THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Nine

Friday, November 12, 1971

THE MICHIGAN DAILY Poqe Nine


or

u1pr laaiIy CALENDAR
What's Happening
and Where

Next time-
Big Brother
Might Be
Watching YOU
committee to
RECALL
BRAD TAYLOR

Motels':

The price of success

Overlooked albums

(Continued from Page 2)
varnished with zowie Wood-
stockish visuals.
In some quarters, it's said
that Zappa is down on drugs;
this hoked-up light show says
different. Make no mistake. 200
Motels is first and foremost a
head picture trying to capture,
as one friend of mine put it,
that point where your shoelace
begins to take on cosmic signi-
ficance. Speaking aesthetically
and psychologically, if you have
to be totally zonked-out to en-
joy a film, that says something
about the film, about you, or
about both. Stay home, turn on
a red light, and save yourself
two bucks. But if you're not tot-
ally stoned out of your gourd,
Motels' flashing colors are about
as mind-blowing as the times
you'd fool around with the hue
and intensity dials on your new
color television.
Actually, TV is quite an appro-

Debuting Nov. 16

I

If you have an item of interest, place it
in THE DAILY CALENDAR folder 48
hours in advance.
420 MAYNARD
Bulletin Board

ALL
ALL
THE STARS!
ALL
THE SPECTACLE!
ALL
THE SONGS!

Magic rings for
magic moments.
, ALTIMONT SET
ArtCarved wedding bands.
Beautiful and unique
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A tribute to your taste
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READ AND USE THE
DAILY CLASSIFIEDS

PARTY
U of M Ski Team
Old and New Members
Invited
Sat., Nov. 13, 9p.m.
1327 Wilmot, No. 4

priate analogy for Motels' gra-
phics, because the film not only
has the same artsy quality as a
Sunday NET special before NET
went network, but on the tech-
nical side it was originally video-
taped before transfer to film,
I would imagine to cut expens-
es. So 200 Motels looks more
like a theater-TV prize f i g h t
than a movie. I guess we should
have known what with TV Mov-
ies of the Week and with Peter
Bogdanovich's Last Picture
Show chonicling the havoc the
tube wrought on the movies,
that sooner or later TV would
move right in and take over.
Now it has, and McLuhan will
have to rewrite some of his
theories, especially those deal-
ing with texture. I mean, if you
look closely, you can even see
the grid lines.
These wild fluorescent images
would seem the very meat for
Zappa's bite. You can practically
hear his voice mocking them:
Sit back and smoke your dope
and watch our heavy camera-
man create a trip! Just like the
rock festivals! UnTortunately,
that beautiful contempt for
everything and everybody, e s-
pecially The Mothers' fans for
whom he had always reserved
his most severe tongue-lashings,
never emerges. Instead, most of
Motels' lame-brained parodies
takes take sides, not in the sense
that Zappa's leer for the coun-
ter-culture has drooped (it
hasn't), but rather in the sense
that the barbs here are v e r y
self-consciously "in." And since
young people and old rock stars
are the only ones likely to even
remotely understand what's go-
ing on, the result is the same as
attacking the traditionalsobjects
of youth ridicule.
200 Motels, then, is really not
so much a movie or even a trip,
though that's what the picture
appears to be, as a test. How

