THE MICHIGAN DAILY tuesdav. Anri 1 7 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY T~ a~~zrIn~, Ar~rl 7 107fl uc uY r1 i11 It 1 7 V records ro Joni: A moment of reflection By ANN L. MATTES Joni Mitchell's third album just has to be her best. Wisely, { she's saved some of her favorite A songs, composed as early as " 1966, until she attained popular- ity not only as a song writer .. . . (for Judy Collins and others) but as a folk singer as well. Like Leonard Cohen, Joni's first two albums appealed to folk enthusiasts who wanted to hear the "original", for reasons more academic than aesthetic. Surprisingly, both Canadian ar- Stists held up well after t h e short term acclaim that novel- S. iy brings. People continued to ...4. listen to the originals; and many preferred them. Ladies of the Canyon in- : clules "The Circle Game", which you will recognize im- mediately and may associate with Tom Rush who first in- troduced her songs to the Amer- ican folk audience. Also familiar is "Woodstock", the song by Crosby, Stills and Nash that closed the festival film. How- ever, if you know Joni at all, the possibility is that you al- iready know she composed them. In other words, she will have no one but herself to thank for 'Pubrty byEdvad M nchthe sale of this album. Puberty' by Edvard M nchA couple of syears ago Joni cCnema An A'Cademy'of mediocrity sang at Canterbury H o u s e. Her sets included some of the songs on this album. She may even have composd one of them at the Michigan Union, where she was staying. (I wish I could remember which one it was.) In a coffee house atmosphere Joni has a hypnotic appeal. As she pours out her songs, h e r eyes rest on members of the audience in instant communi- cation. Standing on stage, large, blue eyes unblinking, guitar held against her graceful but angu- lar frame, she has the s a m e penetrating appeal that Edvard Munch created in his portrait of a young girl, entitled "Puberty." Joni's presentation is a mixture of defiance and des- pair. Each of her songs is about people she has met - situations she has experienced. Few are profound. Rather, she concen- trates on the simple drama of the moment. And she introduces you to all sorts of interesting people: the clarinetist who plays for free, the refugee from a wealthy family, the priest wear- ing his father's tie, and many more. Her songs are not ab- stract speculations but straight- forward accounts. Consider, for example, the lyrics to "For Free": I slept last night in a good hotel I went shopping today for jewels The wind rushed around in the dirty town And the children let out from the schools I was standing on a noisy corner Waiting for the walking green Across the street he stood And he played real good On his clarinet, for free Now me I play for fortune And those velvet curtain calls I've got a black limousine And two gentlemen Escorting me to the halls And I play if you have the money Or if you're a friend to me But the one man band By the quick lunch stand He was playing real good, for free. Nobody stopped to hear him Though he played so sweet and high They knew he had nqver Been on their T.V.< So they passed his music by I meant to go over and ask for a song Maybe put on a harmony ... I heard his refrain As the signal changed He was playing real good, for free. In each song, Joni's love for people she is discussing comes out in the words and in the urgency of her voice. The con- trol she exercizes over the vocals are peculiar to her style alone, often switching from lower to upper range in a characteristic yodel. Adapting her coffee house performance to the recording studio has been somewhat dif- ficult for Joni. One of t h e shortcomings of her second al- bum Clouds was that the songs tended to run into one another because of a lack of variety in the accompaniment. While the instrumentation in this album is still limited, basically unam- plified piano and guitar, other instruments such as cello, sax and percussion are introduced at intervals to provide counter- statements. Joni's piano and guitar arrangements are par- ticularly complimentary to her voice. The music is always push- ing forward, unhesitating except for moments of reflection. When you consider that Joni designed the cover, composed and arranged the songs, sang and played the main instru- ments, you will only begin to estimate the artistry of this woman. The rest will come when you watch her perform. The University of Michigan Philharmonica and Chamber Choir, conducted by Thomas Hilbish, will give a concert at 8 p.m Tuesday, April 7 in Hill Aud. The concert will be open to the public free of charge. On the program will be works by M o n t e v e r d i, Stravinsky, g-MMICHIGRAS WRITE A JOKE... WIN A PRIZE! ENTER THE MICHIGRAS JOKE WRITING CONTEST AND WIN VALUABLE PRIZES " Original. Printable Jokes " 50-75 Words 0 Typed Entries ue Thursday, April 9. 1970 " Identify with Name, Address, Phone Nn. * Winners Judoed by Popular Appeal wn Saturday. April I1, 1970 at 1i rit! * Brinq Entries to Michigras Office, 3A Uni3,. r r- L, Department of Urban Planning presents Edmund Bacon Director of City Planning Philadelphia "Urban Planning Architecture and Politics" WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8th Aud. A, Angell Hall 4:00 P.M.* Charles Ives, and Schoenberg. ~-~--- GOING TO EUROPE Pick up a new Simca 1204. Use it while you're there and bring it home for less than you'd pay for one here. Or lease it and leave it there. LOWEST RATES ANYWHERE European MAotor6erviee 331 "S. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor . 