The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 25, 1992, Image 5

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 25, 1992, Image 5

Newspaper Page TextFebruary 25,t: . A ors gnate [ Wee -CS jm Page 1 ■cial panel k; mayor of Br; mayor ofCoiJ mily Ashwc:: oost of inter: is; Tina Watb| ternationalfcl 's; Mordel- liI general of >nal Student : sident Rhor opening ce; r Harsh Jagg ? ceremoniei Hope" wasg- riari Sargwair lis year's the: "Hope in Id." Stude: n internatie: .1 in thesingr Tate bi sed to heap inies, andei nation to int ents for whe e community, impared li inter Olymp: hare this wee same spirit: rom many a their differe: he said, rs presented: o the ISAs!;: t-28 is Inter?:- Week in Bn;- tion ( and urge :ome studer tries. ing ceremo: brief histon v'eek, and ft portance. ition was oi I of one wed here werex re celebratic: past midnig * 1 : I day becair: ek. 'tial buffet w ;d ay from h| T Tickets ai| nlable at M Tuesday, February 25, 1992 Lifestyles The Battalion Pages w and trade rade will be p.m. ini . Tickets aie s for both the : fet and t: The "En awards cere Friday, i conferentt e Bush Drive for ISA mem- non-ISA stii- CABLE TV n 846-2225 Movie Review 'Radio Flyer' blends harsh reality, childish imagination by Timm Doolen The Battalion "Radio Flyer" Starring: Elijah Wood and Jospeh Mazzello Directed by Richard Donner Rated PG-13 Playing at Poast OaR Three What would you do if you were 6 or 7 years’^ old and your stepfather beat you? Or possibly worse, what if you had to stand by and watch your younger brother be abused while you re mained unharmed? That's the main issue in "Ra dio Flyer/' a children's movie which blends a bit of fantasy into the harsh reality of parental abuse. What could the two children in the movie, Mike and Bobby (Elijah Wood and Jospeh Mazel- lo) do? After all, they know their mother (Lorraine Bracco) is hav ing the happiest time of her life with her new husband, and the children would rather suffer through occasional beatings than destroy their mother's happi ness. The problem seems to take care of itself when the stepfather is found out and has to go to jail. But all too quickly afterward, he is released from jail and re-ac cepted by the mother. Although mom promises things will change, the boys know it's just a matter of time before their stepfather gets drunk and starts the attacks again. Bobby, who is the recipient of the beatings, has only one choice - he must escape. And the two boys can only think of one way to do it, he must fly away. So in their backyard, the two boys build a flying machine Brothers Mike and Bobby (Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello) enjoy time with their trusted companion Shane. Their generally ideal childhood is occasionally interrupted by spouts of abuse from their stepfather. around the oase of a Radio Flyer red wagon, and take their con traption to the top of a hill to see if it will work. The story is told in flashback by the older Mike (Tom Hanks), who is relating the story to his two sons. He warns the boys and the audience, "History is in the mind of the teller." Armed with that g hrase, director Richard •onner asks the audience to suspend its disbelief for about two hours and thinking animals can talk, never survive puberty and can only be acted upon by pre-teens. The end result is a mixed movie that appeals to both the adult and child elements in ail of us. It often does not work be “Radio Flyer” is the kind of movie that reviewers would normally say, “Take your kids to see it.” just live the fantasy. He asks us to remember what it was like to be a child and believe that, among other things, people real ly could fly. The older Mike says these childhood beliefs, such as cause we ore too old to suspend that disbelief, while children in the audience can probably iden tify with the characters better first-hand. "Radio Flyer" is the kind of movie that reviewers would nor mally say, "Take your kids to see it." But as few college-age stu dents have children, it's proba bly better to recommend it for a younger (much younger) broth er or sister. The message is fairly simple, the story takes too long to' get going (they could have trimmed about 15 to 20 minutes out easi ly), and there are of ten times when you. find yourself saying, "Yeah, right." But if you're one of those people who not only can sus pend your disbelief in such movies, but can even enjoy it, "Radio Flyer" is for you. Music Review Lush's sophomore effort clears away guitar haze By Kevin Robinson The Battalion Lush "Spooky" 4AD/ Reprise The new Lush release "Spooky" was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. The band's first American release, "Gala," was a compilation of several maxi-singles that the group had released in their native U.K. "Gala" showed promise, but the style of the album varied tremendously. The album pro gressed from a Jesus and Mary Chain feedback approach on the earliest material , to an ethereal style, keeping with the gothic/new age style of the band's label 4AD. While the album was interest ing, I decided to wait until Lush produced a full album's worth of material before making any kind of judgment. "Spooky" was well worth the wait. The potential that the band showed on their previ ous work has paid off in an album that remains true to the group's established style, but isn't afraid to refine an already good thing. The band will be the first to say they wear their influences on their collective sleeves. Admitted ly, these influences don't reach back much further than mid eighties British alternative pop. However, even on the early sin gles it's evident that Lush is doing something different with styles that others are only imitating. With "Spooky," Lush has ex ceeded the promise they showed on the previous EPs. There are still people who consider Lush just a Cocteau Twins ripoff, but "Spooky" should open their eyes. It's true that both are remarkably similar in their