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 DiScORDER
?A guide to CITR fm 102
** CABLE 100 /A guide to CITR fm 102
^ CABLE 100
The Bard of Brixton
a lesson in socio- politics from Professor LKJ
Everyone admires a person
who doesn't mince words. Most of
the capacity crowd that saw Linton Kwesi Johnson at the SUB
Ballroom left as admirers. When
they arrived they fell largely into
two categories: the enthusiastic
LKJ fans, and the curious, who
wondered what all the fuss had
been about in the two weeks prior
to the gig. They soon found out.
Backed by the superlative Dennis
Bovell Dub Band, LKJ thundered
his way into the hearts and, more
importantly, the consciences of
the crowd.
So what's a black guy who's an
expatriate Jamaican living in
England and who talks mainly
about the problems of class structure in Britain doing causing us
West-Coast-of-N. America types
to skank up a sweat?
"I hope people will be able to
make some comparisons with
some of the things I'm describing
and maybe draw parallels with
things happening here, but... I
don't know a lot about what's happening in N. America so I wouldn't
be able to say with any great
authority. Maybe youth in New
York or Toronto will be able to
identify with all the experiences as
youngsters growing up in a modern urban society with all it's problems and so on."
Your most well-documented
topic is the plight of coloured
minorities in a largely white
society, a problem which Vancouver doesn't escape either;
you're message is one of militant defiancy: in one of your
songs I recall you saying
"Come what may, we are to
stay." Be that as it may, do you
not agree that multiracial harmony can really only be achieved through a change in the
mass attitude rather than an attitude of militant defiancy (on
the part of the immigrants)?
"Well, let me talk about
England: a lot of people have erroneously, or even mischievously, presented the problems of
ethnic groups in Britain as being
one of integration. The whole
theory is always seen in terms of
the solution being a kind of a nice
little multi-cultural setup, but that
is a false way of describing the
problem. Britain, as I understand
it, has always been a collection of
nationalities, even before West Indians and Asians and other nationalities began going there. You
had the English, the Welsh, the
Scottish, the Irish and the
Cornish.
"In the same way that the Irish
question, Welsh nationalism, and
Scottish nationalism came into
the centre of the stage of British
politics, so too the question of
blacks and Asians in Britain,
because we were coming from
British colonies and being placed
in the Colonial mould. We were
forced to try and break out of that
mould and that is basically what
our struggles have been about
over the last 25-30 years: to break
out of the colonial mould that we
were placed in and to try and live
and work on the same basis as
the rest of the English working
class. . ."
But will it be through militancy—an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth?
"I don't think we can reduce it
to that. The way we see it and by
we I mean the organizations to
which I belong, the Race Today
collective, the Black Parents
Movement and the Black Youth
Movement, we need to organize
ourselves to build independent
institutions—social, cultural and
political, because we adopted the
slogan which is the slogan of
young Asians in Britain: "Come
what may, we are here to stay."
We would like to see Britain
change for the better. We want to
be a part of the forces of change
and we can only do that from a
position of strength rather than
weakness. That's how we see the
way forward in England."
The danger with that, would
you not agree, is that if you do
build up a positon of strength
and if worse comes to worse
then ethnic minorities and the
natives tend to polarize—they
will start backing "their own"—
and in Britain there are
53,000,000 whites and only two
or three million coloureds. . .
"I don't think we've ever per-
cieved our struggle as a black versus white struggle. We've always
had a political analysis and a
political understanding of what
our situation and problem is.
We've never seen it as a black-
white thing at all. We've always
seen it basically as a class thing
of which race is an important
aspect, so therefore I wouldn't envisage the kind of situation that
you've just described."
What is your view of reggae
that proclaims Rastafari and
Jah as opposed to making
socio-political comment?
"Well, that has always been an
aspect of Jamaican popular
music since we started to record
music, and the Rastas have
brought a tremendous amount of
creativity and spirituality into the
music and have also contributed
towards it rythmic evolution. . ."
He falters, unsure. I ask him for
his views on the idealism of the
religion.
"A lot of people sing Rasta
songs and express Rasta sentiments because that's what they
believe in; and a lot of them perhaps don't even believe in Rasta
or believe in going back to Africa
but the language of Rasta has
become the language of protest
among the oppressed in Jamaica
so it's quite natural for there to be
so many songs couched on Rasta
terminology."
Johnson still does not answer
the question clearly. He's obviously dodging the issue. The impression he gives is that he's
caught between defending reggae as an integral part of his
background and culture and condemning its myopic, naive vision
of spiritual bliss for the Chosen
Tribes, led out of Babylon to an
impoverished East African country under a dictator—who's now
dead!
