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A guide to CITR fm 102
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VA guide to CITR fm 102
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MODAMU
Learning the Art of Co-operation
There are times, dear readers, when I find myself getting
just a tad depressed by the
Vancouver music scene. This
usually happens when I happen to glance through various
North American music papers
or, for that matter, local rags
and realize that, to the vast
majority of people, Vancouver
music is defined by Loverboy
and Bryan Adams; coliseum
rockers pandering to the
pocketbooks of North American Youth with the carefully
honed images bestowed upon
them by Bruce Allen Management. Vancouver success
stories are in the blandlands
of commodity rock.
It is at times like these that I
find great encouragement in
the efforts of groups like Mo
Da Mu; making music for its
own sake, and more importantly, getting that music out
to the widespread, unrecognized American underground,
in its four years of existence
Mo Da Mu has contributed to
the establishment of an alternative view of Vancouver. It
has done this by tapping into a
network of people intent on
making challenging non-commercial music on their own
terms, a network that has
risen across North America.
"Mo Da Mu started out,
originally, as a group of
musicians, video artists and
sound technicians who wanted
to put on gigs as cheaply as
possible," says Allen Moy,
who currently runs the label's
day-to-day operations. In late
1979 Moy's band, Popular
Front, along with AKA, Tin
Twist, Magic Dragon and
Animal Slaves formed the
looseknit organization that
was to grow into Mo Da Mu,
putting on shows, exchanging
information and ideas.
Mo Da Mu didn't hit vinyl
until the fall of 1980 when
Popular Front and Tin Twist
released singles on the label.
Moy explains, "Alvin Collis of
Tin Twist and I thought that
the records would get more
attention if we released them
together through Mo Da Mu."
As it turned out they were
right. The Popular Front
single Doomsday Army sold
quite well locally, and Mo Da
Mu became a familiar, if not
household, word in Vancouver
alternative music circles.
From that beginning the
label has gone through a
gradual and often arduous
process of growth. "At the
beginning we had very little
real direction," Mo> confesses. "We knew we didn't
want to operate as a business,
but at time went on it became
apparent that certain aspects
of Mo Da Mu had to operate in
a business-like fashion. We
were inexperienced, just
learning as we went along."
Further complicating matters
were internal differences as to
what the label should be
doing, what Mo Da Mu should
be. "Some people wanted it to
be a big statement, others had
completely different ideas. I
mean, we've had our share of
meetings where people stomp
out of the room, we've had our
fair  share  of   yelling.   But
everyone also has a basic
feeling about why they involve
themselves in Mo Da Mu.
When we have a project to
work on, that's when things
really come into focus."
Mo Da Mu has managed to
sweep aside politic differences
and focus their energies
enough to release five such
projects since the first two
singles featuring music by
54/40, Junco Run, Animal
Slaves, Insex, Moral Lepers
and by Plaything. More importantly it has taken these
releases beyond the regional
market into the rest of North
America and into Europe.
"54/40's Selection opened a
lot of doors for us,'' says Moy,
"it was picked up by about
fifty college stations in North
America, most of whom then
wanted to find out what else
we'd done. This allowed us to
get the earlier stuff out."
Similarly the Moral Lepers'
Turn to Stone has opened
doors (and ears) overseas as
the album has been receiving
regular airplay on John Peel's
BBC1 radio show.
All this has been achieved
on a budget that could be
described  as  frayed  shoe
string. Mo Da Mu has no
capital to finance recordings,
no paid staff, no benevolent
(read wealthy) mentor to
grease the way. It is a very
different record label.
Most small independent labels are the result of one
person, or a small group of
people with money financing
recordings by local bands. The
degree ot control exerted by
these entrepreneurs varies.
Some give the artist a relatively free hand. Others, like Ted
Thomas of Quintessence Records (you do remember Quintessence? You know? Modernettes, Young Canadians and
so on) not only sign the band
but take control of the production and packaging of the
record. Much of the control of
the presentation of the music
is out of the hands of the
musician. It's not an unreasonable arrangement when
viewed from the perspective
of the label-owner (especially
if none of his family will talk to
him since he sunk the $20,000
that Aunt Mildred left him
into "making records with
those goddam punk-rockers")
but for the musician with
definite ideas on how he wants
his music to be offered to the
public it is less than satisfactory.
Mo Da Mu is an attempt to
give musicians control of the
presentation of their music to
its audience. The label is
viewed differently by everyone involved, but Moy and
Junco Run guitarist Paxton
Robertson offer "cooperative
management organization"
and "cultural distribution service" as two possible descriptions (the oft-used "artist
collective" apparently elicits a
look of disgust from most of
those involved). What it
amounts to is a group of
between twenty and thirty
people who meet monthly with
the goal of getting their music
out to the listening public in
Vancouver and elsewhere.
One thing that Mo Da Mu is
not is a record company. The
cost of making the record
remains with the band, as
does the control of all creative
decisions. Yet while the label
can offer no cash, it can assist
in getting the record out to its
audience. Through Mo Da Mu
artists arrange distribution,
keep track of their records
impact outside of Vancouver
and tap into the network of
college stations, indie labels
and publications that form the
Nortn American underground
music scene.
CONT'D. ON PAGE 2 DISCORDER August 1983
dFcOrdeR
fmlOS Cable 100
Editor:
Jennifer Fahrni
Features Editor:
Michael Shea
Reviews Editor:
Jeff Kearney
Advertising:
Joe March
Ron Burke
Contributors:
Chris Dafoe
Mark Mushet
Nigel Best
Brian Boulton
Gord Badanic
Mike Dennis
Jason Grant
Michael Shea
Distribution:
Harry Hertscheg
Cover Photo - Kevin Fleming
For copies of any photographs contact CITR at 228-3017.
MO=DA=MU
Cont'd, from page 1
"One of the things we're
trying to get away from with
Mo Da Mu is the tendency of
indie releases towards regionalism," explains Moy,
"there are so many independent releases that never make
it out of the bands home
town." It's the ever familiar
local-hero syndrome that ends
up limiting the impact of many
otherwise worthwhile records.
A band makes a record,
presses 500 copies, does a few
live shows, sends a few promos to college stations and
leaves it at that. The result:
the record sells a few hundred
copies at home, gets a little
out-of-town airplay and, after
the first pressing, the record
is finished.
