Make the most of your dollar
and enjoy the great outdoors
■ Run around in the park
for a while, munch on
picnic food and then wrap
it up with an inexpensive
movie at Movies 12
By Jessica Blanchard
Oregon Daily Emerald
Being a poor college student on
a budget can make it difficult to
find affordable places to go on
dates.
The key to getting the most
bang for your buck, I’ve learned,
is to be creative. This week’s idea:
A less expensive alternative to
the traditional “dinner-and-a
movie” date is a picnic dinner at a
local park while watching the sun
set, followed by a late-run movie
at Movies 12 at the Gateway Mall.
Spending a sunny afternoon at
a park offers the opportunity to
get to know your date better —
even if you’ve been going out for a
while. Without having the dis
traction of a television, or of your
friends from the dorm constantly
coming by your room, you really
have a chance to connect with
your date. It’s also something that
can work for all ages — not just
the over-21 crowd.
Haven’t been to a park since
you were a little kid? Reconnect
with your inner child and let your
date see the kid in you by playing
on the playground equipment at
an elementary school. Or, if you
know your date won’t go for that
scenario, take a different tack:
Stroll through a city park and ad
mire the scenery as you attempt
to impress your date with your
grasp of current events.
As far as parks go, I like East Al
ton Baker Park, next to Autzen
Stadium, for the variety it offers
— couples can go for a bike ride,
explore the bark-dust trails, sit on
benches by the dam and relax to
the sound of the rushing water,
feed the ducks, lay on a blanket
and catch some rays or play fris
bee ... there are tons of possibili
ties.
Pack a picnic and choose a sun
ny, secluded spot to dig into your
feast. (Just remember to avoid
perishable foods — giving your
date food poisoning is definitely
not going to score you points.)
Late afternoon sunlight bathes
everything with a golden glow —
the perfect time to have your pic
nic and gaze at your date.
For those who don’t have the
culinary prowess to prepare and
pack a gourmet meal, there’s al
ways the fast-food standbys: Taco
Bell’s under-$l menu, McDon
The lowdown
Total cost (for two):
$3, plus the cost of food
Romance factor (out of five):
WVr (VV if you get fast food)
Best bets: East Alton Baker Park,
Movies 12 at the Gateway Mall
Dress: casual
Don’t forget: sunscreen, bug repel
lent and a blanket to sit on
aid’s 29c hamburger Wednesdays
and 39(2 cheeseburger Sundays or
Burger King’s Chick’N Crisps
(99(2 each). (Warning: Buying
your date fast food instead of ac
tually taking the time to prepare a
meal can drastically lower the ro
mance factor.)
After finishing your meal and
watching the sun set, pack up
your gear and head over to the
Gateway Mall and Movies 12 —
probably the best movie deal in
town. For $1.50 each, you can see
movies that are late in their first
run. Current offerings at Movies
12 include “The Beach,” “The
Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Any Given
Sunday” and “Deuce Bigalow:
Male Gigolo,” as well as some
Academy Award nominees such
as “The Sixth Sense” and “The
Insider.”
New Cat Power album a blend
of cover songs and individuality
■ Chan Marshall has what
it takes to truly recreate
the classics
By Rory Carroll
Oregon Daily Emerald
The primary reason to listen to
Cat Power is Chan Marshall’s
stark, haunting voice that blends
the tempered despair of Nick
Drake with the distinctiveness of
Polly Jean Harvey.
The new Cat Power record
opens with a version of the
Rolling Stones’ “[I Can’t Get No]
Satisfaction,” but you might not
recognize it. That’s because on
“The Covers Record,” the tired
tune is stripped of two elements
that best define it as a classic rock
anthem: Keith Richard’s rhythm
guitar riff and Mick Jagger’s har
rowing chorus are noticeably ab
sent. As a result, attention is fo
cused on the verse lyrics, a folksy
guitar line and Chan (pronounced
Shawn) Marshall’s wonderfully
droll voice. This reinterpretation
creates something entirely new
from the old while capturing a
fresh and honest sentiment of dis
satisfaction that the original never
held in the first place.
From there, Cat Power — Chan
Marshall’s pen name — proceeds
to rewrite songs in a similar way,
breaking them down and rebuild
ing them from the ground up.
Highlights include a chilling ver
sion of Michael Hurley’s “The
Devil’s Daughter” and a brisk take
of the Velvet Underground’s “I
Found A Reason.” Marshall saves
the best for last with a glistening
rendition of Phil Phillip’s “Sea of
Love.”
Although past Cat Power
records have featured members of
Sonic Youth and the Dirty Three
backing her, “The Covers Record”
relies almost entirely on Mar
shall’s supple guitar strokes and
ivory tickles to create the platform
for her voice. That voice is the
jewel that makes the almost re
lentless melancholy bearable.
This album is like a collection
of minimalist black and white
photographs. Seeing in entirety
comes at a single glance, but a
fixed stare is inevitable anyway.
Marshall proves that it doesn’t
take an abundance of musicians
to remake the classics, just an en
semble of soul, which she has in
spades.
Marshall’s approach toward
covers is making them her own,
not to simply mimic a song just as
it has already been recorded. Cov
ers records, like tribute compila
tions, often miss that basic idea
and drudge over beaten paths. Cat
Power reduce instruments with
out diminishing the song.
“The Covers Record” is an al
bum best enjoyed as it was per
formed: solo. For Marshall, music
is a dish best served cold. But it is
her stoic southern drawl and total
unpretentiousness that sets her
apart from her sultry, breathy
peers.
But be warned — this album is
the antithesis of party music, and
anyone not intrigued by the likes
of Leonard Cohen and Elliott
Smith should either steer clear or
investigate Cat Power’s last, more
textured album, 1998’s “Moon
Pix” [Matador]. It doesn’t look as
if Marshall is going to cheer up
anytime soon, and her fans quiet
ly applaud her for it.
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anywhere in the world.
O.D.E. on the world wide web:
■ \
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It's just like really being here,
but without all the rain
CONSCIOUS PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
Third world & Apple Gabriel
Doubletree
Ballroom,
Gateway
$20 at the door
Local
Hip-Hop:
10,000 Fold
Forms
MC Balua the
sasquatch
uo student
savings
call the box office and say uo
to reserve your tickets
541 482-4331
to receive your discount bring this
coupon and a valid student i.d. when you
purchase your tickets.
limit 2 tickets per show, not applicable to pre-purchased tickets,
for selected performances only, offer expires june 4. 2000
no refunds, no exchanges, matinees start at 1:30pm.
Henry V (Dan Donohue) and his soldiers in the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival’s 2000 production of William Shakespeare’s
Henry V. Directed by Libby Appel. Photo by Andree Lanthier.
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