Despite this uncertainty, there's
no doubt in his mind about the
solutions to the broader issues
that are of concern to him. He's
one of those people who has the
knack of making a lot of sense.
Listen to his records and you'll
know what I mean.
—Sukhvinder Johal
Photo by Neil Dowie DISCORDER June 1984
iflnnfe. n
*<
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rmnr-R
fflllOS Cable 100
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Editors
L.„„
Contributors
Chris Dafoe
Fiona MacKay
Chris Dafoe
Fiona MacKay                  Sukvinder Johal
Dave Ball                            Michael Shea
Steve Robertson               Fiona MacKay
Mike Dennis
Advertising;
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RobSimms
Dave Ball
KristaHanni
Harry Hertscheg
Photograph
Distribution
Jim Main
Harry Hertscheg
Neil Dowie
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onihly
paper
published  by  the Student  Radio
Society of me Universl
y of British Columbia. DISCORDER provides a
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Page 2
My beloved Airhead,
In response to Lisette Bol-
duc's reference to Tony Beavis: am I the last person in
Vancouver to realize that this
"Antony Beavis" is also the
/'fl.upal character in Aldous
Huxley's "Eyeless in Gaza"?
How dare this imposter claim
to have an above average
intelligence when he starts his
letter with childish references
to excrement. Let this be a
warning to you A.B., if this is
your real name, I blame your
mother for exploiting the
works of Aldous Huxley in this
manner. I know this letter
comes four months late but
it's never too late to defend
CITR or Aldous Huxley, for
that matter. Anyway, back to
the present. Since you are
starting a "war of words"
Webster's states that alternative is "that which may be
chosen or omitted as one of
two things, so that if one is
taken, the other must be left".
In other words CITR has the
alternative not to play U2. If
"Bono's White Flag" has all
of U2's albums and he can
listen to their music on CFOX,
why is he bothering you? |
also suggest that "BWF"
adopt another expression besides "Samhill".
xoxoxoxoxo
Penelope Pitstop
Dear Airhead,
I'm writing in response to
the letters from Greg Rum and
"I'd rather not listen." I cannot understand why you and a
lot of other listeners jump on
them so fast. I happened to
stumble across your radio
station when it could only be
received on cable, about 4
years ago. At that time about
85% of the music was new and
alternative. Now it's hard
to tell the difference between
your station and about three
others. The only good DJ
there now that plays good
music is Mark Mushet. I
would hardly call this form of
music a novelty. I have been
listening to this "novelty" for
the past three years, and the
novelty hasn't worn off. These
two people who took the time
to write to you are in the small
minority that appreciate good
music. I am not saying that
any other type of music isn't
good; it's a personal preference, but you are (were)
supposed to be an alternative
radio station. In case you've
forgotten what alternative
means I quote from the
dictionary: "alternative" -
occur by turns, first one and
then the other, interchange
regularly. I imagine I'll also
get some smartass response
but I will get the last laugh
when your station is playing
this music 4 years from now.
D. Jonz
Dear Airhead,
I am amazed at the violent
reaction to Greg Rum's
suggestion that CITR, "the
alternative music" station
give fair air time to bands
such as Portion Control, Nocturnal Emissions, and Legendary Pink Dots.
I work in an establishment
where we play our own tapes
and I have had constant favourable reactions to the music
I play, which includes these
bands and others like them.
The need and demand for new
sounds is obviously there and
can't be ignored.
Music may be just "notes"
but it's what one does with
these notes that makes music
"old" or "new". These bands
are creating sounds and producing music unlike a lot of
things you've ever heard before. What's so irrational
about refusing to limit oneself
to the ridiculously conservative boundaries established
in so much of the music
represented by the majority of
the bands listed in CITR's
"Top 50".
Obviously there are some
people who don't mind stagnating and naturally limit
their acceptance of progression.
I am not going to start
slagging any other kinds of
music, whether it be classical
or metal, but let's face it, its
all been done before.
Matilda.
WOW, this is great! Some
of you people are really getting worked up about this
whole "alternative" issue or
more specifically, what CITR
should or should not be playing. A thing that disturbs me
when I read a good many of
the letters that come into the
station is the pervasive notion
that there is some omnipresent individual here at
CITR whose programming
dictates are law. Musically
speaking, this is a complete
misconception. On the average there are 40 different
announcers minding the ol'
store during any given week,
each of whom has his or her
own musical tastes. Aside
from some very broad and
basic legal and ethical guidelines, they're free to program
whatever they want. Nobody
here orders them to play (or
not play) anything. If you
don't like what an announcer
is playing, phone 228-2487,
say so ~ politely of course ~
and suggest an alternative
[harlhar!]
