ARTS The Michigan Daily Friday, April 15, 1988 Page 8 Life keeps Lavin laughing By Timothy Huet Is the combination of Exam Anxiety, Paper Paralysis, and Spring Fever pushing you towards insanity? If so, experience craziness in good company tomorrow night at the Ark. The lunatic in charge and at large will be Christine Lavin, a woman who has built an increasingly suc- cessful career on her distinctly twisted view of life. Lavin will not only provide temporary respite from your anxieties but make you feel perfectly sane by comparison. Actually, Lavin has a very healthy and sanity-preserving approach to her worries. Like an oyster that forms a pearl around an irritant, Lavin crafts wonderful gems around her trials and tribulations. One par- ticularly poignant and funny example is "Biological Time Bomb," a "rap" - done to the rhythm of a "biological clock" - on that pecu- liarly modern maternal problem with also qualifies as inspiration. As the title of Lavin's most recent album, Beau Woes and Other Problems of Modern Life, suggests, many of Lavin's songs focus on the difficulties of modern romance - or the lack thereof. Many Ann Arborites have become familiar with Lavin's work by hearing the local Chenille Sisters perform the songwriter's "Regretting What I Said When You Called Me at Eleven O'Clock on a Friday Morning To Tell Me That at One O'Clock Friday Afternoon You're Gonna Leave Your Office To Go Downstairs, Hail a Cab To Go Out to the Airport To Catch a Plane To Go Skiing in the Alps for Two Weeks. Not That I Wanted to Go with You; I Wasn't Able To Leave Town, I'm Not a Very Good Skier. I Couldn't Expect You To Pay My Way, but After Going Out with You for Three Years, I Don't Like Surprises" - a less than convincing, but more than funny, plea for forgiveness. Another popular number is "Don't Ever Call Your Sweetheart By His Name," which includes suggested nicknames - "motorhips," perhaps - to avoid that embarrassing slip of the tongue in the middle of the night. Not all Lavin's songs about ro- mance are written with humor in mind. Lavin's debut album consisted of "seven songs about being in love with a married man." As with her comedy, Lavin takes subject material from her own life. The same sensi- tivity and vulnerability that makes Lavin's humor so affecting is a strength in her more serious work. The two different sides of her personality complement each other especially well in concert - the se- rious songs allow you to catch your breath and rest your splitting sides. CHRISTINE LAVIN will per- form two shows at the Ark (607 1/2 S. Main) at 7:30 p.m. (sold-out) and 10 p.m. Tickets are $8.50 I Lavin ... sensitivity strengthens humor a peculiar modern proposal for its solution. "Cold Pizza For Breakfast" RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARD SUCCESS IS THE ONE YOU COULD TAKE THIS SUMMER. Army ROTC Camp Challenge. It'sexciting and it maybe your last opportunity to grad- uate with an Army Officer's commission. EXELENCE ARMROTC THE SMARTEST COLLEGE COURSE YOU CAN TAKE. SCHEDULE YOUR 'NO OBLIGATION' INTERVIEW NOW! CALL CAPTAIN O'ROURKE AT 764-2400 - PAID ADVERTISING _- When our Attorney General is under attack, we are ALL under attack! Support your Attorney General today by joining the ED MEESE FAN CLUB Charter Members will receive a STRIKING T-SHIRT, done in shades of gray, with a picture of our Ed floating over the battle cry of his patron saint: A.E. Newman! Also available to Charter Members is the Meese Boutique, featuring such items as: " A shiny "campaign" button, with portraits of Ed and Ursula surrounded by the legend: "We love the Meeses to Pieces!" * A money clip that keeps getting filled without you knowing it! " A videotape of Ronald Reagan reaffirming his support for our Ed, over and over and over and over and over and over...... " A scale model of the Iraqi pipeline, complete with "grease"! " A bag of Meese's pieces: chubby little candies that anybody can buy! " A roll of Ed Meese T.P., with the Ethics in Government Act printed on every sheet! " A complete set of Ed's collected works, including: "Friendship - for Fun and Profit!"; "Creative Investing," with W. Franklyn Chinn; "I'm not Wedded to Wedtech!" with E. Robert Wallach; "MS: It Doesn't Cost; It PAYS!" with Ursula Meese; and Ed's all-time classic: "I was a Sleazeball when they Confirmed me; Why are they Turning on me Now?!" Don't miss this once-a-month opportunity to support a besieged politician. Call now: Ed Meese Fan Club 1-800-648-2737 (outside Calif.) 