THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: MASS ROMANTIC

By Christopher F. Corner

By Nicole Pecenko

The majority of the reviews in thi section arc new releases: often talked about. but impossible to find. However, there ure innumerable mnvies out there on the shelves, cager for some much-needeu attention. Do you remember a time when you went to the video store only 10 discover that the la,t copy of the movie you wanted was just rented out by the snot-nosed kid in front of you? Most of us have had

Mabonsono

[,)ying in the gn1in l must rise up ln ~ong, F.xult(ltlt. u'ndefeated, Put.aM'ashes, Denth-denUni andlife-giving.

The general outline is this: NOVA robotics has just unveiled the ultimate weapon: 5 robots designed to take nut almost 11nytarget with deadly lasers mounted on their bm;ks. Their designer, Newton Crosby (Steve Gunenberg) is happy with his robots but not especially thrilled with their purpose of blowing things up, lrnme<liatcly after the unveiling, robot Number 5 is struck by lightening. When Crosby i ues the command for the robots I r am he, the hornless one. I am he, the sol! of my mmher. I am he, the dy(ogJJodof this s~asM.

Ood, fot11er,SOl'I,brother, lover. Spirit and earth. water,air ond fire.

As 1 die J $ing Q,y son,s' of life forever renewed. Gooh.lcs$,mother, daughter, sister, lover l)c)ldtne in your artn$, let m9 fill your WMlb ~guin, lcl 111cbe reborn with spring's new grain,

As we die we musl sing. As we must dance through the seasons. We men - ex.uh my brothers, in our de,uhs. in our live:i, in the everlasting lov-: of our M(\thcr.

"Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice''( I) but t0 live ,llld die and be 1·eborn.

ReJoicc• thut we must die.

Rejoice -tl1at tht: Eurth is reneweJ each year.

Sing, my brothel'sI Sing of the beauty and the my&tcry, Sing of our surrender, Sing of our power.

Ri'llng up in song as I <lie in the grain I am at my height

Exulting, unconquernblC',

As l spin life n:newed out nf my death!

(c) -Samut-1W11gar 21 Sept 9997

(I) From the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song "Curry On'' listen to tint! arc highly addictive because their beat gets stuck in your hea<l. to return to the buse, Number 5 leaves the compound and even• tually runs into Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy), a free spirit and lover of ull living things. She tries to protect num• ber 5 when she discovers th::ithe is now alive, despite looking like the newest wy on the sheIf'. She am!

Tclcvani.;clist Jirn111y Swaggart once wn)te a book callc<l "Music: The New Pornograrhy.'' From that we have the ban<l The New Pornographers. This is a super group formed by Carl Newman or Zumpano, Dan Bejar. the guitarist ur Destroyer. Kurt Dahle, the drummer for Limblirter, John Collins. who plays bass for The Evaporators and the Goblins, vocalist Nico Caset'orrnel'ly of Maow and currently in her own ban<l, anti Blaine Thuricr who plays keyboards.

The next track. 'Letter from an Occupant' is the showstoppcr with Case's deadpan voice, anti Newman's incn:<liblc lyrics. not to 1111.:ntionthe bunds perfect instrumentation. This song is perfect in every aspect. as the listener will be in music heaven. 'To Wil<l Homes'although not as good as "Letter from an Occupant" - has n cool futuristic keyboard sound and Newman and Case provide a good vocal combination.

Numher 5 try to elude Crosby, who is desperate to rind his roho1 oncl discuve,· whnt went wning, and Skroedcr (G. W. Bailey), a military expert intent on destroying Number 5 hy whatever mean:; necessary. One amusing point of fuel is that the diffc1ence between ''siate nf' the art" technology in 1986 and in rre~1:n1 day is glaringly appment, only adding tu the l'u11of this 111ovte.

Short Circuit is cute, has several 111on1e111s worthy nf a sni<:kcr, and some even deserving a guffaw. lfynu have run out of new rnovic~ to wutch. or only have a loony 1n your pocket, I sugge:-1that you go out and rent this mnvie toduy!

Mass Ron,antic is an eclectic album of many proportions. Inl1ucnces rnnge from The Beatles lo Dcvo. The album starts out with the fast paced title track 'Ma ·s Romantic·. which features the country style twang or Nico Case's voice and great ruck guitar and keyboards. This song is great not only on it's own but also ror the ulbum it elf as this song tells the listener what is the feel ur the album will he, but doesn't give too much away.

Carl Newman tukes ove,· the vocals anJ slows down the pace with 'Fukc Headlines,· not the besr song on the album but a fine song nonetheless. Newman anti Case both share vocals for the song 'Slnw Decent Into Alcoholism,' a serious but fun song to listen to. Because of its upbeat 1e111poand guitar, the listener will 1101 ,·ealiz.c that they are tapping their 1'(101 to such a serious Sl)llg lyrically.

The keybonrtls and guitars make n strong appearance with Newman's vocalc; in the :-nngs 'Mystery Hourr-' anti 'Jackie'. Both songs urc run to

'The Body Snys No' ulso shows the band's pt·ofessionalisrn musicnlly, and 'F.xecutit>n Dny· is the weirde l song in recent memory with Devo style keyboards und voice disguise. After hearing this song a few times, the listener will realize just how good this tr::ick is.

If the I istener is nnt nd<.licted 10 the album by 'Centre for Holy Wars' and 'The Mary Martin Show.' then there is no hopc.:,as these two songs follow the linc.: of great instrument nnd purely fun songs, while "Brcuki11· the Law" is slowed down and very mellow. This song i:; very good way to b()okend the album as the first track builds lhc listener up; this track takes 1hc111down.

This album should he available ,1t y~mr lu<.:alHMV m A&B Snund, The album is ;.ilso available through Mint Rc.:<.:nrds Inc. at PO Uox 3613, Vancouver. 13C, CarnH.la, V6B 3Y6, or www.inin1rccs.co111. This album is a must-h.ive for u11y fan or music.