Mo Da Mu's solution is to
keep in touch with people of
like mind in other parts of the
continent. If through these
lines of communication they
find out that a record is
getting a lot of airplay at
Podunk U. they can get onto
the distributor and tell him to
make sure there are records in
Podunk. Being informed
means Mo Da Mu can react
more quickly, an important
factor in a field as transitory
as pop music.
"Timing is very important," explains Moy, "If
people hear a record on the
radio they want to buy it now.
They're not as likely to buy it
six months later. Timing is
something we're still learning
about. For example I had no
idea that John Peel was going
to play the Moral Lepers and
that I'd be getting orders from
Europe for the record. In
future we know to be better
prepared."
The potential benefits of
breaking out of the regional
rut are numerous. Instead of
selling say, 500 records in one
city, a band might sell several
hundred in four or five cities.
"The outside influences and
perception also help us to
define ourselves," says Moy.
"We can benefit from the
experience of other indies.
One guy, for example, has
written a whole article on flow
to collect money from distributors. Really valuable information when the $200 you were
counting on doesn't come in."
Mo Da Mu's connections
and its successes have attracted other musicians to the
label. Moy says he receives
about five tapes a week from
bands interested in being
'signed' to Mo Da Mu. Some
of these are from "Schlock
rock bands, who are usually
dissuaded once they find out
how we work things, that they
aren't going to get a big cash
advance." Others, however,
seem genuinely interested in
becoming involved in Mo Da
Mu. The problem, of course,
letters
to the
airhead
Dear Atmospheric - Block;
How are you? I am fine! At
least I was until I picked up
the June issue of that cacophonous DISCORDER magazine of yours (or whoever's).
After my usual 30-second (no
more, no less) Hawk-eye inspection of the cover page, I
became very upset, having
noticed that the number following the volume was the
same as in the May issue.
"Could it be," I wondered
that some nobility (like yourself for instance) had taken
the number '5' out of existence and in its place decided
to use the number '4' over in
order to confuse all of us little
people? This, I concluded to
be unruly, which left me with
only one other scary accusation - someone at CITR had
stolen the number '5' and not
given it back in time for that
very important fifth issue? -
Please, Airhead, get Superman on the line and tell him to
catch this dirty gangster, be
fore   it's  too   late,   and   the
number '5' is gone forever!
Digitally Yours, A Jackson 4
Fan	
L. McGavin
P.S. Watch out for Flying Pigs
LETTERS - ????
It's interesting to note that
"Christopher Cosey's" letter,
which appeared in last
month's issue of Discorder,
somehow materialized in the
Airhead mail slot unfolded
and with an unsettling air of
familiarity. A quick check of
our roster of D.J.'s playsheets
to confirm the handwriting,
revealed the true identity of
my detractor; Mike Sukhvin-
der Johal. The letter is not
above the level of personal
attack (a line belittling my
name was deleted for the
purpose of publication) and is
thus not really worthy of a
reply, indeed it should not
have been printed. The fact
remains, however, that it was,
and as it is a slanderous lump
of excrement it is necessary to
set the record straight, so to
speak.
Firstly, I am not making and
flaunting an issue of anything.
You do not "all listen to that
stuff" Mr. Johal, as on the
average of 80% of the material heard on my show is not,
and has never been, heard
elsewhere on this station. In
fact, some of it has never been
heard on the radio elsewhere
on this continent. It is not
obscurity of obscurity's sake.
The whole purpose of my
show is to present, to the best
of my ability, a segment of the
music that has previously
been much maligned and neglected. By no means does the
station's regular programming cover the entire spectrum of new music. It seems,
at the moment, that it is up to
the "specialty" shows to fill
the gaps.
--Mark Mushet
(Ed. note: This is the last time
Discorder will be used as a
playground for CITR egos).
lies in the nature of the
organization. Working on a
volunteer basis the label can't
stretch itself too thin.
Lest it seem that everything
is coming up roses one must
consider other problems involved in running a label like
Mo Da Mu. Music may be
music, but there are business
aspects to it. Without any of
its own money Mo Da Mu
finds it difficult to support a
band that wants to reach an
audience beyond the hardcore underground. This problem has most recently arisen
with 54/40. The band has an
album in the can and is
looking for a way to break it in
a big way. And if live performances  and   reports  on   the
quality of the tapes is any
indication, this may be the
record to bring the band to a
larger audience. The problem
is, of course, money, something Mo Da Mu does not
have. Thus there is a distinct
possibility that the album will
come out on a label other than
Mo Da Mu. This prospect
does not faze Moy: "The
whole point is to get the music
out and if that means getting a
band signed to another label
that can meet their need, then
we'll do it."
If that is the goal Mo Da Mu
has been at least partially
successful, despite criticism
that the people involved often
spend too much time arguing
abstract political principles
and not enough engaging in
the business of releasing records. Moy points out that Mo
Da Mu is different things to
different people. "When
thinking of the differing approaches of people like Brad
Merritt (54/40) and Alvin
Collis (Junco Run) you realize
that you have to expect some
differences in an organization
like this. I can only give you
one point of view. In fact, I'm
probably going to get shit
from about a dozen people for
the things I've said."
"Or more likely," pipes in
Paxton Robertson, "the
things you didn't say."
They are both smiling.
-Chris Dafoe DISCORDER August 1983
27 / 06 / 83 - A Blue Monday?
New Order's Bernard Albrecht Reveals the Gory  Truth About Journalists to Sukhvlnder Johal
this is what New Order is all about!"
Photo: Bill Jans
"Dear Diary, on this day
New Order came to town. Me
and my three buddies, Joe
Hardcore, Joe Trendy, and
Joe Normal had been really
looking forward to this one
...we'd heard so much about
them. Should we worship
them or respect them? Should
we hate them or disapprove of
them?" ...Actually, after I
had spoken with lead singer
Bernard Albrecht I found I
wasn't moved to any of the
above choices. Albrecht's
quite an affable chap with not
the slightest hint of brooding
coldness that people associate
with a Made in a Manchester
Factory product. He is quite
'normal' - and probably as
bemused by the overblown
mystique that surrounds the
band as I am ...which leads
me to my first question ...
