I
I was apalled when I first heard it. We were in story conference,
talking about everything except the stories for Friday s edition
Rock music came up, as we frequently joke about each other's
diverse tastes But then one editor, a member of a fraternity,
glanced over at me and said “Yeah, the Clash are really hot."
I must've looked the veritable sod — mouth agape, eyes huge in
astonishment — "My gawd," I thought, "they're playing Clash in the
frat houses.”
When I told this to a photographer he was reminded of a recent
and bizarre incident
He was walking on 15th Avenue near the library when a dozen
or so naked men came around the corner running and riding bikes
and skateboards They were streaking the sorority houses on the
street. He went for his camera — but they streaked off before he
could load film The only reason this is of note is that the music
blasting from the frat house where these au naturale gents
originated was the Clash, specifically “Rock the Casbah."
It seems obscene for the preps and Greeks to be listening to
bands like the Clash In a perverse fashion it's frigging ironic — and
not a little frightening — that the upper echelon of the class struggle
should be suddenly enamored with the Clash
Still, I find it difficult to picture the "house" full of frat brothers
and sorority sisters dressed so right, drinking imported beer and
“head-banging" to the Clash I can't see them functioning that way
— nor can I hear them singing: "I’m like sooooooo, you know,
like bored with the USA"
It’s bad enough that religious fascists are playing rock music
forwards, backwards and probably sideways, looking for lyrics they
can use in their tactics of mind control Now the self-styled social
register is listening enthusiastically to rock music that was inspired
by a nation’s political and economic failure and the repression of its
people
I feel betrayed — it's like coming home and finding stains on the
bed and realizing my convivante didn't even have the decency nor
the guile to change the sheets
Rock music has always been very important and very personal
with me My musical tastes have always been — and I’m not trying to
pretend to authority — eclectic. I seek the new and different In
'65-66 I was following the Who, Move and Small Faces — ordering
45's from England This was before they developed large followings
in this country.
It was the same with the Clash when they broke in '77.1 stuck by
them, praising their accomplishments and making excuses for their
excesses They represented the near perfect coupling of rock and
politics — the almost inevitable future of rock music. Their music
had that unique sound and rhythm, while the lyrics had meaning.
Fuck the do-wop, oh baby
I should have seen that the end was close when the Clash
teamed up with those boring-old-farts the Who on a tour in which
they will play places like the Seattle Kingdome The Clash will be
rockin' the Kingdome — and I don't like it.
I'm moving on — the same trend toward mass acceptance is
happening to Oingo Boingo Enjoy the Clash brothers and sisters.
I'll just have to crank up the MC5 and Martha and the Muffins.
- . .....n . ■ —.... ' ' 1
cort fernald
sidelong glances
'THAT MUST BE WHAT HE MEANS ft* STAYING THE COURSE*'
letters
Non-functional
For the past two years the
athletic department has been
bitching and moaning about
having insutficient funds to
maintain their programs;
recently I witnessed a situation
which revealed just how hard
pressed the phys-ed people
seem to feel themselves to be
While waiting in line to have
my fee-card "stamped" so that I
could use the gym, I overheard
the woman in front of me at
tempting to obtain a refund for a
course for which she had been
erroneously charged While the
secretary in the Esslinger office
admitted that the charge was an
athletic department mistake,
she informed the woman that
she would nevertheless receive
only 90 percent of her money
letters
Moral fiber
A belated kudos to the Ma
ranantha gang for bringing us
the latest height of religious
paranoia Marvelous to know
that the Beatles, author of such
wonderful tunes as "Yester
day," “Octopus' Garden," "I
Wanna Hold Your Hand," "The
Long and Winding Road,” "Let
It Be," and so forth, are vulgar
and uncouth because the late
John Lennon wrote "Why Don't
We do it in the Road.”
