Pulse Editor:
Ryan Nyburg
ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, August 5,2004
— Oregon Daily Emerald
PULSE
Hot Picks:
Peter Salett
Sam Bond's Garage
407 Blair Blvd.
Saturday, 8 p.m., $4 at door
RYAN NYBURG
BUDGET RACK
Selections
offer
'diet of
cacophony'
I know this is probably a hopeless
cause, but I think it is one worth fighting
for. I'm speaking of course of my crusade
to bring noise, chaos and cacophony into
modern music, through my organization
the Society for the Preservation of Horri
ble Noise in Music (SPHNM). After creat
ing this organization in a column a few
months back, I have received an outpour
ing of responses in the form of a single e
mail from a student in Indonesia who
seemed to be working under the erro
neous impression that I knew what the
hell I was talking about.
In case you have forgotten, the primary
goal of SPHNM is to promote the use of
grating sonic assaults as a life-confirming
antidote to the banality of modern musi
cal stylings. A lofty goal, to be sure, but
please indulge a humble scribbler in his
fanciful dreams. There is something liber
ating about such noise, something that
forces itself upon you in such a way as to
make you feel alive. A break from stasis, if
you will. Of course a steady diet of cacoph
ony only creates a stasis of its own, but see
ing as so much of our music has descend
ed into a pitiful hell of easy-listening
ballad blandness, the act of balancing
things off is entirely in the court of the
chaotic. Here are a few more suggested
recordings. As always, further suggestions
and monetary donations are accepted.
Mudhoney, "Wocehtrehtorbym."This is
a doozy of a hidden track on the CD ver
sion of the "My Brother the Cow" album.
It consists of the entire album, all 37 fuzz
box-soaked rock 'n' roll minutes of it,
played backwards. I can hardly take ten
minutes of this before giving up, but it's
still a fun piece of inane sonic manipula
tion. The mother of all bonus tracks.
Pere Ubu, "Sentimental Journey." One
of the weirder outings on these art-punk
purveyors' first album, "The Modern
Dance." All smashing glass, senseless vo
cals and rumbling instrumentation. A
spooky intro into the next track, the haunt
ing "Humor Me."
iving crimson, zisi Cvemury ocmzoia
Man." Classic opening track on the pro
gressive-rock king's debut album. Mixing
classical music, thunderous guitar riffs
and free jazz, the song single-handedly
creates a whole new form of prog rock,
setting a standard that has hardly been
equaled. The squealing horns mix with
Robert Fripp's piercing guitar lines to cre
ate a wonderful oxymoron: restrained
chaos. The distorted agitprop lyrics aren't
too bad either.
Husker Du, "Recurring Dreams." The
closing crescendo to these hard-core ma
niacs' classic "Zen Arcade" album. With
the guitars cranked loud enough to make
the ears of God bleed, the band lays out
14 minutes of furious soloing, coming
off like a sound painting of the pits of
Hell. The guitar only occasionally
sounds tuneful, more often it wails like
Please see NYBURG, page 10
Tim Bobosky Freelance photographer
William Hulings and Shirley Andress star in the upcoming production
of ‘My Fair Lady,' which will be performed at the Hult Center for the
Performing Arts this month.
'My Fair Lady' upholds
charm of original
The OFAM production
showcases singing talent
and beloved characters
KENNETH MENDRIBIL
FREELANCE REPORTER
The Oregon Festival of American Mu
sic's production of "My Fair Lady" did
not stray from convention. It mirrored
the 1964 classic film starring Rex Harri
son and Audrey
Hepburn.
THEATER Thou?h no in
\ ri p\\r novations were
included in the
script, scenery or
choreography,
the famed musical was a delight from
beginning to end.
Originally adapted into a musical
from George Bernard Shaw's "Pyg
malion" by Alan Jay Lerner and Freder
ick Loewe, "My Fair Lady" opened on
Broadway in 1956. OFAM stage director
Richard Jessup and stage manager Josh
Neckels have produced a very standard
version of Lerner and Loewe's musical.
William M. Hulings and Shirley An
dress, OFAM veteran players, played Pro
fessor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. For
Hulings, Higgins was a character he was
born to play. Higgins' abominable con
ceit and temperament were compli
mented by Hillings' flawless British ac
cent. Andress fell in and out of her gut
tersnipe twangs, but made up for it with
her incredible singing voice. Though she
may not have commanded each scene,
she commanded each song she sang, es
pecially "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I
Could Have Danced All Night."