composition and the music of both bands uses fe male vocals over a wash of highly produced guitar sound. But while the Cocteaus remain pleasant. Lush adds a dark side that still manages to preserve a pop sound. It's this pop sound that sets Lush apart from most of the other bands on 4AD. The emphasis on pop is especially evident on the new album. The band retains the same attitude that marked their previous work, but the songs are much more accessible than before. Part of this is due to Steve Rip- pon and Chris Acland, whose bass and percussion sections add a tightness that was simply missing before. On songs such as "Laura," the sound of a fourpiece band manages to slice through some of the guitar noise, and the opening moments of the track provide a surprisingly clear bassline that keeps the band from getting lost in their own sonic soup. Unlike the previous EPs, Lush now uses this snappier bass and forceful drum section to give each song structure. One of the biggest faults of the group's early material was the tendency to produce tracks that were more collages of hazy distortion than actual songs. This still happens occasionally on the new album, on songs like "Tiny Smiles" and "For Love." With the edition of their new found cohesiveness, however, the tracks on "Spooky" show a song writing talent that's progressed quite a bit from earlier work. Time will tell whether Lush can improve their music. Judging by the improvements made on "Spooky," if the band continues to experiment and refine their songs, the albums can only get better. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next re lease to find out. Music Review Tall Stories' single not representative of album By Chris Eklof The Battalion Tall Stories "Tall Stories" Epic "Wild On The Run," the first release off of Tall Stories' self-titled debut album, jumped onto the rock charts and dis played a lot of promise for the album. Un fortunately, "Tall Stories" falls short of those lofty expectations with an overall disappointing album. "Wild On The Run" is full of spirit, en ergy and powerful vocals. Lead singer Steve Augeri rips through the song, blurt ing out the words and kicking the song into gear. The guitar of Jack Morer fills in the gaps and provides an admirable solo. I could not wait to hear the rest of the album after hearing that song on the radio several times. But, it was downhill from the moment I had the entire album in my hand. The rest of the album is full of songs that lack the energy and drive of "Wild On The Run." They are all sleepy, boring songs that are overproduced and do not create any sparks. These are not bad songs, but they are instantly forgettable songs. The music is nothing spectacular, it is all pretty stan dard fare. The choruses of "Chain of Love" and "Stay With Me" are the only pieces of the album that are memorable enough to stick in my head. The band members are all adequate musicians, but once again their perfor mances are not earth-shattering. Augeri's vocals are the only standout part of the al bum. His strong voice shines through on every song, whether it be a ballad or a faster rock song. The Tall Stories lineup is completed with Kevin Totoian on bass and Tom De- Faria on drums to fill the basic four-piece singer, guitar, bass and drums band. Tom Mandel adds to the band when he steps in and plays keyboards on three songs. The constant theme throughout the al bum is love and trying to get back to old loves. "Chain of Love," "Crawling Back," "Stay With Me," "Somewhere She Waits" and "Close Your Eyes" are just some of the examples of the sugary-sweet songs and lyrics that the band has written. Nine straight songs like that are a little too much to have shoved down your throat at once. "Tall Stories" was a real letdown. It just goes to show that one song does not make an album, nor is it characteristic of the rest of the album. That is the case here. "Wild On The Run" is a good song, but the album "Tall Stories" is pretty lame. Forget the album and just buy the single. XYZ "Hungry" Capitol "Face Down In The Gutter" may be the first song on "Hungry," but it is not where the new album by XYZ should end up. "Hungry" is good enough to be al lowed to sit on the sidewalk and it might even be good enough to walk tall down the middle of the street. XYZ has put together an album that, although not ground-breaking by any means, still fills a certain niche in the met al world. "Hungry" is standard heavy metal that leans towards the lighter side of the genre. See XYZ/Page 6 te ODS i Road College Station, Texas 77840 •Everyone knows the importance of getting good value, but not everyone knows the importance of comparing the difference to get good value." ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET Don't Miss Your Chance To Jump! K $ 25 00 With This Ad> bwKju jumpers Located at butvjee jumpers I \I Hwy. 21 & Waco St. I \| 5301 Bryan, Tx. S^Ol Mernabfaud (800) 572-5999 OvterMbiatud r Ridgecrest Salon Spring Break Special! Sungiitz Highlighting $30 with coupon Call 846-8949 for an appointment 3605 S. Texas Ave. Luncheon and Dinner a> > 7 days a week < «> (0 r Luncheon 11 a.m.-2 p.m. X a> f— X Univ. Dr. Dinner 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Hwy. 30 Dinner 5 p.m.-10 p.m. — Friday 5c Saturday X ^ ENGINEER’S WEEK ’92 "Mardi Qras" theme March 2-7 Schedule of events and sign-up booth in Zachry lobby Feb. 20 thru March 3 1 I I I I I i I “\ s. 764-8292 2402 C Texas Avenue (Kroger Center) College Station Great food at reasonable prlces-We guarantee it!!! Former owner of Hong Kong Restaurant - 15 years experience. $ 2.99 Lunch Specials Dinner Specials $ 3.45 Lunch Buffet $ 3.99 Dinner Buffet $ 4.75 Full menu also available. Take out orders welcome. Beer & wine served. Sun. - Fri. 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Everyday 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 25, 1992, Image 5

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