ARTS
Saturday, November 19, 1983

The Michigan Daily

Page 5

i

ABC drops

their bomb

A trip back to
a sweeter time

By Bradford Parks
F YOU'RE like me, you don't want to
think about a nuclear war. As a mat-
ter of fact, I don't want to write this ar-
ticle. Because now I have to actually
imagine, just eer so slightly, the idea
that somebody somewhere could push a
button, for whatever reason, and
everything I love and even hate would
be gone. Everything. That includes my
girlfriend, the Daily, and the East
Engineering Lab. That includes your
parents and my parents and that guy
who practically attacked you on your
first date who you never want to see
again as long as you live. Everything.
Everybody. There will be no ands and
no buts. There will be nothing. None.
Nada.
Which is why I (and probably you)
sure as hell don't go around thinking
about the possibility of the after effects
(if I'm around to see them) of a nuclear
war. I would go crazy. I prefer to argue
with my girlfriend, or ask for an exten-
sion on my English paper, or think
ahead to a rosy future with a nice house
and a dog. Anything but, as everyone so
nicely puts it, think the unthinkable.
But I'm going to let down my guard a
little Sunday night. Because ABC has
produced The Day After (Sunday at 8
p.m. on channel 7 in Detroit), a movie
about the after effects of a nuclear war.
All this movie shows is a dramatization
of what would happen if... The town
(Kansas City, Kansas, but consider it
Anytown, USA) doesn't know what hits
it. The people don't know what to do af-
terwards. They're scared. Their skin
comes off in strips. They die of
radiation sickness. Everything is con-
fusion and hopelessness. Get the pic-
ture?

Ever since this movie went. into
production, there's been talk. Jerry
Fallwell thinks it's propoganda,
suggesting deterrance won't work. The
liberals think it will help the nuclear
freeze movement. ABC say they're
doing a public service, as well as the
usual making money and gaining
prestige. You're advised not to watch it
alone, or let your children watch it.
All this talk, though, avoids the real
issue. Because it doesn't matter if this
movie is a left-wing knee-jerk scare
tactic (the movie wasadirected by
Nicholas Meyer, an, avowed anti-
nuker), or whether ABC are really as
humanitarian as they claim. The fact is
that everything in this movie about the
after effects of nuclear war is documen-
ted proof, no matter who you talk to. As
a matter of fact, it will probably be
worse. Most of us will die, our eyeballs
will melt. And the question is - what
are you going to do about it?
I know what I'll do, probably. I'll sign
a freeze petition (because I'm liberal),
and write my congressperson (because
I believe in The System - the same one
that produced the bomb). But after
that?
It's difficult to predict. Some people
say there'll be panic in the streets. A lot
ofpeople will switch to the Kennedy
minisqries on NBC. And for all the
nuclear-freeze talk, the support could
just as easily turn to heavier deterran-
ce. What will regular people like you
and me do once we are given such a
vivid chance to think the unthinkable?
Who can say? Because the same
nullifying fear that makes nuclear war
unthinkable isn't going to go away.
Bringing emotions to the surface
doesn't make them any less terrifying,.
or solve -the nuclear problem.

By Eli Cohen
O N NOVEMBER 20 at the Michigan
Theater an event will take place.
It will be presented by the Comic
Opera Guild.
It is called Sweethearts. It is an old
musical starring Nelson Eddie & Jeanette
MacDonald. Before the movie there
will be a concert by Victor Barz on the
organ and several Guild soloists. The
movie is based ont eh operetta by Vic-
tor Herbert.
This is the information, but what will
it really be like on the 20th of Novem-
ber? What, indeed, is the significance of
this date? Who is Victor Herbert, and
moreover why do they call him Victor
Herbert? What actually is an operetta?
Where is the Michigan Theater? And
most importantly, what is the name of
the mental institution where they keep
me?
Is this C.E. Krell under a new pen
name? No. No. no. I'm a very different
person and I have feelings too!!! And I
do not like being confused with maniacs
like KRELL!
But still, the other questions remain
in one's mind, at least until you think of
something else. But for people like you
that may be quite awhile.
Enough of this pseudo-journalistic
trash, you say, what about the show?
The show? What show? Oh, that one.
I've found that a careful investitgation
of the student body is pointless. In fact,
most people have no idea what I'm
talking about. Research is what it is all
about. Only through careful, unhin-
dered, uncensored research can my
duty to the general public, evenin' all,
be fulfilled.
Filfillment is an interesting problem.
Victor Herbert is the composer and or-
chestra conductor of fame and fortune.
He is of course the same Victor Herbert
that was born in 1859 in Ireland. So you
ask, what was he doing here? He im-
migrated and remained in this bastion
of democracy until his death. He
managed to compose and conduct
several pieces in the between time.
But back to the world of stage and
silver screen. Indeed if I were to
preview this feature correctly I would
simply state "break a let." Show
business must go on. It's a dog-eat-dog
world in that jungle out. there. It's
either Hollywood or bust or Broadway
or bust or the Michigan Theater or bust.
Bust, bust, bust, no wait, that was my
last review there "are no busts in this
one, maybe that's why I seem so disin-
terested.
Apathy - I want to address student
apathy for a moment here. I intend to
use this preview as a forum to voice my
own political, cultural, and socio-

