'Aja' By ALAN RUBENFE A sad but true fact conce gressive music is that ther many innovative recordi today. But there are defin tions - Donald Fagen an Becker, who incorporatea that separates them fra other -music maker tod concept is known as Ste Steely Dan's history is de bit more bizarre than m bands. Named after a di William Burrough's nove Lunch, the band attained in success with several hit sin their initial album, Can' Thrill. Each subsequent alb the group improving in som their music, expanding the tration and song-writing to and also attaining a higherc musicianship. The major f this musical refinement band's increasing reliance professionals' talents in pl band's regular "personnel albums. By their fourth alb Lied, Steely Dan ceased to b Founders Becker and Fagen that, in a musical entity suc regular touring band, the s1 parts was greater than th Although the band's musici among the elite of progres 'n roll, it could not producet the two leaders sought. Steely Dan evolved into t1'e concept of combining th great rock and jazz ta compositions tailored to eac individual abilities. KatyL the result of such an effort Royal Scam, the following Becker and Fagen emplo same strategy, and pro record unsurpassed in sound musicianship, and overal sophistication. Unsurpassed until now. a smash for LD Aja (pronounced "Asia") is Steely whic rning pro- Dan's most ambitious and satisfying solo1 re are not work of all time. The album is Stevi ng 'artists somewhat of a departure from their ming ite excep- previous five adventures. The rec- Blue nd Walter ord's compositions contain a fuller misa a concept ,jazz element than exhibited in their Beck 'm every past albums. Donald Fagen and that lay. This Walter Becker continue to demon-- inspi pely Dan. strate their brilliance as songwrit- ensu: efinitely a ers; their ability to strike man's haun ost other inner chambers of cynicism, love and to m ildo from fear, coupled with their omnipresent I'll ', Naked sardonic wit, give the listener a I pl mmediate naked glimpse of a reality each one Dr gles from of us subconsciously lives daily but An 't Buy a would never expose as Messrs. Th um found Fagen and Becker choose to do. i e area of As in their' past several albums, I w ir orches- Steely Dan is a conglomeration of Th echniques ,musicians whose abilities represent T quality of the apex of professional talent. But it Cal factor for is the ability of the resident geniuses Sid was the to fuse their guests' talents into one Dan' on studio coherent unit. Some people appear on lively ace of the almost all of the songs: Larry solos on their Carlton, "formerly of the Crusaders, hit in uum, Katy cuts an impeccable lead and rhythm blues e a band, guitar, Chuck Rainey is the bassist journ n realized on his fourth Steely Dan album, life.] h as their percussionist Victor Feldman also is er tra um of the a veteran of several Dan albums, and that e he whole. Tom Scott arranges and performs song. ans were many of the record's saxophone Hom sive rock charts. In addition, Poco's Tim expai the sound Schmit and Mike McDonald of the unde Doobie Brothers also add their voices of sc4 an idea; to many of the album's tracks. riffs e world's As previously mentioned, Aja con- songs lents on tains more of the disciplined jazz Blaci h of their forms that Steely, Dan's recent instep Lied was recordings are noted, for. The open- guita . On The ing song, Black Cow, contains an soft a g album, infectious funky-jazz beat, which I G oyed the complements Victor Feldman's elec- numb duced a tric piano work, as well as a soulful omic, d quality, sax solo by Tom Scott. Aja, the title as w 1 lyrical cut, is a brilliant piece of art. The obliqi , that is, song is an ethereal work that drifts through several melodic sequences Steely Dan h ends with a poetic tenor sax by Wayne Shorter, coupled with e Gadd's paroxysmal drum- g. The side closes with Deacon s, a prime example of the nthropic depths that Fagen and ler's cynicism can reach. A song deals with one of their prime rations, human failure 'and its ing self-imposed depression, the ting lyrics are a fit description any of society's downtrodden: learn to work the saxophone lay just what I feel ink scotch whiskey all night long d die behind the wheel ey got a name for the winners in the world ant a name when I lose ey call Alabama the Crimson' Tide ll me Deacon Blues le two begins with Peg, a "Disco " number that, considering its y beat and scintillating guitar , could be their first AM radio years. Home At Last, a slow spiece, deals 'with the endless ney down the superhighway of Larry Carlton and Walter Beck- ade off some low key guitar solos enhance the desperate feel of the The entire instrumentation of e At Last demonstrates an nded musical maturity that rlines the entire album. Instead athing, high volume solo guitar that characterized such older s as Don't Take Me Alive and k Friday, Fagen and Becker ad opt for sensitive, deeper r lines that are simultaneously nd forceful. got the News, another uptempo ber, showcases Feldman's econ- , almost scat-style piano work, well as highlighting Fagen's due vocal references to'another past flame. Josie, Aja's final selec- tion, exemplifies the depths of deca- dence and moral turpitude the duo's lyrics can attain. Josie is an ode to the wild and slightly crazy woman that all men wish to conquer or be conquered by; a definite commen- tary on youth today. Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, and producer Gary Katz are the consum- mate outlaws of modern music. They are brilliant practitioners of this pro- fession. The two artists are not hesitant to expose their callous cyni- cism of the plastic life that constantly surrounds and threatens to assimi- late them. Somehow, they manage to stay on the periphery of a society for which they show nothing but a total contempt. This contempt is chan- neled through the music medium -- an avenue they explore and utilize to its optimum possibility. Aja is more than an album; it is a statement of the present. The record is a portrait of today's moral values and judgements. Aja is a.musical treatise that no other musical force can ever duplicate. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are musical geniuses. Steely Dan is the modern music of a modern world. Work in Washington, D.C. This Summer sponsored by Washington Summer Intern Program POSITIONS IN Congressional Offices, Executive Agencies, Lobbying Organizations, News Media, Research Organizations, and Museums. (UNDERGRADUATES ONLY) MASS MEETING WEDNESDAY-y:30-OCT. 12 MLB Auditorium 3 t~-.%. E~ ~ I ~'X & A * % a By ROSALYN KUTNER An Oktoberfest celebrating four German composers will open the Uni- versity Symphony Orchestra's season with Gustav Meier conducting tonight in Hill Auditorium at8 p.m., free admission. ,.Thepyogram includes Weber's, Freischutz Overture, Beethoven's Sev-S , 'h y Apbnpy, Wage 's Tannhauser Overture and Strauss's Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome. At first glance, these pieces seem almost to , "German' to be heard in one sitting. However, it is a rare treat to be able to compare them in a single program. The concert's first crescendo introduces the Freischutz Overture. This popular piece is based on the principal themes of the opera, as are most overtures. The story is based on an old German legend of magic and sorcery. Em°Freischutz is someone who can shoot magic bullets in any direction and always hit his mark. The bullets are made by the Wild Huntsman, better known as Satan. Weber's musical scheme is more understandable with such an aura of romanticism in mind. The slow, ponderous introduction illustrates an dark eerie forest common to most German fairy tales. Satan calls for the depths of the forest with a majestic horn fanfare. The more pleasing lyrical theme (in C major, of course) must be the heroine of the story. The piece is just brimming with imagery. This overture, above all others by Weber, fore- shadows Wagner's outstanding technique of expressing dramatic ideas through music. Wagner opens the second half of the program tonight. Tannhauser also involves a medieval German legend. A knight, Tannhauser, goes to Venus- berg to see the lovely women living with Venus. Soon after, he is kept there against his will (yes, against his will!) by the goddess. After a year, he escapes and goes to confess his sins to the pope, but is damned by him in- stead. Three days later, the pope realizes his wro gdoing and looks for Tann- hauser to forgive him, but is too late. Wagner admitted he had a hard time dramatizing the hero because his various emotions contrast so strongly. In effect, the music itself contains ex- treme contrasts. Tannhauser's painful yearning to be released from Venus- berg; his love for the outside world - these are only two such themes. As Wagner wrote in a letter just after Tannhauser's completion (in 1845), "That is my Tannhauser, as he loves and lives - a German from head to toe." The most outstanding and best remembered feature of Beethoven's Sev- enth Symphony is rhythm. Each of the four'movements is centered around a different rhythmic pattern. Strauss's sensuous Dance of the Seven Veils ends the program on a thrilling note. The story of Salome is shocking - so shocking that it was ban- ned from the New York Metropolitan Opera House for 26 years (from 1907 to 1933). Salome, a 16-year-old princess, consents to dance for her father if her grants her one wish. The dance occurs just past the halfway point in the one- act opera, so the audience already knows her wanton yearning for John the Baptist. The music of the dance is composed of significant themes from the opera: love, lust and Salome's theme are a few. It is important to notice recurrent treatments of those themes and their powerful moods, not to know which musical motive corresponds to which dramatic idea. In essence, the composers in tonight's "Oktoberfest" are heavyweights in German literture, but their music is wonderously exciting and should not be missed. A communications group of native people of the Americas Grupo De Communication Social De Los Pueblo indigenas. This group representing Native People of Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Guatemala will be at the University of Michigan Tuesday, October 11. WORKSHOPS AND CLASSROOM VISITS: discussing Native Issues during the d Er , y: PHILLIP DEERE Muskoge, spiritual advisor to AIM 'and delegate to UN * II. II 11II 1111IA * *IUJ@.Ji.I E-0~u s " . s ** ANltl AIEA * 730 P.M. I Deluxe featUres now :Oct. 15 $4.00 ..availablea no extra harge " SATURDAY 482-4000 DATE: Thur. and Fri., Oct 6 and 7 e0 ,,. IME:I1: O to4:00 "*. ,. 0 TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: All Hudson's Stores, Logos Book- y PLACE: Main Lobby Michigan Union stores, Aura Sound Shoppe-Ann Arbor. ".*" *****"0*"*0 ""* ""*."."""* *"*""ii. 00000000 000 "0 YA This is a cryptogram, a form of code Ian- "Q TQL"' the "Q" always standing for "A' the guage, where letters of the alphabet stand "T" for "C' and the "L" for "T." Your chal- for other letters of the alphabet. For instance, lenge is to break the code of the cryptogram the words "A CAT" in a cryptogram might be below, and discover its hidden message. BH DU ZH UH SODBLQJ KR OLGDBV WR VSRUW ZR XOG EH DV WHGLRXV DV WR ZRUN. ... T 9R M 4. 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