REC O RD S
By MARK DIGHTON
Well, singles compilation albums
have finally-come of age with the latest
Planet Records release, Sharp Cuts.
Fromthe earliest singles albums com-
posed of uniformly faceless punk
sludge, we now have before us a well-
pronounced album of pleasant but not
predictable MOR rock. Along the way,,
'there have been more adventurous
"collections, but few have been as con-
,istently pleasing as this compilation of
nsigned American bands.
CIs
Of course, the bands on this album
are neither as unique nor as frenetic as
Aheir predecessors. In fact, they are
uite unavoidably second-(if not third-)
generation bands. But their production
qualities and melodic deftness have
progressed light years from those early
days. They also aren't preprogrammed
as some of the bands passing for "new
wave" are nowadays. These groups are
instead stuck in a sort of grey no-bands-
land. They are not corporate enough to
get any big-bucks backing and not
outrageous enough to stir up any media
*nterest That doesn't mean they don't
deserve to be heard, however.
It may already be a cliche, but this
glbum proves once and for all (no,
-really!) that the restricted and unad-
venturous artist rosters of the major
record companies are really shutting a
lot a deserving, professional bands out
of the chance to make records. Almost
:half of the bands on this album are
clearly ready to make their mark on
our record collectons with an album on
major label.'
THE BAND that fairly screams on
this album to have hit single is Single
Bullet Theory. With a good producer,
their contribution, "Keep It Tight,"
could be a good bet for that hit single.
It's not really power pop, it isn't surf, it
isn't even a Motown cover. In short, it's
just plain not trendy. What it is, though,
is a classic rock ballad you wouldn't be
surprised at all to hear on the
radio ... and that's just where -it
belongs.
My favorite cut on the album is "Soul
Kiss" by the dB's. It lives up to-if not
surpasses-the reputation that
preceded it. As a single, it succeeds in
quirky enthusiasm without overflowing
into the annoying coyness that plagued
some of Chris Stamey's solo singles.
A few of the other singles sound
disturbingly similar.' At least three of
these bands are trying to meld the new
wave revival of gutsy rhythm and blues
into a mainstream format. Unfor-
tunately, for different reasons, none of
them are tompletely successful. "I'm
Gonna Follow You" by Billy Thermal is
by far the best in its sultry, menacing
tone. If Foreigner weren't so smug,
they might be able to pull off something
this effective. The Willys' entry, "She's
Illegal," is built around an intriguing
mysterious keyboard riff, but too often
can be written off as a vague imitation
of Mink Deville. "Live Among the Dan-
cers" by Bates Motel is a more solidly
mainstream song, but the r&b stylings
of the vocalist are nothing if not forced.
PETER DAYTON'S "Last Supper" is
the most unusual song on the album
with its industrial guitars, mechanical
drumming, -and dependable rhythm
synthesizers. He comes off as a sort of a
suburban Gary Numan with an angst-
ridden, teen-age point of view, you
might say. Unfortunately, even an (at
first) witty line like "Just had my last
hamburger and milkshake" can be
pretty annoying when it is repeated
meaninglessly for half the length of the
song.
The Know's contribution to this
album is not really bad ... but it's not
as good as one might expect it to be. I
mean, all we need is one more truly
unique look at interpersonal relation-
ships like "I Like Girls." Although
Gary Valentine-the former bassist for
Blondie-seems to be chock full of
*-*"
b, - s n'i u.p
Kids just wannadance.
Kids at the clubs
In rock and roll bands,
Kids just wanna dance
on American Bandstand."
Sometimes it's surprising- how fun in-
sipidness can be, though.
The only song that comes close to
failing is "Unable" by Suburban
Lawns. It transplants evasive intellec-
tual posturing for a clear sense of direc-
tion and/or melody. Having a guitarist
with the last name of Ennui is a dead
giveaway that this band doesn't even
believe in fun as an abstract concept.