663-0110 1 _1 By NEAL GABLER It is quite fitting that the Academy- Awards come smack dab in the middle of the bas- ketball and hockey play-offs, because the Oscar telecast is really more of a spectator sport than an:. evening honoring Superior achievement in cinema? JHelly Dolly? Someone has got to be kidding. All of us know it',s gold-flock- ed, orchestrated, see-thru-pant- dress, tear-filled hokum. Never- th~eless, each year we're all there .from ten o'clock to God knows when, moaning with every rip of the envelope, "And the win- ner is . . ." Nine times out of ten, deep in our cinematic gut, we k~now the winner is wrong. I' mean How Green Was My Val- lyjust isn't a better film than Citizen Kane. Nor is In the Heat of the Night better than Bonnie and Clyde. And if Oliver is bet- ter than 2001, which wasn't even nominated, then I grieve for all art' judged against t h e Great Aesthetic in the Sky. Actually, the awards resemble a kind of ward-heeler politics. Most studios are represented somewhere in the nominations. So are different genres. Musical - Hello Dolly! Adventure - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Pseudo-Shakespeare - Anne of the Thousand Days. And this year. there is even a Foreign-intellectual -- Z - which may become something like the Jewish seat on the Supreme Court. -There are also usually a black (Rupert Crosse), a youngster (Cathy Burns), some old-timers (John Wayne, Gig Young, Jean Simmons), and stars of the fu- ture (Jon Voight, Goldie Hawn). Everybody gets a piece of the action. The academy doesn't discriminate anything except quality.. This year's contest has a slightly different touch with the nomination of Zi it is almost too good a film to be mixed up in this kind of thing. Anyway, it stands at one pole antipodal to Anne. Probably neither will win - Anne, because it is so' dishonest and Z because it is fine window dressing but too intel- ligent for a moronic group who favors the innocuous. Midnight Cowboy, on the other hand, straddles the spec- trum. It is not so deep that it doesn't appeal to almost every- one who goes to see it, but it is not so obviouslyrsuperficial eith- er. As a matter of fact, w it h D us t in Hoffman groveling around the streets of New York, it looks rather profound. But in many ways it is like a form- er winner, In the Heat of the Night.; they are both social pab- lum. In these troubled times that equals an Oscar. To say Midnight Cowboy will be best picture is also to say that John Schlesinger will be best director. I guess this is the Academy's stab at auteur theory. If I had my druthers, I'd pick Costa-Gavras for Z or Arthur Penn for Alice's Restaurant. But Schlesinger it will be. In the category of Best Actor everyone just assumes John Wayne will take it. He'll be flanked by Bob Hope and Mar- tha Rae and drowned out by a slappy ovation while the cam- era lights on some woman in the audience who looks as if' she has girdle trouble. After all, the Duke has been around for a long time, and who knows when another role will come along that would even remote- ly qualify him- for considera- tion? There is a veneer of hon- esty. ,But the Academy, though of- ten predictable, is predictable in a Lyndon Johnson sort of way. LBJ wouldn't give Wayne the Oscar because everyone expects 0- him to win it. Remember Ells- worth Bunker? I'll probably be caught with my glasses down, but I think the Academy may fool us and give the statue to Peter O'Toole, and a few years later Wayne will get a special award for being a greyt human- itarian or something. Granted, this may be wishful thinking. Best Actress is more difficult for the prognosticator. Gene- vieve Bujold can be eliminated: the Genevieve Bujolds never win. Maggie Smith seems a mite too obscure. That leaves J a n e Fonda, Jean Simmons and Liza Minnelli, and to me it's a toss- up. But just so I don't appear to be shirking my duties, I'll give the nod to Liza Minnelli. The supporting performers' awards are often used to reward some old workhorse of the in- dustry who will never be nom- inated to Best Actor but who de- serves some recognition f o r sticking it out. For Best Sup- porting Actress, Cathie Burns of Last Summer is far ahead of the rest of this field of fledg- lings that I can't imagine (real- ly I can) anyone else winning. The Best Supporting Actor nom- inations are more true to the Academy form. Both Gig Young, and Anthony Quayle are aging veterans of the back-lot. Young will win, but the industry owes something to Easy Rider and those of its ilk for bringing so much money into studio coffers. Besides, Nicholson deserves it. It is very possible, and even probably, that once I have com- mitted my predictions to print, I'll meet ignominious defeat. That is a chance all reviewers must take. One thing I'm sure of - if John Wayne wins, he'll thank this great country of ours. He's right, you know. It could only happen in America. * * * By the way, Cinema II is running Salesman Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. - i 5th WEEK NMFO DIAL 8-6416 NOMINATED FOR 5 ACADEMY AWARDS INCLUDING Best Picture IA(? - 040 presents Love's Alchemy performing on the Diag today 12 noon-1:00 Carnival on Diag thru Fri.-12 noon-4:OO apt "THE LAST WORD IN THRILLERS, TERRIFIC!" -GENE SHALIT, Look Maqazine A While in Europe, see RUSSIA SUB-LET SERVICE 4DAY, ALL INCLUSIVE TOUR $398 Frankfurt, Moscow, Leningrad, Sotchi 101 I CIiEi TONITE . Rap About Dope Steve .Schwartz, Drugs and S ciety ICASAN UNION-7:30-1O:30 PM Sponsored by Student Affairs Counseling Office I OVILD WE RENT YOUR PLACEFOR YOU. COME ON IN AND REGISTER HUNDREDS HAVE ALREADY!!! Student Living Quarters 1217 S. University-662-6591 . 9 Includes round trip air fare from Frankfurt. Guaranteed departures every Friday. Fo further information on this tour or one of nine others, contact: STUDENTS INTERNATIONAL 1231 S university 769-6871 40 AMERICAN FILM STUDIES April 7--Tuesday LOUISIANA STORY dir. Robert Flaherty (1948) The impact of machines and money on idyllic Ca- jun life. 9 I I1 ARCH. AUD. 75c 7 & 9:05 662-8871 Ch SUmmer Jobs for Students Applications are now being accepted for summer j o b s with a major corporation. Students 18 years of age and over wanted to learn marketing, sales promotion and brand identification techniques. From now through the end of summer. High level executive management training courses given to qualified applicants. Salary $115 per week, for first 3 weeks, $145 per week plus bonuses starting 4th week. I 'I M 4 ieck us out... 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