Don't you think people are
taking New Order, within the
context of music as a whole, a
little too seriously. Is music
really that important?
"Em ...that's a difficult
question to start on. Music to
me is that important, yeah,
but I think music's very
subjective, and for someone to
say that this is good and this is
bad is wrong. You should
leave it up to the people to
make up their own minds
whether they like it or they
don't like it. Really, all I
believe is lettin' people make
their own minds up."
Which leads me on io the
relationship between New
Order and the press, mainly
the   print   media.   It's   been
often quoted that New Order
have a beef against the press,
something that I've never
really understood because if
you are an artist then you have
got to be prepared to be
analysed, looked into and, if
necessary, criticised.
"Oh yeah, we are, yeah,
people can do that, so long as
they don't want us to take part
in it. Anyone can say whatever
they want about us. Above
everything else, we regard our
personal privacy as very important, because we don't
want to be affected by the
music system, and the press is
part of that system and we
don't want to be changed by
it, we want to be the same
people that we were when we
started out, free of all that. I
think now we can probably
handle it a bit better than we
could earlier on 'cause we
know what we're like; deep
inside we know what we are
and we won't be changed by
things, and we know about the
music press, how it works,
and we won't be changed by
that.
"We've no' go' a beef
against the press," Albrecht
declares, his deep Mancunian
accent coming through, "I'd
say one thing that did put us
off a bit was that after
Unknown Pleasures we did
two or three interviews and we
did one interview with a
British reporter, I won't say
who it was ...
"He had a preconception
that we'd written it to create
an   image   of   darkness   and
blackness which is completely
untrue. We just wrote, not
[thought] about what we
were writing but [felt] about
what we were writing ...we
did it instinctively."
Albrecht goes on to explain
that the reporter thought they
were quite pretentious and
subsequently gave them a
poor review.
"Later on he came back
round to our way of thinking
and believed us; when Ian
(Curtis) died he really believed us then. That was the
ultimate proof, an' that kind o'
put us off a bit.
"An' a lot of things you
would say jokingly and journalists would laugh with us and
say ha ha, and then write it
down as if you meant it. So we
tried doing interviews differently after that; a reporter
would come and spend a day
with us, watch what was going
on and write his impressions
down. An' that didn't work,"
he laughs, '"cause it got
really embarrassing with a
reporter sat in a corner with
his arms folded watchin' yer
all day; that was pretty weird.
So we eventually elbowed that
an' said 'fuck the whole lot of
it!' It's too much trouble for
what it's worth."
Admittedly the aritisn
music press has more than its
fair share of smug self-satisfied whiners (whinos?) but I
feel Albrecht might have
acknowledged the boring
existence of a bevy of childish
morons on the same side of
the music business as himself,
who make a journalist's job as
pleasant as a picnic in El
Salvador, not least those
wrinkled Geriatric Balladeers,
the Stranglers - who are
elderly enough to know better.
Some bands, too, are too
much trouble for what they're
worth.
Putting the press aside, put
yourself in the position of a
critic and what criticism of
New Order would you make?
...pause... "None. Honest, I
wouldn't make any criticism;
because what we've done has
been a completely natural
progression from Joy Division. First of all, when Joy
Division blew up we were in a
state of turmoil. It was like a
whirlpool or a tornado going
'round and you were caught
up in it and you couldn't get
out. The first problem was
that to carry on someone had
to sing, or we had to get a new
singer in. None of us had ever
wanted to sing so it was quite
an alien thing to do, but to get
someone else in was even
more alien an' it would be
more disturbing ...it just
wouldn't have felt right at all.
So we decided that we'd carry
on with just us three; we wrote
some songs which again was
very difficult without Ian
'cause Ian played an important part in writing songs; he
wrote all the lyrics, we wrote
all the music. But we used to
play off each other, and that
was no longer there, so we
had to get over another
hurdle. We decided we'd
share the singing between us
and just see how it went on
from there. So, we did one gig
in Manchester where we all
sang. When Steve was singing
we used taped drums 'cause
we couldn't get drum machines. Then we went to New
York and did a few gigs
around New York and we also
recorded Ceremony and In A
Lonely Place, and we all tried
singing these songs in the
studio and we all tried singin'
'em live; eventually we came
back an' I got the job to sing.
So ever since then I've been
learning to sing ...I hated
doin' it but we all wanted the
group to go on; I perservered
with it and I really do enjoy it
now, and it does feel natural
now whereas it didn't before
...But that's a very painful
progression. There were some
very painful gigs that I didn't
enjoy ..."
You appear pretty content
right now with the state of
affairs of New Order and
yourself as a part of it. Is
music to you an end unto itself
or is it a means to an end?
Excuse the pun ha ha.
"Er ...I don't know, I just
think music is something that
I'm doin'. I don't really know
why I'm doing it, but I know
it's right to do it."
He goes on to describe how
little he achieved in school and
work ..."I got so bored that I
started wondering what else I
could do - so I ended doing
this," he concluded wryly.
That is a pretty matter-of-
fact way of coming into music,
isn't it? I accuse.
"Yeah, it is really, but I'm
very, very lazy an' I kind o'
fall into doing things."
The conversation meanders
on: the democratic nature of
the band, the name New
Order ("funnily enough when
we picked it we thought it was
a completely and utterly neutral name").
When people asked in 1980
'where to the three remaining
members,' your answer was a
new band - New Order. Where
to now New Order?
"Still developin' I think.
We're at the same level of
confidence now as we were
with Joy Division."
When people asked in 1980
'where to the three remaining
members,' your answer was a
new band - New Order. Where
to now New Order?
He goes on to explain the
interaction between competence and confidence until, as
though fate would have it, the
talk sways once again to New
Order and the press. However, by this time both Bernard Albrecht and yours truly
are quite bored with talking
about musicians and journalists. After all, it's really not
all   [that]    important.
A thousand eager eaters
went to the Commodore restaurant that night for a taste of
New Order. There were no
potatoes, the vegetables were
limp and what little meat
there was rancid. The patrons
came away with a bitter taste.