Besides, Su Tissue's screechy lead
vocals are only distinguished from the
bored drone of Niagra (of Destroy All
Monsters) in that Su apparently hasn't
done enough drugs yet to cause her to
jslur her words.
I guess with such a mixed bag as this
album represents, you're' bound to
come up with a few losers ... but at
least this one also has its share of win-
ners. None of the songs are really bad,
either, even the annoyingly arty Subur-
ban Lawns. All of them manage to be
fun or interesting or dancable in one
way or another. What is most sur-
prising is the overall consistency and
competence that marks this album.
Bands like these speak well for the
future of rock and roll on American
radio and in American garages.
" f
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The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, April 8, 1980--Poa 7
R C student plays
to be staged
Student playwrights will have a chance to see their works staged in
public with From Stage to Page, an evening of original theatre to be
presented in East Quad's Residential College Auditorium April 10
through 13 at 8 p.m.
The production is being staged by the R. C. Play/Workshop, a
collaborative ensemble that originated out of a class traught in the R.C.
program. From Stage to Page, their first major effort, is entirely the
work of the students, who have drawn upon their own resources for the set
and lighting design, direction and acting, as well as the original material.
EACH OF the four nights will be divided into two sections. The first
hald will consist of approximately eight comic and dramatic scenes. The
latter half of each performance will be occupied, on 'alternate nights, by
one of two longer plays: "Gambit," a work "concerning the disparity
betweem illusion and reality," by Joanne Reilly; and Blake E. Radclif-
fe's "The Return of the Conquering Hero Alfred Englethorp," described
as a "Brechtian-style comedy."
In: all of these segments, the actors, playwrights, and directors of 24-
member company combine their talents. Tickets for the evenings are
$2.00, and will be available at the door.
Use Daily
Classifieds
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talent, he also seems to be stuck
dredging up '60's teen-dream retreads'
for one last energetic run-through (not1
unlike another currently popular band
from Detroit whose name begins with
"R" and ends with "omantics").
There's nothing wrong with that, as this
piece of perfectionist pop will attest,
but excuse me if I have to ask, "But is
that all?"
Surprisingly, "Kids Just Wanna Dan-
ce" by The Fast is not as annoying as
the group looks in their photo. Unfor-
tunately, it is every bit as vaccuous and
predictable. Catch these immortal
lines:
"Kids in Japan,
Kids in Rome and France
ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE presents:
"THE CRUCIBLE
by ARTHUR MILLER
cat
Lydia Mendelssohn
April 9-12
CURTAIN 8:00 pm
C f
I I..
GEORGETOWN [UNIVERSITY
Summer Sessions
iment/Business/Sociology Internships
gton Laboratory
HOME
DEFENDANTS STAND MUTE BEFORE COURT:
Bouncers charged with assault
0l
D
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D
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Language Institutes
English as a Foreign Language
College Preparation
Ethics Institute
Writer's Conference
SIETAR Institute
Govern
Washin
i1 t t1
(Continued trom Page i )
~omeone threw a beer mug at him. He
said the bouncers apparently thought
'he was involved in the mug throwing,
and asked DeJonge and his brother to
s-leave.
DeJonge said that suddenly a boun-
cer said to him;','' really like to beat the
"hell out of you-big guys."
"He was trying to provoke a fight,"
said DeJonge. DeJonge said after he
responded with a profanity, "all these.
hands grabbed me, and they started
icking me." DeJonge said there were
ve bouncers around him.
"I DIDN'T STAND a prayer. They
kicked me in the back. I got to my
knees, trying to protect myself." D.e -
Jonge said the bouncer continued to hit
him, and DeJonge bit his assailant.
"He went insane. He kicked me in the
head. That's all I remember seeing."
DeJonge said he was pulled by a boun-
cer from the bar.
After the incident, DeJonge said both
Of his eyes were swollen shut, he had
black and blue marks about his body,
his knees were injured, he had a cut
near his ear, 'and his jaw was swollen,
.as was his forehead. Mark Hopper,
DeJonge's attorney, said criminal
charges have been filed against one of
the assailants, and Hopper said he was
planning to file a civil action later this
week.
