MEDIA COOL
The title makes it sound like some cheesy science-fiction parody, but this is actually a fictionalized (though supposedly based on fact) account of the 1978 post“punk” scene that went down in Melbourne, Australia. The “plot” (and that’s used in the loosest sense of the term) revolves around a band called—you guessed it—Dogs In Space, fronted by real life INXS singer Michael Hutchence.
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MEDIA COOL
This month’s Media Cools were written by Bill Holdship, J. Kordosh and Steve Peters.
DOGS IN SPACE
(Skouras Pictures)
The title makes it sound like some cheesy science-fiction parody, but this is actually a fictionalized (though supposedly based on fact) account of the 1978 post“punk” scene that went down in Melbourne, Australia. The “plot” (and that’s used in the loosest sense of the term) revolves around a band called—you guessed it—Dogs In Space, fronted by real life INXS singer Michael Hutchence. The band members all live in a house together (the press material attempts to draw a correlation to Haight-Ashbury) with assorted friends, where they party, have sex, watch Bowie videos, “philosophize” and shoot up drugs. Writer-director Richard Lowenstein goes for a Robert Altmanesque approach here, with characters talking and events occurring all at the same time—but it generally ends up a mess. Several moments are revealing and even inspired (i.e., Dogs In Space becoming a slick, MTV-tailored band at the end), but most of this is pretty lame. It reminded me of all the things I detested about bad "punk” (ugly talentless people producing ugly talentless music in the name of “art”)—and portraying intravenous drug use in any pseudo-“cool” context is pretty reprehensible in this day and age. Plus, the drug death scene is a direct rip-off of Sid & Nancy. “I’ve been contemplating suicide,” sings one of the characters, “but it’s not my style, so I’ll just act bored instead.” See this movie, and you won’t have to act. B.H.
THE STORY OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL by Pete Fornatale (Morrow Junior Books)
PERFECT HARMONY/ FRAGGLE ROCK (Columbia Records)
This stuff, is—as Mr. T might say—“fo’ the kihz.” Which is cool, since the kihz need to learn all about rock ’n’ roll in order to grow up right and have good attitudes. The Story Of Rock ’N’ Roll appears to be written on the level of a 12-year-old, or maybe the November issue of CREEM; it’s a quasi-history text of no real interest to grown-ups, but not bad for an eighth grad-
er. (Sample insight, regarding 1959-63: “All things considered, it definitely was a dark time for rock ’n’ roll.” Oooh, somebody save it, quick!) OK but overpriced. Meanwhile, for slightly younger kihz, the Fraggles are straight-out ass-kickin’ rock dudes, complete with enclosed books. “Theme From Fraggle Rock,” is, of course, a modern classic you’ll dig well into next week, but “Working” (from the Fraggle Rock disc) is pure, rollicking poetry: “Get up in the morning/Get yourself to work/Fraggles never fool around/Fraggles never shirk.” Fraggles are go! Buy their records. Do it fo’ the kihz. J.K.
WHO’S THAT GIRL
(Warner Bros.)
It seems like an obvious thing to say, but whether or not you like Who’s That Girl depends on whether or not you like Madonna. If the thought of seeing her play a street-smart jail parolee with a whining Jersey accent excites you, by all means run to your nearest movie theater and plunk down your fiver right away. I enjoy watching Madonna act a lot more than I enjoy listening to her sing, and, as Nikki Finn in Who’s That Girl, she gives her best performance to date. Of course, the Madonna/Marilyn Monroe comparisons are getting annoying; Madonna the actress will probably never touch anything Monroe did, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide does not a classic film star make. But Madonna does have acting talent, as first evidenced in Desperately Seeking Susan, and at times she even manages to charm
us into enjoying this spotty, often stupid script. Griffin Dunne plays a suit-and-tie nerd presented with the task of picking Nikki up from jail and getting her on a bus leaving town. Typical madcap adventures ensue, and if you guessed that Dunne and Ms. Ciccone fall in love, you win the kewpie. The point here isn’t to bowl us over with an amazingly original storyline or witty dialogue, although the movie does have its share of yuks. Who’s That Girl is a vehicle for Madonna, and it’s basically just silly, harmless fun. And as long as no one tries to cast her in a remake of The Seven Year Itch, that’s alright with me. S.P.
TARNISHED GOLD; THE RECORD INDUSTRY REVISITED by R. Serge Denisoff (Transaction Books)
Pg. 210: “Hit Parader is almost strictly heavy metal, as is Creem.n Granted, it’s awfully hard to change an image, but perhaps not as hard as it is for some writers to get their facts straight. B.H.
THE TOP 100 ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME by Paul Gambaccini (Harmony Books)
Gambaccini did this 10 years ago, when there was less of all time in the bag, as it were, so this edition has the added ap-1 peal of comparing the respective reckonings of 1977 and ’87. Unfortunately, the top 100 rock albums of all time in ’77 weren’t all that different from the top 100 rock albums of all time in this more enlightened age. Some high-placed newcomers: Born In The U.S.A., Bullocks, Thriller, Rumours, Avalon and My Aim Is True (all are in the top 30). Forever changeless are LPs like Sgt. Pepper (II'I both times), Blonde On Blonde (#3 now, #2 then) and Pet Sounds (up from #12 to #8). Books like this prove nothing, of course, but they’re fun to read, if only to speculate on the sort of buffoon who’d rank Sports while ignoring such titanic works as the Incredible String Band’s Wee Tam/Big Huge or the Bee Gees’ Odessa. Gambaccini does a nice, light-hearted job, though, and the album covers (British) look great. For added kicks, the lists of the various contributors (81 in all) are printed at the end, and are more fodder for empathy or disdain, depending on your own fervor. J.K.