economic values. The ethics of this
University are simply non-existent. The,
views of the administration leave us no
option other than a major armed
uprising to overturn the fascist policies,
of Pres. Harold. Revolution is the key to-
success. We must mobilize the masses'
to be politicized to the point of sheer*
hatred for everyone but me. Our policy'
is to give the people what they want and'
kill the ones who don't want it.
No, seriously do go see Sweethearts,-
and you will find out what it is about. If'
you loved Babes in Toyland you will
love Sweethearts. If you rejoiced at,
Kurt'z death then you will adore,
Sweethearts. If you applauded when
Raskolnikov killed the old lady then you,
will simply enjoy Sweethearts. If your
stood up and cheered when Greg Brady,
got the cicken pox then you must see-
Sweethearts!
Please, if you liked this preview, if
you hated this preview, if you didn't
read this sentence then go go go to the,
Michigan Theater at 2 p.m. on the 20th.,
Prices are $3 and $2.50 for special

Sweethearts.
This is the
review.
The End.
This is the
review.

last sentence of this
last sentence of ,this

;

ABC (channel 7 in Detroit) stirs up controversy and apprehension with 'The
Day After,' a film that illustrates the tragedies of nuclear war.


Pulling
classical
strings

C OMBINING VIRTUOSO musicianshipr
with "personality plus" (the New
York Post), the Franz Liszt Orchestra
of Budapest, Hungary will make its Ann
Arbor debut at 8:30 p.m. Sunday,
November 20 at Rackham
Auditorium.
Brought here by the University
Musical Society, the ensemble, with
music director Janos Rolla, .will
present the following program:
Sarabande, Gigue Badineri by Corelli;
'Bach's Double Violin Concerto in D
minor; Sonata No. 3 in G major by

Rossini; and Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, by
Mendelssohn.
Although Liszt did not compose for
string instruments and wrote
primarily for piano, he "is inseperable
from the establishment of Hungarian
music and his spirit lights the musical
life of the entire world," according to
the orchestra. Founded in 1962 by
Maestro Frigyes Sandor, his successor
Janos Rolla functions as soloist and
guide of the conductorless group.
Rolla, as well as the other 17 mem-
bers of the orchestra, is a graduate of
the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.

The orchestra has toured the United
States and Canada, in addition to its
homeland, Budapest, where it presents
some 30 concerts a year.
With a varied repertoire that includ-
des Bach,.Vivaldi and Mozart as well as
romantic and contemporary works, the
orchestra has recorded more than 100
albums and received the Grand Prix of
the French Academie du Disque three
times.
Tickets for the concert can be pur-
chased at the Musical Society office in
Burton Tower. For more information,
call 665-3717.

