OCT 21-NOV 2
13th and Kincaid
Mon-Fri 7:30-6
Saturday 10-6
Phone 3464331
FOR
1 N V 1T A T IONS
BROCHURES
FLYERS
r o s r i: r s
RESUMES
AND
M <) R K
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King’s latest another disappointment
Needful Things
by Stephen King
Viking Press, 1991
690 pages
Hardcover price: $24.95
ir 1/2
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It's sad but not surprising
that Stephen King's latest
effort. Needful Things, is u
disappointment.
His most recent books. Tour
Past Midnight and The l).irk
Half, went similarly bad,
consisting of contrived plots
and flat, uninspired characters
And now Naedful Things
becomes the latest addition to
what has become a streak of
bad King tnioks.
The book bills itself us "The
Last Cast le Rock Story.”
referring to the fictional Maine
town that has been the setting
for a dozen or so of King's
i>ooks and short stories. Castle
Kock has been the home of a
rabid tfog (Cu)o). a psycho cop
('Ihe Dead Zone) and four kids
who walk some train tracks
looking for a dead body (The
Botly and the film version
.Stand by Me).
in short, The Kock has been
good — if a little strange — to
King and his faithful readers,
which is why It's too bad ho
( hose to say goodbye to the
town with a book as awful as
this one.
The story's had guy is
[.aland Gaunt, who opens
Needful Things, a supposedly
charming and quaint
downtown shop. Gaunt's shop
has anything his customers
want a personally
autographed 1956 Sandy
Koufax baseball card, a
windup racetrack that picks
winning horses for its owner;
and a pair of blvis Presley’s
sunglasses that magically
transport a woman to sexual
liaisons with the king of rock
'n' roll.
Gaunt's customers pay
ridiculously low cash prices
for their treasures But in
closing tho deals, the
proprietor somehow manages
to put tho townsfolk into
trances, where they agrise to
play evil tricks on each other.
Tho result is a stale and
predictable hut very mean
— round of evil deeds and
sinister paybacks, resulting in
murder, mayhem and a final,
bloody clash between the
town's Catholics and Baptists.
As the story muddles along,
two feuding women go at it on
a street corner with a butcher
ktu' :nd a meat cleaver. A
dog gets skewered with a.
corkscrew. An 11-year-old boy
lakes his own life with a
shotgun And so on.
Perhaps King is trying to
make some kind of statement
about people and what they
will do to win and keep
material possessions. But this
is hardly enough to keep the
story going for almost 700
pages.
Needful Things lucks the
intricate plots, complex
characters and subtle but
sometimes powerful endings
of other King novels. Instead,
we gel a thrown-together plot
and a predictable finale loaded
with thu literary equivalent of
cheap special effects
The people in Needful
Things miss what King used to
give his characters:
personality. The one thing that
could keep u King fan flipping
through the umpteenth ghost
and haunted car story was the
characters. The reader could
sympathize with them in The
Stand and Salem's Lot because
they were well-crafted.
The folks in Needful Things
and other recent King efforts
are lifted right out of a bad
movie. By now. we expect a
fright or two from his books.
With the loss of credible
characters, the whole thing
becomes forgettable.
It's clear that after almost 30
books and God-knows-how
many short stories (most of
them really good), King has
either lost his quirky talents or
just worn them down. Maybe
some time off would do the
Master of Horror some good.
By Christopher Blair
Emerald Editor
ANIMALS
Continued from Page 6
"It's .1 great way f»>r the com
munity to rally to a causo, not
to mimtion that it's g<xul expo
sure for the bands and un op
portunity for people to approi.l
ati- tin: lix:ul music scene and
^(•1 a preview of up and coming
groups,'" said Misha Dunlap,
director of CARE
Dunlap said last year's Ani
mal Jam was a sue i ess, cata
pulting hopes for a better show
this year
r«3Acrm»
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41 VV BKOADVV At DOW MOWN MALI hWvihri J
"Thu animal rights issue is
broad enough that though there
in.iv he many supporters, some
buv into certain aspects where
others don't depending on indi
vidual beliefs," she said. "But
despite this split down the
middle, the response and dona
tions we've received for the
benefit performance is an en
i ouraging sign that more peo
ple are aware of the issue."
And the hands involved are
not chipping in just for the ex
posure either.
"Animal rights is a much ma
ligned and misunderstood is
sue." said Leo Schaefer, who
handles bookings lor Mission
District, one of the performing
hands who was also in lust
year's concert. "But though
there may be differences in
opinion, there's a general sym
pathy toward the cause It's one
of those lesser known issues
that needs to he heard and Ani
mal Jam is a good informative
event for everyone."
Kevin Shupcn of The Under
takers, a vegetarian himself, is
happy that the band is in
volved. “This concert is a good
thing," he said
Ryan Tocehini, guitarist and
vocalist with another group, In
I orn a 11 on a I Anthem,
agreed "We believe in unimui
rights and besides, I doubt if
anyone would support some
thing they don't believe in."
Social concerns aside, the
hands are also excited about
playing together under one
roof, especially since most of
them havo played together be
fore ut one point or other.
"This is a great time for the
bands to get together and hear
what each has to offer, and see
how' our distinct sounds com
ped the audience,” Schaefer
said.
" The range of music will be
very wide and there'll definite
ly be something for every
body.'' Dunlap said.
Most of the groups defy any
labeling of their music. The
rule seems to be to go with any
thing and any sound they feel
good playing
Swing, jazz, punk or rock, In
ternationul Anthem dabbles in
almost every style of music.
The band moved to Eugene af
ter a few years in Astoria to ex
pose themselves to a larger au
dience.
Boogie Patrol Express came
together initially to provide a
positive model for elementary
school children in this era of
"gangster-style rap mussiahs.”
Today, with an original rep
ertoire modeled after Finnish
disco hits of the early ‘Htis, the
hand says that, despite their
upbeat sound, they aren't afraid
to tackle serious issues such as
animal cruelty, the Gulf Crisis
and even nun-beating.
For "garage-inspired" rock
'n' roll, l(X)k to two of Eugene’s
popular alternative bands. The
Black Dahlias and The Under
takers.
Hot Box magazine calls thu
Dahlias "the kind of band that
really gels into not only what
they are doing, but how the au
dience is doing also ... they just
have a hell of a fun time play
ing.”
Pat Yonally. a member with
both bands feels that "Ameri
can rock 'n' roll" is what drives
The Black Dahlias, whilu he de
scribes the sound of The Un
dertakers as "wild, chaotic and
high-energy," inspired by such
groups us the Miracle Workers
and the Cynics.
Also into the experimental,
mellow-heavy sound is The
Medicine Wheel, a three-mem
ber bund of University stu
dents.
On the more conventional
end of the line-up is Mission
District, who remain strongly
influenced by the bluos and
K&B stylos of musicians like
Eric Clapton.
Advanced tickets are avail
able at S4 at Record Garden,
WOW Hall. Sundance Mercan
tile and Face The Music. Tick
ets are $5 at the door. Vegetari
an food, adult refreshments and
non-alcoholic beverages will be
served.
Doors open at 8.30 p.m. and
the concert starts at 9 p.m. with
each band playing a half-hour
set.