ARTS the Michigan Daily Wednesday, March 2, 1988 Page 10 I P .D.Q. Bach: Laughter allegro By Lisa Magnino The New York Times called it "a very funny show - even for people who like music but don't know why." It can include everything from a "Pop Goes The Weasel?" classical theme with variations to concertos for instruments like the left-handed sewer flute (a pipe with a faucet) and the shoe horn (a pipe in a baby shoe). This undefinable musical con- glomeration is An Evening of P.D.Q. Bach brought to the Michi- gan Theatre tonight by the renowned musicologist Professor Peter Schickele, head of the Department of Musical Pathology at the extension division of the University of South- ern North Dakota at Hoople. SOickele is the uncontested expert P.D.Q. Bach and has published y Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bch which was translated to Ger- ~n. About 30 years ago Schickele first encountered the work of P.D.Q. when the "Sanka Cantata" was dis- covered in a Bavarian castle; the caretaker was using it as a percolator strainer. More than 75 other works have surfaced in such places as in- cinerators and the bottom of bird cages. Schickele believes that it is his duty to make the public aware of the often forgotten work of the son of the famous composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. He points out that P.D.Q., the 21st of Johann's 20 children, was the only one denied music lessons. But, as Schickele of- ten declares, "As an adult, P.D.Q. stands out as a monument to igno- rance, a man who triumphed over the most staggering obstacle ever placed before a composer: absolute and utter lack of talent." Schickele's favorite chamber mu- sic group is the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Raw, but tonight he will work with the Ann Arbor Chamber Orchestra, probably clothed in his usual rumpled tuxedo and hiking boots. Schickele's tradition- ally non-traditional entrance to the stage (often via rope ladder) will kick off the performance which will in- clude "The Howdy Symphony," "The Royal Firewater Music," and "Fantasiestucke for Piano and Or- chestra." But the hit of the evening promises to be the premier perfor- mance of the "Little Pickle Book" for dill piccolos (3 inches long and green) and theatre organ to be per- formed by Schickele and Michigan Theatre's organist Dennis James. When not discovering or performing P.D.Q., Schickele ap- plies his Juilliard background to more standard writing for orchestra, chamber ensemble, piano, organ, and voice. Some have hinted that, with such a background, Schickele may be responsible for P.D.Q.'s work. But the Los Angeles Times balks at the idea: "P.D.Q.'s art defies plagia- rism. P.D.Q.'s music lies beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals and Xerox copiers." Whoever the composer is, audi- ences do react to his music - be it with laughter, boos, or hisses. To one particularly raucous audience, Schickele retorted, "Truth is imper- vious to hissing." Tonight's the night to find out that truth. "AN EVENING WITH P.D.O. BACH" with Professor Schickele and the Ann Arbor Chamber Orchestra comes to the Michigan Theatre tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, $14, and $10. Daily Arts Page Call: 763-0379 4 Professor Peter Schickele, the Bach, premiers Bach's "Little theatre organ tonight. world's foremost authority on P.D.Q. Pickle Book" for dill piccolo and Which came irst, the soundtrack or the film 2? By Mike Rubin Heard a good movie lately? chances are the audio portions of a qurrent blockbuster film have been forced and foisted upon you recently, whether you've realized it or not. A mpajor trend in Hollywood in the last several years involves the packaging Qf films into gag-size pieces suitable f simultaneous digestion in radios, cable TV sets, compact disc players, and jukeboxes, as well as plain old theatres, creating a massive multi- media overkill that dulls the senses and drains the wallet. Take Flashdance, for example (yeah, it's old, but it's a prototype of the new Hollywood marketing strategy). The film appears, followed closely by a series of dynamic videos (whose rapidly-edited images synopsize the plot so skillfully that they make viewing the actual movie redundant), which in turn boost the sales of the 45, whose constant radio airplay reminds the listener again and again to "run out and see the movie." Soon, cash registers are ringing at both box offices and record emporiums, and bells are ringing in industry executives' heads: why bother making intellec- tually-challenging product, when you can turn out a series of slick- looking and snappy-sounding cross- referencing commercials instead? The acceptance of rock n' roll as the standardbearer of musical expres- sion in popular culture has sounded a deathknell for the traditional Holly- wood musical. Characters just don't stand up and sing anymore; instead, a blaring soundtrack reveals their thoughts and feelings for them, and more often than not, the inner workings of their head and heart sound more fit for analysis by a dis- ciple of Casey Kasem than a student of Freud or Jung. Sure, The Sound of Music appealed to us in our bell- bottomed youth, but try selling show tunes to the mini-mallsters of the Tiffany generation. Good luck. These kids want Andrew Ridgeley, not Julie Andrews. The songs that are featured in these current films aren't dramatic instrumental scores that convey emotional themes, witty composi- tions that advance the film's plot, or familiar rock standards whose inclu- sion offers an ironic statement or social comment on the actions that appear on screen; rather, they are bland kernels of mainstream fluff whose sole purpose in the film is to serve as advertisement (both for the artist who sings them and for the film itself). The tunes are in the film to