Behrend collegian. (Erie, Pa.) 1971-1988, December 08, 1988, Image 5

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REM Cashes in on Green
by A. Thomas Mamaux
Collegian Staff Writer
Rating- £*
REM are no longer the young,
nubile virgins that they used to be.
REM has hit the big time and now
they must make albums that appeal
to their market share rather than
their own taste.
Their new album is called
"Green". In typical REM fashion,
there is not a trace of green on the
album sleeve. I am not aware of the
word green in any of the contained
songs.
The album is, however, all
about green. REM is now rolling
in it since they sold their artistic
freedom to Warner Brothers
Records. They will also receive
more green in the future when they
tour and tally up the record sales.
However, inside REM there are
two different schools of. thought.
Michael Stipe (the lead singer) feels
that he and the band can be a band
of the 80's, play in large arenas, and
not compromise their standards.
Peter Buck (the lead guitarist) feels’
that REM should regroup, get their
heads straight, quit playing pop,
and go bar.k to playing clubs and
small arenas. Buck wants to keep
Soap Opera Update
by Nanette Quatchak
Entertainment Editor
Another World
Amanda waited at home for
Sam for their night out. Vicki
talked Amanda into going out
without Sam. At the Pelican Bar
Sam, Mitch, and Jamie got drunk
and talked about their "women.”
Sam missed Amanda so he went to
call her but instead found her in the
bar. They kissed and made up.
Charlene invited John for a night
out but he explained that he was
going out with Lisa. They went to
the Pelican Bar. Lisa saw. Jamie
and he was drunk. He told her that
he proposed to Vicki and that she
turned him down. Lisa got very
upset and asked John to take her
home. Jamie sobered up and some
woman named Coral walked up to
him and flaunted herself and asked
Jamie if he wanted a ride home.
Josie sang "Happy Birthday" to a
guy from the fraternity in a very
skimpy outfit and was asked to sing
another and she accepted the
invitation, feeling flattered. Josie
then pushed a piece of cake in a
boys face because he tried to kiss
her so she quickly got her $5O
check for singing and left.
Meanwhile, Matt was at the
Frame's farm waiting for Josie
when Rachel showed up to talk to
him. She started to talk and Matt
said he didn't want to listen but
then he gave in. They talked for
awhile and he told Rachel that he
loved her.
REM out of the top 40 and on the
college charts.
The first song on the album is
all about that. It is ironically titled
"Pop Song 89". It reflects back to
pop song 88 "It's the End of the
World As We Know It (And I Feel
Fine)". The song was a mega-hit
and made REM a household word.
The difference, however, is that
"Pop Song 89" will never make the
playlist of major radio stations. Do
you see the irony? Probably not.
The pop song of the album will
be "Orange Crush". It is already
overplayed on the radio and MTV.
This is not without reason, though,
it is a good song. "Follow me /
Don't follow me /1 got my spine /
I got my Orange Crush". "Orange
Crush" deals directly with the
problems that have arisen since
Agent Orange- the effect it has had
on the Vets who were there; the
predictable response of the
government; ignoring and covering
up the issue so that they will not
have to pay the Vets that were
contaminated with the chemical.
Amazing as it may seem, REM
(for the first time ever) put the
lyrics on the album. Luckily, they
only did it with one song, "World
Leader Pretend".
Days of Our Lives
Abe realized that Stefano was
behind the whole scheme. At
Brady’s Fish market, Steve and
Kayla told Shawn and Caroline the
story about Stefano's island and
then they realized that Benji was
missing. They find Benji on the
docks and Benji tells them that he
misses his father even though he is
bad. Julio stops by the fish market
to see how Carrie is doing and he
tells her that his mother died. After
they talk for awhile, he remembers
that Carrie's dad is a police officer
and he leaves feeling upset. Shane
encounters Drew on Stefano's island
where Drew told him that he wasn't
as perfect as Shane. After a long
discussion, Drew told Shane that he
would help him and Kimberly get
off the island but that he was
staying there.
Guiding Light
On her way out of the
hospital, Sonny blacked out for a
few minutes. Fletcher saw her and
called for help. Rick and Meredith
rushed over to help. Reva went to
Venezuela posing as a distressed
sinner seeking sanctuary. So the
nuns took her in as long as she
promised to live by the rules. Reva
convinced them to let her see Mrs.