hip are you? Ninety-nine per-
cent of the jokes are what I'd
" call "apartheid humor," sep-
arating radical chic from t h e
Army jacket crowd. Apartheid
humor usually revolves around
rock, drugs and sex, since those
are the things thought 1e a s t
likely to e coopted by liberal
parents (though I'm not all that
sure about the last). Laughs
here are signs of being young,
liberated, and in the know. But
after a while, unless you've just
turned fourteen, the w o r d
"fuck" is neither funny nor cool;
if we're to believe the press
reports, even Nixon says "fuck."
And in truth, convincing every-
one else in the audience t h a t
you're with it can get pretty
dull. There must be a better
way.
This film, however, may be
the price of success. Zappa has
become so big spoofing things
that are "in" that he's almost
an object for parody himself.
And nothing destroys an apos-
tate so much as acclaim. He
may begin thinking he's a good
heretic, and when a heretic los-
es mock contempt for himself,
he loses everything. Take Mark
Volman, the fat, frizzy-haired
new Mothers' recruit, who comes
as close as anyone to being the
star of 200 Motels. You'd never
know watching Volman spout
obscenities that he came from
the Turtles, or that the Turtles
were the first group T r 1 c i a
Nixon invited to the White
House way back when. You
could almost make a movie
about that, but here's Volman
prancing about and acting nas-
tily cool when all the time he's
played before Tricia Nixon for
crissakes!
The upshot of this is that the
only really funny sequences in
the movie are the end pieces fea-
turing Theodore Bikel, who, like
Victor Mature in After the Fox,
unabashedly spoofs himself. The
ludricrous first scene has quiz-
master Bikel eliciting o b s c e n e
responses from Larry the Dwarf
alias Frank Zappa alias Ringo
Starr. The last scene has Bikel
leading the entire troupe in a
rousing finale, "May the Lord
have mercy on the people of
England because the food they
eat is so bad." In the middle of
this huge production number,
The Mothers tell us we can now
go home and "once again take
ourselves seriously." To which
I might add, we're not the on'y
ones, Frank.

(Continued from Page 2)
the songs are strongly vocal
with soloingusedonly sparse-
ly. Most of the songs are rather
desolate and moody, and it isn't
the type of music recommended
to bring you tip.
By contrast, Aereo-Plain (War-,
ner Brothers 1916) by John
Hartford, is good-time music
from start to finish. Hartford,
after his success with "Gentle
On My Mind," has retreated to
Nashville and, along with some
other musicians there, makes
some very pleasant country mu-
sic. The one thing that bother-
ed me somewhat was that Hart-
ford didn't do much on the ban-
jo. The fiddle player takes up
some of the slack, so things
work out all right. All in all,
this album has a lot of good
things to offer the, listener.
Quiver (Warner Brothers
1939) is one of the new wave of
British bands. They use t h e
same formula as the Beatles:
two guitars, bass, and drums;
but instead of the overampli-.
fied guitar work that has come
to be associated with English
bands, they play at a moderate
level and rely on good tunes to
impress the listener. The guitar-
ists aren't astonishing, b u t
they're more than adequate. The
bass and drums fit in beautifully
and this rhythm section is hard
to beat. The mix on the album
isn't too good, the voices aren't
loud enough. The bass is mixed
quite high, putting it in a solo
position which, in this case, is
a good move. This is a strong
first album for a group, but I
would expect even better things
on their next record.

For the last two years, Colos-
seum has been one of the very
best British bands. Their main
problem was that they always
sounded better live than in the
studio. They have solved t h i s
,problem by cutting a live dou-
ble-album. Colosseum Live
(Warner Brothers 1942). From
hearing the record, it sounds as
if Colosseum must be a killer
band live. Every member of the
band is incomparable on his in-
strument. Dick Heckstall-Smith
is certainly the very best sax-
player in rock today, and Jon
Hiseman is debatably the best
drummer. Dave Greenslade is
awful good on organ and he is
more than adequate on vibes.
Dave Clempson is surely one of
the most under-rater guitarists
in rock. Bassist Mark Clarke is
the newest addition and he
provides a steady rhythm for
the music, Colosseum had prob-
lems in,,'the 'past with vocals,
but now that Chris Farlowe, a
solo performer of some repute
in England, has joined the band,
they have a singer who can ser-
iously 9hallenge Cocker. Clemp-
son and Clarke add the back-up
vocals, and Clempson is quite
capable of trading off vocal
lines with 'Farlowe. The album
starts off with the Jack Bruce
song "Rope Ladder to the Moon"
which is a, showcase for Heck-
stall-Smith. They then play a
few blues-oriented tunes in
which Clempson stretches out.
They end everything with an in-
credible version of "Lost An-
geles." This album has no faults
and it really ought to be heard
if at all possible.

For the student body:
Genuine
Authentic
Navy
PEA COATS
$25
Sizes 34 to 50
rE

In forming the public

I.