A Blue Monday?
has the West Coasts LOWEST RATES
for full-service professional recording:
$12 to $15 per hour
• Demo tapes, singles, disc or cassette
Eiy LP recording projects
• VSB course in mult it rack recording
1720 WEST 2ND AVE. VANCOUVER 734-0462 DISCORDER August 1983
AAALCOLM McLAREN
Duck Rock (Charisma UK)
A fractured album is a good
description  of  Duck  Rock,
Malcolm McLaren's latest
effort. Fractured, but still in
one piece. This style usually
comes across as weak but this
album has a few things going
for it. This style gives the
impression of tuning into a
New York radio station for the
first time and being subjected
to a sound reminiscent of
graffiti. This combination of
radio and graffiti styles makes
for an exciting album. The
songs are borrowed from African, Latin American and disco
sources. Duck Rock is a collage of proven sounds held
together by professional
D.J.s. The spaces between
songs are filled with fast
announcing and move you on
to the next song quickly.
That's where the consistency
ends. Duck Rock also has its
silly side. Malcolm Mc
Laren knows how to make
the listener uncomfortable
and on this album he does it
with a square dancing tune
called, Duck For the Oyster. It
sounds ridiculous trying to
fuse these styles together, but
it does work. These songs are
directed towards dancing and
Probably the most striking visual aspect of this
album are Keith Harring's
graphics. From subways to
Duck Rock, Harrings work fits
well with the layered and busy
sounds of Malcolm McLaren's     album.
Soon owning a portable tape
deck with horns, charge cards
and everything else stuck to it
will probably be the next trend
as visualized in Duck Rock. As
always, varied musical tastes
make for a better record
collection and Duck Rock will
fit in well. It will entertain and
bring out the D.J. in all of us.
Now if we could only breaker dance,  double dutch and
live in new York!!!
Duck Rock can be danced to in
more than one way.
Most of us are familiar with
Malcolm McLaren and his
marketing ideas; Sex Pistols,
Adam Ant and Bow Wow
Wow have all been bands with
a well defined image and
sound. On Duck Rock, McLaren reflects on his past
dealings with the Sex Pistols
on the track Punk It Up.
But the visual content of
Duck Rock is not helped along
with a certain style of clothing
as in McLaren's past projects. It is all contained on and
in the album packaging.
-Nigel Best
-Brian Boulton
PETE SHELLEY
XL1 (Polygram)
The new [Pete Shelley]
album XL1 has a few brilliant
pop songs, some not-pop
songs, and a couple of tunes
that can only be described as
filler. Joined by ex-Magazine
bassist (and ex-Buzzcock) Barry Adamson, the sounds on
this LP range from that of the
Human League, (one of Pete's
fave raves) to the Funorama
theme song, to fairly standard
euro-disco. The high points of
XL1 are the title track and No
One Like You a song already
released as a single in the
U.K.
As a whole, this record
shows [Mr. Shelley] growing adept with his new style,
displaying rich arrangements
and textures that were nearly
absent on the Homosapien LP
from last year. The opening
cut Telephone Operator was a
single from about six months
ago which, appropriately,
bombed both in clubs and on
the charts. The next three
tracks are mid tempo tunes
that sound alright, but I
wouldn't tape them for listening to in my car or at a party.
Side one closes with the title
cut, sounding half way between the song Homosapien,
and  anything  off the  Buzz-
PAGE4
cocks A Different Kind Of
Tension album. Starting off
side two is the song that is on
its own worth the price of the
album. No One Like You is a
classic pop song which was
recently #1 on the CITR
singles chart. The next song
on the LP is the flipside of the
single, a euro-rhythm-synth-
thing called // You Ask Me (I
Won't Say No). Side two
concludes with three slower
pieces that show [Pete Shelley's] ability now to integrate synthesizer into songs
without making it sound like a
cheaply tacked on novelty
overall guitars are used
more than on his last album.
Synths still predominate on
most songs and exist on all of
them, but are used fairly
tastefully except for one or
two annoying spots. This album could be considered a
12" single of No One Like You
with nine songs on the flip-
side, but there is some other
good material here. XL1 is
more varied than Homosapien, but because of the number
of so-so tunes, XL1 is only as
good as the Homosapien album, definitely not better.
-Gordon Badanic
CH 3
After the Lights Go Out
(Posh Boy US)
First of all, you're probably
asking "Who in the hell is
CH3 "? No they are not
another British electro-pop
synth. band. They're American, from Wall of Voodoo
country - California. Cerrito to
be exact. CH3 consists of
four young guys, and is a
perfect example of the hundreds of new bands coming
out of the Southern California
underground scene (which
spawned such notables such
as X, The Gun Club, Black
Flag, the Go-Gos, and many
more). The band has even had
a few of their songs ride high
on the British charts, an honor
which not too many new
American bands have had.
Enough of an intro to these
lads. After the lights go out is
their 2nd LP, and a fine one it
is.
For a band which is called
"hardcore" (the80's term for
punk), their tunes are amazingly melodic and catchy. No
drum machines or synthesizers here, just a tight,
energetic blend of hardcore
and pop. The vocals are
superbly clear, and sound
mixing is good quality - a tip
of the hat to Jay Lansford,
who produced the record and
does a lot of work for the
Poshboy label.
Side one opens up with
What About Me, a high
energy wall of sound, which
leads you to Stupid Girl,
sounding suspiciously like a
Mick Jagger impersonation.
Next up is Separate Peace,
probably the best cut on the
LP. It is all about how some
people escape or run away
from the troubles of life, and
follow their hearts at the
expense of others. At this
point I should mention that
the lyrics are intelligent and
well-written
The last two songs on this side
exemplify the band's fast,
tight sound. Truth and Trust
sounds like a cross between
the Ramones and the Bad
Brains attack of bottled fury:
great stuff for ruining your
mom's next tea-party with.
Take my Chances opens up
Side 2, and is a song which
deals with life on a personal
basis, the theme for most of
their songs. All My Dreams is
an exceptionally strong cut,
featuring
that vigorous drumming
which seems to be a trait of
the California hardcore bands.
Can't Afford It follows: a
solid, fast tune which points
out that it's a waste of time for
people to dwell on past mistakes. The last song, / Didn't
Know hears CH3 slow
down its pace a bit, and if
there was to be any tune off
this disc suitable for commercial airplay, this would be it:
full of melodic and catchy
rhythmns.
VERDICT: Recommended,
but plan on going to one of the
specialty record shops (such
as the ones advertised in this
paper) in order to purchase
this fine piece of vinyl.
