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Depeche Mode
Construction Time
Again
Sire Records
★★★
Depeche Mode has gotten se
rious with its music and the
members want you to know it.
Too bad they couldn't have
taken the time to write some
really good reasons to be se
rious.
Construction Time Again is a
somber album that rarely lets go
long enough to actually engage
the listener. The group nas some
interesting things to say but gets
so bogged down in being som
ber that it becomes totally unbe
lievable in the end. Many of the
electronic new wave bands are
followmg this track and suc
ceeding, but Depeche just
doesn't cut it.
The only real "up” song here
is the first single, "Everything
Counts.” The biting lyrics are
still present, but the instrumen
tal backing is popping with
energy. The oboe-like embel
lishments add that extra quality
that makes this cut unique. A
quick refresher reprise at the
end of the second side also is a
nice touch.
The only other standout track
is "And Then..." — a calm mid-
tempo piece. The lyrics tell how
we are going to rip up the map
and put the parts together in a
better way. Obviously, Depeche
doesn't need the political hate-
mongering of some other
groups, just a few witty critic
isms to ponder.
If Depeche Mode could only
contain the energy of "Every
thing Counts" in a few more of
its compositions, we would
have a very good album here. As
it is, this would have been a bet
ter EP.
EBN-OZN
A EIO U Sometimes Y
Elektra/Asylum
★★★★Vi
Every couple of months a
single is released that just fascin
ates me; this is one of them. Ned
Liben on vocals and Robert
Rosen on synthesizer and guitar
formed an (possibly short)
alliance to record this intriguing
song.
This is one of the strongest
shows of studio technique on
any song that I have heard re
cently. While Rosen works his
Fairlight — a computer that
makes music—for all it's worth.
Group adds series
to movie schedule
by Shawn Behlen
Battalion reporter
MSC Aggie Cinema Com
mittee, the group that brings
you everything from popular
movies to Pirahnacon, is rein-
staring its International Film
Series and starting a new
series, the Travelogue.
Chairman Cathy Riely said
both of these moves were
made in an attempt to provide
more quality entertainment at
a price that college students
can afford.
She said the International
Series was dropped last year
because it simply lost the
group too much money. But
the format has been changed
and the committee is trying it
again, she said.
The format change consists
of adding five current interna
tional films to the regular list
of international movies
shown by the group. The first
of these films, "Britannia Hos
pital," will be shown Sunday.
The four films are "Veronica
Voss," "Gregory's Girl,"
"Fitzcarraldo" and "Night of
the Shooting Stars."
Tickets for these films will
be $3 instead of the ususal
$1.50. Reily said the price has
been raised because recently
released films are more expen
sive to rent.
A pass for all five movies is
available for $10.
Riely said the series has
been doing well so far this
semester because of the in
creased audience for interna
tional films.
"People are finally discov
ering that these films are not
just for an elitist audience,"
she said.
The Travelogue Series will
begin Tuesday with a film on
the Holy Lands. Riely said
these films will be quite diffe
rent because the producer will
be on stage doing the narra
tion.
"We're hoping that stu
dents can explore foreign
lands through these films,"
she said.
Tickets for the travelogue
films for students will be $3, if
bought beforehand, and $4 at
the door. Non-students will
be charged $4 beforehand and
$5 at the door.
The other film series shown
by the group, including popu-
lar movies and midnight
movies, will continue as be
fore but with more variety,
Riely said.
"We're trying to get more
comedies for the midnight
movies and also some rock
and some cult fims such as
"Reefer Madness"," she said.
Another feature, Pirahna
con, in April this year, will
once again be a showing of the
"best of the worst" lasting
from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Riely said the group
chooses films through polls
and member input. She said
they then rent these films
from three non-theatrical film
services.
"One of our biggest prob
lems is that we can't get films
still being used theatrically,"
she said. "That and cable has
really hurt us."
Riely said another problem
was renting a place to show
the films. Most of the films are
shown in Rudder Theater.
