MUSIC LIST
society could be flaunted as a positive strength. was an important message not lost on the legions ofthe disaffected he picked up in the Seventies. and like other symbols of rebellion. what endeared David Bowie to social and sexual outsiders has resurfaced now as an agreeable marketing strategy.
Compared with similar retrospectives of the Stones. The Who or Dylan. where consistency and reliability are emphasised like a
British Standards kitemark. ChangesBowie is remarkable in that it employs its creator‘s instability as a prominent selling point. The original ('hrmgesune movie star portrait is obliterated by an ugly collage of fractured images picked up and discarded by him through his career. It’s going to be mighty strange to see Bowie. who did his level best in the Eighties to conform. and found his greatest success that way. make a trip through his back pages anything
other than a paean to glorious nonconformism. Even. whisper it. decadence.
Pink Floyd have a gnome song too. way back in their Barrett-driven past. Perhaps enough pressure could be put to bear on them to disinter it in all its glory for their next tour. accompanied by million-dollar laser shows and shuttle flypasts. . . Wouldn‘t that be something?
David Bowie plays the Exhibition Centre, In gl istmi on Fri 23 .
mom:
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V SINGLES
I‘m still finding it thin to the point oftransparent. and asking whether songs like this aren‘t supposed to have a tune you can remember. (AM)
I Hugh Masekela: It You Don't Know Me By Now (Novus) Old carrot-top's rendition of this old classic is still so firmly etched in our memory cells that one might think this would be a bad time for another version. No worries: from the word go. it‘s abundantly clear that there’s more than enough room for both ofthem. especially since Masekela‘s arrangement just searches. not least because of the excellent lead vocal. (AM)
I lnspiral Carpets: This is How it Feels (Mute/Cow) The Carpets‘ first release via Mute gets them tothe chart at long last. This isa brilliant. slow. poignant number. perfectly following the mood set by ‘Movc‘. It doesn‘tstrike you immediately as being a classic. but after a few listens try and sec ifyou can stop yourseifsinging alongto it. (CS)
I Neutron 9000: Cybersculpture (Profile) Described as being ‘ambicnt house'. With a mid-tempo funky drumbeat you'll definitely be hearing in clubs. the same spacey. clectro keyboards that are on all the best acid records are here mixed with heavy bass. Some ofthe background noises sound mysteriously like dolphins. (CS)
I Rob Base: Get Up And Have A Good Time (Profile) Wicked Seventies groove meets Nineties-style rapping for a funky fusion. Another song using the classic ‘funky drummer‘ pattern. which keeps the beat ticking over. There‘s a great soul chorus and Starsky and H ulch Hammond organ as well. Another song that I'd like to hear in the clubs. (CS)
I The Chills: Heavenly Pop Hit(S|ash)Top man guru Simon Mayo does it again. plucking obscurity-bound ‘Heavenly Pop Hit‘ from the abyss and elevating it. via his ‘single ofthe week'. to the celestial plateau it so richly deserves. Organs wheeze. guitars chime the hourof glory. harmonicas unite in sweetness. A single that is hot and sweaty and not of this world. ((‘MCU
The List 23 March — 5 April 199027