—Mike Dennis
ARTIST
1 YELLO
2 TALKING HEADS
3 VIOLENT FEMMES
4 KING SUNNY ADE
5 NEW ORDER
6 MALCOLM McLAREN
7 THE CREATURES
8 AZTEC CAMERA
9 SOUTHERN DEATH CULT
10 DANIELLE DAX
11 THE GO-BETWEENS
12 CLINT   EASTWOOD   &
& GENERAL SAINT
13 R.E.M.
14 HUNTERS & COLLECTOR
15 CLOCK DVA
16 TONES ON TAIL
17 TRUE WEST
18 BOB   MARLEY   &   THE
WAILERS
19 PETE SHELLEY
20 HERALD NIX
21 PALAIS SCHAUMBURG
22 PETER GABRIEL
23 EEK-A-MOUSE
24 SZAJNER
25 SURPLUS STOCK
^ GUN CLUB
f° PYLON
THE CURE
CH3
29 EYELESS IN GAZA
31 BILL NELSON
32 THE COCONUTS
33 X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND
34 JULUKA
35 SHRIEKBACK
36 MOFUNGO
37 MAL
38 DEATH CULT
39 YELLOWMAN
40 BAUHAUS
ALBUM
You Gotta Say Yes
Speaking in Tongues
Violent Femmes
Synchro-System
Power Corruption & Lies
Ruck Rock
Feat
High Land, Hard Rain
Southern Death Cult
Pop-Eyes
Before Hollywood
Stop That Train
Murmur
Hunters & Collectors
Advantage
Burning Skies EP
True West
Confrontation
XL1
One Night Only
Hockey EP
Plays Live
The Mouse & The Man
Brute Reason
Dance Ersatz
Death Party EP
Chomp
The Walk EP
After the Lights Go Out
Rust Red September
Chimera
Don't Take My Coconuts
Fetisch
Scatterlings
Care
Out of Line
The Preacher from...
Death Cult EP
Zungguzeng!
Burning from the Inside
LABEL
WEA
WEA
WEA
ISLAND (UK)
POLYGRAM
CHARISMA (UK)
WONDERLAND (UK)
WEA
BEGGARS BANQUET (UK)
INITIAL (UK)
ROUGH TRADE (UK)
GREENSLEEVES (UK)
A&M
VIRGIN (UK)
POLYDOR (UK)
SITUATION (UK)
B.O.Y.D. (US)
WEA
POLYGRAM
RECORD
PHONOGRAM (BRD)
WEA
GREENSLEEVES (UK)
ISLAND (UK)
ROUGH TRADE (BRD)
ANIMAL (UK)
DB (US)
FICTION (UK)
POSH BOYS (US)
CHERRY RED (UK)
PHONOGRAM (UK)
CAPITOL
4AD (UK)
WEA
WEA
ZOAR 13 (US)
PHYSIOCRAT (US)
SITUATION 2 (UK)
GREENSLEEVES (UK)
BEGGARS BANQUET (UK) DISCORDER August 1983
W 9r  *^l^w^
AZTEC CAMERA
High Land, Hard Rain (WEA)
High Land, Hard Ram is the
first album from Aztec
Camera, a group from Scotland originally formed in 1980
by the then sixteen year old
Roddy Frame. Aztec Camera
released two singles on the
now defunct Postcard label,
and has since joined the ranks
of Rough Trade, perhaps England's most successful independent record company.
Upon first hearing High
Land, Hard Rain I must admit
I was utterly dismayed and
slightly perturbed. Was this
recording representative of
yet another turn English
music was taking since its
'underground explosion' six
years past? The music is
immediately accessible in its
simple and melodic arrangement, adorned by what
sounds like a 1001 string
guitars, a folky harmonica,
and the shopping mall strains
of a Hammond organ. Drop
several seemingly innocuous
pop hooks into the lush malaise, and High Land, Hard
Rain might sound instantly
forgettable much like most of
the banal ooze emanating
from the pop airwaves these
days. But wait! ...unlike most
of that banal ooze, Aztec
Camera combines a healthy
measure of sincerity and
directness in their approach to
the pop music medium. What
they have come up with is a
modest masterpiece that requires repeated listenings to
fully appreciate the subtle
finesse displayed by Frame
and his cohorts.
Drop a copy of High Land,
Hard Rain onto your turntable
and listen to it spin a fragile
mesh of evocative images
induced by Roddy Frame's
intensely personal lyrics back
ed by the expert playing of the
other band members, which
includes drummer Dave Ruffy
formerly of the Ruts. Th si
album of finely-crafted songs]
soars and soothes in
straightforwardness, never
slipping to sound precocious
or to display a state-of-the-a t
cyncicism.
From the instantly upliftin
opening chords of Obliviou
(chosen for their North Amer
can   single   release)   to   the
appropriate   closing   trac
Down the Dip, not one dou
moment   is  to  be  found  o
High  Land,  Hard Rain.  The
crystalline production by Be
nie Clarke  and  John   Bran
(who worked with Magazine
accentuates   the   cascade   of
acoustic    strumming    and
Frame's exuberant vocals
This first album has a timeless
quality  about  it,  and  Aztec
Camera  should   be duly   recognized  for  conjuring   sucn
alluring    and    stimulating
sounds while still working
within  a  basic  pop   mus c
framework. A must for those
mourning the demise of the
acoustic guitar in  modern
music and who appreciate a
melodic tune.