"People always complain
because we don't show more
films in Rudder Auditorium,"
she said. "They don't realize
that it costs $50 more an hour
to rent the auditorium than it
does the theater."
Riely said they are trying to
work around these problems
in order to achieve their goals.
"We're trying to bring en
tertainment and culture to
A&M at a cheap enough price
and still break even," she
said.
His incredibly complex synth
esizer programs are constantly
overdubbed with lines of inane
vocoder (voice synthesizer) dia
logue. For example, the cut
starts out with "Toto, I don't
think we're in Kansas any
more." A line from Poltergeist
comes in during the break.
The lyrics are about this girl
called Lola and the lead singer's
attempts to get to know her just
a little bit better. Singer Liben
throws in enough bluff to be dir
ty without becoming obscene.
Of course we also nave some
lines that tell us nothing about
the affair but explain the title:
"There are 178 parent lan
guages on our planet,
with over 1000 dialects.
It's amazing we communicate at
all. .
Languages and dialects
with this one thing in
common—
A El OU”
This mix has wit, energy and
more than the usual amount of
nerve. They all lend this song to
dancing, and at seven-and-a-
haif minutes, it seems that EBN-
OZN had this in mind in the first
place.
Genesis
Genesis
Atlantic Records
★★★
I absolutely hate reviewing
follow-up albums to some
prized work in my record collec
tion. However, when I heard ab
out the new vinyl by Genesis I
was excited — until I saw the
cover. It was an omen of things
to come.
The members of Genesis —
Phil Collins, Tony Banks and
Mike Rutherford — have gone
exactly the opposite of Depeche
Mode (see review above). Here
we have some really strong in
strumental tracks with generally
horrible lyrics. When I saw the
song entitled "Illegal Alien," I
• See ALBUMS, page 5
Band favors
'party
by Louis Hilgartner
Battalion reporter
The Executives is a band tom
between two cities.
Guitarist Greg Phelps and
lead vocalist Rhonda Korte live
in College Station. Bassist David
Miers, drummer David Watson
and keyboardist Rick Morgan
live in Austin. So far they ha
ven't let this logistics problem
hold them back.
Formed in mid-summer '83,
the Executives have been play
ing since the first of August.
"We specialize in dance and
party music," says Phelps.
The Executives prefer to play
smaller gigs such as parties and
fraternity or sorority functions,
says Phelps, and the band's
rimary goal during a gig is to
ave a good time and party with
the audience.
The main reason the band
steers away from playing large
clubs or concert halls is the loss
of contact between the audience
and the band, says Phelps.
"We like it for the audience to
be able to be right there where
they can interact with the
band," he says.
Improved sound quality is an
advantage when playing smal
ler shows, says Phelps.
"We have a small sound sys
tem," he says, "and our sound
man, Vince Kapchinski, really
works hard to make us sound
good."
Gone are the massive stacks of
rock'
amps ,mountains of drums and
piles of keyboards. Smaller
more portable equipment is
used.
The Executives is strictly a
cover band — they only perform
other artists' material. The
members realize the importance
of not trying to play songs that
the band can't handle, says
Phelps.
Playing the smaller dates isn't
necessarily less profitable, says
Phelps.
"We play in Austin and there
are fraternity parties every
weekend just like clockwork,"
he says. "The action is incredi
ble. There may be eight or ten
arties in an area of only a few
locks, each one with a band
and an entertainment budget of
$800 to $1500. And every band is
making that — week in and
week out."
The potential of making big
bucks isn't the main reason for
playing, and none of the mem
bers are in the band to make mil
lions. All have logged their
share of miles on the road and
look at the band as a way of hav
ing fun and making a little
money on the side. All have day
jobs and the band only plays on
weekends.
The Executives will be playing
at the White Rock Hall at East-
gate on Thursday. Tickets are $3
and are available at Hasting's
Books and Records in the Cul
pepper Plaza or at the Dixie
Chicken.