Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / July 27, 1989, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Tar HeelThursday, July 27, 19899 -52's bounce back, with 'Cosmic'Thirii The mailman has brought a few surprises the past couple weeks, namely, a few summer record releases. Before you rush out to buy the latest Richard Marx attempt, read on. The B-52's Cosmic Thing (Re prise) The B-52's faced a tough feat when they released Cosmic Thing. In a just world (and maybe even this one), these Athens dinosaurs would go down in history as the forefathers of Ameri can new wave. After five pithy slices of unadulterated pop (let's disregard Mesopotamia, shall we?), the death of drummer Ricky Wilson left the band's future up in the cosmos. Cos mic Thing could have seen the band wallowing in self pity. Instead, it shows the group maturing and ex ploring the melodical terrain begun on 1986's Bouncing off the Satel lites. Start to finish, the album bounces. Now, even the unadventurous can feel at home dancing to the B-52's. "Channel Z" forcefeeds dancefloor groovin' while it reflects the band's strong environmental convictions. The members have always supported charities through benefit concerts and outside work while keeping politics to a minimum within their music. Environmental concerns trace back to "Private Idaho" and "Juicy Jungle," perhaps the first song to address the Museum features mix of abstract, grass - By ELIZABETH MURRAY Staff Writer Works from one of the leading artists of abstract expressionism in this country will be on display at the North Carolina Museum of Art from July 15 through October 22 in an exhibition titled "Mark Rothko." The works are on loan to the mu seum from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and one of the canvases will remain on extended loan to the Museum for exhibition in its Twentieth Century galleries. Rothko was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement which developed in the 1940s in America and remained a dominant artistic movement for two decades. Two of the four canvases on view, "Number 11" and "Number 8," are transitional works executed in 1949 that reveal much about the way in which the artist resolved questions of form and content. "In the multiforms, as Rothko re 206 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill 727 Thursday Zen Fnsbee 723 Friday New Potato Caboose 729 Saturday Johnny Quest 730 Sunday Corrosion of Conformity w Honor Roil 81 Tuesday Danzig g4 Friday i Mary On The Dash Carrie McLaren Albums rain forest crisis. Yet the patented humor remains intact. "Deadbeat Club" identifies an infectious social segment. On "Junebug," Fred Sch neider sings, "Let's glide bind a wall of vegetation; no prying eyes on a love celebration." Chronically happy, Cosmic Thing escapes a current rut of Morrissey-things that wallow in self pity. One of 1989's best. The BoDeans Home (Slash) Yep, the BoDeans are back doing their countrified roots-rock thing. No major musical innovations have tran scended this Milwaukee quartet since their debut. On past albums, produc ers T-Bone Burnett and Jerry Harri son turned out a few gems amidst AOR murk. While Home invites yet another producer, Jim Scott, the songs remain the same: tuneful albeit shiny tales for urban America. The only difference between John Cougar Mellencamp and the BoDeans is that commercial radio sees fit to play Mellancamp and not the BoDeans. (WXYC plays 'em both.) True to form, no lyrical intrica cies hide within Home's contents. Singers Kurt Neumann and Sam Lia ferred to these traditional works, he initiated the use of large, domineer ing rectangles, accompanied by mark ings to activate the surface of the painting said assistant curator Hus ton Paschal, who organized the exhi bition for the museum. The other two canvases represent the artist's mature style: "Untitled" from 1961 and "Sketch for Mural H." from 1962. Paschal said that Rothko 's paintings are not color stud ies, even though the artist's applica tion of color created a glowing ef fect. "Rothko was concerned with ex pressing a higher metaphysical truth through abstract form, and for him and other artists with the same con (Dean So stay in town this weekend & throw a party! $Ll IMPORT CRISES OFF! Call for our other Specials! (The uttie place on Rosemary Street) 309 17. Rosemary St CD 967-FREE DELIVERY prices good through 8389 nas weave modest yarns of home town life and love. Song titles show the land these guys call home: "Beau tiful Rain," "Good Work" and "Red River." Drinking is also a major motif. Nasty romances send these Bo's straight to the bar. "Far Far Away From My Heart" is the song every drunk thinks he could write after a spat with his beloved. But like other cuts, a neato melody would sound ever better without heavy-handed production. The BoDeans know where to find home. Now, if only they could ditch the studio. The The Mind Bomb (Epic) Mind Bomb could not be more appropriately titled. Matt Johnson (a.k.a The The) has been writing cere bral social commentary since his 198 1 debut, Burning Blue Soul. On his fourth release, Johnson brings his cynical world view to the forefront. Mind Bomb explodes American im perialism, world corruption and a self absorbed society. Remnants of hu man limitation and spirituality ap pear throughout. The The pulls no punches. Slandering religion is noth ing new, but, for once, a band thinks before it writes: "The world is on its hand and kneesIt's forgotten the message and worships the creeds." The The even takes a solemn look at relationships. Sinead O'Connor joins Johnson for a bitter dialogue on cern, color was the key to the realm of the spiritual," she said. Rothko's devotion was toward portraying humanist values in his paintings. The four paintings were a gift to the National Gallery from the Mark Rothko Foundation and the exhibi tion is supported by the Business Friends of Art. "Number 8" will remain on view at the museum on extended loan. The "Mark Rothko" exhibition is not the only one going on this sum mer at the Museum, however. Start ing this Saturday there will be a show ing of works from 19 grass-roots art ists from North Carolina. The exhi bition, "Signs and Wonders: Outsider Art Inside North Carolina" includes '& got tichets 8 The Who? VISA. Wl-vi Ha 111 1 The B-52's are back in action with their new album "Kingdom of Rain." Johnson sets his poetry to predomi nantly synthesized accompaniment. Scattered harmonica appears through out. Thanks to the addition of ex Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, Mind Bomb carries a melody more suc cessfully than 1986's Infected. It still "fun, uninhibited art made by people who just wanted to make things," said Upchurch. "It's creative, wild and zany stuff that college students would get a real kick out of." Among the works will be some of Clyde Jones' critters. Does the name Clyde Jones register? If not, do the critters on top of and around Crook's Corner in Carrboro register? They are the creations of Jones, who does not sell his work. "Creations by the 19 grass roots 235-A doesn't approach 1983s catchy Soul Mining. "Armageddon Days" and "The Beat(en) Generation" may in cite a few hips to shake, but Johnson isn't so much boogie-bound as he is determined to convey a message. Mind Bomb's more fun than a week's worth of editorial pages. roots ar artists from North Carolina have themes ranging from patriotic to pop culture, from earth to extraterrestrial and from nature to the supernatural," Upchurch said. She said the art is called "outsider art" because some of these artists can't even keep up with the demands for their work. The museum is open Friday nights until 9 p.m. and has a cafe which is open until 10 p.m. 53 OFF IU1 Frames in Stocli with purchase of prescription lenses Al Day-Bans S10 abouo cost in stock offer expires 8589 , PTICIANS Elliott ftd., in Kroger Plaza 4 ""xrf offer expires 8589 S hmkh-mm 968-4775 AMI Optical opening in Hillsborough 732-0805
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 27, 1989, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75