ROCK 1978: 0Golden Guitar The Michigan Daily-Sunday, January 7, 1979-Page Awards By ALAN RUBENFELD and MIKE TAYLOR N INETEEN SEVENTY-EIGHT may be remembered by some rock fans as the year punk rock died off, and by others as the year it took hold; strangely enough, both statements are more or less true. Many of the groups that emerged in 1977's tidal wave of new music have dropped out of sight, leaving stalwarts like Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Television, the Patti Smith Group, the Ramones, Blondie, and the Clash behind. But these bands were stronger than ever this year; many broke into the top 100 album charts, and some tunes like Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River" made headway on AM radio charts. The year will be remembered by the record industry as the year of mega- platinum bands-bands like Boston, k'oreigner, Electric Light Orchestra, Kansas, Styx, and Billy Joel. Record companies focus their promotion on these proven best-sellers, attempting to sell three or four million units, when just a million would have been a tremendous success a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, this game plan leaves little money to promote groups that have not yet achieved superstardom, yet have all the economic potential of the above groups. Moreover, many of these artists, such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Blondie, the Ramones, and Joan Armatrading, have considerably greater artistic potential than their platinum counterparts. The year's best music came from artists who have been around a few years, but no longer. None of the best groups were recording in the sixties' although some are firmly rooted in the traditions of sixties' rock'n'roll. It wasn't a good year for debuts - Ian Dury and Devo are the only new artists to make our ten best albums list, and both have been, performing for some time. Here then, are the Golden Guitar Awards of 1978. The Ten Best Reed's tales of greed, passion, and laughter. The simple instrumentation, coupled with Reed's coarse voice recalls the Velvet Underground in its finest days. though they are currently charging exhorbitant prices on their concert tour, Devo is the funniest talent to emerge in 1978. The year before, with only a couple of nutty singles to their credit, who could have predicted this fivesome from Akron, Ohio would hit big? Brian Eno's formica-smooth production might be a little too sleek for some devo-tees, but it's the perfect medium for Devo's crazy tunes and silly lyrics. 9) Television: Adventure This decade's equivalent to the Grateful Dead, TV mixes cerebral and visceral approaches in their art, a combo which leaves some listeners dizzy from confusion, and others enthralled with the music's passion. Tom Verlaine, the band's leader, mollifies the acrid bite of their debut, Marquee Moon, yet the end result is even more conceptual and perplexing than the first was. The tension inherent to both records made their live shows Events. Unfortunately, this friction carried over to their personal lives - TV broke up in October. 10) Ian Dury:,, New Boots and Panties!! With the Invasion of the Disco Snatchers upon us, Ian Dury and the Blockheads lend some sanity to this catatonic form. In fact, Dury's music can best be described as "proletariat disco." Dury and his crudely polished band croons standards such as 'Wake Up and Make Love to Me," "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll," and "I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra." Enough Rope, the Ramones' Road to Ruin, Blondie's Parallel Lines, Radio Birdman's Radios Appear, . Johnny Thunders' So Alone, and David Johansen Best Single "Surrender" by Cheap Trick the E Street Band Best Ann Arbor Concert The Romantics at the East Quad Halloween party Best New Group Devo See GOLDEN, Page 2 o- CINEMA 1110% Best Ann 5) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: Hearts of Stone This effort by the Jersey shore's finest marks a realization of the rock'n'roll potential demonstrated on their first two albums. Hearts of Stone is a joyous tribute to the unyielding spirit of rock, a compelling sound that makes you call for one more at the bar instead of heading out into the early morning air. The Jukes' revivalist passion for their genre is brought out in full color by Miami Steve Van Zandt's terrific production - making the LP one of the listening treats of the year. 6) Brian Eno: Before and After Science Besides producing albums by Devo, Talking Heads, and a valuable compilation of New York art bands called No New York, Eno made two fine albums of his own, Before and After Science and Music for Films. The first is the better of the two, for it effectively combines Eno's conception of disco ("No One Receiving"), rock'n'roll ("King's Lead Hat"'), and soft rock ("Julie With. ) in onensurprisingly coherent LP. Eno's records are always somewhat collaborative, for he plays with musicians who add their feelings to each song. 7) Patti Smith Group: Easter The first of New York's current generation of punk rockers to get a record cut, Smith is still going strong three years later. Like Bruce Springsteen, who co-authored this record's "Because the Night," Smith can't completely capture the frenzy of her live shows on disc, but this one comes close. Her poetry has been streamlined, the rock'n'roll turned up, and all pretenses of "art-rock" cast off - this is pop with a rock'n'roll heart. 