Wednesday, April 18, 1990
Liner Notes
Does CD
sound
by Robb Frederick
Entertainment Editor
The latest audio advancement
taking the recording world by
storm is not an expensive new
component or a furturistic
format, but a green felt-tip
marker.
CD owners have been
heralding the advancement of
"greening," which entails the
coloring of a CD's outer and
inner edges with a green magic
marker. The process is
inexpensive, quick and,
unfortunately, unexplained.
The premise behind greening
lies in the limitation of CD
laser leakages. But no one has
been able to explain why the
process works, or why green is
the recommended color. In fact,
tests have been showing that the
effect of greening is purely
psychological. JVC, a leading
audio component manufacturer,
found that greening had no
effects on the laser's beam.
Less formal listening tests have
produced similar results.
Save your time and possible
damage to your discs; hold off
on CD greening until its effects
have been clearly established.
And now for the news.
• Members of 2 Live Crew,
who will perform tonight in
Gainesville, Florida, have been
threatened with arrest if they use
"too much profanity" during the
show. The threat was issued
after Alachna County State
Attorney Len Register read a
sample of the rap group's
sexually suggestive lyrics.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles has already grossed a
three-week total of $72.9
million, making the film the
biggest independently distributed
film in North America.
• Stephen King recently
contributed a non-fictional essay
to the April 16 New Yorker.
The brothers of SIGMA TAU GAMMA
would like to congratulate the newly
inducted Beta Class:
David Ache
Jamie Britton
George Dubniczki Tom Moccia
Andy Jackson
Phil Judy
Joe Kelly
'greening' improve
quality?
The essay revolves around
King's son Owen's Little
League baseball team. The
master of fictional horror earned
$22,000 for the piece.
• The University of
California and Stanford
University have banned the
Grateful Dead from performing
at their campuses, because
campus police feel the Dead's
fans use too many drugs. Now
there's a deep observation.
• Production begins this
week on Three Men and a Little
Lady, which will reunite stars
Tom Sclleck, Steve Guttenberg
and Ted Danson.
• Velvet Underground
founders Lou Reed and John
Cale have regrouped to record
Songs for Drella, a fictional
musical based on the life of late
pop artist Andy Warhol. The
Limited Edition CD, which will
be wrapped in black velvet, will
include a 15-page booklet
highlighting the artist's work.
The disc should be released on
April 24.
* Astronomers at Lowell
Observatory in Flagstaff,
Arizona, have named four
asteroids deep in space after each
of the Beatles. How much are
these brilliant people getting
paid?
• If anyone can succeed with
a marketing theme that puts
mice in the kitchens of
restaurants, the Walt Disney
Co. will. On April 28, Disney
will open Mickey's Kitchen, a
prototype that the company
hopes to expand across the
country. Mickey Mouse selling
burgers and fries: is nothing
sacred?
• Morgan Freeman has joined
the star-studded cast of The
Bonfire of the Vanities. The
film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's
best selling novel also boasts
performances by Tom Hanks,
Bruce Willis, and Melanie
Griffith.
Frank Mazzarese
Joel Mcllwain
Joe Myka
Kevin Polcovich
Jeff Sink
The Collegian
Entertainment
Midnight Oil takes a spill
"Blue Sky Mining" weakened by abstract writing
by Robb Frederick
Entertainment Editor
No one ever said Peter Garrett
was an optimist. Since the
mainstream success of 1988's
Diesel and Dust, the dynamic
Midnight Oil frontman has
assaulted the airwaves with his
poignant lyrical style. His vivid,
bitter vocals have enlightened
listeners to the socio-economic
plight of Australian aborigines,
generating international interest
in a previously isolated problem.
On Blue Sky Mining,
Midnight Oil's latest release,
Garrett expands the scope of his
hostility.
While Diesel and Dust focused
primarily on the challenges faced
by residents of the Australian
outback, Blue Sky Mining carries
its subject matter to a broad,
international level.
The resulting topics allow for
more flexible interpretation, but
the band is forced to sacrifice the
potency which permitted its
previous success. Garrett's lyrics
become sluggish, burdened with
the weight of his unclear
metaphors.
The intentions of Blue Sky
Mining are honorable, however.
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and the disc lives up to its
primary expectations. The diverse*
tracks confront several
controversial problems, ranging
from environmental deterioration
to the challenging of authority,
and the band successfully presents
its ideas in an energetic, catchy
manner.
The kinetic single "Blue Sky
Mine" begins the Oils' latest
release. The track compacts the
vigor of classic Midnight Oil
I I
Review
i i
work, strengthening the song's
raw sense of urgency.
The song is introduced by
sporadic keyboard bursts which
are quickly overwhelmed by a
wailing harmonica.
From a casual listening point,
the single appears as a slice of
Midnight Oil's best work. Upon
closer examination, however,
Garrett's cloudy metaphors
describing the woes of a miner
battling a corporate giant detract
from the track's potential.
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Page
The band’s adrenaline-charged
bitterness continues on songs
like "Stars of Warburton" and
Forgotten Years," which is
propelled by Garrett's snarling
vocals.
The emphatic "King of the
Mountain" combines a powerful
guitar kick and an irresistible
chorus, resulting in one of Blue
Sky Mining's best tracks.
These elements create an
effective call-to-arms, however
abstract the imagery.
"Well, you can say you're
Peter, say you're Paul / Don't put
me up on your bedroom wall,"
Garrcu preaches.
Several tracks stray from this
"assault the listener" technique,
but the Oils' message of urgency
remains constant throughout Blue
Sky Mining.
The hypnotic "River Runs
Red" attacks corporate greed, and
the marching "One Country”
practically begs for worldly
unification.
Regardless of the persuasive
style. Midnight Oil is first and
foremost a band with a message.
The various band members seem
satisfied with taking a back seat
(continued on page 10)
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