From a philosophical standpoint, CITR does not "blacklist" artists like Legendary
Pink Dots or Portion Control
etc. Why should we? The
mere fact that these artists are
being ignored by other
stations in town means that
they fall within our musical
mandate. What a lot of you
seem to forget is that there are
literally thousands of artists
who, for one reason or another, do not get their fair
share of airplay here or elsewhere. CITR is far from perfect but when it comes to
satisfying wildly divergent
tastes, we do give it the old
college try. Of course we'll
never please everyone all of
the time, but really, does the
mere fact that someone plays
an instrument as outmoded as
the guitar mean that, as a
result, his work is undeserving of CITR airplay: Come
now, it sounds like you're
suffering from a mild case of
tunnelvision. Mark Mushet is
extremely pleased to learn
that his show commands such
a staunch following but rather
distressed by the seemingly
widespread belief that his
musical tastes are limited to
those encompassed within
the format of "Fast Forward". When he's not doing
the aforementioned show he's
been known to play a few
(gasp) rock songs and he tells
me that doesn't feel any less
sophisticated or "alternative"
for it.
The CITR monthly Top 50
printed in Discorder does not
reflect one extremely influential individual's musical
tastes. Rather, it's a composite of the artists most
frequently played on the
station be they either listener's requests or the personal
faves of our announcers. In
other words, it's not a closed
circle. If you want to hear
more of a certain artist, call us
and ask for it. Generally we go
out of our way to play requests. Better yet, if you're
truly committed to your
musical cause, come in and
join the station. For a nominal
membership fee, you can play
radio your way and maybe
convert a few people to your
way of thinking. One way or
another, let's remember that
not everybody marches to the
beat of the same drummer
(drumbox). To me, the essence of CITR's "alternative-
ness" lies in its commitment
to music for music's sake,
regardless of style. Its far
from perfect but its a helluva
lot better than the other alternative. If I may be so bold as
to speak for the other 39 DJ's
who occupy the CITR airwaves, we play music that we
think has real merit. If you
disagree- and some of you
obviously do-- please help us
make CITR a better medium
for commercially neglected
music. We're not just doing it
for ourselves.
Dear Airhead,
In response to your response to "Bono's White
Flag", here's my definition fo
what "alternative" music is,
or rather what it's not.
Alternative music is not
molded music -eg. "rock-
and-roll" or "soft-rock", easy
listening, or "elevator music"
—it is not intended to conform
to the commercial radio
stations boring repetitive predictable "music" that is designed to please the sponsor
as much (if not more) than the
audience in radio-land. Alternative music is music for
music's sake, not the top-40's
or sponsors. So I win the
$64,000???
Ingrid Ebert
P.S. I particularly enjoy
your "Sunday Brunch" and
George B's "Rocker's show".
(All a part of that elusive
"alternativeness", eh?)
Dear Airhead,
CITR is an alternative music
station. As it's title implies, it
provides the Vancouver area
with an alternative to the
music played on commercial
stations. Therefore I think
CITR's policy of dropping a
band once it get commercial
airplay is a good one.
It is important to realize
that dropping a band from the
playlist is not a result of
artistic opinion, it is an .action
intended to maintain the alternative format of the station.
Chant and be happy.
Lam ma GRANDMASTER FLASH
DISCORDER June 1984
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
- a diagnosis
A small and very lean man
walked into CITR on Monday,
May 21st. He was wearing 30
pounds of black leather and
studs, and amazing blue mirrored
sunglasses from Texas that made
him look a little like a housefly. He
comes from the South Bronx, not
a particularly affluent section of
the Metropolitan New York area.
He came to talk about a very
peculiar disease that he has; his
symptoms are very advanced,
more advanced than the other
known victims of the ailment.
The disease is called "turn-
tableitis." The small man claims
that he was the first registered
case; he's had it for about 12
years now. He never said exactly
where he first contracted it, but
apparently the symptoms increased in severity the more he visited
the night clubs and party spots in
his neighborhood. Here is his own
account of how the disease
wreaked havoc on his life and the
lives of those around him when he
first contracted it:
"You see, I'm a very fidgety
person. When I went into a night
club, I would hear the DJs letting
songs play right through to the
end, and after a while I found I just
couldn't stand it any longer. I had
to touch those turntables. Owners
of the clubs would curse me out
'cause I'd wreck their equipment,
I was putting so much pressure
on it. I was ostracized by club
society 'cause people hated the
sounds I was making when I
touched the turntables all the
time.
