The Guilfordian
September 19, 1997
Lovitt Records: A
Dynasty in the Making
BY CATIE BRALY
Staff Writer
Some people dream of own
ing their own business. Most never
achieve this dream. However, for
one Guilford student, Brian Lowit,
this has become a reality.
Lowit is the
owner of Lovitt
Records, a record la
bel that boasts such
acts as Frodus,
Sleepytime Trio,
Monorchid, and The
Impossible 5.
The record la
bel has been active
for almost two
years. However,
Lovitt enterprises
was a record distrib
utor for a few years
before that.
Lowit says that
he is running the
record label so that
he can do what he
really loves, which is
being involved with
music. He has been
into the punk/hardcore scene for
about 10 years. He grew up in a
small town outside of DC, and was
privy to one of the most rapidly
progressing and wide ranging
scenes anywhere in the country.
He began going to punk/hardcore
shows when he was in the eighth
or ninth grade, and the more
shows he went to, the more the
music became a part of his life.
There were no particular
bands that influenced him, and he
had no epiphany with an archan
gel of punk rock in his bathroom
mirror. He says it has just been
something constant in his life. The
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music has been a driving force for
him. "It's all about love and being
happy. Hardcore is not about be
ing mean. We're here to make
people happy," said Lowit.
Brian makes many trips back
and forth to D.C., which is where
most of his bands are. Most of his
records. Reviews for Lovitt
records have appeared in Alterna
tive Press and The Washington
Post.
Someone who has a vested fi
nancial interest in the punk/
hardcore scene can often be led
astray, and the greed of the cor
porate music world has been
known to infest some sectors of the
underground music scene. Lowit,
however, has managed to keep a
hold on what is important with the
music. "I'm not trying to get rich
off the label, but i would like to
pay my grocery bill and my elec
tricity bill."
Features
bands record in
D.C. as well, and
he even noted
that J. Robbins, of
Jawbox fame, re
corded the
Sleepytime Trio
and Frodus ses
sions.
The label has
earned bragging
rights, having
sold almost
12,000 records.
Sales overseas
have been sur
prisingly success
ful, according to
Lowit. There are
record labels in
England who are
asking to reissue a
few of the
Carter and Mors check
Go to the Movies
♦This Week; LA Confidential
BY JONATHAN
CARTER
Features Film Critic
Hollywood has
made a movie with
a complex plot and
meaningful charac
terization that's still
enjoyable. Is that possible? It is
indeed, and LA. Confidential
proves it.
The film stars Kevin Spacey,
Danny DeVito, James Cromwell,
and Kim Basinger. It was di
rected by Curtis Hanson.
It takes place in the 'dark
Hollywood' of the early 19505.
On the surface L.A. seems good
and bright, but underneath
there's corruption and crime.
Everyone wants to be a celebrity,
but the celebrities are as bad as
everyone else.
The movie centers on three
policemen who have problems
but overall are good, honest
people. They begin to investi
gate a group of seemingly unre
lated murders and discover a
large and dangerous plot involv
ing mobsters, the police depart
ment, and the press.
I'm not normally one for
crime drama, but I really liked
this movie. In the first half-hour,
I wondered when the main plot
would begin and why so many
apparently random events hap
pened. Then it turned out that
everything that happened mat
tered to the story. In the end it
was satisfying to see all of the
loose ends come together.
Exley (Guy Pearce), one of
the cops, eventually learns what
is basically the moral of the
story. At first he won't break the
rules but he learns that some
times cops have to break the law
and beat the truth out of wit
nesses to serve justice. This was
the only part of the movie I
didn't like, because instead of be
ing necessary evils, these activi
ties are shown as being enjoyable
with everyone willing to indulge
in them.
You don't have to be a fan
of the crime genre to enjoy this
movie. Anyone who likes a good
mystery and who doesn't mind
having to think should love L.A.
Confidential.
I .H
complex plot, the main .charac
ter is 1950s Hollywood itself, shown
as a world of glamour, prostitution,
and police corruption. Against this
backdrop unfolds the story of two
very different cops who band to
gether to solve a mystery which
begins with a diner massacre and
leads to a web of organized crime,
police brutality, call girls modeled
after movie stars, and missing
heroin.
As film noir, this movie is su
perb. A story that unfolds like a
novel, rapid-fire dialogue, and an
excellent ensemble cast that in
cludes Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito,
and Kim Basinger as well as star
making performances by Guy
Pearce and Russell Crowe, all make
this a film genre-fans should not
miss.
If you have not figured out if
the film is right for you, think about
the best of the crime dramas
(say...The Usual Suspects, Witness,
and The Untouchables). That list
should be as much a caveat as a rec
ommendation, since L.A. Confiden
tial is peppered with the requisite
violence and profanity, though nei
ther is gratuitous.
Only midway through the film
does the shooting occur that even
tually links all the characters and
their seemingly disparate pursuits.
Likewise, I did not figure out who
the two primary protagonists were
until well into the movie, since
many characters shared equal
screen time and character develop
ment. In fact, my ultimate choice
of who I was rooting for was dic
tated by who was still alive for the
final scene.
That, to me, is the mark of a
superior movie—one that not only
keeps you guessing as to who the
"bad guy" is, but who the "good
guys" are as well. I love watching
such "intellectual" thrillers, those
that make one work to figure it all
out. And, while two heroes do
emerge in the end, the film's ulti
mate point is, in 1950s Hollywood,
everyone was tainted.
5
BY PETER
MORSCHECK
Features Film Critic
While L.A.
Confidential fea
tures dozens of
characters and a