-Michael Shea
CIlTOeport Singles
ARTIST
1 THE MONOCHROME SET
2 BIG COUNTRY
3 THE IMPOSTER
4 SHRIEKBACK
5 A CAST OF THOUSANDS
6 ROBYN HITCHCOCK
7 COOK DA BOOKS
8 BEVERLY SISTERS
9 HOWARD DEVOTO
10 CHRIS & COSEY
11 FELT
12 CULTURE SHOCK
13 THE MILKSHAKES
14 ORANGE JUICE
15 MELODY PIMPS
16 YAZOO
17 COCTEAU TWINS
18 PETE SHELLEY
19 MONSOON
20 THE WILL
21 J.   WALTER   NEGRO   &
NICKY TESCO
22 ANIMAL SLAVES
23 BEAST
24 KILLING JOKE
25 BAUHAUS
26 THE FALL
27 BOB   MARLEY   &   THE
WAILERS
28 TUXEDOMOON
29 CAPTAIN SENSIBLE
30 KEVIN ZED
31 CABARET VOLTAIRE
32 ECHO   &   THE   BUNNYMEN
33 XTC
34 EYELESS IN GAZA
35 EEK-A-MOUSE
36 THE CREATURES
37 ACTIONAUTS
38 ELVIS COSTELLO & THE
ATTRACTIONS
39 GRANDMASTER FLASH
40 STYLE COUNCIL
TITLE
The Jet Set Junta
In A Big Country
Pills & Soap
Working on the Ground
On the Q.T./ln For the Kill
Kingdom of Love
Low Profile
Talk Talk Talk/Downtown
Fools
Rainy Season
October (A Love Song)
Penelope Tree
Forever & Ever
Red Monkey
Flesh Of My Flesh
(You) Freak Me Out
State Farm
Peppermint Pig
No One Like You
Wings of the Dawn
Funky  Babylon/Live in Animation
Cost of Living
Eye Of The Hurricane
Love In A Dying World
Fire Dances/Dominator
She's In Parties
The  Man  Whose  Head   Expanded
Buffalo Soldier
The Cage
Stop the World
Roulette/U.R.
Crackdown
Never Stop (Discotheque)
Wonderland
New Risen
Terrorists In The City
Right Now
Hash Assassin
Everyday I Write The Book
New York New York
Money Go Round
LABEL
CHERRY RED (UK)
PHONOGRAM (UK)
IMP (UK)
Y(UK)
**DEMOTAPE**
ALBION ( UK)
KITESTREET (UK)
"DEMO TAPE**
VIRGIN (UK)
ROUGH TRADE (UK)
CHERRY RED (UK)
BIG DUMMY
WALL CITY (BRD)
POLYDOR (UK)
**DEMOTAPE**
SIRE
4AD (UK)
GENETIC (UK)
PHONOGRAM (UK)
**DEMOTAPE**
ALBION (UK)
**DEMO TAPE**
AMDUSIAS (US)
EG (UK)
B.B. (UK)
ROUGH TRADE (UK)
ISLAND
CREPUSCULES (US)
A&M (UK)
**DEMOTAPE**
SOME BIZZARE (UK)
KOROVA (UK)
VIRGIN (UK)
CHERRY RED (UK)
GREENSLEEVES (UK)
WONDERLAND (UK)
**DEMO TAPE**
F-BEAT (UK)
QUALITY
RESPOND (UK)
SOUTHERN DEATH CULT
(Situation 2 UK)
About two months ago, this
CITR DJ, still a little wet
behind the ears, heard a
sound so wonderfully jarring
and discordant that it fixed
itself in his mind, to be called
upon at any time. The sound
was the music of Southern
Death Cult or, more specifically, the voice of Ian Lindsay. His vocal cords will,
almost certainly be pickled,
brinzed, and put on a pedestal
by the British music press,
right next to Ian McCul-
louch's, Peter Murphy's, and
Ian Curtis'. Lindsay (I'll call
him Ian) has a vocal style
similar in tone to Murphy
gone wild, in range to McCul-
louch, and in intensity to
much of Curtis' work.
They were formed in early
1982; guitarist Buzz, vocalist
Ian, bassist Barry, and drummer Aky ail coming out of the
North of England. After a
heavy touring schedule, the
group released a 2-sided
single; Moya/Fatman, both of
which are included on the LP
(diff. versions - ed.). The
former is a tale of genocide
with lan's voice at its most
controlled; 'Nagasaki's crying
out ...you know you've got to
realize, it's time, it's time...'
Their concerts went
from a very powerful and
moving experience, to a farce
of misunderstanding. To fill
space on their LP, and to show
their live style, 3 cuts were
taken from a concert in Man
chester in December, 1982.
Side
1 begins with All Glory a song
about the colonialism of the
British Empire, where Buzz's
guitar cuts, constant, yet
never tearing, like a dull
razor, into Aky's kidney-
pummelling toms. Fatman
and Today contain a sense of
primitivism via lan's occasionally incoherent shouts,
while maintaining 'harmonious' discord, with careful,
Felt-like guitar. False Faces
and The Crypt close off the
side with shattering lyrical
imagery of malice, evil, and
death, and musically corresponding sounds provided by a
chilling guitar-piano mix on
The Crypt.
Side 2 opens with the three
live songs, all of which sound
like a kind of controlled chaos,
lan's half-screamed vocals
cutting into Aky's frantic torn
pounding, while Buzz's repetitive riffs give the songs a
distinctly Arabic flavor. Following the live material,
Apache begins with Buzz's
light guitar, easing into lan's
calm, mournful voice, as he
sings about the plight of
today's Amerindians. Moya
sums up the LP, showing the
group's unwillingness to wallow in their own gloomy
messages. Instead, they keep
a mellowness about them that
maintains sanity in the music,
refusing to let wanton thrashing tear the music apart.
-Jason Grant
EYELESS IN GAZA
Rust Red September (Cherry Red UK)
Six albums, five singles,
two EPs, four cassettes, one
flexidisc, and numerous compilation cuts later, Eyeless in
Gaza are finally going to get
the attention and critical acclaim they so deserve, that is
if this release is any indication
of things to come. With the
inclusion of New Risen and a
re-recorded Taking Steps, two
of their catchiest tunes ever,
one could conceive of hearing
this brilliant duo's music on
AM radio.
Certainly the album is accessible, by Eyeless standards, though not in a contrived way. [Changing Stations]
the LPs opening cut, could
well be their contribution to
the new positivism that is
lightening up post Joy Division British music. While a far
cry from their first LP, [Photographs as Memories] Rust
Red September never loses
touch with the emotional
honesty inherent in their early
work. Gone, however, is the
abrasive intensity of Photographs and the desperation in
Martyn Bates' extremely distinctive and refreshing voice.
John Rivers, their producer
since day one, has Martyn's
voice multitracked with Peter
Becker's synth washes framing it beautifully. Production values have been carefully considered with this outing
and can only serve to broaden
their musical horizons.