"So I would get old junk equipment and fix it up and use that.
It took a very long time for me to
be accepted by the people in the
clubs. I really wanted to work the
clubs, but this disease. . . (cries of
anxiety). . .I just COULDN'T
HELP IT!!!"
Luckily for the small man, he
was able to form a coalition with
persons suffering from a speech
defect that made them talk in syncopation with recorded music. As
a united front, they were able to
make headway in overcoming the
initial prejudices against them. By
this time the small man was not
alone: many others were contracting the disease in the clubs and
were demanding fair and equitable treatment by club owners
and the general public.
A woman of great benevolence,
who was raised in the neighborhood but had since moved to New
Jersey, stepped in to help the
poor diseased boys. She had
founded an institution in New
Jersey that promised aid to the
young men if only they would sign
contracts devoting their time to
working for the institute. She told
them that she could give them
meaningful careers in the industry
they loved best, the music business. Their first project was to
release their energies in the recording studio. The boys thought this
was wonderful.
But all was not well in New
Jersey. The woman, who the
small man refers to now only as
SHE, was not motivated by a concern for the man's turntableitis or
the others' speech impediments.
All SHE really wanted was to profit from the record that the coalition made. She denied them
meaningful careers, allowing
them only to perform on the
records. She withheld funds that
rightly should have belonged to
the coalition. The coalition consulted their attorneys and decided to file a law suit.
With the small man at their
head, the coalition took the institute to court. Hard times hit: no
longer did they have a place to do
what they could not help doing.
Three of the boys inflicted with
syncopated speech could not
control themselves during the
long months it took before they
could appear in court; they decided to go back and work for the institute. In the end the remaining
victims gained freedom and won
the rignt ic use the name of the
coalition.
The turntableitis victim is now
leading a life as normal as any of
ours (except for his disease). He
can perform in public and he did
just that in our city on Wednesday, May 23rd. The classic symptoms of turntableitis were in
evidence: the hyperactivity, the
touching of the turntables, the
preference for music by such
noted musicians as Herbie Hancock (himself a suspected victim
of the disease), the inexplicable
tendency to dress like Rick
James. At several points during
the show the small man's fits of
turntableitis got the better of him;
twice he touched the turntables
too much and the coordination of
the syncopated orators was disturbed. Apparently one of the
more debilitating effects of the
disease is the sheer physical exhaustion it brings on after a very
short while. Many were disappointed by the length of the coalition's
set, but after the show they very
politely said that they simply could
not continue. They sincerely
hoped that the audience understood their message; they spoke
fervently of the poor living conditions in the Bronx, the fun that
they have now that they're able to
perform again in public, and for
an encore they spoke of a dangerous white dust that people had
told them to take for relief from
their respective conditions.
In recent years the coalition has
devised a way to help those afflicted with turntableitis and syncopated speech impediments. The
name "Grandmaster Flash" appears on any recording made by
the coalition. If you would like to
aid people suffering from turntableitis you can buy these recordings, and a healthy portion of
your contribution goes directly to
the afflicted. Donations are not,
however, tax deductible.
—Fiona MacKay
REGGAE SPLASH
June 15   At the Waterfront   H
686 Powell *
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Books   Records Games
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Page 3 DISCORDER June 1984
Venliel
HOLGER
CZUKAY
Upon buying the album.
Who is this old guy? Holger
Czukay (Hole-grrr Choo-kye).
He's German. Ya, that's obvious. Most of the writing on
the cover's in German. So's
the name of the album: Der
Osten ist Rot (whatever that's
supposed to mean). But who is
he? That's what I want to
know. He looks like Einstein
with straight hair --and not a
young Einstein either. Hol-
ger's old. Older than Brian
Mulrooney and Joe Clark. He
makes Mick Jagger look like a
snot nosed punk.
What's he doing putting out
albums that get filed in the
ROCK  section   of   the   local
import stored? What's he
doing collaborating with mere
youths like Jah Wobble and
The Edge? Is he a sicko?
Take a close look at that
album cover. Check out the
other folks on the inner
sleeve. Conny Plank, Jaki Lie-
bezeit, Gandhi --they're all
old, too. And German (probably).
Let's not get paranoid or
anything, but is this a plot?
They're a band of neo-Nazi
hippies, aren't they? Holger's
their leader and their mission
is to infiltrate pop music the
world over, enter kids' minds,
twist them and subvert them
to some perverse end: make
them want to be arms manufacturers when they grow up,
or stockbrokers, or longshoremen.
