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ARTS
Wednesday, November 25, 1981
* The Michigan Daily
Page 5
Another Stones preview
By Michael Huget
E VERY NEWSPAPER IN
southeastern Michigan is planning
some kind of preview or review of the
upcoming Rolling Stones concerts at
the Pontiac Silverdome. This is the
concert event of 1981, according to
popular opinion. In this space should be
The Michigan Daily's obligatory
preview of "the worlds greatest rock
and roll band."
We could start with the origins of the
band and how they formed in the early
'60s and took their name from a line of a
Muddy Waters song. Then we could
proceed into a four-part series about
the band's achievements over the past
two decades. However, due to space
limitations and my attention span, the
discussion of the Rolling Stones will be
limited to one small article.
Judging by Tattoo You, the Stone's
latest release, the group is at the nadir
of its career. The album, while exem-
plifying the band's professionalism,
lacks any real challenge.
As a matter of fact, it has been over a
decade since they tried to challenge us
at all. It has been almost twelve years
since the Stones gave us the Midnight
Rambler; by neither condoning or
criticizing him they forced us to judge
him and to realize i the cultural
depravity of a. society in which a Mid-
night Rambler can, and does, exist. It
has been even longer since we were for-
ced to realize the desperate need of
mother's little helper and that we can't
always get what we want.-
Except for "Start Me Up," an infec-
tious rocker, and "Waiting for a
Friend," Tattoo You is a dull album.
The bad boy bohemians of the '60s have
transformed into blase businessmen of
the '80s who happen to play rock and
roll for a living.
Oh yeah, we should mention
something about the upcoming scenario
at the Silverdome. 80,000 will make like
sardines and pretend the Silverdome is
their package. Unfortunately, listening
to a concert at the Silverdome is like
listening to a concertin a kin can.
The evening might have been worth-
while iAthey would have kept Prince on
the bill. But somehow I don't think that
the majority of the fans would ap-
preciate him. Instead, Iggy Pop is
scheduled to open the show. Not that I
have anything against Iggy; it's just that
he can usually be seen and appreciated
in smaller, friendlier confines.
So have fun, all you little fishies.
-I,
/
Sing praise for 'Priest'
Sultry and smokin' Grace Jones, bringing all sorts of vice to Royal Oak.
Royal Oak hosts Grace Jones
and her scintillating reggae-funk
By Mark Dighton
N OW I. SUPPOSE if I'd actually
seen Grace Jones perform before
it'd be a hell of a lot easier to write
this preview for her show at the Royal
Oak Theatre this Saturday evening. But
Grace's style is such that even if you've
never seen her live, you're bound to
have caught wind of some of her
publicity.
I first caught Grace during her neo-
Cubist phase-Grace shouldering
outrageously geometric constructions
that reached a sort of ludicrously
logical extreme during her pregnancy.
Somehow, the information that she was
just barely learning to sing in the
process of her first shows didn't really
affect your picture of her show. This
was clearly an event and Jones was a
certifiable presence. She was perhaps
the greatest human proof that form.
follows function; there wasn't a line
wasted on her body. Her Ming the Mer-
ciless (in retrospect, a reasonable in-
spiration) costuming had to do its best
to keep up with ' Grace's brazenly
statuesque form and unreally chiselled
features. The photos made clear that it
was never any contest, though.
And if all that wasn't enough, the
rumors of her flirtation with S & M
imagery- only fanned the fires of in-
trigue by adding the element of menace
to her airs of mystery. The best story
was always the one where she bent
down at the front of the stage as if to
kiss a male admirer on the forehead
and instead ripped out a hunk of his hair
with her teeth.
Now whether or not that really hap-
pened is questionable, but there's no
doubt that as much as. that posturing
did for her public exposure, it equally
restrained her musical image. It was
clear from the start that she had
carried the seediest side of disco to such
an extreme that she had lampooned the
whole genre and sunk her own con-
tributibns along with it.
In order to counteract the very real
impression that her act was all a gim-
mick to obscure a fundamental lack of
material on which to base a career, she
needed the sort of sound that was as
distinctively Grace Jones as her
presence was. Like you would never see
a Grace Jones photo and not know who
it was, you had to be able to hear a song
and know in an instant "That's Grace
Jones."
WARM LEATHERETTE finally
gave her that sound, a unique idea that
confirmed the promise that was Grace
Jones by putting her at the forefront of
a scintillating reggae-funk synthesis.
On Nightclubbing, the public finally
caught up with Jones, sending her "Pull
Up to the Bumper Baby" off with a
bullet.
Given that 'that whole giving thanks
routine for uninteresting nice-nice
qualities having to do with friendship
and family can get dreadfully boring,
you might like to know that there will be
at least one place to celebrate darker
passions this weekend-Royal Oak
Theatre, this Saturday night with
Grace Jones.