Brandon Finch, who played Freddy
Eynsford Hill, was also perfectly cast. His
bright smile gave Freddy life and youth
ful energy. Without the support of the
ensemble, Finch's strong voice carried
"On the Street Where You Live" with
grace and confidence. The tiny ear mi
crophone he wore proved to be unnec
essary. The scene where he stands alone
at Eliza's porch was simple, a far cry
from the delightfully raucous "Get Me
To the Church On Time," but no less ap
pealing.
Shaw's humor and wit shone through
during the scene at the Ascot races. The
black and white costumes were reminis
cent of the 1964 film and the chorus
and choreography were sublime.
Professor Higgins introduces his cre
ation, Eliza the Socialite, to the public at
this event, only to be embarrassed in front
of his family and friends. Even though she
speaks properly of the approved topics,
Please see PLAY, page 8
Concert series shares variety of music
The University sponsored concerts
in Washburn Park throughout
the summer months
KEVIN MILLER
FREELANCE REPORTER
Some would like to know who is playing and
listening to classical music these days. Well, ac
cording to last Sunday's concert in Washburn
Park, mostly senior citizens.
Eugene's Library, Recreation and Cultural Ser
vices Department, with the aid of the Hult Cen
ter for the Performing Arts has been busy host
ing free live-music shows in city parks and
recreation centers all summer. The Sweet
Winds, a local brass quintet, kicked things off
this month with a successful performance near
campus on August 1.
"We play for the fun of it," said Chet
Peterson, the Sweet Winds' clarinetist. "We got
our name because we'd always eat dessert to
gether afterwards."
The troupe's song selection was historically
themed. They began with classics like Bach and
Mozart then moved through the centuries,
touching on Debussy, Gould and others. Every
one seemed to appreciate the arrangements —
except for 15- to 25-year-olds who were barely
present at the show. Carol Phillips, Hult Market
ing and Public Relations Manager, is well aware
of the age-gap issue.
'They're going to have a graying audience,"
She said. "That's the tradition of that series. Some
of them have been coming for years and they
find great pleasure in it."
Lauren Larson and Mike Ragsdale were two of
the only college students to attend Sunday's
show. They explained that they were there as
friends supporting Karen Bertucci, Sweet Winds'
oboe player. This summer the LRCS in partner
ship with the Mult Center staff organized eight
other concerts appealing to more diverse crowds
in Eugene.
"The rest of the park series is not classical,"
Phillips said. "It brings in a wide range of audi
ences from babies to grandparents."
Please see WASHBURN, page 8
Record-hunting treasures remain elusive
Local second-hand stores
harbor a wealth of forgotten
trends and long-lost favorites
RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
One day, while perusing a local record outlet for obscure bits of
sonic kitsch, I met a man who told me a story about finding a couple
of albums by the Beatles at a local thrift store, including one with
"just a plain white cover and no words on it." This man had left the
_ album there, apparently not aware
of its worth (he was a Tom Jones fan,
REPORTER S an(l could not reasonably be expect
NOTEBOC) K et*to ^ave ^ooc*13816 *n mus’c)
- I found this story intriguing. I
had traversed the unyielding selec
tions of the local thrift stores before, but never had I come across
such a prize. For days the image of that glossy white cover tor
mented my every waking hour. Even my dreams were haunted by
images of glass onions, raccoons and birthday parties. Finally I
could take no more. I organized an expedition, consisting of my
girlfriend and me. This selection proved fruitful, as she served as
both transportation and guide to local thrift shopping opportuni
ties. Such knowledge would be important. My goal was to visit
every second-hand store that possessed a record collection. Mad,
you say? If dreams and passions are mad, then have
me committed straight away, for I do not wish
to live in such a world.
The first course of action was to care
fully plan my expedition. To my
knowledge, there are five major
second-hand stores in Eugene
with record selections
worth searching
through. I could dis
count one of'
these, the West
11th St. Vin
cent de
Paul's,
as the
Please see RECORDS, page 8
Photo Illustration by Tim Bobosky