This isn't stupid. This is
serious.	
^
One album listening later.
Hmmmmm. Maybe I was
wrong. Maybe I was being
paranoid. I mean, hey, it's
good. I was a bit scared at
first. That opening cut Photograph sounded suspiciously
ancient. The kind "of tune
you'd figure your grandfather
sang to your grandmother on
their first date, like one of
those old Presley-McCartney
compositions that get played
on muzak stations all the time.
Nice, you understand, and
happy. But maybe a little too
nice and happy.	
Ater that though, it's pretty
hardy country. Not rock'n roll.
More just weirdness with a
beat (sometimes without a
beat), lots of tapes and machines, hisses and buzzes, with
synthesizers, pianos, guitars,
horns, drums.
The point is, don't worry.
These old guys are okay (I
think). They make cool
sounds. And they probably
had fun doing it. The title
track Der osten ist Rot is a
military march put to a jazzy,
calypso beat. Sort of like Kik
Creole and the Coconuts get
drafted. There's lots of other
neat moods,  too.  You A
could   fall asleep to t
this album and
know your
d reams'd
be  interesting.^
Even later.
Who was that c
that said he hoped he'c
die before he got o
obviously never heard
Holger Czukay and friends.
I've listened to Der Osten ist re
twice now and I'm still not goii
be an arms manufacturer whe
I   grow up.
ECHO & THE
BUNNYMEN
Ocean Rain
Act four, in which Our Hero
continues his search for the
answer to the question of life,
the universe and everything.
Indeed, more than ever it
appears that this band has
become the vehicle for the
vocal and lyrical gyrations of
Head Bunny Ian McCulloch. I
no longer find it as intriguing
as I used to; the insidious
immediacy of earlier works
has given way to the cute
smart-ass word play of McCulloch, the Cryptic Mystic.
Greater Merseyside's own
friendly neighbourhood
Thinker.
After their first two outstanding albums, Porcupine
saw them scrambling to maintain that standard while trying
out fresh ideas. Although the
end result was only partly
successful, I recall awaiting
the arrival of that album with
eager anticipation. After
listening to Ocean Rain, the
anticipation for their next
album, although still there, is
no longer necessarily eager.
Without wishing to sound
like a dewy-eyed nostalgic, it
must be said that Ocean
Rain's strength lies in the
Bunnies' rediscovery of a
couple of old reliables: Will
Sergeant's guitarwork, while
not always spitting out (dis)-
chords and notes like shards
of broken glass, has reasserted itself as one of the most
refreshingly innovative in
contemporary rock, and Mac's
undeniably impressive voice,
no longer always soaring and
swooping, but still forcing one
to listen to it. The lyrics too, at
the risk of self-contraciction,
have something to do with it.
Thorn of Crowns (ha ha, Ian)
and My Kingdom are showcases.
For the most part, however,
(egomani) Mac and his Bunnies have chosen to orchestrate, with the help of a real
orchestra (will the cello really
replace the synth as the Next
Big Instrument, Ian?), a path
of meandering mini-epics a la
Killing Moon, which opens
side two. Barry Manilow
meets Jim Morrison. Close
your eyes to the title track and
imagine four Bunnies in tuxedos providing lounge music
while you eat your meal and
discuss the presently unexceptional nature of a once excellent (and, potentially, still a
force to be reckoned with) rock
"|Noddy (Age 14)
band.
Gone are the unique arrangements, the abrupt
changes of pace which lurked
around the sharp edges of the
songs. Whereas before he
asked angry questions and
confronted issues with ironic
humour, he's now merely airing his own private thoughts
with what seems to me to be
an air of contrived ambiguity.
"Look at me, aren't I surreal, maaan!" Ooh Ian, you
artiste, you!
Greatness. Regrettably,
unless they snap out of it,
Echo and the Bunnymen are
in danger of becoming one of
those bands that had a strong
grasp on it, but let it slip and
spent the rest of their existence looking for  it  before
disintigrating under
the     strain    of   the
search. The Procul Harum^
of the 80's.
Act Five may reveal all.
-Sukhvinder johal
FOR HAIRSTYLING AND SETTING FROM
AVAILABLE AT SALONS  EVERYWHERE!!!!
Page 4
*2M££
Concert Tickets
Available
THE SAFE WAY
to stay alert without
harmful stimulants
LUV-A-FAIR keeps you
stimulated with great tunes and
exciting visuals six nights a
week yet is not habit forming.