Carrera. A nun walked in and said
that her son was there to see her.
Josh and Frank went to Ross's
office with dental records of Sonny
and Solita. They wound up getting
Mindy’s records instead, so Wanda
went back to the dentist’s office and
retrieved the right ones. Josh was
One of the best things about,
REM is that most of the time you
don't know what the hell Stipe is
singing about. This serves the
listener in two ways. The first is '
you can make up the words you
don’t know. The other is no one can
bust you for singing the wrong
words.
"World Leader Pretend" does not
take a stab at the government as it’s
title would lead you to believe.
Rather, it is Stipe doing a self
examination. "This is my world /
This is my life /1 raised the walls /
And I will be the one to pull it
down". What Stipe is saying is that
he is part responsible for getting
REM where they are now and that
he can take them anywhere he
wants.
Now you know about three
songs, and you probably want to
know more. Go buy the album,
yourself. Make sure that you buy
the album, not copy it - so you can
put a little more green in the
pockets of REM. In general, the
album is more mellow than
"Document". There is no real
thrashing about on this album - it's
more like wading in warm shallow
waters.
very eager to compare the two.
Alan told Blake that she couldn't
make it without him
and she threatened to call the
hospital security.
Santa Barbara
Craze and Eden were at home
with the results of her sonnagram
but Eden didn't need to see the test
results because she knew that Craze
was the father of her baby. Craze
then hugged her. Father Michael
viewed the tape that the rapist sent
and he realized that Julia was using
sign language to let someone know
.where she. was being held. 7 While
struggling with the
rapist, Father Michael busted in and
shot the rapist in the back. Victor
and Craze came in and Victor found
a bottle of medicine that he
assumed to be the drugs that the
rapist had been giving Julia. Craze
called the paramedics for Julia and
Father Michael (he had his shoulder
grazed by a bullet by the rapist).
Mason and Gina were dancing to
music on the radio when an
emergency broadcast came on
saying that Julia had been rescued
from the rapist Mason went to see
Julia and she asked him to leave.
Mason then insulted Julia and she
slapped him in the face. He then
left Heather and Scott discussed
having children of their own.
Zach ran into the rapist as he was
making his escape and managed to
pull the mask from his face but the
rapist managed to get away. But
not before he had a look of the
rapist's face.
December 8,1988
R
E
V
I
E
W
S
Hard Rock
by Paul Polosik
Collegian Staff Writer
In the era of the sound of top
forty music like the Pet Shop Boys
and the Information Society, it’s
refreshing to see the hard rock bands
finally get the recognition as a
major force in music today.
Bands like Metallica, Iron
Maiden, Megadeth, and L.A. Guns
are selling millions of albums
(even though they get very little
radio time). This shows that if the
music is good, people will buy it -
'even if it’s not "top forty".
Hard rock is not something that
appeared overnight It started in the
late 60’s and early 70’s with bands
like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,
Judas Priest and Kiss. These bands
set the precedent for all the groups
of the 80’s, and are one of the main
reasons heavy metal has grown in
massive proportions.
The music, which is based on
the guitar, is hard driving and filled
with power; and you have to go to
a concert to understand what a great
experience it is. These factors
explain why hard rock is so
popular; and even though parents
and Geraldo Rivera don't approve of
it, it will continue to increase in
popularity in the years to come.
Let's hope that all the radio
stations will get off their high
horse and start playing it. If they
did, more people would have the
chance to listen to them instead of
criticizing them.
Robert Cray
by David
Collegian
Friend
Staff Writer
"Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark" is
Robert Cray's seventh album and,
arguably, his best. Even though
Cray's musical basis is the
traditional American blues, he has
attempted to extend the genre into a
more expansive style. On this
album, he has done that by
intermingling traditional blues forms
with jazz, fusion, rock ’n’ roll, and
soul textures and styles. What
comes out is an excellent, pleasing
to listen to album that cannot be
'beat.
