the rizzo generation

Rip It Up, Issue 192, 1 July 1993, Page 31

the rizzo generation

This month I'm going to avoid music where possible. Well, rock music at least. The reason being overkill. Round these parts you can't open a music/ lifestyle magazine without coming across some analysis of "The Lollapalooza Generation". This I object to, as firstly I certainly don't want to be the Lollapalooza generation -1 hate Ministry, Nin, Front 242 and all of that ilk. Primus I don't even begin to understand while the Jane's/ Porno thing bores me. Secondly, I don't want to see it all analysed. Sure, it's weird middle class kids go nuts for "alternative" music and it becomesthe new mainstream. Exactly what happens every generation since the first squalls of rock and roll. Who cares? Far more important things have been going on anyway, and none of it is good. Firstly, the great Sun Ra has left us for another plane. After 200 or so albums of brilliant music (inspired by the 'Spacemens' no less) everyone's favourite jazzman from Jupiter finally succumbed to the assaults of old age. Mr Ra may have gone, but he's left an incredible musical legacy, and he was active and still creating to the last* even playing a huge outdoor show with Sonic Youth less than a year ago. Ona more frightening note, Los Angeles has a new mayor, one Richard Riordan. It was hardly an inspiring race. The other candidate was a Hollywood counci I ler named Mike Woo. He was a terribly ineffectual career politician, the sort who will half-heartedly support anything that seems popular and seems to excel at looking serious about things, but always in the aftermath of trouble. Despite all this, Woo still got my vote because although he's an idiot, Riordan is not only an idiot, but a right wing one. At a time when half of LA is little more

than a war zone and elsewhere in the US health care workers are being shot dead by Operation Rescue "Christians" for the simple fact that they work in an institute that gives legal abortions, LA doesn't need a moral majority wannabe at the helm. My only hope is that he will be as widely ignored as the rest of the Mayors have been, at least in important matters. It's not been a good time for LA, even the Kings got inches from the Stanley Cup, only to have it snatched away from them by the might y Montreal Canadians. But don't get me wrong, I'm no nihilist. I believe LA can survive any Mayor you care to throw at it. I believe people should be allowed to see industrial rock, funk rock, any sort of rock they want to in any arena they want to, I've got DL Menard, Cop Shoot Cop, Ethyl Meatplow, Max Roach, PJ Harvey and the Butthole Surfers to keep me happy. And the Kings.... ? Well, two out of three ain't bad.

FRANK RIZZO