(Continued from Page 2)
community and listening audi-
ence.
A considerable amount of air
time is given to minority groups
such as blacks, Chicanos, and
Indians whose viewpoints are
frequently and freely represent-
ed. WUOM has, also presented
student and student related or-
ganization rationale on vari-
ous issues, including some which
differed with University view-
points., It is the genuine inter-
est of the station to present
both sides of an issue fairly
and honestly.
Another hindering factor is
that the station has received no
increase in funds from the Uni-
versity in the past several years,
which defeats many ideas for
expansion and improvement.
But WUOM has not become dis-
couraged.

Despite a constant uphill bat-
tle against the general lack of
money, feedback and support,
.WUOM is accomplishing what
it set out to do-inform, enlight-
en, and change when change is
needed while remaining non-
commercial and 'public'. This is
particularly difficult to do in to-
days money-oriented, capitlistic
society. In an attempt to bring
itself out of obscurity, WUOM is
constantly making, sincere at-
tempts to appeal to the intellect
while remaining deeply concern-
ed with enriching the lives of its
listeners. Through this appeal, it
hopes to strengthen its minority
audience and continue to broad-
cast in the 'best interest' of all
the people of the state.

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Environmental Health Seminar: R.A.
Deininger, "Problems inEniom-
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Sch. of Public Hth II Aud., 1st Floor,
Commission on Women: 3540 SAB, 3-5 1:00 p.m.

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Shows at 7 & 10 P.M. Only
NOTE: All Proceeds Go to Sullivan Center for Retarded Children,
Tickets: $1.25 (Season Tickets Will NOT Be Accepted to These
Performances
Orson Welles Film Society in conjunction with Trigon Fraternity
and Chi Omega Sorority
Sunday! "Putney Swope" Returns
Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11; Nat. Sci. Aud.
Orson Welles Film Society

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Union Ballroom
TICKETS AT DOOR

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8:00 P.M., SATURDAY, NOV. 13 1
RACKHAM LECTURE HALL
___PROGRAM
DOUGLAS LEEDY ....... ..... "Antifonia II"
WILLIAM BOLCOM ... ..... "Whisper Moon"
LLOYD ROGERS ........... "Alma Redemptoris
Mater: In Memoriam
Hermanni Contracti"
JOHN CAGE .............."Suite For Toy Piano"
TERRY RILEY ........................."In C"
SPONSORED BY THE COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT
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NOVEMBER

ART

FAIR


" a
Boots are booming! Sold and
brash by design. Styled to
come on strong whatever you
do. It's a great way to get a
real boot out of life.
y DEXTER
Black
Brown

Astronomy Colloquium: G. Elste, i rgartur ioz n otces
"Astronomical Turbulence - Part II"
P&A Colloq. Rm, 4 pm. N.A.P.H. (National Association of the
Physically Handicapped), Nov. 12, 5:30
China Studies Club: "China and Itsea eg, ne
People; China and Its Industry; China room 2 Michigan League, Speaker:
and Its Agriculture," UGLI Multipur- Charles Foster on Mentally Retarded
pose Rm. 7:30 pm. Service Center.
Hockey: Michigan vs. Western On- Graduate Outing Club, Nov. 14, 1:30
tario. Coliseum. 8 pm. PM. Meet at Huron St. entrance to
International Folk Dance: Biarbour i Rackham. Hiking at Kensington Park.
dential College (East Quad) Auditor-
Gym, 8 pm. India Students Association, Nov. 13,
Rive Gauche: Lithuanian Night, 1024; 6:30 PM and Nov. 14, 6:30 PM, Resi-
gilm St., 8 pm.fium. A Hindi Movie dJewel Thief".
American Indians Unlimited Club is
General Notices holding Native Am. Teach-In, Nov. 13,
14 at Angell Hall Aud. C & B. 'Hunted
Academic Costume: May be rented at Race' rockgroup, at Lydia Mendels-
Acad 711N. Uiveritysohn Theatre, Nov. 12, 7:30 PM. Tickets
Moe snrt Shop, 711 N. University on sale now at the Michigan Union
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