LAF is faster, handier, more
reliable and is definitely not a
Next time monotony makes you
feel like throwing your arms in
the air with despair, or work has
got you down, do as millions
do....perk up with a safe,
effective dose of LUV-A-FAIR.
expensive. 127S Seymour street  TeJ. 685-3288 DISCORDER June 1984
MEAT PUPPETS
Meat Puppets II
The   early   Meat
Puppets recordings
were faster-than-light
noise   with   the   vocals
reeled off in such   blurred
fashion,  it was virtually  impossible to decipher them
without the aid of the lyrics
sheet  and  a  linguistics   professor. The Meat Pups have
done a complete 360°   split-
reversal   spin   back  to   their
roots:   Arizona-style   laidback
jamming, combined it   with
tsome   tricks from up their
^cowpunk" sleeve, and
iave  come out  with
l^mat has to be one
Ipv of thesleeping-
jr  dogs   of    the
great  American
underground sound
for 1984.
There are some superlative
tracks on this disc; in fact, out
of the 12 tracks on it, there are
only a couple of weak ones.
The rest are sheer pleasurable
listening   material;   for   me,
anyways.     Magic    Toy   Missing,      I'm   A   Mindless   Idiot,    and    Aurora   Borealis,
all   instrumentals,   were   especially    delightful.     The
latter song, which utilizes
Spanish-sounding  gui
r,   has  almost   a
trance-like power
to it;    I listened
to it over and
over and over...   Two, and  New Gods    sound
The songs sung by anything   close   to   the   firs
one or   both of   the Meat Pups LP: rapid, skank-
multi-talented   Kirk-  ing stuff. The cool song titles
wood   brothers were   no are matched  by just as  hip
slouches   either. lyrics:
Climbing    and    Plateau      "I've grown tired of
are slow but very pleasing to     livin9 Nixon's mess
listen to, and like much of the     walkin'the breezeways
material,  draw from  various     again."
late '60s-early '70s influences Probably the best cut on this
such as the Grateful Dead and record   is     The     Whistling
Allman   Brothers;   sort  of  a Song,'   a   real   catchy   tune
Country and Western blended complete with a whistling solo
■   southern rock and  the in tne midst °nt-
psychedelic '60s sound.      This disc is a real pleasure
Curt Kirkwood's vocals   to listen to, a nice surprise,
remind me very much  Some hardcore types  may
k    of Neil   Young's,    yearn for the Meat Puppets of
rjk, Strange   com
^      parisons,  perhaps,  but you get
the idea. Only a few
cuts on this     platter,
like    Split   Myself   In
yesteryear , but most are
ecstatic about this new sound.
Y'all git yer arses down to yer
local vinyl pusher and pick
yerselves one of dese Meat
Pupl's vinyl slabs up, ye hear!
Mike A.R. Dennis
BLOOD
ON THE
SADDLE
Blood on the Saddle
, Through the desolate spiritual wasteland of Dead Loss
jAngeles rides the new cow-
Sjboy, the rugged individualist
Jflwho dreams of Injun fightin',
Wcacti, the skulls of cattle and
Bjdead men, and the simple life.
XjAnd benzadrine. These urban
Wcowboys are making music
fflt°°-
jfi    The term  "cowpunk"  had
{5 been   bandied   about  to  de-
Wand File who verge on traditional C & W, to bands like
W, Jason and the Scorchers, who
are an updated version of The
j Flying Burrito Brothers and
Mother very good but ignored
Wcountry rock bands of the
ffl1970's.
w This term can be more
inadequately applied to bands
Los Angeles which
combine the splirit of traditional white American music,
minus the modern affedtatins
of sequinned suits and laxative hikes, with the sheer
violence of hardcore punk.
This version of Hank Williams
on speed is performed in dead
seriousness by Blood on the
Saddle, Tex and the Horse-
heads, and to a lesser extent,
The Gun Club, the Meat
Puppets, and X.
Blood on the Saddle consists of: Greg Davis, guitar
and vocals: Annette Zilinkas,
vocals; Ron Botelho, upright
bass; and Hermann Senec,
drums and vocals. They have
put together an album that is
gritty, thoughtful and fairly
tight, with occasional flasjes
of humour) for example, Car
Mechanic's Blues is a witty
automotive sexual metaphor).
The album is reminiscent in
its slower parts to the slower
songs on the Gun Club's
Miami album. In this case,
however, an encompassing
sense of melancholy replaces
much of the violence found on
Miami. Greg Davis's slightly
out of tune voice enhances this
feeling, as it is in the tradition of all great country voices;
not pretty, but full of emotion.