By Richard Campbell
RARELY get a chance to see a movie
without knowing something about it.
By the time a film comes to town, I
have usually read, or heard, quite a bit.
But now and then a film will arrive
almost completely unannounced. Priest
of Love is this kind of movie. Except for
reading the advertisement in the paper,
I knew absolutely nothing about the
film.
Priest of Love turned out to be the
kind of film that makes going to the
movies so enjoyable. With little fan-
fare, seemingly out of nowhere comes a
quiet, superbly crafted, thought
provoking film.
The movie tells the story of D. H.
Lawrence, from the time he left
England, following the burning of his
books for obscenity, to his death.
Through some of the best acting this
year, the drama of Lawrence's life
becomes a moving testament to the in-
sane genius of the writer.
Ian McKellen plays Lawrence in
mad, fitful spasms of anger anent the
world, interspersed with calm, in-
trospective musings on the stifling effect
of civilization. McKellen's broad por-
trayal covers the artist from a young
man wrapped up in the miracle of life,
to an old frustrated artist, gamely
struggling to live unpersecuted.
Lawrence lived his life with a Ger-
man women, Frieda von Richtofen.
Frieda, played by Janet Suzman, is the
"only woman who is right for Lorenzo."
Suzman, with an unrefined German ac-
cent, is perfect as the. lady, whose
manic affectionand energy are the im-
petus for Lawrence to continue his
writing. The relationship between
Shanghai Jia Tong University
Chinese Studies Program
Semester in Shanghai for $3850
Price includes
-Round trip air travel from west coast
-Tuition for 18 semester hours
(courses taught in English)
-Room and board on campus
-Planned weekend travel and
cultural events
For further info.:
ITM-Chinese Studies
Sute 617
5440 Coss Ave.
Detroit, Mi 48202
(313) 831-1700
Frieda and Lawrence is the focal point
of the film. The reasons behind their
love form the basis for the theme of the
film: art is beyond the petty moral
limitations of society.
This philosophizing, however, does
not interfere with the plot. The writer,
Alan Plater, had the brains to get on
with Lawrence's fairly convoluted life
in as straightforward a -manner as
possible. Using quotes from his letters,
and filmed on the actual locations
where Lawrence visited and lived, the
movie vividly brings to life the events,
which shaped his unique vision.
Biographies have long been a\staple
for theatrical entertainment. Priest of
Love is a good example of a film that
tries to get across the central ideas of a
man's life by showing us that life. In-
stead of adapting Women in Love, or
Lady Chatterly's Lover for the screen,
the film shows us the author's life.
The technique works when the life
story and the themes of the movie coin-
cide. In the case of D. H. Lawrence, his
life was a continuing battle for the
freedom to explore his art without the
bounds of contemporary society. What
makes the technique successful is
rooted in the person portraying
Lawrence. McKellan is able to create
the impression in the audience's mind
'that we are watching Lawrence, not an
actor in the role of Lawrence.
Beside-the wonderful acting, the film
makes use of breathtaking photography
and music in its story-telling. Although
pretty.pictures and music have become
somewhat of a staple for movies in
recent years, their use in Priest of Love
is subtle and refreshingly under-
played.
Director Christopher .Miles has
shown a great deal of talent in coor-
dinating all of these details into such a
cohesive movie. Script, acting, and
camera-work are all brought together
to form a film that is enjoyable and in-
teresting to watch.
k
Records
Survivor-Tremonition,'
(Columbia)
The cover of this album hints at the
quality of the music inside. Five white
dudes in black leather jackets stand
with arms and hands over their, faces,
as if they were trying to shield their
eyes frop something.
However, it is the listener who really
needs protection from this corporate
rock band. One thing you can say for
Survivor: they fit their genre perfectly;
everything here is popular and predic-
table, from a safe hard beat to that
familiar "tough" guitar sound which
thrives in groups like Foreigner and
Boston. David Bickler, the lead
vocalist, sounds vaguely reminiscent of
Kansas' Steve Walsh, which should en-
dear him to Midwestern listeners, I
suppose.
The lyrics. . . well, here are some of
the titles: "Chevy Nights," "Summer
Nights," "Love is on My Side," "Heart
is a Lonely Hunter." You get the
idea-nothing to be respected here. In
"Poor Man's Son," writer/guitarist
Frankie Sullivan sums the group up
pretty well: "I play a bad guitar/and
sing a simple song."
As far as I can discover, this is Sur-
vivor's first disc. But somehow I get
this bad "premonition" that there's'
more to come; there are too many
teenagers out there willing to put up
with this stuff.'
-Ben.Ticho
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