Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Feb. 9, 1990, edition 1 / Page 3
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FEBRUARY 9,1990 — THE DECREE — PAGE 3 Bands were 'whacky' during 1980's (Continued from Page 2) of penning both wildly perverse grunge and brilliantly perverse mainstream tunes. The Soul Asylum, in contrast to their fellow Minnesotans, have remained fairly constant. Their unique blend of punk, heavy metal, and country, supported by some of the most ingenious and ironic lyrics uttered in rock and roll history, steadfastly remains its own wonderfully bizarre self. Perhaps the best punk band of the 80’s, however, was the Dead By RICHARD SANTORO Talking about this decade gives us a headache. First, it isn’t even over until Jan. 1,1991. And second, the past 10 years have been a colorless “greatest hits” affair with nothing original to offer. The only possibility is rap, which is, at best, a mixed bless ing. The 80’s have been a bastion of no advance technology: up dates of things which have been around a long time. Fax ma chines, for one, were available in the ‘70s. They didn’t catch on until recently. Compact discs of fer marginal to no improvement over conventional L.P.s at nearly twice the price. Promises of cheaper C.D.s have proved unre liable at best. And what other miracles did Poetry prizes worth $44,000 will be awarded to 608 poets by the American Poetry Association in 1990. The association will sponsor four separate contests this year, doubling its efforts to discover new talent. “Students win many of our prizes. They are in a creative time of life, and we look forward to reading their work,” said Robert Nelson, publisher for the associa tion. Each contest awards a $1,000 grand prize, a $500 first prize, and a total of $ 11,000 in prizes to 152 winners. All adults who Milkmen. Through four albums of political utterance, bad taste, drug trips, and, always, very seri ous humor, the Milkmen have consistently proven themselves one of the most challenging acts of the decade. Whether they’re singing about toxic waste (“Watching Scotty Die.”) Reagan’s America (“Right Wing Pigeons,”) intolerance of those who are different (“Nitro- Burning Funny Cars,”) or the general sad state the world’s in (“Life is Shit,”) the Dead Milk men provide an intelligent and we get in 10 years? The rein vented telephone, the 60s, psy chedelia, folk music, disco, coun try and western and a 100 other familiar, tiresome retreads. The ‘80s offered nothing but the past at higher prices. Sup posed trendsetters like Madonna, Michael Jackson and George Michael strike us as the equiva lent to Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy and The Brady Bunch (themselves constantly on the reunion trail.) When the latter were popular, their contributions were placed in proper perspective by truly talented acts that ap pealed to a more developed taste. The music today that has grit and ability is almost exclusively relegated to a constantly shrink ing independent label bias. That platform grows smaller because major labels band together in an write poetry are welcome to en ter. For the current contest, poets may send up to six poems, each no more than 20 lines, name and address on each page, to Ameri can Poetry Association, Dept. CO-30, 250-A Potrero SL, P.O. Box 1803, Santa Cruz, Ca 95061. Poems must be postmarked by Match 31 to meet the deadline. A new contest starts April 1. Each poem will also be con sidered for publication in the American Poetry Anthology, a hardcover collection of contem porary verse. wildly fun ride for anyone with the guts to enter the group’s strange and dangerous world. The 80’s were filled to burst ing with ignored and misunder stood bands. The Circle Jerks have been carrying on the fine tradition of British punk pio neered by the Sex Pistols throughout the decade. They pro duced enough material for a “Greatest Hits” compilation called “Golden Shower of Hits,” which featured a cover depicting gold records jammed into a grungy urinal. effort to do away with the compe tition. Several years ago MTV an nounced it would no longer air videos by anyone tliat wasn’t on a large corporate label like CBS or Warner Brothers. They starve small guys by making it impos sible to do business within the system and then they buy out their best acts (which have been carefully helped along and brought to public recognition without any outside help) leaving the original producer to start over. In 1980, there were plenty of bright, intelligent artists on un heard of labels. In 1989 about 90 percent of those good, small la bels have died. Compact discs (for years a closed an heavily promoted major label commod ity) is, in large part, responsible for the demise of the free market system in music that the past 10 years has wrought. And in the next decade you can