has been played to death on
the radio and now lands straight in the Top 20.
16: Cranberries - Linger
15: Beck - Loser
14: EYC - The Way You Work It
13: D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better
12: Cappella - Move On Baby
11: Elton John and RuPaul - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
10: Reel 2 Real - Like To Move It
9: 2 Unlimited - Let The Beat Control Your Body
8: Morrissey - The More You Ignore Me
He's either an insufferable bore or a total genius but the
former lead singer of the Smiths is bound to cause a splash
whatever he releases. To study his recent form though you would
not have thought so, despite a coninuing press love affair his
record sales have slipped so badly recently that his last hit
'Certain People I Know' became his smallest ever when it peaked
at No.35 in December 1992. Thus it is that 'The More You Ignore
Me' represents a startling turnaround, becoming his first Top
10 hit for five years, his fifth overall following the opening
string of his career.
7: Primal Scream - Rocks/Funky Jam
6: Enigma - Return To Innocence
5: M People - Renaissance
4: Toni Braxton - Breathe Again
3: Doop - Doop
Could anyone honestly have predicted that the biggest dance
craze of the spring was going to be the Charleston? The 1920s
flapper dance has returned to the nations clubs thanks to this
Dutch smash which has been making waves underground since
Christmas to such an extent that on commercial release a
massive hit was ensured.
2: Ace Of Base - The Sign
1: FOURTH WEEK. Mariah Carey - Without You
(This list is only a tiny fragment of the supurb Top 40 analysis done
every week by James Masterton. Write to him directly at
hid009@cent1.lancs.ac.uk -ed.)
**************
Australian Top 10
as of March 12, 1994
10. Dr. Alban - Sing Hallelujah
9. Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting - All for Love
8. E.Y.C. - Feelin' Alright
7. Denis Leary - Asshole
6. Celine Dion - The Power Of Love
5. Salt N Pepa - Whatta Man
4. Twenty 4 Seven - Slave to the Music
3. Cut 'N' Move - Give It Up
2. Michael Bolton - Said I Loved You But I Lied
1. East 17 [2nd week] - It's Alright
**************
American Top 10
as of March 12, 1994
10. Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting - All for Love
9. US3 - Cantaloop (flip fantasia)
8. Richard Marx - Now and Forever
7. Toni Braxton - Breathe Again
6. R. Kelly - Bump N' Grind
5. All-4-One - So much in love
4. Mariah Carey - Without You
3. Salt N Pepa - Whatta Man
2. Celine Dion - The Power Of Love
1. Ace of Base - The sign
******************************************
Upcoming Releases of Note and Interest
save your pennies!
Date Artist/Group Title
------ ------------------------ ------------------------------
28 Feb Saint Etienne (UK) Tiger Bay
1 Mar That Petrol Emotion Fireproof
1 Mar The Orb Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
1 Mar The Orb U.F. Orb
1 Mar KMFDM Hell To Go
1 Mar The Aphex Twin Analogue Bubblebath
8 Mar Soundgarden Superunknown
8 Mar Sam Phillips Martinis And Bikinis
8 Mar Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral
8 Mar Mighty Mighty Bosstones Ska-core, The Devil And More
8 Mar Frankie Goes To Hollywood Bang: The Greatest Hits
11 Mar <various> Barramundi:Intro To A Cooler World
14 Mar Carter USM (UK) Starry Eyed And Bollock Naked
15 Mar Inspiral Carpets Devil Hopping
15 Mar Matthew Sweet Son Of A. Beast
15 Mar Sheep On Drugs From A To H And Back Again EP
15 Mar Sister Machine Gun The Torture Technique
22 Mar The Farm Hulabaloo
22 Mar The Charlatans Up To Our Hips
22 Mar Texas Rick's Road
22 Mar Galliano What Colour Our Flag
22 Mar Brand New Heavies Brother Sista
22 Mar Morrissey Vauxhall & I
22 Mar Juliet Roberts Natural Thing
22 Mar Alison Moyet Essex
22 Mar Pet Shop Boys Very Relentless
22 Mar Barney Bedtime With Barney
22 Mar Vanilla Ice Mind Blowin'
22 Mar Brian Setzer Orchestra Brian Setzer Orchestra
28 Mar The Beautiful South (UK) Miaow
28 Mar Primal Scream (UK) Give Out But Don't Give Up
29 Mar Hole Live Through This
Mar Yello Zebra
5 Apr Black Sheep Nonfiction
12 Apr The Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works
19 Apr King Missle King Missle
19 Apr Pato Banton Collections
19 Apr Buster Poindexter Buster's Happy Hour
19 Apr Crystal Waters Story Teller
26 Apr The Church Sometime, Anywhere
26 Apr Violent Femmes New Times
26 Apr David Byrne Between The Teeth
26 Apr The Smithereens A Date With The Smithereens
Apr Deee-Lite <title unavailable>
Apr Frank Black Teenager Of The Year
Apr Me Phi Mi <title unavailable>
Apr Seefeel Quique
Apr Front Line Assembly Millenium
Apr Basia Sweetest Illusions
Apr Lush Lush
12 May Erasure I Say, Say
May Sonic Youth Experimental Jet Set...
