the Daily Jar Heel Thursday, September 8, 19885
Television preview
Miss America
Ed Grimley'
By JENNY UVINGSTON
Omnibus Assistant Editor
The cover of this week's TV
Guide sports the headline: "inside
tne mina or miss America, its
pretty scary, isn't it? A former
pageant participant complains: '
When I go to an audition, all they
see is a beautiful airhead." So who's
fault is that? Was she a contestant
against her will? Did somebody
force her to parade in front of
missions wearing only a bathing
suit and high heels (and probably
a little tape to keep that cleavage
up)?
I dont care what anyone says,
the Miss America Pageant is still
a beauty contest So what? ifs
classic American entertainment: a
The pick of the summer crop of
By RANDAL BULLOCK
Staff Writer
OK, here it is. The very best of
what has seeped up from the
underground over the summer. It
was a bumper crop, and hard to
pick favorites, but these are the
albums you cant live without,
which seem to be doing very well
without you, thanks just the same.
If you have been privileged enough
to have these crawl into your ear
already, read Joe Bob. If not, on
with the cream ...
Crush Bozo - Happy Rowers
The general rule for this one is
that there is a little something in
a surrealistic excursion for ev
eryone. With that out of the way
and the air cleared, a discussion of
album No. 1 is rendered possible
and more fulfilling. Because Happy
Rowers have changed. But, like
Voltaire said in his review of the
Rowers' first album, the more
they change, the more they stay
the same. :
And so childhood torture is still
the dominant theme, although it
has taken more insidious forms.
The torture described on the first
album was predominantly due to
parental cruelty and inattention,
therefore earthbound and hypo
thetically controllable. But on this
album, the torture is also joined'
by visits from bad science fiction
stories. So, pur young friend has
either been reading a little, drop
ping add a lot more, or, like Calvin,
his imagination is much too broad
and he doesn't have Hobbes
around to keep it from taking a
particularly evif turn.'Ofy he" just
s big break
little kitsch, a lot of hype, a healthy
sense of competition and bit of
T & A. Ifs gorgeous, it's tacky. Ifs
fun. '
Why cant we just let these
women be beautifuL I'm not say
ing they dont have brains - most
likely some do and some dont, just
like the rest of the population. I'm
just saying that ifs beside the
point
So, come Saturday night at 10
pm, tune to NBC and enjoy the
spectacle. Go ahead and let them
have their bright red smiles and
press-on nails. Let them pad their
bras and sing bad show tunes. Let
them smile until you smile with
them. This is America Let the
mascara run! . -
doesnt bleed. And his brother was
actually born with no bones. You
decide for yourself.
But I get ahead of myself. If you
dont know Happy Rowers, you
need to know that they are funny.
Perhaps even funny to people who
wouldnt ordinarily laugh at the
misfortunes of victimized children
and cripples. These guys are
charming enough, however, to get
beyond ail that and be funnier
than your average comedy album
as well. The music is, of course,
your basic feedback drench; what
else to better evoke the screams
of exploited children? So, adopt a
pre-tortured child of your own,
just for laughs. Do it today. On to
, album No. 2. ..
Hope Against Hope Band of
Susans
This features more of what one
might call "music," and follows
such a simple formula, ifs scary.
The small howl of feedback that
opens up the album stays with you
like a tour guide and gives the
music its boundaries. The crisp
rhythm section churns out a beat
so righteously rock-steady, it
keeps you in line like the ruler of
a Catholic school teacher across
your hand. And then the magic
happens-, the three guitars, ener
getic and with a controlled stop
pings, spin a sonic web that makes
me realize how inadequate adjec
tives are in describing music
And there is a little voice
screaming in the back of my head
that says this might be the sound
. of the '90s. it's heavy, ifs melodic
: It's, inspiring, it burrows in me; like ;
s brains and
Saturday morning, "The Misad
ventures of Ed Grimley" debuts on
NBC at 11:30. You remember Ed,
the bizarre dweeb from "Saturday
Night Live." How could we forget
his greased cowlick, his belted
highwaters and his mismatched
plaids? He's a manic dude, I must
say.
No doubt this is NBCs answer to
CBS's Tee Wee's Playhouse." No
doubt its debut will invite compar
isons between the twa (compar
isons not unwelcome to the folks
at NBC, 111 wager). But aside from
their comic nerdiness and frenetic
energy, they are really very
different
Pee Wee is prepubescent, but
Ed's old enough to have his own
apartment Pee Wee is gloriously
a chigger and makes me want to
sell my furniture and send Band
of Susans the money. Anything,
just to keep them making music
this good. The hooks grab you
from three rooms away, drag you
in front of the speakers and then
seduce you with subtle turns of
melody and harmony that leave
you pale and feverish.
AH this may sound a bit exces
sive. So it is. I maintain, however,
that this is one of the best
melodic-noise albums to come
from the slime in a while. No big
deal to your average folk, perhaps,
but to diehards, this is better news
than a negative EPT, eh? now for
album No. 3. . .
Double Bummer Bong water
Or perhaps album No. 1, since,
had no other album come out over
the summer, this one would have
made the time worthwhile. But,
since critical acclaim is often
synonymous with dry rot, I feel
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Do Miss America contestants
oblivious to all but his own reality;
while Ed is desperately trying to
fit into the adult world and failing
miserably. Pee Wee's world is one
of chaos and whimsy. Ed's is just
chaos.
In the past few years, Pee Wee
has successfully changed his pitch
from late-night adults to early
rising children, But ifs a long way
from Saturday night to Saturday
morning, and I'm not so sure Ed
can bridge what is probably the
underground tunes
the urge to point out that, in this
case, ifs all justified, and more
besides. This is not just an album.
This is a cultural milestone mas
querading as an album. Those who
confuse it with a mere collection
of songs do it a disservice and
shortchange themselves of the
closest thing to a holistic dream
experience they are likely to
encounter without drugs.
Double Bummer is the master
work of Kramer, nefarious bassist
veteran of such underground
denizens as the Butthole Surfers,
the Rigs and Eugene Chadbourne's
Shockabilly. The general thrust on
Double Bummer, however, is dis
parity Kramer collects an astound
ing crew of "fringe" musicians and
sets them to work on songs that
vary from the achingly beautiful
to the brutally discordantoften
within the framework of the same
song. This is art. They mix snippets
of political speeches, conventional
vocals, tape experiments and
have brains? Does anyone care?
widest demographic gap around.
uieii dydin, wno Knows.'
Stranger things have happened in
the world of television like
Vanna White becoming a major
celebrity. But whether "The Mis
adventures of Ed Grimley" makes
it or not, it cant help but be
interesting. So, fall out of bed on
Saturday morning, fix yourself
some cornflakes and turn it to NBC
at 11:30 am You might be glad
you did.
nearly anything else, to create a
multi-layered, unified portrayal of
modern life that is both nightmar
ish and wildly funny.
What at first listen may sound
like utter confusion ends up, after
repeated listenings, to be more
confusing than sane people gener
ally like things. Tough. Bongwater
has fractured your life, and
intends to feed it back to you, with
the clarity that it warrants. You
owe it to yourself to listen. So
much goes on at once, it is like
watching television, listening to
the radio and reading "Rnnegan's
Wake" all at the same time. A
perfect Saturday afternoon's fua
Wimps beware. '
Enough gushing for you? Well,
good. These babies deserve it
though, as do the Membranes'
aiuui 1 1 ium aajo isiui icciu ai iu u ic
Stump album A Fierce Pancake,
which space does not allow me to
put through the wringer. But buy
them. too. Until then.
m
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