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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2004)
Oregon Daily Emerald Thursday, November 18, 2004 “I do not believe in democracy, but I am perfectly willing to admit that it provides the only really amusing form of government ever endured by mankind. ’’ H.L. Mencken I Journalist ■ In my opinion RYAN MURPHEY MR. SOPHISTICATION Pissed off rock music emerges from presidencies It’s been two weeks, and many people are still reeling from the Nov. 2 broadside. The fact that a relatively untainted democratic election resulted in a sweeping ban on gay marriage and another four years of Cowboy George comes as a disheartening blow to those who would rather not let the Midwest make their moral decisions for them. The sad truth is that this is the will of the people, and there is nothing anyone can do to change that until 2008. The only thing left to do is to look on the bright side and hope that it can carry you through the next four years. All right, so the bright side is not so easy to find this time around. The economy is bad, our civil liberties are being threatened and most of the world thinks we’re a bunch of losers, but there is one good thing that has come out of most bad presidencies: angry political music. During the Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon presidential one-two punch that spanned from 1963 to 1974, LBJ set the bar for modern civil rights violators in the U.S. government, then let Nixon step in and make sure that any iota of faith remaining in our democratically elected officials was oblit erated. The actions of these presidents and their political contemporaries forced a latent counterculture to the surface that changed the course of history. Musical artists such as Bob Dylan, Edwin Starr and Janis Joplin brought a defiant new face to the American musical culture with songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “War (What is it Good For).” Even British pop sensations The Beat les were affected by this culture, departing from their early dulcet jangle to the more or chestrated, psychedelic sound that resulted in one of the greatest albums of all time. In a way, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is the blue ribbon tomato that grew out of the 1960s presidential manure. In contrast, the relatively uneventful Carter years yielded a sickly crop of catchy but fairly mindless dance hits in the States. The fumes of American punk rock were waft ing through the air with groups such as the Ramones, Television and the New York Dolls, but the spark that set the scene ablaze was yet to come. In 1981, a terrible thing happened to the United States, but a wonderful thing hap pened to music: the Reagan years. The gung ho conservatism of the Reagan administra tion provided the vitriol needed to bring American hard-core into fruition. This era marked the birth of the pissed off rock band. Reagan was a favorite target of punk satirist and Dead Kennedy’s front man Jello Biafra, who’s mock anthem “Kill the Poor” paid a sneering tribute to the economic tendencies of the Gipper & Co. Black Flag, Minor Threat, Mission of Burma, Hiisker Dii and Sonic Youth are all products of this angst-ridden period, which gave way to the rise of grunge during GW1. The Clinton administration didn’t seem to MURPHEY, page 6 Tim Bobosky | Photographer In an environment free from smoke and alcohol, Jim and Barbara Walker do a little ballroom dancing at Staver DanceSport Nov. 11. Ballroom Fever Staver DanceSport provides an alternative setting for dancers of all ages and experience levels BY DAHVI FISCHER PULSE REPORTER Those who cannot fit a Uni versity dance course into their schedule or those who simply want to go dancing virtu ally any day of the week can go to the newly-opened Staver DanceS port. Opened in September, the studio, which offers a plethora of dance options, can be useful, edu cational and fun for people of all ages and experience levels. “What we offer as a part of our studio is we teach people ball room dance, smooth and stan dard dance and Latin and rhythm dance,” said Linda Staver, PRO/M Instructor, Certified Ball room Dance Instructor and Certified Adjudicator registered with the National Dance Council of America. “We also have a ball room dance teacher’s college that trains people to become certified ballroom dance instructors recog nized by the National Dance Council of America. It is the only one in Oregon.” The smooth and standard dance classes offered at the studio are tango, quickstep, waltz and fox-trot. The studio also offers rhythm dances featuring swing, cha-cha, rumba, samba, mambo/salsa, bolero and the meringue. The daily dance sched ule changes each term. Dance classes typically last anywhere from four to eight weeks and add up to approximately $10 per week. A full calendar of the dances offered this term can be found at www. staverdancesport. com “Ballroom dancing is a terrific relationship tool,” said David Ol son, a ballroom dancer of 15 years. Olson said that ballroom dancing is a fun activity that allows he and his wife to enjoy quality time together. Olson, who has been training to be come a professional ballroom dance instructor under Staver’s instruction, has noticed a popu larity rise in ballroom dancing within the Eugene population. He said ballroom dancing is especially welcoming because it has levels that are social and fun, but it also has levels that are competitive and athletic. “Ballroom dancing is a won derful option for people of all ages to come together and enjoy one another’s company,” Olson said, referring to his 6-year-old son, who has taken up the hobby. The studio also provides private dance lessons with eight types of lessons to choose from, including one where students can design their own program. Friday and Saturday nights at Staver DanceSport provide a vari ety of special opportunities with all-ages dances. Specialty dances are offered twice a month, featur ing an upcoming Tlirkey TVot (a lot of Fox-trot and a mini dance lesson), Friday, and the Big Band Ballroom dance, Dec. 3. Saturday night ballroom dances, typically attractive to students, feature classical and oldies music played by a DJ. Dances cost $5 per person, last from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and provide an alcohol/tobacco free environment. The people who work at Staver DanceSport each con tribute a lot to making the studio as successful as possible. Herman Reyes voluntarily helps DANCERS, page 7 Nicole Barker I Photographer With a variety of indulgent bath and body products, Bubbles, in the Fifth Street Public Market, offers a taste of the metropolitan in Eugene. The store carries such exotically scented soaps as Sex on the Beach, Sushi and Sugar Cookies, as well as many hemp-based soaps. Beauty “lthe Bubble Local beauty fiends can now find trendy fragrances, bath products in Eugene where they couldn't before BY NATASHA CHILINGER1AN SENIOR PULSE REPORTER Beauty products featured in InStyle magazine and on the television show “Oprah” are now obtainable without going on line or venturing to a big city. Bub ble, a new bath and body boutique in the Fifth Street Public Market, offers items that appeal to cus tomers’ senses and satisfy their need for quality. The one-room shop appears to nearly spill over with scented soaps, bath bombs, fragrances, lo tions and the like, from brands like Demeter and Silk Spa. Owner Jamie Leaf, who opened the store in August, said her goal was to bring products to Eugene that lo cal beauty fiends couldn’t find in town before. “You’ll see stuff from fashion magazines and some customers will see things they’ve seen on line,” Leaf said. “It was a personal passion of mine; I wanted to bring these products to Eugene. ” Leaf said one of the more popu lar brands in Bubble is Demeter, a BUBBLES, page 11
