ARTS The Michigan Daily Wednesday, January 23, 1985 Page 5 Michigan virgin violates vinyl By Beth Fertig he University of Michigan has a list T of some pretty famous alumni. Gerald Ford and Arthur Miller are probably two of the most prominent of these. And now, to add to the list of our headline making attendees is someone who has only recently begun to receive a great deal of attention: pop star/belly-button symbol, Madonna. Madonna Louise Ciccone (the real name) graduated Rochester Adams High School at the age of sixteen in 1976. When questioned further about Madonna's high school life, her former guidance counselor, Ms. Ryan, replied that, "Her parents have asked that I not go into personal stuff," and was therefore limited to releasing only the barest of facts. Indeed, the high school had been flooded with calls from other s, publications with questions concerning the famous alumni. It's no wonder of course, as Madonna's S.A.T. scores are probably in higher demand than Brooke Shields'. Madonna won herself a scholarship to the U.M. School of Dance, and began her freshman year in 1977. Popular rumor has it that she resided at East Quad. However, a search through the Freshman Records for the years in which she was in attendance list her address as 536 South University 10A. This is rather odd, as there is no such number on South U. The local Post Of- fice has suggested South Forest as the correct address. Madonna's teachers from the School of Dance have agreed that she was an excellent student. Modern Dan- ..- - -. This x quartet ~e s a F A b est bet By Neil Galanter N estled in the peaceful woods of Marlboro, Vermont exists a yearly chamber music festival which brings together talented young professionals and mature artists from all over the world each summer for two months. Under the direction of beloved concert pianist Rudolf Serkin, these artists ex- change ideas and explore together a vast repetoire of chamber music in both informal and intimate settings. Sprouting from this festival, titled simply 'Marlboro Music Festival', is the formation of the "Music from Maulboro" Concert Series which offers a much wider audience a sampling of the varied programs and spirited music-making characteristic of the summer festival. Ann Arbor audiences will get a fresh, healthy sampling of those sprouts when five outstanding young concert artists represent the "Music from Marlboro" Series at Rackham Auditorium this evening at 8:30 p.m. Pianist Cecile Licad, violinist Todd Phillips, violist Steven Tenenbom, cellist Peter Wiley and flutist, Judith Mendenhall will perform, making up an evening of some of the best and most well known chamber music. In addition to sustaining distinguished ensemble careers each one of these musicians boasts impressive and fruitful creden- tials themselves. Licad is a winner of the coveted Leventritt Gold Medal,- Phillips made his debut at age thirteen with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Tenen- bom is a former member and soloist with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and is currently touring with the TASHI Chamber Ensemble. Wiley has been principal cellist for the Cincinnati Symphony and formerly held a seat with the Pittsburgh Sym- phony. Flutist Judith Mendenhall, who joins the group for the performance of Mozart's Flute Quartet in D Major, is a top soloist in her own right, having given recitals at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and at the 'Prestigious Series' in the Spoleto .,Music Festivals both in Spoleto, Italy and in Charleston, South Carolina. She is also a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has been a guest at The Celebrity Series in Boston. The evening's program will also in- clude performances of Beethoven's String Trio in G, Opus 9 no. l and ce/Ballet teacher, Gay Delanghe, has said of her, "A lot of kids can't handle the discipline, but she had good discipline. She worked very hard and was very dependable. She liked to per- form." Delanghe also added that the young dancer was a very generous, energetic individual, and described her as a free spirit. She said however, in response to Madonna's current success, that she had no indication that she had wanted to be a singer. Referring to the new album, she felt that "the words are crazy." Ms. Delanghe also had a few remarks on the image Madonna projects. "It's fun because I know her, but as I read BOY TOY on her often-toted belt) it seemed a deterioration of feminism. Her market image seems to thrive on it. And young people seem to go for it." Delanghe added, questioning, "Maybe it's just tongue-in-cheek." The present dance students seem to admire Madonna's success and per- sonal drive, but were rather dubious about the methods she had used to ob- tain her fame. "I thing she's horrible," said sophomore Joy Grade, "she found a gimmick." Freshman Denize Oktay said, "I saw the video for 'Like a Virgin' and died laughing. She's nothing like it." . On a lighter note, freshman Joe Mooradian added, "It's just pop. She oozes sex. She'd make a good 'Solid Gold' dancer". 60022 UIAR itA1RQ (Amntfe A 439 S att-Park er Room 2112~ 1365 Three Mile Drtve C 4.9081 i3-7783 CiARKOWSKI Arthur A 127 S Rogers 127 S Rogers Northvitte C7734 EICALA Wrne Lt CICCQNE Maconrna L 536 South Ur'verstty C. e t ,2036 ranco a Rgoches 48 CKI Narcy.) 