Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

What Would Freud Say?

Staffers at AC Entertainment were a little bemused last week when they got a call from ad reps at the Daily Beacon, UT's student-run newspaper. It seems the Beacon staff saw something in an ad for Sonic Youth's show at the Tennessee Theatre—a distorted X-ray image of a skeleton with a black area in the pelvic bone, taken from the cover of the band's latest CD, NYC Ghosts and Flowers—that they deemed inappropriate. "I think a lot of people looked at it and thought it looked like a male part of the anatomy right in the middle," says Lynn Nennstiel, advertising director of the paper.

So the Beacon staff called and asked AC rep Jennifer Whitson if they could rub out the offending black spot, and Whitson OKed the change. Nennstiel says the paper would still have run the ad; but Whitson says otherwise. "They wouldn't run the ad unless it was whited out," she says.

"I don't think they understood that the skeleton is supposed to resemble a ghost, since the title of the album is NYC Ghosts and Flowers," Whitson adds. "I don't think they put two and two together."

Appropriately enough, the image also resembles an ink blot, which is supposed to represent the unconscious psyche of the viewer. You know, you see what you want to see.

Local CD Review

Taoist Cowboys, Punt (Lynn Point Records)

Of the million or so cassette-only releases by Knoxville bands over the past 15 years, there is one that I think most deserved to be plucked from demagnitized oblivion: Punt by the Taoist Cowboys. My copy melted years ago in a sweltering Toyota, but its melodies lingered on somewhere in the back of my head, never quite fading away. And that's simply because it was damn good—an infectious collection of jangly guitar pop with lyrics that captured small moments that meant a lot.

Produced way back in 1992, Punt documented the evolving talents of one of this town's finest songwriters, ever: Bob McCluskey. It was also a wonderfully musical rock album, with fiddles, saxophones, keyboards, penny whistles—hell, even an opera singer—appearing in all the right places. Now, courtesy of Lynn Point Records and ace sound engineer Seva's remastering of the original studio tapes, Punt is back out in CD form, sounding better than it ever did before and reaffirming its title as a Knoxville classic.

While its boyish lyrics, twangy twin-guitar solos, and sweet-natured harmonies (this is an album on which guys sing "doo-wah" and really mean it) might get sneered off alternative radio these days, Punt doesn't sound dated. It was never really intended as a "commercial" album, no matter how catchy its hooks, so it didn't succumb to the "college rock" rules (now clichés) of the day. Whereas you get the feeling that most bands today are simply imitating something they saw on MTV, the Cowboys were originals. Mixing McCluskey's love of '70s guitar bands like Thin Lizzy, guitarist Scott Carpenter's deft country-ish picking, Brad Deaton's rockin' bass, and the jazzy touch of future V-roy drummer Jeff Bills, the Cowboys were a multi-purpose band that could switch off from dreamy guitar pop ("Mind Chime") to Rolling Stones country-rock ("Shit On You") to KISS-like power chord anthems ("Liquid Plumr"). The group was a melting pot of not-necessarily-commercial musical ideas, which came into being in the Fort Sanders garage of 2306 Laurel.

But underneath the simple hooks and intertwined guitar work of Punt is McCluskey's lyrical persona, equal parts naive and knowing—boyish optimism in the face of certain defeat. You can hear it in Punt's lead-off track, "Back With You," that's simultaneously exultant and exhausted as McCluskey talks with his ex about getting back together again ("Bumper bumper bumper cars/ just for fun we bump too hard/ and I'm back with you/ you're back with me...I know it won't last/ We'll try to be friends/ we can't be only that..../here we go again!"). Bob's writing conveys a certain melancholy at growing up, as if he still wishes he could play like a kid, even at adult games. In "Falling Up," he stops the song and sings plaintively, "Was it in a movie that I heard/ that God got the whole thing backwards/ we should start as orphans, crippled and crass/ grow into children, save the best for last...?" My favorite is "Mind Chime," a gentle song that captures perfectly a moment in time, when he took a date to a Little League game. Every detail is there, from the gossiping parents to the smell of hot dogs, a meshing of boyhood imagery and wistful romance that's unique to McCluskey's songwriting. In his later group, the Estradas, his abilities seemed to be coming into full flower.

Sadly, a few years later, McCluskey underwent brain surgery to repair an aneurysm; it effectively put his songwriting and singing on hold. Word is that he may at long last be ready to return to the studio to record those long-lost Estradas tunes. I hope so. We could sure use him back.

Zippy Doesn't Show Potential

Dear Zippy,
Once again you never cease to amaze me. I certainly hope that the Metro Pulse is your part-time job and not your career. If it is your career, you should consider reading What Color is Your Parachute? to determine your real calling in life. In my opinion, you did a disservice to David Landeo and the 12 Inch Band (not David Landeo and his band) with your review in last week's Metro Pulse [EOTS, June 8, 2000]. You also offended your readers (who I might add voted David as their #1 local male vocalist in your "Best of Knoxville" contest this year). If you were to poll Knoxville AGAIN you would have many enthusiastic fans such as myself defending David, his band, their musical ability, and most importantly their ability to ENTERTAIN. That is what it's about, isn't it? ENTERTAINMENT. Better yet, you could ask the 400+ people that came to a lake party I hosted a week ago where David Landeo and the 12 Inch Band rocked the lake for 4 hours. The direct feedback from those who attended was the music, those "tepid Top 40 hits" was the hit of the party. My suggestion, Zippy, is that you stick a "banana" in it and get a real job!
Paula Harler
President/CEO
Leadership Search Consultants

—Zippy "Will Be Snide For Food" McDuff