Music of today
can’t compare
to the ‘classics’
By Gregory K. Mclver
■ Indtana Daly Studant
U. of Indiana
What ha* happened to today’s
music? Not since the oh-ao-golden
age of disco have the leaden of the
music industry needed to be lined
up and shot, shot again, and then
have their lifeless bodies dragged
up and down the streets of town by
a team of horses.
I can’t take it anymore. Milli
Vanilli, New Kids on the Block,
Paula Abdul, Tbne Loc, 2 Live Crew
... the list of musical ineptitude
could go on forever. These people
can’t write music. Their songs lack
any soul, any depth, any inner qual
ity that makes me want to listen to
them over and over.
It seems the prerequisites for suc
cess in today's music market are
merely an ability to dance and to
look good while doing it. Paula
Abdul is not a songwriter. She
gyrates to a Casio. She does it
remarkably well, but she’s not a
musician. She’s an MTV viewer’s
dream.
Where are the classics? Where
are the songs, such as ‘American
Pie" or “Stairway to Heaven,’ that
can stop a bar full of patrons from
doing whatever they are doing and
Commentary
join together in song? In order to be
a classic, a song, like a good bottle
of wine, must go through an aging
process. One cant write a song
today and have it be a classic tomor
row. But has anyone heard a song
lately that even has the potential to
be a classic?
During the ’60s and 70s, songs
that eventually became classics
were in abundance. These decades
had songwriters who wrote lyrics
that meant as much as the melody.
Songs of yesterday also reflected
the attitudes of the day and were
representative of the social changes
going on at the time. Who is writing
these socially conscious songs
today?
dom tins mean au music must
probe into the inner reaches of our
gray matter and cause us to criti
cally analyte the world in which we
live? No, that would be asking too
much of the youth of this country. If
they cant find China on the map,
they sure dont need the added bur
den of having to think when listen
ing to music. Beeidee, music often
can anH ahnuld be pure, uninhibit
ed, dance-the-night-a way fun. But
is it asking too much that the lyrics
contain more than the teen-age
panty-wetter musical themes of
unrequited love?
Maybe the music scene is not that
bleak. Maybe there exist some
musical talents out there who are
ready to pounce on the music scene
and devour the limited-talent
mntsrn that dominate today’s air
waves. And maybe Tm just not pay
ing attention and then’s a lot of tar
rific musk being played today.
Like what?
Student’s musical examines
racial tensions on campuses
By Julia Ferrara
■ The Amherst Student
Amherst College
Interested in the recently reported
wave of racism at small liberal arts col
leges, an Amherst College senior com
pleted a rock musical based on actual
racist occurrences.
•Whitewash" is the joint project of stu
dent Tbm Marshall and theater profes
sor Doug Anderson. Fusing an original
musical score and script, the musical
depicts the way racism becomes institu
tionalized at the fictitious “Moreau
College.” The story
line and dialogue
were drawn from
actual racial inci
dents and their sub
sequent responses
at such schools as
Stanford, Smith,
Middlebury and
Oberlin.
‘It’s a rock 'n' roll concert telling a story,’
Marshall said. ‘It's frightening in terms
of the political context, and the dangers
of this being misinterpreted are huge.’
Marshall wrote about 20 songs on the
topic of racism, 12 of which he used in
‘‘Whitewash.’’ He then approached
Anderson, who was very interested in
the project, as he taught at Middlebury
when racial problems were occurring.
“This is truly a collaborative effort,"
said Marshall. “We contacted several
campus organizations that dealt directly
with racism, attended meetings and
then held auditions for the show.’ The
script was created in part from dialogue
and responses heard at the meetings.
The play’s style directly counters that I
“The play affirms that racism
not only exists, but that it is
institutionalized.”
— Tom Marshall,
Playwright
of traditional theater, Marshall said.
While the band is traditionally below the
stage and out of sight to the audience, in
“Whitewash" the guitar, bass, percus
sion, synthesizer and saxophone band is
onstage throughout the play. Almost all
of the 15-member cast perform several
roles, he said.
“The line between band member and
actor is blurred, as the band members
also serve to inform the cast," Marshall
said.
A professional musician for 10 years,
Marshall toured the country with vari
ous groups before deciding to go back to
college. Creating
the ficticious
Moreau College
and its various tra
ditions was a trying
experience in real
izing the racism
within college com
munities. he said.