{SECOND CHANCE Manager Con-
nors said the bouncers use force "very
*'ldom."
' "The doormen are instructed to han-
dle things without force," Connors said.
,";They're very well-controlled."
However, less than five minutes after
three Daily reporters arrived at the bar
last Friday night, a bouncer with no ap-
parent reason struck a patron standing
quietly near the staircase.
THE BOUNCER swung around and
watched for .the patron's reaction. The
*atron walked away slowly.
A 24-year-old Farmington Hills man,
who asked not to be identified, said he
suffered injuries in the same incident
as that which involved DeJonge. He
said that near closing time, he saw
DeJonge on the floor. "The bouncers
were pounding the hell out of his face."
The man said a friend attempted to
intervene to help DeJonge and pleaded
with the bouncers: "Stop it! You're
killing hirm!" The man said his friend
was punched "two or three times" in
the face, and then as the man tried to
aid his friend, he was grabbed by
Abbott. "He attempted to throw me
over the balcony from the second to the
first floor," the man said.
"I REPEATEDLY told him to 'Stop
it!,' but he repeatedly hit me in the
face. He attempted to choke me. Then
he pulled me down the stairs by my hair.
Then he hit me again," the man said.
"I never once, never once, hit the
men," he said.
The man said he had been to see a
doctor several times since the incident
oeurred, and has been told he has a
shattered eye socket, a broken septum,
and partial paralysis of his nose, gums,
and one side of his face. In addition, he
said two of his teeth were shoved in.
ALLAN, GOSDZINSKI said he was
also attacked, on March 22. His alleged
assailant was Dalder. Though he did
not describe the incident or his injuries
in much detail, he said that without
provocation, he was held to the ground
by several bouncers, and kicked in the
face.
One of two witnesses contacted said
Gosdzinski "was really worked over."
The witness said after receiving the
injuries, Gosdzinski frequently vomited
blood.
A second witness, Ralph White, a
Baits Housing resident, said he heard a
noise at the bar, and when he looked on
the floor, he saw a bouncer wearing
boots kicking him in the face.
White added that about 30 or 40 people
witnessed the incident, though he said
there have been few people who have
actually volunteered information to the
police.
The Farmington Hills victim also
expressed disappointment with the lack
of interest demonstrated by witnesses
and onlookers.
"No one came by to aid," he said. He
added that he has received very little
help because witnesses have not come
forth.
.1 know there were people in there,''
he said. "There had to be people that saw
this."
0 Over 200 graduate and undergraduate courses
Sessions: Pre-May 19 -June 13
First-June 9 -July 12
Second-July 14 - August 15
Cross-June 9/23 - August 1
ABROAD
'E
Q
Siena, Italy- Italian
Trier, W. Germany-German
Dijon, France-French.
Quito, Ecuador-Spanish
Oxford, England-Business Administration
SEND MORE INFORMATION (check above)
Thursday, April 10, 1980
David Kupfer
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
EEG Sleep & Affective Disorders
MHRI Conference Room 1057
3:45 to 5:00 p.m.
tea 3:15 p.m. MHRI Lounge
THE CENTER FOR SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES
announces a lecture by
HIS EXCELLENCY, PUNCH COOMARASWAMY,
The Ambassador to the United States from
THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
"SINGAPORE, ASIA AND THE WEST"
Name..........................................................................
... . --.-.----- Zip --.---- --- .-----
Mail to: School for Summer and Continuing Education
Georgetown University,
Washington, D.C. 20057/or Call (202) 625-3001
Georgetown University is an equal opportunity/affirmative 39
action institution in employment and admissions. 3
Tuesday, April 8, 1980
3:00-5:00 p.m.
West Conference Room
4th floor, Rackham Bldg.
An informal reception will follow the lecture
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