1-800-358-2737 (inside Calif.) or 0-805-644-8761 Collect, and reserve your Charter Membership and the T-shirt of the Century! Records The Pajama Slave Dancers Blood, Sweat and Beers Restless Records "Homo Truck Driving Man," "No Dick," "Defreeze Walt Disney," "Bare Naked," "Farm Rap," "Surfin Sex Machine," "Jesus Skates" and "The Texas Chain Letter Massacre" are just some of the songs from the Pajama Slave Dancers' new album Blood, Sweat and Beers, released on their own label, Restless Records. Originally a garage band from Boston, their songs.are moderate speed, quasi-punk material that are generally as tasteless as the titles suggest, with a couple of interesting instrumentals thrown in for good measure. If this offends you, then send them nasty letters, if you dig it then buy the record, you probably won't regret it, as the music is good enough to keep it from being classi- fied a gimmick album. - Akim D. Reinhardt Bringing Basle's lg Band sound Four years after the death of its founder, the Count Basle Orchestra grooves at the Music Hall Center in Detroit on Friday night at 8 p.m. The orchestra is. celebrating their 52nd year of playing great jazz, winning the 1987 critics poll of Down Beat Magazine as "Best Big Band." Tickets are priced $15 - $10 and may be purchased at the Music Full Box Office and at all TicketMaster Outlets. London School of Economics and Politidal Science A chance to study and live in London Junior-year programs, Postgraduate Diplomas, One- Year Master's Degrees and Research Opportunities in the Social Sciences. The wide range of subjects includes:- Accounting and Finance " Actuarial Sciencet Busi- ness Studies " Economics " Econometrics " Economic History " European Studies " Geography" : Government " Health Planning " Housing " Industrial Relations " International History " International Rela- tions " Law " Management Science " Operational Research " Philosophy, Logic & Scientific Method " Population Studies - Politics - Regional and Urban Planning " Sea-Use Policy " Social Administration " Social Anthropology " Social Planning in Developing Countries " Social Work " Sociology " Social Psychol- ogy " Statistical and Mathematical Sciences " Systems Analysis." Application forms from: Admissions Registrar, Room 10, L.S.E., Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, England, stating whether undergraduate or postgraduate. LSE MANUFACTURERS Smart Help your parents get through college. Just thinking about college tuition is enough to make most parents break into a sweat. But can you blame them? When you consider the cost of tuition, books, dorms-not to mention pizza parties- you're talking big bucks. Which is why you should do some talking. Like telling your parents about the Education Loan Programs at Manufacturers Hanover Trust. At MHT, not only do we participate in all three Federally guaranteed loan programs, but we also work with state and national agencies and can make guaranteed loans in all 50 states. In practically no time at all. In a matter of minutes, MHT Student Loan Processors can program your information into our computerized loan- processing system. Within 24 hours, the Bank will get a decision from the Guarantee Agency. It's that simple. Better still, with MHT your parents will get all the money they need from one source. Example: If your folks need more money than government sources will give them, we can offer them tailor-made payment plans through The Education Loan Program, Educational Lines of Credit or Monthly Budget Program and Pre-Payment Programs that make it easy for your parents to fund themselves. (The Education Loan Program, Monthly Budget and Pre-Payment Programs are offered through the Tuition Plan, a company of Manufacturers Hanover.) OnrP rni lraptq nnnf.rnmivy0 r,,1 ,on U 0 6 t 6 Sun. April 17 Mon. April 18 Tues. April 19 Thurs.- Sun. The University of Michigan SCHOOL OF MUSIC On the Town, by Bernstein, Comden, and Green Presented by Musical Theatre Program Brent Wagner, director Gustav Meier, conductor For tickets call 764-0450 Power Center, 2:00 p.m. University Band/Campus Band Eric Becher/Eric Rombach, conductors Music of Persichetti, Sousa, Bennett, others Hill, 4:00 p.m. Free. University Symphony Orchestra Gustav Meier, music director Richard Rosenberg, conductor Andres Cardenes, violin Yizhak Schotten, viola Schumann: Overture to "Manfred" Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique" Hill, 8:00 p.m. Free. Young Choreographers Concert Tickets $4, call 763-5460 .A,