ARTS
Monday, October 12, 1987

The Michigan Daily
Husker Da

Page 9

not

spoiled

by

success

By John Logie
A relaxed, relatively well-rested
Husker Du will play the Nectarine
Ball-room tonight. The band is
between records, having just
completed a five-month international
tour in support of their double
albumWarehouse: Songs and
Stories. Lead guitarist Bob Mould,
speaking in a phone interview, said
that these dates are unlike recent
tours, which have generally drawn
from only the most recent material,
and unrecorded new material. "It's a
pretty mixed bag we're playing now.
We're going back into the old
catalog a lot."
Times are relatively good. There
is less attendant hoopla surrounding
this mini-tour which isn't tied to a
particular record, and the band has
come to terms with the death of their
manager, whose suicide two weeks
prior to the last tour was a difficult
obstacle to overcome.
"You have to make the best of a
bad situation," Mould said.
"Fortunately the people who like
this band are real supportive of us,
and real helpful, helping us get
through that and not making things
worse. Actually I think it maybe
was good for us to just take the two
weeks at home to think things over
and then go out and deal with it. I
think we could have sat at home for
a few years and thought about it, but

life goes on and you've got to keep
doing what you do."
Mould views songwriting as the
band's-greatest strength, a strength
which will now be augmented by
bassist Greg Norton adding his own
writing to that of Mould and
drummer Grant Hart. "Songwriting
is the beginning of the w h o1e
process. It's the foundation for
everything you do as a musician...to
me it's the most important thing
because that is what m a k e s
everything else possible...it's the
confidence to take what is eating
away at your heart or at your mind
and put it down on a piece of paper
and make it hummable, or not so
hummable, and from that you can
decide to play it live, to put it on a
record, to do all those other things to
it."
Husker Di's brooding, intense
lyrics have always been almost
completely antithetical to the entire
Beach Boys repertoire. But Mould

writes hard lines because, "it's not
all easy. I personally don't know
anybody who has it easy all the
time. I know I don't...I think
everyone lives in grey areas. I think
that everybody during the course of a
day has a real peak moment and a
real bad moment, and there's a lot in
between that's confusing...to me
addressing those areas is a lot more
important than saying, 'Hey these
are the best of times.'..I don't
know. There are a lot of bands that
are doing easy stuff, that's just like,
'Yeah, get-up, party, honey,
momma, woman, child.' That's
good if people want that escapist
mentality, escapist lyrics...there's
nothing wrong with that.. But that's
not what we're dealing with. We
pick the harder questions, and we
don't give out the easy answers."
Early Husker Du records were
barely produced, sounding more like
see SONGWRITING page 11


Tues., Oct.13

Grant Hart (left) and Bob Mould (right) have always been the principle songwriters for Husker Du. Now band
member Greg Norton (not pictured) is also penning a few songs of his own.

The University of Michigan
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
University Symphony Orchestra
Gustav Meier, conductor, Martha Sheil,
soprano soloist.
Program includes Mahler Symphony No.1
and the Final Scene from Salome by
Strauss.
Hill Auditorium, 8:00 PM
University Symphony Chamber Players
Richard Rosenberg, conductor
Program includes Copland Appalachian
Spring and Telemann Overture in C.
School of Music Recital Hall, 8:00 PM


Exhibit explores

'China's Past'

Wed., Oct.14

Lauren Shapiro
When many of us think o f
Chinese culture, our thoughts
immediately indulge in take-out
delicacies like egg rolls, chicken
cashew and orange beef.
Fortunately, the University of
Michigan Art Museum has engaged
an exhibit, "Stories from China's
Past," that not only reflects the
beauty and innovation of ancient
Chinese culture, but also extends a
wealth of knowledge to students and
other viewers.
The showing is a monumental
event for the University Museum
since this is the first time these
treasures from China have been
viewed in the United States. The
exhibit contains nearly 100 items of
Sichuan art and culture during the,
Han dynasty (206 B.C.- A.D. 220).
Sculptures, pictorial scenes on tomb
reliefs, a striking "money tree" and a
remarkable reconstructed model of a
Han sarcophagus combine to re-
create the ancient way of life in
southwest China.
During the period of the Han
Dynasty, the people didn't believe in
a heavenly after-life. Instead, they
thought souls remained underground,
passing freely from the tomb
through the burial chamber. It was
essential then that they created a
paradise beneath the earth for the
souls to enjoy eternally.

The wall reliefs which covered the
chamber are decorated with pictorial
scenes of highly illustrative content.
They depict the daily life, social
p r a c tices, music, dance,
entertainment, innovations and
legends common within the Sichuan
Province. The ancient people of the
dynasty come alive through all of
these representations as do their great
contributions to society. After all, it
was during this period that paper was
invented, silk exported, multiple
wheel transportation devised, and
even the tracking of Halley's comet.
Every inch of the the presentation
contains immense historical and
cultural knowledge. Horses are
portrayed in many situations
throughout the show because of their
invaluable role to the Sichuan
Province. The people of the Han
Dynasty had to import horses to
fight in their war against the nomad
people. The animals enabled the
people to rise against their northern
attackers and finally defeat them.
Horses were placed inside of the
tomb to represent both their military
impact and later contributions to
multiple wheeled transportation.
Mythological views held by the
Sichuan population also provide rich
background for some of the
wonderful objects created. The model
sarcophagus which is a central object
in the tomb, has an animal carved
into each side to protect the soul
from evil forces. On the east side is

a green dragon which protects the
soul from water, on the west side
lies a white tiger providing
protection from the mountains, on
the southern side a red bird flutters
protecting the soul from heat, while
the northern side holds a turtle and
snake of unexplained significance.
These symbols started within the
Han Dynasty and they had effective
impact through the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries.
Mr. Marshall Wu, a Museum
curator, says, "for Americans to see
how people so far away, so many
years ago lived is quite exciting,"
discussing the impact of the exhibit
upon the Ann Arbor community.
"You have to understand other
people so you can deal with modern
problems."
Wu also hopes the exhibit will
help to better our relations with the
Sichuan Province, Michigan's sister
state. "Now we have more
interaction which hopefully will
enable us better communication."
Wu adds that improving
relationships are also important to
the American Consulate which also
helped to sponsor the art exchange in
hopes "for friendship and
understanding between the United
States and the People's Republic of
China."
The exhibit, sponsored by
General Automotive Corporation,
Mr. and Mrs. Cruse W. Moss, and
the Chinese Culture Center, will be

on display through October 23. The
Museum is located at 525 S. State
and will be open Tuesday-Friday 10
am-4 pm and Saturday- Sunday 1-
5 p.m.


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