I he play amrms that racism not omy
exists, but that it is institutionalized," he
said.
“What (the authors are) interested in
is making theatre accessible and draw
ing the audience into it," said Herschel
Farbman, a cast member “It’s a way to
shock tile audience by fusing rock n' roll
and dialogue."
Although the authors present the
explosive racial issues in a relatively
non-threatening style, Marshall warns
against the play being construed as light
hearted entertainment
‘I want the audience to come away feel
ing like something happened to them,"
he said. "I don't want people to leave say
ing, That was a good play,’ or That was
entertaining.’ *
Making music:
Machine aBows
listeners to record
customized tapes
By Caryn Brooks
■ Tht My Catalan
i
Yoo hear a great song on the
it frequently. You rush to a
doOantobny the CD, only to b« dis
appointed because the root of the
album is trash.
A naw technology called the
Personics System is out to solve
vour nraUem.
Found in West Coast and
Northeast record stores, the
Personics System legally allows
consumers to make high quality
tapes of their farorite hits.
The Personics listening booth
looks Bits something out efaflito
istie movie. The customer can use
headphones to listen to a sampling
of the men than 4,000 titles avail'
able, including rock, soul, rap, clas
sical, jass,okbes and sound aObcts.
Each ssloction coats >1.10.
Aftwr fffflMffs ciisIXMDMHr
can haveahigh quality custom tape
naadsd b* a stars worker in about
10 "**"*** 0B S !—**»• •qutvB*
lont to a high-speed juksbos.
"Whsoaver there’sanew technol
ogy thara^i resistance, "said Steven
Cristol, director of markstinc for
Personics. Cristol said he is confi
dent Personics will sway mon
record labels over to the system. So
fa, more than 70 labels have joined.
Currently, Personics Systems are
featured at mostly large chain
stores in California, Unas, Ohio,
North Carolina, Naw York,
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
But Cristol said Personics plans to
expand to other areas and stores.
PHOTO COUP TUT Of POLTGAAM MCMOS
Jon Bon Jovl lizzies — not sizzles — with his
latest. “Blaze ot Glory."
Jon Bon Jovi’s latest is a bomb...
Western-themed ‘Blaze of Glory’goes up in smoke
By Jane Bostwick
■ The Ball Slate Daily News
Ball State U.
I didn't go into this review looking for
blood. Really
Although I don't personally own any of
Mr. Bon Jovi’s albums, I can appreciate
the way he has carved such a successful
niche in the pop marketplace. The man
from Jersey (so far) has had no problem
giving his audience exactly what it
wants. Light on the metal and heavy on
the catchy choruses — the formula at its
best creates some crisp, unpretentious
high school pop anthems
Well, pardners, it appears the fun may
be over sooner than we thought. Itsecms
our boy Jon has decided to get serious
and take a solo turn. He’s got a new
album of music from and inspired by a
gen-u-wine Western, “Young Guns II.*
On “Blaze of Glory,’ lyrical cliches are
bustin’ out all over: “I’m a loner on the
run/I’m just looking for tomorrow/And I
ain’t gonna hurt anyone’ from “Justice
in the Barrel’ is representative of the lot.
“Justice in the Barrel’ also features the
album’s biggest cringe point — real,
authentic Indian war whoops. Right.
Sixties’ cheesefest ‘Indian Reservation
(Cherokee People)" suddenly sounds a
lot better now
Santa Fe, N.M. gets its (overlong)
musical moment with Jon. Like several
tracks, “Santa Fe” could have been
trimmed and tightened. Jon’s got a lot of
big names helping him out on this album,
Album review
including Jeff Beck and Elton John, but
sometimes it gets too crowded in the stu
dio. The organ riffs on ‘Santa Fe* and
; “Dyin’ Ain’t Much of a Livin’” really
should hit the road.
If Jon and record label Polygram are
j smart, they’ll release “Billy Get Your
I Guns" as the next single. It’s got the Bon
Jovi pumped-up chorus for a hook, and
I it cuts it relatively short at 4.48
Let’s hope that Jon’s cameo in the
“Young Guns" flick sates his Western
appetite. Then he can go back to his
Jersey roots and make the airwaves safe
for pop consumption once more.