By Robin Jones

Carrol brings his '60s business to Detroit


By Joe Hoppe

JIM CARROLL on the stage at the Detroit Institute
1of the Arts Thursday was every bit as cool as one
would expect him to be. Looking reasonably like all
his photos (his hair might have been a little less red)
he approached a lecturn, messed with a black
baseball-type hat lettered WBCN (a mythical won-
derful radio station somewhere on the East Coast, not
to be confused with our own mythical wonderful radio
station WCBN), "I need a haircut so bad I gotta wear
this hat to keep it out of my face. Kinda look like that
guy in the Cramps," messed around with the hat,
with his hair, couldn't seem to get it right, "Oh,
fuckit," set it back down, shuffled some papers, all
real jerk-motion. Was our hero on drugs again?
Going through withdrawal maybe? Or has much use
wrecked his nervous system? Nah, he was just ner-
vous, it seemed, 'cause after he warmed up into
things, he was just fine, and just real cool reading
everything in his New York accent ("beer" came out,
"beah" and you can take it from there).
Carroll began with some prose, stuff he's writing
now tentatively entitled The Next Diaries, skipping a
few years from the basketball diaries and telling
great tales of being 18 and hanging out with the
Warholians. We got to hear about Jim's relationship
with Bridget Berlin (see Jean Stein's Edie) the fat-
test speed freak in the history of the world.
From there we got some visciousness over the
Warhol scene, drug-related stuff, an encounter with a
"very peculiar girl" who thought that Jim looked like.
Iggy Stooge and who turned out to be a blind hunch-
back. Jim burned up her loft, and finally - entrance
into a methadone clinic. Good reading nicely read.
There hasn't been a release date for the book yet, but
watch Border's front window.
From there into poetry and the audience was eating
it up. Some stuff was pretty much throwaway but
then a real nice collaboration with Patti Smith from
the Book of Nods about meeting Van Gogh.
To music. Private Angst, a three-piece, got to do a
couple songs - between guitar strings breaking and
other minor catastrophes, and they were a lot of fun,
real relaxed, nice guys. Afte a while Carroll came out

and they played songs off his albums, loose with
feeling.
Close up, in the dressing room, though... They say
you should never get to meet your heroes in person.
He's kind of puffy around the edges, and real tired,
rambling.
Carroll: And so, I started writing when I was 12 or
13 years old and I've been writing more prose lately
but basically I've been working on this new record (I
Talk to You, on Atlantic, coming out in January.)
Daily: Where does your new book pick up from the
Basketball Diaries?
Carroll: It skips two years from when the Basket-
ball Diaries ended and picks up at about 18 and goes
through to when I moved to California for the first
time. Well, not for the first time. Well I went to
California before that, but I hadn't exhausted my
New York energy yet so I split right away. I couldn't
dig it.
Daily: Your music started to come out along with
"new wave," when that was getting popular too. Was
that a marketing thing, or you waiting for the right
moment?
Carroll: No, I wasn't interested in music until I did
it, and we got signed very quickly when I started to'
play with this band. To label us a new music band on
the first album was just kind of a convenience.
Daily: Anything different got labeled that.
Carroll: My band was influenced totally by the
Stones, not any new wave group. In fact, they had
never listened to any of the new wave bands 'til I tur-
ned them on to them. They were like a bar band who
all had long hair, and they played their own songs.
But their own songs weren't that good, lyrically
especially. They were more influenced by the Stones
and R&B. Musically they were a lot more
sophisticated than a garage band.
Daily: Who were you listening to at the time?
Carroll: During the time I was living in California,
I wasn't listening to anybody. My only contact with
New York was through the Village Voice. I really
didn't listen to anybody until this girl who I wound up
marrying would take me into shows. Like when Wille

DeVille came to San Francisco for the first time,
when all the bands that had been playing at CBGB's
that I'd read about came out to San Francisco as they
got signed, one by one. Talking Heads, Blondie, and
they'd play at this one small club in San Francisco.
And of course I knew Patti was starting to play with
Lenny Kaye, who's in my band now, right before I left
for California and through reading I could see that
she was becoming famous. We were out of contact
for a long time, then when she broke her neck she
would call me up and talk to me when she was layed
up in bed. Then when she came out to California she
got me hooked up into writing songs for Blue Oyster
Cult, because she was living with Allen Lanier then.
Daily: What's your new album like, musically?
Carroll: People think that there was a big differen-
ce between the first and second albums, I think this
album has an accessible anger like the first album
did, and so I think it will be more attractive to kids
who don't have verbal sophistication, which is to see
things at a more immediate level. Even technically
the mix is a really alive mix. It's really up front and
has this really sharp edge to it. We got this real hot-
shot to remix it. Cost a thousand bucks a track but it
was worth it.
Daily: Are you where you want to be at right now?
Do you want to be real real famous? What kind of
things are you looking at later?
Carroll: I don't think about it that much. If you
start thinking about it it's a pain in the ass. When I
was really living in San Francisco and getting treated
like I was one of the Beatles or something, it was like
when Catholic Boy first came out and stuff and that
record was getting so much airplay, and it did very
well, much better than I expected. And when you
start to think about it, like I did for a while, about
being famous, then it drops off and it's a real blow,
you can't win. You can't sustain it in any way. You
just keep doing stuff. I think that we could have really
hung on to it, and I could have really capitalized on it
at the time, but I was sadly lacking in ambition in
that direction. Also, I just don't have the energyfor it
or something. I just want to go home and go to sleep.
T $2.00 WED. SAT. SUN. SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM


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