Side one starts out with the title
track. Reminiscent of Cray's earlier
work, the song sounds like it would
belong on ’’Strong Persuader," with
its weaving of guitar and keyboard
melodies. The second track, "Don't
You Even Care?," is the only
disappointment on the album. The
song is a little too slow, and even
with an outstanding guitar solo,
Cray never seems to raise the song
onto a different plane, like he does
with the rest of the album.
"Your Secret's Safe with Me,"
and "I Can't Go Home," are both
Cray’s attempt to mix blues, jazz,
and rock together into an
approachable musical style, one
thing is for sure, his attempt works.
Jane's Addiction
by A. Thomas Mamaux being the biggest gang there ever
Collegian Staff Writer was. And "Whores" totally
Rating - *** degrades women.
They also have a yearning to be
Jane s Addiction" is a hot and a big rock band. They’ve remade
relatively new American band.' the Stones and Lou Reed with a lot
Over Thanksgiving I was lucky more energy than the originals,
enough to see them in Pittsburgh. "Jane's Addiction" can also write
I was so impressed that I went out good, serious songs. A fine
and bought their album. "Jane’s example of this is "Jane Says."
Addiction does not fall into one The song would have made major
class or category, instead they bend radio stations except for the fact
several styles together. On the A- that they lack a major record label,
side (also known as the ’birdbath’ All of the band members were
side) they combine the anger and "bred and spread" in Los Angeles,
fire of punks with the peace-loving When they are heard they can easily
attitudes of hippies. The pelican be recognized by the voice of Perry
side (B-side) was recorded live and Farewell. He is the strength behind
contains two cover tunes. They do the band because he writes and
* R ,? ed song called arranges almost all of the songs..
Rockn'Roll and "Sympathy for "Jane’s Addiction" can also be
the Devil" by the Rolling Stones. . ~ . , _ ..
"Jane’s Addiction" is still bythe gmrarof Davrd
exploring where they want to go snidied guitar at
musically. Take, for example, the “y School of Music.) _
first four songs on the birdbath . as Janes Addiction
side; "Trip Away", "Pigs in Zen”, k “ pS club *
"Whores", and "1%". "Trip Away" ? ey wl “ seein S
is about LSD and "Pigs in Zen” hearing When they move up they
clearly states that they would rather wdl probably lose ‘ fire “<•
make love than war. Their punk anger ' AJso ’ y °“.,,???
side comes out on "whores" and hearing them on K-104 or JET-FM,
"1%". On’T%” they scream, rant, qult listemng
and rave about the government
jconcert connection:
Dec. 7 - Eddie Money Shay's Theater, Buffalo _
® Dec. 7 - Keith Richards Cleveland Music Hall *
® Dec.ll-Eddie Money Pgh. Syria Mosque ®
0 Dec.l2- Ozzy Osbourne Cleveland Colosseum •
0 Dec. 2- Kenny G. Pgh. Syria Mosque 0
Dec.3o- Harlem Globetrotters Pgh. Civic Arena _
• Jan. 19- Neil Diamond Cleveland Colosseum
• Jan. 29- Neil Diamond Pgh. Civic Arena ®
0 Feb.ll-Neil Diamond Memorial Audi, Buffalo •
It is approachable, pleasing and
lyrically significant. For example,
Cray laments on "I Can't Go
Home," about his cheating wife, that
he'll go home, find the man who
is... ah... enjoy... n0,n0,n0... AH!
tossing with his wife and ."Blow his
ass away.”
"Night Patrol," which rounds out
the first side, is an enjoyable
traditional rock song with serious,
socially motivated lyrics. It
expounds on the plight of the
homeless and the lost individuals
that inhabit the streets of our cities.
Even though the song is predictable
and filled with rock cliches, it uses
them effectively.
Side two is the real pleasure of
this album. The two best songs on
the album are on this side. "Acting
This Way," on which David Sanborn
lends a hand to Cray, and "At Last,"
a song reflecting on Otis Redding,
are the real gems. It's really
difficult to exactly put a finger on
what makes side two enjoyable.
Whatever it is, it works. Why argue
with that?
I’d simply like to strongly
recommend this album to anyone
who enjoys good rock 'n* roll.
Robert Cray's album "Don't Be
Afraid of the Dark" is essential to
any record collection.