Overdosing On Capsulated Reviews

Factory

Overdosing On Capsulated Reviews

Welcome back to another semester at Kean. I hope your winter break was as exciting and fun-filled as mine. If it wasn’t, then obviously you are not living your life to the fullest and you need to escape the shackles which hold you down. It’s never too late to leave your surroundings and start again someplace better. Remember that!

As I am writing this,  am laying in bed with a really bad toothache, It’s 1:15 am and I feel as if a group of angry skinheads are slam dancing on my head. I’ve taken about 4 Advil so far, but the pain hasn’t gone away yet. I’ve decided to tel ya’ll about a couple of records I heard and some flicks I saw. Maybe my pain will flow fro my head out through my pain. I sure hope so.

MUSIC

Erasure - Pop! First 20 Hits

I have waited for something like this forever! This greatest hits showcases the long career of one of my favorite bands: Erasure. From the moment I heard “Oh L’amour” in my buddy JD’s attic in 1986 I have fallen in love with Andy Bell’s soulful vocals and Vince Clarke’s gorgeous melodies. Their songs have lifted me up at the lowest points in my life and have never failed to make me dance. 

This compilation is fantastic, but not perfect. Sure, it complies all of their singles in one easy to digest package; But it leaves out some of their best songs. Some of their strongest songs were never released as singles. Classic songs like “Oh L’amour”, “A Little Respect” and “Blue Savannah” are included alongside snoozers like “Ship Of Fools”, “The Circus” and yet another pointless remix of “Who Needs Love Like That”. But where are “She Won’t be Home” or “My Heart…So Blue” or “Home”? 

That’s my issue with “Best Of” compilations. It’s one thing to have all the singles together and easily accessible. But it would be a whole other thing to have Erasure themselves select which songs they consider to be their best. Now, that would be cool and would most certainly include many songs I love. 

Wait. What? It’s not a best of. It says right there in the title “First 20 Hits”. Dang it. You’re right. I’ll be quiet. 

But I would still argue the “hit” status of “The Circus”. 

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Twice In A Lifetime

A follow up to their previous compilation Once In A Lifetime, this one covers the latter Siouxsie & The Banshees material. Included are the hit singles “Cities In Dust”, “Dear Prudence”, “Kiss Them For Me” and “The Passenger”. I am extremely happy they included two of my favorite Banshees songs “The Last Beat Of My Heart” and “Candyman”.  This truly feels not just like a Greatest Hits but a Best Of  as well.

This package is also great for those interested in studying the history of Punk, Gothic and “Alternative” music. Let’s not forget that both Sid Vicious and Robert Smith were both members of Siouxsie & The Banshees at least once in their lifetimes.

Nine Inch Nails - Fixed

I know everyone must be getting sick of me reviewing Nine Inch Nails all the time, so I will make this short. Fixed is an ep of remixes of the songs from Broken. There is one new song added to make sure you want to get the ep. But this ep is horrible! Avoid it at all costs. The only thing worth listening to on this tape is the new version of “Gave Up” remixed by Coil and turned into a techno song. “Gave Up” is cool but not worth the seven bucks you pay for the ep. 

That’s it! No more Nine Inch Nails reviews… at least until the new album comes out. 

Just Say Yesterday - Various Artists

I got this tape for my birthday from my extremely “close friend” Jimmy. And, what a present it is! A history lesson in “Alternative” music, Just Say Yesterday takes us back in time to a decade where left-of-center pop music was just beginning. This is volume six in the Just Say Yes series of releases from Sire Records. They were the front runners of “new” music at the time and this compilation showcases their catalog between the years 1974 and 1984. What a great decade that was. This tape is fantastic!

Just Say Yesterday includes well known tracks like “Pop Muzik” by M and “One Step Beyond…” by Madness side by side with more underground hits like “Piss Factory” by Patti Smith and “Warm Leatherette” by The Normal. The tape even features legendary rarities such as Aztec Camera’s beautiful, yet controversial acoustic remake of Van Halen’s “Jump” and the ultra odd “Ça plane pour moi” by Plastic Bertrand.  

My favorite track, though, is the seven and a half minute song “Kiss Me” by Tin Tin. I used to love dancing to this song. It always touches me in a deep way that I can’t even explain. This song is so great that even writing about it makes me get all teary-eyed. I never knew the name of it or the artist, so I had been searching for it unsuccessfully for a while. But now, thanks to Jimmy I’ve got the song I’ve always wanted. 

MOVIES

Bad Lieutenant- Starring Harvey Keitel & Jesus

I went to see this flick at the ultra pretentious Angelika Theater in NYC and to be frank, I regret it. Harvey Keitel stars as a hard-drinking, drug addled, sexually perverted NYC cop who’s a real hard-ass. Surprise acting choice there, Harvey. Is it me, or does he always play the same hard-ass character type in nearly every movie? Come on! That’s not acting. Let’s see him play against type in a theatrically challenging role for a change. Then, I’ll be impressed.

Anyway, in this this movie he is trying to track down a couple of kids who raped a nun in a church. The rape scene is, of course, surprisingly graphic. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be a hipster flick. The nun refuses to tell the cops who her attackers were, so Harvey spends most of the movie either getting high, getting laid or cursing out Jesus. 

There are two scenes that made me chuckle in the movie. The first is their great use of Lords Of Acid’s “Let’s Get High” on the soundtrack. The other is a sick, but hilarious scene where Harvey pulls over two “Jersey Girls” and masturbates outside of their driver’s window.  It’s so over the top, that it actually works. 

Overall, Bad Lieutanant was just bad. 

Stay Tuned- Starring John Ritter and Pam Dawber

Just out on video, Stay Tuned is one if the funniest movies I have ever seen. Jack Tripper and Mindy McConnell, oops…I meant John Ritter and Pam Dawber, play a couple of yuppies who get sucked into a satanic cable company, kind of like a nicer version of Suburban Cablevision. They must survive 24 hours within the stations demonic programming. The humor is madcap, while the TV satires are hilarious and effective. 

Some of the best bits are “Driving Over Miss Daisy”, “Autopsies Of The Rich & Famous”, and “Beverly Hills 90666”. John Ritter even gets to revisit his hit show “Three’s Company” again. The skits within the movie border on dumb, but in the right frame of mind they are perfect for a good laugh. For some silly fun with a dash of darkness, check out Stay Tuned.

Well, that’s it for this issue of Factory, kids. It’s now 2:50 am and I am falling asleep. My toothache went away and all it took were eight more Advil. Wait a minute! Let’s see… The packet here reads: “Do not exceed more that six pills in a 24 hour period”. Oh, crap! I’ve taken about twelve! Oh No! My vision is getting blurry. My hands are shaking. I…