I can feel my very moral fiber
crumbling each time I listen to
them
Backward masking (yawn)
seems also to be tearing at my
inner strength Before we all get
bent out of shape about it,
though, I would like to offer a
suggestion
The English language is a
very complex thing, popular
opinion aside Recorded and
played backward, it can be
construed as virtually anything
by the paranoid ear, including
Satanic messages
What few examples of inten
tional masking exist today (Pink
Floyd s "The Wall," for in
stance), remain oddities rather
than trendsetters because of a
terrific production cost I would
further submit that, if God is
truly omnipotent, as is the claim,
why worry about the antics of
one small cast-out angel? Sure
ly a truly onmipotent being or
force could dispense with such
opposition in relatively short
order
Finally, apologies to Mary
Flinders for a lackluster topic
this time Next time perhaps I'll
discuss abortion or crib death
or Mick Jagger for her Too bad
our brothers aren't being
slaughtered in Vietnam so we
can sit here at home (school)
and bitch about it, right Mary?
Terry Smith
Industrial Relations
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back as per the refund schedule
for persons dropping classes.
To this blatant extortion the
woman, obviously well
groomed in the habit of always
submitting to authority, replied,
“Cest la vie,” and walked off
This incident raises a number
of questions in my mind For
what is the athletic department
using the money it is obtaining?
Certainly not for the mainten
ance of existing facilities: the
cinder track has not been raked,
graded or recindered in at least
the four years I have been here,
and equipment in the weight
rooms that was non-functional
four years ago remains so, oc
cassionally joined by new non
functional equipment
And again, if the athletic
department needs to resort to
the subterfuge described above
to obtain funds and still cannot
maintain its facilities, where did
it get the money to install a
$1,200 stretch of barbed-wire
topped Page fence between the
old track and the tennis court?
This fence, besides being un
necessary and a waste of mon
ey, has effectively cut users of
the track off from the drinking
fountain and restroom near the
track side of the courts The
water problem may, I presume,
be dealt with by each runner
carrying a canteen, but is cam
pus security really prepared to
“look the other way" should
someone find it necessary to
relieve themselves by the side of
the track after a four-mile run?
What's going on here?
Hiawatha
graduate, music, philosophy
Other tribe
1 And it came to pass deep in
the heart of a County called
Lane there resided four tribes,
the largest being the tribe of the
West And there were two tribes
called North Tribe and South
Tribe and the fourth tribe was
called the Other Tribe of the
East
And out of the Tribe of the
West was called a young scribe
and he passed over to the Other
Tribe of the East and he saw
many strange and puzzling
things and he was sore afraid
He dwelled there for many
months marveling to himself at
the healthy, upright people that
he saw Their eating places
served only basic foods and the
tribe prospered and grew and
they performed many feats in
marathons, gymnastics, swim
ming and other activities They
worked as farmers, nurses,
doctors, educators, lawyers,
housewives, and others were
realtors and bakers and out of
this great tribe was a recipient of
the Nobel Prize
2. And their taxes were fair
and equitable and they built a
modern hospital, a senior
center, a covered pool, library
and city hall and they began to
collect many items from their
heritage and displayed them in a
place called a museum
3. And their young people
grew up and went to trade
schools and universities and
returned to their community and
established businesses and
homes and they began to par
take of city and county govern
ment and many more joined
other tribes in far away places
and they were not afraid
4 And their school children
played great games called
sportmanship and loud cries
went up and there was much
cheering and laughter and
many returned every year to
celebrate with reunions and to
pay homage to each other and
the teachers and leaders of the
community
5 And the great mills that
protected the community from
enormous taxes flourished and
continued to take in the workers
in their dark boots and Birken
stocks and warm wishes went
out from the Other Tribe of the
East to their employers and they
continued to grow together in
loyalty and respect
6 And it came to pass that the
Tribe of the West built a beau
tiful performing arts center and
it was magnificent beyond belief
and the taxes were spread out
over twenty years and the Tribe
of the West agreed to these
great taxes so that all the tribes.
North. South and the Other
Tribe, might grow in culture and
worthiness
7 And after eighteen months
the young scribe grew weary of
the terrible growing pains, and
his heart was sorely troubled
and with much grinding of teeth
and breast beating he returned
to the Tribe of the West and he
wrote of all that he had seen and
he was sore afraid
Bonnie Denning
Springfield
Tuesday, October 19,1982