Letters

Rip It Up, Issue 119, 1 June 1987, Page 14

Letters

Post to ‘RIU’ Letters, PO Box 5689, Auckland 1

Chill Out May ’B7 and part two of the Chills in Europe. The greatest of Kiwi ambassadors maybe? Personally their era, and that of other Dunedinites as live acts, is over. Never again will I listen to them on stage. Paradox: I like their records, though. So why four pages of daily accounts, for Christ’s sake? What about other NZ bands overseas that are a damn sight more exciting — Reptiles in Dawn, in Paris; No Tag working with the Dead Kennedys, and in London; IF (Flak) in Amsterdam. Maybe they’re not as successful, but they’re much more interesting. Simon Y Nouveau Vague Dear Kerry Buchanan, In reviewing 9Y2 Weeks, do you use words like “nouveau vague,” “Penthouse spreads” and “designer sex” to excite yourself? Does “yuppie” just about give you orgasms? You can’t understand why quality actors like Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger are in this film? In Basinger’s own words, when she first read the script she laughed out loud: “I thought it was the biggest piece of garbage I’d ever read, but I read it and re-read it and saw so much power underneath all the laughable stuff that it was scary, if it could be tapped. I think a lot of people might be terrified to hear that there is such an obsessional side to love; I think they feel belligerent and angry because they’ve never had it. We made the movie we set out to; we thought we’d have so many women’s groups come down on it because of how my character was treated. But women now write to me saying, ‘God, I know exactly what you’re talking about.’ ” Last Tango in Paris, Crimes of Passion and Year of the Dragon ...

it’s hard to determine whether you're trying to show people that you’ve got taste or whether you simply know the names of some great films. Trouble is, you’re not being very responsible as a critic when no one knows what you’re talking about. You don’t justify yourself to anyone except yourself. The only thing you do deliver requires that the reader wash their hands afterwards. Would you please grow up before I count to 50? Kami Bhana (Auckland) Yeah, we all have our crosses to

bear, I still think the film was a dead one, no fault of the obsessive love theme, but stylistically it all looked like an adman's fantasy. Still, as Dean Martin used to say, keep them cards and letters rolling in. KB

Dr Optimist In your last issue Chris Bourke gave a good summation of the Kiwi Music Convention. I also attended the convention, however I didn’t leave feeling so optimistic. I believe that the convention was good for the New Zealand music industry and will certainly help matters; I hope it becomes a regular event.

My personal opinions on the convention are irrelevant here, but look at your own article on it — was Chris being sarcastic or serious? His final sentence expressing optimism from the five recommendations, which ran “yes we deplore this, yes we regret that, yes we pat such and such on the back for that...” Ties up the whole convention really. Hopefully the convention will lead to some positive constructive action but I don’t want people to see it through rose-coloured glasses. Along with the good things which came out of the convention, there were certainly things wrong with it. Sharon Guytonbeck Basement Sounds (Dunedin) (PS: 800 people attended the “Basement Sounds” Chingford Park concert, not the 300 quoted in your April Rumours column.) Although some of the convention's recommendations may have sounded wishy-washy, they established for the NZ Music Promotions Committee policies on several important issues. The major reason for my optimism from the convention was the unanimous support for a radio quota (whereas earlier, the committee didn’t have a policy, due to the divergent views of its members) — and the radio people saying they could live with a quota. Also, with the (self-nominated) addition of Dalvanius and Karyn Hay to the committee, I have more faith in it as a lobbyist for New Zealand music. But we’ll have to wait until the committee achieves something concrete to see if my optimism was justified. Apologies for the Chingford Park tally confusion; estimating audience counts is always tricky. Incidentally, the Cartilidge Family wish to retire from the Dunedin Rumours column, so we need someone dedicated and objective who can prove that the Dunedin sound is not a myth. Applicants please write to RIU Rumours, PO Box 5689, Auckland 1. CB