134614 48017CfEPLY sane 48074 l 34904 Ash Wayne Mt C ESLAK Josep= A 536 South Forest A:t 1 11 6B3262 uffalo Detroit tr ot .AM rk So here we have the Madonna of today. Famous, glamorous, and above all, very rich. Despite what one might think about her image, and how it per- tains to the popularity of her albums, the current release, Like a Virgin, is doing incredibly well. Therefore, because it is her music through which she is truly "sold", the album deserves some critical attention aside from her notoriety as a personality. Like a Virgin is a pastiche of pathetic material, a half-score of musical fiascos which attempts to be "dan- ceable", but lacks the punch or soul to be that good. Synthesizer heavy, it is deficient of any truly musical riffs or originality. At best, it merely provides a background vehicle for her incredibly weak voice, which has been drenched in reverb to add some sort of substance. Madonna can carry a tune, but she lacks any true vocal talent. In "Material Girl", she almost tries to mimmick Cyndi Lauper, but comes off sounding like her voice has been sped up to reach the high notes. A quick glance at the lyrics reveals how laughably bad they are. They truly speak for themselves, as in "Material Girl": Some boys try and some boys lie but I don't let them play. Only boys that save their pennies make my rainy day." Madonna has only written one song on the album, the inane "Shoo-Bee- Doo", and has shared credits with written by men, as were those of "Like a Virgin." There is not exactly an ac- curate perception of real people with real problems in either of those songs. There are other awful goodies on this record. "Pretender" says alot: "He's a pretender, You meet him every day. He's a pretender, Like the fish that got away. "Or for the truly wret- ched, there's the somewhat suggestive "Over and Over"': "Hurry up, I just can't wait. I gotta do it now, I can't be late. " Many of these songs are strictly junior high material.The best track is a remake of Miles Gregory's soulful "Love Don't Live Here Anymore." Clearly the most substantial song, it is only adequate here with Madonna's voice. It demands more power, and is out of place amongst all the flakey syn- th-pop/rehashed disco. So, with a gaping abyss of an album, one is left to draw two conclusions: (1) that American taste is at an all time low and/or (2) the general public truly thrives on the Madonna sex fantasy. Sure, the songs are hummable, but so what? The album cashes in effectively on the sex gimmick. The cover is a shot of Madonna in a rather scanty wedding dress, lying on satin sheets with a look on her face that says, "Come here, baby." Boy Toy is spelled out quite plainly on her belt, too. The back of the album depicts a "morning after" scene with Madonna wearing black. Are we now to assume that she is no longer "pure"? She simply can't be taken seriously, and yet, she gets a great deal of attention because her music doesn't detract from, but rather enhances this image. Madonna is a well crafted act that sells, and sells big. There's no denying her business sense of what is marketable and when; and she has surely gotten what she wanted. Like a Virgin is dedicated to the virgins of the world. What would she produce for the more promiscuous people? Well, if you really want to listen to music that will make you feel like a virgin, why not try digging up some old Donny and Marie albums, instead. Even more incongruous is Madonna's past at this University in relation to her new hit. While it cannot be confirmed that Madonna is insincere in her salute to America's virgins, according to sources in the late '70s, the panthers never roared when Madonna passed by the Museum doors on her way to the dance school. And these receptive statues have never been wrong. Former Wolverine Madonna gets all dressed up but has no place to go. rosse 20 22 Ij /04-4Vf44 Pointe Par Mt 48230 35 3497012 Northviffe t: 48167 45 665.7130 ,_:>1 11 60 665.4700 03 5ter AR4M63 43 85 ,- iw q a> CLARK St °kw CLARK C 102 80951 323 3500 VLARK2 8q&00 811 CLARK ~ 1 809 14 9k r , 48184 25 662.7292 48212 flof 3 r arK 4 23640 Edinburgh Michigan's Student Directory of 1977-78 listed Madonna as living at this apparently mythical address. While many people are offended by Madonna's image, and explicitly what it has to say about women, dance teacher Chris Flynn sees a flip side to this coin. A former teacher of hers at the University, and personal friend, he says, "It's very interesting. I am a strong feminist and see the joke in it all. She's not truly a "boy toy" person. She's a cool lady. Some people find it of- fensive-which it is-but it's an image...You have to play along with these things. It's the pop image." Madonna left the University in 1979 after her sophomore year and moved on to New York City to pursue fame. It was an audition for a back-up singer's job there that turned her on to singing and led to her putting aside her dancing ambitions at least for the time being. Who was to foretell that only five years later she would be bellydancing on gon- dolas gliding through the canals of Venice? According to Flynn, she had been encouraged to sing by the people for whom she had auditioned. SAT. & SUN. FIRST MATINEE ONLY $2.00 with this entire ad $1.00 off ;. *UUadult evening admission. Coupon OFF good for purchase of one or two tickets. Good all features til 1124 EXCEPT TUESDAYS JOHN SAYLES BEST FILM YET! IY: DAILY 8:30 several other people on some pieces. What's interesting to note is the male input on this record. Have they crafted this sex-symbol bimbo image for her? The lyrics to "Material Girl" were MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY NEEDS YOU! Positions are now available on the following Regental and University Committees: University Budget Priorities Committee Research Policies Committee (1 grad student) Insurance Committee Student Legal Services And Many More Stop by the MSA office for a full listing of open committee positions. Applications are available now. DEADLINE for submitting applications is WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1985 - 5:00 P.M. For more information contact Laurie Clement, 3039 Michigan Union, 763-3241 t _subscribe n PO~lIs now! call 764-0558 ONJOSTENS GoLD COLLEGE RINGS. rI 1 ROPAEE GEFEIN-N INSTITUTE ii IECENSLUGCY Major areas of graduate study and research (M.S. & Ph.D.): I 4 CHANNEL DOLBY STEREO DIRECTED BY JONATHAN DEMME THE TALKING HEADS Aerodynamics Aeroelasticity Bioengineering Combustion I Computational Fluid Dynamics Computer-Aided Design Propulsion Structural Dynamics Structures-Composites DAILY 5:00, 6:50,10:30 I TOGETHER THEY MAY FIND THE STRENGTH TO KEEP THEIR WAY OF LIFE ALIVE! Individual Tuition & Fees are $1,452 per calendar year. Total financial aid per calendar year: I $13,452 $14,452 $ 7,500- $10,000 Center of Excellence in Rotary Wing Aircraft Fellowships Lockheed/Georgia Tech Research Assistantships Research Assistantships onor'ni >r Indonc ronro'znnhfiv; I I