10 WITH A BULLET

Rip It Up, Issue 130, 1 May 1988, Page 2

10 WITH A BULLET

by

MarkCubey

1. ‘Lego Heart’ The best song from the Holidaymakers, the best band in the country. The beaut 'Sweet Lovers'/’Sensible Shoes’ is their first (hit) single from a very rich repertoire, but this surging ballad, the logical followup, has the dynamic whammy, glorious tune and three-pronged vocal attack to make it globally mega —- 88’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over.’ 2. Cerebus Comics don't get better than this. The adventures of a tough, hard drinking barbarian aardvark who rises through society by dint of his charismatic personality and brute arrogance to become prime minister and now pope may sound a little ... silly? No way. Canadian creator, writer and artist Dave Sim packs his story with humour, allusion and parody amid a saga of the machinations of political and religious power. Great characters and artwork, too. Sim calls this ongoing monthly series a novel, and you really need to read the whole 107 issues (to date) to get the full picture, but try and find the High Society or Church and State collections for starters. You’ll be hooked. ~ 7.3. Say It One Time for the Brokenhearted Barney Hoskyns delves into musical fusion in the US South of the 1960 s and comes up with a compelling, enthralling book. His tale of how black singers and white redneck musicians, raised on a 50/50 soul/country stew, made unforgettable never-to-be-repeated music confirms Dan Penn as one of rock’s unsung giants, gives credit to a wealth of maverick producers and musos and makes one hungry to hear the sounds Anyone got James Carr’s ‘Dark End of the Street'? I want.

pact, cinematic and dark. 8. Jim Thompson

4. Boogie Down Productions, Criminal Minded Hoskyns reckons the above regional music was killed off forever . by the passing of a particular social environment and the rise of disco. On the evidence of this album, one of 87’s most. vital records, the preconditions exist, with the rise of financially viable independent regional rap records, for a comparatively exciting recording flurry. The only collaboration between rapper KRS-1 and the late DJ Scott La Rock is a dense, violent, codified fusion of rap and reggae, a companion piece for the essential work of Public Enemy and a primer for underclass youth everywhere Even from... 5. The Hutt . Forget yer Electric Fan Clubs and southern guitar merchants. People with soul know that Wellington has the best bands (Holidaymakers, Living Daylights, Six Volts ...), and out in the Valley is NZ’s home of hiphop, where zulu nation foundations from back in 82 are ready for a building spree. The hardcore reggae beats of the Upper Hutt Posse won’t be just local for long, and there’s a wealth of young talent bubbling away. Coming at you soon, in full effect, boy-ee. 6. ‘Push It’ The flip to Salt’n’Pepa’s disappointing remake of Otis & Carla's ‘Tramp’ is this pulsatmgly sexy dancefloor winner, which should be out locally and chart climbing right about now. With this duo, Roxanne Shante’s massive ‘Have a Nice Day’ and the cookie Crew (’Rok Da House,’ ’Females’) all making significant waves, rapping women look set to really break in 88. 7. The Killing Joke No, not the gumby band. This one-shot deluxe comic sees genius British writer Alan Moore (Watchmen) pitting DCs most interesting hero, the Batman, against his greatest foe, the Joker (killed off in Dark Knight by Frank Miller). Brilliantly illustrated by 2000 AD and Camelot 3000 artist Brian Bolland, with astonishing colourisation by John Higgins. Com-

, Another dark, existential, violent world ■ was created in the 1940 s and 50s by a writer who is still vividly contemporary. Thompson wrote films for Kubrick (The Killing, Paths of Glory), but his main oeuvre is a collection of cheapo thriller/suspense paperbacks, reissued in suitably lurid packaging by Black Lizard Press. His best, bleakest book is A Hell of a Woman, but all of them, from Pop. 1280 to The Getaway to A SwellLooking Babe will see your attention repaid. In full. 9. Public Domain

Sampling, home taping, piracy and general copyright theft are natural responses to a media manipulating establishment. When classic songs are appropriated for ads, and films for the great god TV are colourised, scanned and panned (destroying widescreen images), and lexiconned (sped up to fit in more ads), one must expect the people to fight back. 10. Hyper Card Think of an electronic filofax Now think again. Hyper Card is a multi-purpose software package developed for the fabulous Apple Macintosh by programming and graphics whiz Bill Atkinson, the creator of MacPaint It stores, distributes and customises information (text, pictures, sounds, whatever) through an eternally crossreferencing system. And if that doesn’t sound exciting to you, maybe you’re living in the wrong decade. ©