The lyrics, as usual, are
pure poetry. The duo took
their name from an Aldous
Huxley novel (written in 1936)
who in turn took the name
from a poem by Milton,
"Eyeless in Gaza at the mill
with slaves..." Either of those
two literary luminaries would
have been quite proud, as
Martyn's lyrics conjure up the
intended images with equal
brilliance and clarity. (Milton!
Huxley! Proud! ...Come on!-
ed.) Peter Becker's offbeat
and minimal percussion could
not be more appropriate for
the punctuation of this music.
The whole sound is so ethereal
and uplifting that I can't see
anyone not liking this record.
My only reservation is that
on Pale Hands and, to a
certain extent, Drumming the
Beating Heart (third and
fourth LPs, respectively) they
managed to combine their
strikingly beautiful tunes with
a handful of more experimental tracks whereas here they
come close to sounding too
pretty. I
only hope they continue to
move in other directions as
well, though they may only
choose to do so via independent cassette releases. Overall
]Rust Red September] is
one of those few albums that
should appeal to absolutely
everybody, regardless of
musical bias.
-Mark Mushet
PAGE 5 DISCORDER August T983
Lights! Camera! Action!
It was another dreary Sunday evening in what was
becoming a seemingly never-
ending deluge of the forty
days and forty nights sort
...the only exercise Vancou-
verites has received that day
was flexing the webs between
their toes. Noah never had it
so bad ...
...yet Thank God (or should
I say Bennett?) that the Mush-
room-in-Bondage had been
completed in time to protect
us during this wet and miserable July. The 50,000-odd
individuals huddled beneath
the Benevolent Dome that
same night were dry and high
over the success of this city's
only consistent winners, the
beloved Whitecaps. The team
had just decisively defeated
their arch rivals from the
village of New York. Yes
indeed, Vancouver had truly
entered the Big Time ...
...the night before 45,000
even odder types were attracted to the Shining Beacom to
witness a truck and tractor
extravaganza of monumental
proportions. The show filled
the dome with a thousand
deafening decibels and
enough carbon monoxide to
exterminate a flock of seagulls. It was quantity, not
quality, that was going to
make this city great.
ery  same  Sunday
1 a warehouse across
urky   bowels  of   False
Creek  but  still   beneath  the
That
evening
shadow of the BC Diaphragm,
something of a very different
nature was taking place. It
was an event not motivated by
the excess of profit, nor was it
intended for mass consumption. It called upon the talents
of many hard-working individuals involved in the often
misinterpreted and maligned
art of self-expression. An art
that demands an immediate
response, whether good or
bad, from those who have
chosen to spectate, and in turn
forcing those spectators to
participate actively in the
event. It was Lights, Camera,
Action!
Lights, Camera, Action!
was an 'underground' event of
sorts; inasmuch that it was not
generally publicised in the
hope of attracting only those
who knew somebody who
knew somebody who knew
somebody ...sounds like a
social elitist's preoccupation
with 'it-is-not-what-you-know-
but-who-you-know' syndrome
right? Wrong ...fortunately,
this closed show had none of
that horribly pretentious self-
congratulatory air of the sort
Tom Wolfe might enjoy satirizing. The two hundred or so
people in attendance seemed
intent on paying attention to
what was happening on the
stage, rather than in the
audience around them.
The event got under way at
the rather reasonable hour of
nine o'clock with a fashion
show featuring the designing
talents of Gigi Duval, who
works under the unfortunate
tag of New World Alternative
Clothing. The show was most
unlike the shopping mall variety of generic styles aimed at
Mr. and Mrs. Consumer-on-
the-Street, or the haute couture available only to those
who own a burgundy Rolls-
Royce to match. The models
paraded on stage in a stimulating array of unusual outfits,
moving in stilted unison to a
plodding synthesized soundtrack provided by Negavision.
Duval's infatuation with the
ankh was evident, as this
Egyptian life symbol was embedded in the fabric of many
of her creations - which
ranged from the street-wise to
those which one might only
dare to wear behind closed
doors. But, if some of these
costumes seemed too outlandish (in the eyes of this one, at
least), then this attitude clearly reflects the conservative
nature of our so-called modern
society. Our preoccupation
with functional dress (perhaps
influenced by the importance
of the workplace), and styles
that exaggerate the desirability of physical fitness have
made the art of adorning
ourselves in exotic plummage
and extravagant, if slightly
cumbersome, outfits seem intimidating to most people.
Gigi Duval's designs, many of
which harkened back to the
Old World rather than looked
ahead to the New, accentuated this fact. It also drove
home the point of how much
I    «■«   uvwiyiiniy    MUM IB   MIC   UUIMl   Ul    MUW    IIIUUII     y™'v.     i
time and money is needed to
help one look truly different.
Too much, on both counts, for
this one.
The second event was incongruously mainstream in
comparison. It consisted of ten
scenes borrowed from several
well-known films and stage
plays (Bent, Sexual Perversity
in Chicago, Network, Frances,
Montenegro, Cannery Row,
Slag) enacted by the members
of Actors: Unit 5, in co-operation with the Jim Scotland
Film Artists group.
The promo sheet states:
"The acting approach is designed to explore the individuality of the participants,
and to develop that individuality to its maximum fulfillment. The group has four
basic mottos: No Acting
Please, Kiss (Keep it simple
Stupid), Keep it Real and
Human, and above all Be
Honest."
Honourable intentions, indeed ...but it seemed the
group was more intent on
exploring the possibilities of
getting work in B.C.'s budding film industry rather than
each other's individuality.
Their choice of scenes to
display their respective abilities was questionable - something more exploratory and
spontaneous might have prevented the spectators from
adopting a ho-hum attitude
and letting their concentration
wane from what could  have
been a very exciting presentation. But then who is to say
these scenes were staged
primarily to entertain the
audience?
It was three o 'clock Monday
morning ...the beer had been
voraciously consumed and the
last of the revellers were
reluctantly sipping what was
left of the cheap wine stock.
The music had stopped but
the rain still fell ...the party
that followed the 'event' was
coming to a close. Almost
everyone was in agreement, it
had been a successful evening. But, exactly what was
'it'? A mere fashion show and
a tedious display of technical
acting competence? No, much
more than that 'it' represented the co-operation between
many individuals who, having
faith in their respective areas
of particular interest, also had
a strong desire to see this
project work as a whole.