Annette's voice, on the other
hand, is as bright, sprightly,
and vigourous as Wanda Jack^,
son of twenty-five years ago
(and that was scorching). She]
is featured on (/ Wish I was( a
Single Girl (Again) and Do
You Wanna Dance.
The highlights of the album
are its moody pieces; Banks of
fhe Ohio and / Ve Never Been
Married. The lyrics are
thoughtful and introspective,
and capture the feelings of the
lonely loner, perhaps a high
plains drifter. The music is
traditional, and includes some
really biting slide guitar.
My only reservation about
the album is that some of the
faster tracks are far too reminiscent fo Led Zep's Hot Dag,
but this feeling goes away
with a bit of concentration.
Kudos to New Alliance Records (which is the Minute-
men's Label) for releasing this
record. It deserves a listening
(or several).
RobSimms
^ssssssssssssssssss
Af
H
Hi
Hi
Commodore*
Ballroom
June 28
Jickets at
VTC, CBO,
* f$P   Woodwards
iQ        Eatons,
AMS Box Office
Zulu, Odyssey J
A PenySCOpe   Production
We   buy   &   sell     used &   collectable records
SOUTH VANCOUVER:
5766 Fraser Street.
Vancouver, B.C. V5W 2Z5
(604) 324-1229
KITSIIANO:
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Vancouver, B.C. V6K 3E4
(604) 731-1013
Rock Videos available
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For the best in
REGGAE,ROCK,AFRICAN,
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Meteor o<*eP CA^s$\<&t>
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(Sreoe^e
Page 5 DISCORDER June 1984
On the Waterfront
The Waterfront record compilation, released locally in
April, is a unique example of
co-operation between musicians and their promoters and
is indicative of the healthy and
diverse music scene currently
operating in Vancouver. A
professionally produced and
packaged double album, The
Waterfront features demo
tracks recorded by 16 groups
who have yet to release anything of their own on vinyl or
cassette.
From the jazz-rock-folk-
blues-classical fusion (gasp!)
of Melchizedek to the polished
pop sounds of Rubber Biscuit
and One Fell Swoop, The
Waterfront offers a credible
mainstream selection of music
from bands who obviously
hope to achieve some commercial success on their own.
The album is as much for the
musicians themselves as it is
an offering to cater to public
tastes.
The album takes its name
from The Waterfront Corral,
an established country and
western cabaret which opened
its doors to a younger and
more diverse group of musicians last summer. Since then,
the125-seat cabaret has played host to a multitude of local
acts, many of whom made
their public debut there. The
16 bands included on the
compilation helped to raise
the funds needed to record
their respective tracks  by
playing at the cabaret. Their
being selected had nothing to
do with aesthetic criteria; it
was based more pragmatically
on who simply could afford the
time and money. One individual is responsible for coordinating the entire effort -- AI
Hyland.
Hyland, a Toronto native
who released the compilation
of T.O. sounds in 1982, arrived in Vancouver less than one
year ago and was instrumental
in changing The Waterfront's
policy. Since becoming booking agent there (a position he
recently vacated), Hyland has
acted as a catalyst in the
cultivation of a healthy local
music scene. His work at The
Waterfront and the release of
the album on his own label are
integral steps toward a goal
Hyland hopes to achieve in
1986.
Yes, of course ... Vancouver's centenary celebrations
... the World's Exposition ...
the year this city will finally
establish its claim to international stardom. Hyland, like
many others, is excited about
the prospects.
Hyland hopes to put
together a Canadian compilation designed for international
distribution. With that under
his belt, Hyland feels he will
have learned enough about his
trade to actually make some
money out of it.
The Waterfront record, retailing at around $10, is unlikely to appeal to any one
individual in its entirety. A
common criticism of the
album, and the club itself, is
that in trying to accomodate
too many styles and directions, the result is a mishmash that lacks a strong
focus. Also, many feel it is a
poor representation of the
Vancouver scene as it does not
even hint at the eclecticism
and innovation evident in the
so-called "underground."
But, as Hyland claims, it is
primarily the musicians'   re
cord, and, dur to the circumstances that dictated its execution, The Waterfront does
not pretend to represent the
entire Vancouver scene,
under- or over-ground.
Regardless of its strengths
and weaknesses, the fact that
The Waterfront album is a
physical reality rather than a
half-baked notion is commendable enough. Oddly
enough, it has taken an out-
of-towner to prove that the
interest and energy is there to
undertake such an adventure.
Thanks, AI.