8) Devo: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo. Though the hype has been disgusting, r Runner-Ups Arbor Single "City Slang" by Sonic' s Rendezvous Band Best Dance Song "Badlands" by Bruce Springsteen Best Disco Song Best Concert Tour Bruce Springsteen and " j so, , ~Gbh1 CO~ o o goS i y pAu oM~5 O presents Or0 °# HERE COMES MR. JORDA N ALEXANDER HALL, 1941 The original film about an athlete who, by celestial mistake, is given a ticket to heaven 50 years before his time. If you've seen the remake, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, you must see HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. ". . . gay, witty, tender, and not a title wise. It is one of the choicest comic fantasies. -NY Times. Starring ROBERT MONTGOMERY and CLAUDE RAINS. A campus favorite) (93 min.) SHORT-2 Looney Tunes: HIGH DIVING HARE, in which Yosemite Sam attempts to force Bugs Bunny to perform death-defying circus acts (1948, Friz Freleng). Also BOOBY HATCHED (Looney Tunes, 1944). I J L Aud A, Angell Hall 7:00 & 9:00 PM $1.50 Now Showing, Campus Area Butterfield Theatres ' .J': ,. I WEDNESDAY IS "BARGAIN DAY" $1.50 until 5:30 MONDAY IS "GUEST NIGHT" TWO ADULTS ADMITTED FOR PRICE OF ONE ADULT MAT. 2.50 EVES. & HOL.. 3,00 CHILD 14 & UNDER. 1.25 p WAYSIDE Wait Disney's 3424 washtenaw IN CC I YPpNiCCHti f iTa Albums 1) Bruce Springsteen: Darkness of the Edge of Town The Boss made the summer of '78 a memorable one for many with his long- awaited fourth album. The record is a reflection of pain, tears, and distress; its message is a revolutionary, yet highly personal one: we must seize control. Springsteen and the E Street Band's live shows were the concerts to see this year - three hour rituals into the past, present, and future horizons of rock'n'roll. "You want it - you take it-you pay the price." 2) Elvis Costello: This Year's Model Elvis couples innocent pop styles from the mid-sixties with lyrics born in a tormented seventies. We didn't think he could improve over his incredible debut LP last year. but his current band, the Attractions, a biting, vicious unit, toughens Elvis' acrimonious attack with colorful tongue-in-cheek instrumentation. You won't find Elvis Costello in Studio 54. 3) Talking Heads: More Songs A bout Buildings and Food Outsider Brian Eno fleshed out this New York band's stark pop sound by teaching them to take full advantage of studio effects. The result is a deliriously tasty version of rock'n'roll - complete with sudden tempo changes, abrupt melodic turns, and unpredictable vocals. With their strong cover of Al Green's "Take Me To the River," they proved they can tackle any material. 4) Lou Reed: Street Hassle Reed can be brutal with language, hypnotic with music; put it together and you get terrifying rock'n'roll. Binauralustereo gives Street Hassle a brittle, eerily realistic sound, ideal for Steve Forbert's Alive on Arrival, Bryan Ferry's The Bride Stripped Bare, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), Lou Reed's Take No Prisoners, Cheap Trick's Heaven Tonight, Nick Lowe's Pure Pop For Now People, Dave Edmund's Tracks on Wax 4, NRBQ's From Yankee Stadium, the Rolling Stones' Some Girls, Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy, and The Cars. New Wave All Stars MON, TUES, THUR 7 & 9 FRI 7 & 9:25 SAT 1 -3-5-79:25 SUN & WED 1-3-5-7-9 1 MON, TUES, THUR 7 & 9:15 FRI 7 & 9:25 SAT 1:15-4:15-9:25 SUN & WED 1:15-4:14-7-9:25 r- RYAN 0' NEAL CANDICE BERGEN RAY P @ nameness."'MILAND MON, TUES, THUR 7 & 9 FRI 7 & 9:25 SAT 1-35-7-9:25 SUN & WED 1-3-5-7-9 u MILLAND om IIVEKSITY cMUSICAL' OCIETY presents The Clash's Give 'Em A Guide to the Campus of The University of Michigan The first official guidebook to those unique and historic buildings which mark a campus rich in tradition. Handsomely illustrated with photographs and a new aerial map of the campus, the guide is de- signed to enhance visits to the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan and will prove invaluable to alumni as well as students and their families. paperbound $3.95 THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS P.O. Box 1104 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 Send me copy(ies) of A Guide to the Campus of The University of Michigan @ $3.95 per copy. Payment is enclosed. 0+ ANGELICK & JKCQUEL NE POZO ELL ENS two woman show January9-26 Acclaimed as one of the Met's briahtest new I Mlonon and Bellini's I Caouletl e i Montec-