May Beastie Boys Ill Communication
May Siouxsie & The Banshees <title unavailable>
May Seal <.title unavailable>
May Paul Weller Wild Wood
Jul Duran Duran Thank You
******************************************
Mail from YOU to US
Open 24 hours at ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu
Frankie -
I thoroughly enjoyed your CJD commentary [Feb94's "Next Big Thing"], and I
thought I'd drop a bomb your way. His name is Barry Adamson, and if you
haven't heard him yet, well, finish that martini, snag the keys and head to the
record store.
Like the soundtrack to some dark, macabre, secret-agent flick, Mr.
Adamson's music evokes images of Eraserhead becoming a spy while maintaining a
killer groove.
His latest release on Mute is "The Negro Inside Me". ALL of his albums
are amazing - also check out: Moss Side Story, The Taming of the Shrewd, Cinema
is King, and Soul Murder.
He used to be with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Robert C. Stephens
Human Factors Research Lab
University of Minnesota
Following Robert's suggestion, Frankie Machine quickly sought out some of Barry
Adamson's material. Frankie offers his impressions in next month's "Next Big
Thing".
**************
To: ai983@freenet.buffalo.edu,
One thought-- why not put tag lines on the articles? I realize that email
addresses might cause user feedback to be splintered, but some credit to
reviews will help readers learn about reviewers-- i.e. "Oh, I see Jacquelyn is
panning this release, and she's been generally in agreement with my tastes, so
I'll value her word more heavily than other reviews I come across on this
release..."
Just an idea. And thanks for everyone's hard work!
Carmen Iannacone
Dear Carmen-
I am inclined to agree with you. When we began and were just rinky-dinkin'
around the neighborhood anonyminity offered a sense of freedom. Back then it
was important that everyone feel free to speak their mind without fear of
retribution.
Now the stakes are a bit bigger and the cyber-soapbox which allows Bang! to
shout-out around the globe imposes responsibility. Accountability in exchange
for access. The time has passed for slinking about behind the corrupting
shroud of anonymnity!
I ran this argument by the writers and suffice it to say they were unimpressed.
For the most part I was greeted with stone faced, icy silence. Young Dean
Carver managed a snort of disapproval followed by the pilfered manifesto, "this
is a collective. No static. Democratic."
The beautiful Ms. Scodwell diplomatically suggested that if and when I get
around to actually writing something, I should feel free to sign it. Until
that time, she continued, I should stop "standing on the backs of the brutally
oppressed working class."
I, on the other hand, sincerely thank you for writing, and proudly sign off,
colin
******************************************
Bang Sonic!
Bang Sonic! is edited (when push comes to shove) by
Colin P. Macinnes.
Overseeing the little things are:
Assistant Editors-
Todd Matthews & J.Patrick Ronan
Writers-
T. Scodwell
D. Carver
J. Burnett
D. Barton
B. Crull
Pictionary Referee and Resident Mixologist-
Scott P. Higgins
A twenty-one gun salute to X-Mag Commander, Jeff Hansen
**************
"I'm outta here"
-Doug
--