-Michael Shea
Final Vinyl
Heard nightly at 11 p.m.
MON DA Y - Jazz Albums
June 04 Terence Blanchard &
Donald Harrison - New York
Second Line
11   Wilbur Ware Quintet
- The Chicago Sound
(Riverside)
18    Lester Bowie -
Numbers One & Two (Nessa)
25    Freddie Redd -
Shades of Redd (Blue Note)
\TUESDA Y & WEDNESDA Y -
flew Playlist Albums
[THURSDAY - "Mel Brewer
Presents": all the dirt on local
noise: new releases, interviews, demo tapes, exposes ...
FRIDAY - 1-2-3 Funk Rock 'n
Soul Albums
June01   Parliament - hunKen-
telechy    vs.    The    Placebo
Syndrome
08   The Ike & Tina
Turner Show-- Live!
15 Sex, Sweat & Blood
The New Danceability
22 War - The World is a
Ghetto
29   Wilson Pickett -
Don't Knock My Love
SATURDAY - #7 Playlist
Album
SUNDAY- "Fast Forward's
Neglected Album: whatever
Mark Mushet gets in the mail
the alternative to alternative
Page 6 DISCORDER June 1984
^
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LIVE CONCERT SPECIAL
/, BRAINEATER,
ACTIONAUTS, BOLERO
LAVA, THE ENIGMAS
One evening last month,
these four great bands played
together at UBC for a live
in-studio concert. We'll be
airing the live recordings of
the event, one a week, for the
next four weeks. Tune in each
Sunday in June at 8 p.m. for a
special series in our "Sunday
Night Live" programme.
June 3  I, Braineater
June 10 Actionauts
June 17 Bolero Lava
June 24 The Enigmas
CITR
In a dark and steamy room,
somewhere in East Vancouver . . .
Q: I listen to CITR all the time
... How can I get involved?
A: First, you have to become a
member of the station ...
Q: Oh ... there's a financial
•catch?
A: If you want to look at it like
that. Your membership allows
you to come to our studios to
programme. It also brings you
two buttons, plus a CITR
sticker for your favorite surface.
Q: Sounds good.  What else
does my membership do?
A: It shows that you support
the best and most exciting in
alternative broadcasting, supporting music,  news and  information   programming   that
you can't hear anywhere else
— you know, normal radio.
Q: What's the damage?
A: If you join now, the membership  fee   is  $12.50,   until
September. Then  it's $25.00
from  September  until   the
same month next year.
Q:  Do I  have to  be a UBC
student to join?
A: No.
Q: Can I come down and play
my entire library of all-time
pogo polka hits?
A: We'll talk ...	
f*
50 Most Played
Bands on CITR
1  Iggy Pop [and the Stooges]
2. Echo and the Bunnymen
3. The Cure
4. Violent Femmes
5. Laurie Anderson
6. Brian Eno [and friends]
7. DOA
8. Roxy Music
9. King Crimson
10. Linton Kwesi Johnson
11. The Cramps
12 Siouxsie and the Banshees
13.R-E.M.
14. Special AKA
15. Talking Heads
16. New Order
17 David Bowie
18. Killing Joke
19.The Jam
20.Trevor Jones
21. Elvis Costello and the Attractions
22. Jason and the Scorchers
23. Meat Puppets
24. Emily
25. Spear of Destiny
26. Beverly Sisters
27. Psychedelic Furs
28. Shanghai Dog
29. Jon and the Nightriders
30. Style Council
31. True West
32.X
33. Holger Czukay
34. The Smiths
35. Kate Bush
36. Frank Chickens
37. Fad Gadget
38Buzzcocks
39.The Stranglers
40.Naz Nomad and the Night
mares [aka the Damned]
41. Shriekback
42. Dead Kennedys
43. Chris and Cosey
44. Grace Jones
45. Kraftwerk
46. U2
47. The 3 O'Clock
48. Nina Hagen
49. Simple Minds
50. Lou Reed
Public Affairs
Wants You
We're looking for people to
do 15 minute audio documentaries on a variety of contemporary issues. People from the
station will train you in all the
necessary skills.
Contact Ken Jackson or
Diane Brownstein    at
228-3017.
^Illl^   MEMBERSHIP    APPLICATION
NAME AGE	
ADDRESS	
POSTAL CODE 	
PHONE 	
CANADIAN CITIZEN
OTHER \please specify]
SEND   TO:   CITR  6138  SUB
BLVD. VANCOUVER, B.C.
V6T 2A5
Page 7 GO
O    GO     »
CD
PI
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*3
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9   TO
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