Lights, Camera, Action!
was the first event of its kind
at this particular location, and
understandably it only touched upon the surface of what
could be achieved with the
synthesis of music, art, fashion or any of the many
facets of human expression. It
is up to the 'underground' (for
lack of a better term) in this
city to work together as such
to provide a stimulating exchange of ideas and approaches to the different
methods of communication,
something which seems to be
sadly lacking in the mainstream which affects the
majority of the populace. All
you need is a warehouse.
-Michael Shea
U.B.C. WAR MEMORIAL GYM
Co-Produced by AMS & Perry scope
A Classical Event
Tickets: VTC, CBO, Eaton's & Woodwards AMS Box Office
Info: 687-1818 Charge By Phone 687-4444
Toll Free 112-663-9311 (B.C. Only) DISCORDER    August 1983
^mf%$m^g^km$
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
 *********** SPECIAL PRESENTATION ***************
Every weekday morning at 8:30 until Friday, August 12 ...CITR
Public Affairs preempts its regular programs with the following
special presentation:
COUNTER FORCE
A community access program providing coverage of the Sixth
General Assembly of the World Council of Churches and the
Ploughshares Coffeehouse for Peace and Justice being held at
UBC from July 24 to August 10.
MONDAYS ... AMNESTY ACTION
A community access program providing a forum for human
rights issues of concern to Amnesty International.
Aug. 15: Prisoners of Conscience
22: The Death Penalty
29: Human Rights Violations Against Children
Tuesdays ... UBC ON TAP
Aug. 16: Canada/USA: Speakout on Life with Uncle - highlights
of a forum held at UBC.
23:  Refugee Resettlement:  Indochinese in Transition -
with professors Phyllis Johnson and Richard Nann of
UBC's Refugee Resettlement Project.
30: Peace and Justice in Perspective - highlights of the
recent World Council of Churches General Assembly
held at UBC.
Wednesdays ... SPEAKER'S CHOICE
Aug. 17: Poland 1983: The Aftermath of Pope John Paul's Visit
- with Jerzy Wiatr, the controversial Polish professor
of political science.
24: Indochinese Views op Cultural Change - with Dr. Tran
Minh Tung, the former Vietnamese health minister
who spoke at the Refugee Resettlement symposium
held recently at UBC.
31:   The   Psychology  of  Visual   Illusions  -  with   UBC
psychology professor Stanley Coren.
Thursdays ... CROSS CURRENTS
Aug. 18: The Vancouver Five: Terrorists or Martyrs?
25: Stop the Trident: Success or Failure?
Sept. 1: Budget '83: A Threat to Democracy in B.C.?
Fridays ... DATELINE INTERNATIONAL
Aug. 19: Poland According to Wiatr - in conversation with Jerzy
Wiatr, the controversial Polish professor who taught
political science at UBC this summer.
26: Refugee Resettlement and the United Nations - with
Klaus  Feldman,   Chief,   Resettlement   Section,   UN
High Commission for Refugees.
Sept. 2: Nicaragua: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - with
Catherine   Legrande,   a   UBC   professor   of   Latin
American history.
Public Affairs programs are now at at new time ... 9:00 a.m.
FINAL VINYL
11:00 p.m.
CLASSIC ALBUMS
(Every Friday night)
August   5»Gang of Four»ENTERTAINMENT
August 12«The JanrrALL MOD CONS
August 19«Buzzcocks«SINGLES GOING STEADY
August 26-Public Image Limited»FIRST ISSUE
NEGLECTED ALBUMS
(Every Sunday night)
August 7»Pyrolator«AUSLAND
August 14«Jean Piche»HELIOGRAMS
August 21«Tuxedomoon«DIVINE
August 28»Asmus Tiechens»BIOTOP
PROGRAM CHANGES
-CITR Breakfast Report - Moved to 10 a.m. (for all you late
risers).
- CITR's menu of fine Public Affairs Shows - Moved to 9 a.m.
-- Generic Review - Moved to 8:35 a.m. and 5:35 p.m.
In addition we've added two new features *
- Cityscape Tonight - a focus on the evening's entertainment
possibilities. Heard at 5:50 each evening.
- Cityscape Tomorrow - the entertainment lineup for the next
day. Heard at 11:55 each evening.
.»»"";__
MONDAY              TUESDAY          WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY             FR.DAY
SATURDAY
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8 am
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2pm
3pm
PLAYLIST
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4 pm
5 pm
6Pm
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7pm
8pm
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1                  Listener Request Line 228-2487        I ,
MUSIC PROGRAMMING
HIGH PROFILE soopm
•    •••••••••••••
*     /^lnnR\    •
Mon    August 1
- Dexys Midnight Runners
: CMIR :
Tues          2
- Young Canadians
•        NS=II   II   ll^     •
Wed           3
- Ventures
Thurs         4
Fri              5
Sat             6
- X-Ray Spex
- Vancouver Sampling
- Neglected P.I.L.
: MOBILE:
Mon           8
Tues          9
- Suburbs
- Modernettes
:SOUND:
Wed         10
- Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Thurs       11
-  2  Bands:   Big   Country   & Dolly Mixture
Fri            12
- (Southern) Death Cult
Sat            13
- (Shambeko) Say Wah! (Heat)
• PARTIES
Mon         15
- Sweet
• GRADS               .£
:           ^.
^   j
Tues         16
• The Cure
Wed         17
- Theme:   Girls  with   high voices
Thurs       18
- Pete Shelley
Fri            19
- King Crimson
Sat            20
- Jimmy Cliff
Mon          22
- Elvis Costello
Tues          23
- Bauhaus
*        .WEDDINGS           *
Wed          24
Thurs        25
- Memphis Slim
- Girls At Our Best
• BARMITZVAHS   .
Fri             26
- Circle Jerks
Sat             27
- Raincoats
Mon          29
- Graham Parker
•    Call and ask about   I
Tues          30
Wed          31
- Specials
- Gun Club
Thurs September
Fri              2
1     - Killing Joke
- New Age Steppers
I     228-3017     :
Sat              3
- James Brown
• ••••••••••••• STONES • BEATLES • THE WHO • CREAM • JIMI HENDRIX
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STUDENT UNION BUILDING
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
6138 S.U.B. BOULEVARD
LOWER CONCOURSE
888881