expect more talentless twits like Madonna passing for great ness because the artistic field of vision has become so narrow. Twenty years from now she will have become what Shelley Win ters is today. It’s why the ‘60s have turned into such a wonder for the younger generation. The old music, showing up at inflated compact prices, is like nothing you can get these days. It’s an other reason you are seeing the resurgence of pseudo-hippies wandering around. The kids graduating from high school in the ‘80s have had no original cultural base to call their own. David Bowie finished up the decade with a punk band, after spending most of the decade in misguided pursuit of super stardom. Bowie’s Tin Machine specialized in a sort of free-form punk that condemned the world as a morally bankrupt monstros ity that will swallow everything it can if we let it. Quite a far cry from “Let’s Dance.” With only two albums, Jane’s Addiction has established itself as a very powerful outfit. Com bining punk, heavy metal, and reggae sensibilities with lyrics that concern themselves with everything from the power of the media to the nature of God to the biography of a bag lady, the Ad diction churns out hypnotic, thought-provoking, and almost- dancable music that lingers in the mind for quite some time. Metallica spent the decade being innovators. First, they in vented speed metal, then an apol ogy raised it to an art-form. Metallica’s improvement as a band is palpable over time; their latest album expresses concern over pollution, a world where justice is controlled by money, and the ultimate futility of life: that it inevitably end in death. Metallica is a very intelligent group of young men who deserve to be heard and understood by the world at large. And the tenth and final forgot ten act of the 80’s is (drumroll please) ... the Stormtroopers of Death! Formed by two vacationing members of Anthrax (another great unknown band,) the S.G.D. cranked out one whole album’s worth of the most mind-numb- ingly strange speed metal ever heard, “Speak English or Die.” The cover contained that mock ing title and a wonderfully typi cal skull, this one in an army hel met emblazoned with an anarchy symbol and chomping on a lit cigar. The S.G.D. played incredibly fast and mercilessly lampooned the speed metal style. It’s all here: the mumbled lyrics deliv ered at 900 miles per hour that make little or no sense once they’re deciphered, the mildly proficient guitar solos, the in comprehensible in-jokes and stu dio patter, and all for the price of just one album! What a whacky bunch of guys. Perhaps “whacky” is a good word for the 80’s in general. America was gripped by “Reagan Mania,” while around the world atrocities were being committed against humanity and freedom. The pop charts, over this back drop, were dominated by mind less fluff performed by people who apparently grew up thinking that disco was a pretty neat idea, while most of the intelligent and innovative music, the music ca pable of pointing out the prob lems, languished in the under ground. I suppose that Prince captured the image best in “1990:” “Two thousand zero zero, party’s over, we’re outta time/But tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 1999.” I guess America did spend the 80’s dancing in the face of Arma geddon. Whether that’s scary or reas suring, I don’t know. It is whacky, though, eh? $500 PRIZES $100 Standing Up for Peace CONTEST Why have some people risked their jobs, their homes, their families and even prison to take a stand for peace? This is your chance to find out. The Standing Up for Peace Contest invites you to talk face to face with someone who has refused to fight in war, pay taxes for war, or build weapons for war, and to hear what it’s like to take a stand and risk the consequences. In this contest, you're asked to interview someone who has said no to war, and then to express what you think and feel aliout what you heard by writing somettiing or creating a work of art or music. The contest is open to young people ages 15-23. The deadline for en tries is May 1,1990. To enter, send for the Stcmding Up for Peace Contest Booklet, Fellow ship of Reconciliation, Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960, (914) 358-4601. staving Up for Peace Is a project of ttie 1990 Celebration of Coroclence CommHtee. Co-tQon- son include: CCCO/An Agency fof t>aff and Milltay Counseling. Conscience c»>d Mitory Ton Compign. FeHowshlp of Reconcllatlon, MennoNte Centrci Committee, MJdwest Coovntttee for MBttcfv Counseling. Natlonci Inteaellglous Sen.dce Board for Conscientious Objectors, NotioTKi War Test Resbtcnce CoordlrKittng Committee. Peace Tax Four>datlon, War Resisters Leogue. Decade just a drab rehash of the past at higher price Poetry Association offers four contests
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