sell the single, the single gets ra- dio airplay to sell the album, and the album exists to sell the film. Movies are more easily identifiable by the Top 40 smashes heard in them than by their interchangeable plots and characters. Another clever trick is to appropriate ballads of a bygone era for no particular reason, save manipulative nostalgia. Prime offender in this category is Lawrence Kasdan' magnum nope-us The Big Chill. The way the songs are integrated into the films has been subverted as well. Hoop-skirted pubescents do not twist the night away to their favorite contemporary tunes. Helmeted mo- torcycle he-men do not discover America's corruption to the beat of a protest anthem. Instead, characters switch on their car radios where the new Kenny Loggins 45 "just hap- pens" to be playing. The protago- nists go to a dance club where the new Bryan Ferry ditty is being spun. A car-crash-crowded chase scene pulses to a Pointer Sisters paean to seduction. And, when the filmmak- ers run out of ways to "subtly" meld the songs to the flow of the film, they just tack the damn thing to the final credits. In short, the songs of the film seem completely divorced from the film itself. MTV plays a vital role in this cinematic incestuousness. Movie themes become power rotation videos become hit songs, and all serve as commercials for the initial product . Like the chicken-and-egg dilemma, it becomes unclear what the original function of the music was: is the single drawn from the soundtrack of the movie, or is the tune added to the film like the logo of a product? The filmmakers them- selves are not above this question of identity and purpose. Video directors become film directors (like Mary Lambert, Richard Loewenstein, and Russell Mulcahy). Film directors become video directors (like John Sayles, Martin Scorcese, and even Russ "Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!" Meyer, who made a video for, of course, Faster Pussycat). Some are even confused enough to do both at once (like Jonathon Demme, maker of the feature length "video". film, Stop Making Sense). Where does this consumer boundary-blurring end? A John Hughes concept album? A Harold Faltermeyer film-festival? Where the hell is Ennio Morricone when you need him? In the midst of all this confusion of project and product, signifier and signified, it's surprising that no enterprising filmmaker/media magnate has capitalized on Summer of Love nostalgia and attempted to remake the abominable Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, starring Jon BonJovi (the Peter Frampton of the '80s) and either Expose or Poison (you be the judge) as the Brothers Gibb. It seems more appropriate to these contemporary; times of buy, sell, trade, and col- lapse than to the late '70s. Anyway, it beats using the Beatles to sell shoes. Records LA Guns LA Guns Vertigo/Polygram Records 4 tt" dt ...; Okay, so they look and sound like Guns 'n' Roses. The names are similar, they're from Los Angeles, and the lead guitarist's name is Tracii Guns (Guns 'n' Roses' lead singer is W. Axl Rose). Given all that, you could try to write this off as someone just trying to cash'in on bands from the gutters of L.A., since the trash/glam scene found on the streets of L.A, is hot right now. Okay, so maybe it is just an attempt to improve the cash- flow situation at Polygram. But it's done so well... The music is straight ahead blood and guts guitar-based rock 'n' roll, and yes, it owes a lot to Aerosmith, but what's wrong with that? Sure, Aerosmith's new album is great, but it's just not the same as the old Aerosmith, which is the sound so many bands today are trying to emulat. Grunge is the operative word here. The album lacks the studio polish of, say, the Guns 'n' Roses LP, but it's not sorely missed. The lyrics aregt going to send any English professors into paroxysms of joy, but then the band doesn't claim to be literate. The music is what matters, and it rocks ou$ confidently. The LA Guns have been together less than a year, but the members are all veterans of the viciously competitive L.A. club scene and their talents are evident in songs like "One More Reason," "Electric Gypsy," and "Down in the City." Alright, so it might all be a marketing ploy. But if you can ignore that possibility and just listen, you'll find good rock 'n' roll. . 'AULI .. ... /. BALL..L .. :s; 112 .Sponsored by.....: Ntrt eorcs. - - t . C EN TER FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN STUDIES study Abroad on the Michigan-Wisconsin Academic Year Program in Florence, Italy Attend for either 1 or 2 terms. Earn in-residence credits by taking a variety of courses, all taught in English. Financial aid applies. : ,N EXPLORE YOUR SPIRITUALITY A Counseling Services workshop designed for people who wish to address: "What is spirituality? How does it relate to religion? " "How does spirituality fit into my daily life? " "What spiritual practices might I create or discover to suit me now? " Not appropriate for persons who are seeking religious instruction or who desire to influence others in the direction of a specific belief system. Meets Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 P.M. on March 9th. March 16th and March 23rd. Call Counseling Services for a screening appointment 764-8312 s f Albert Terrace 1700 Geddes Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 Phone# for Albert Terrace (313)761-1717 Affordable Rates! ,naeniia 2 Rdrnnm Ri-leve1 Anartments -Chuck Skarsaund MEGILLAH READING SERVICE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 7PM AT THE MIOHIGAN UNION, PENDELTON ROOM (NOT QUITE TRADITIONAL) I 7PM AT THE FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE 7 - (TRADITIONAL) Please dress for the occasion. PURIM BASH'88' / WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 9PM MICHIGAN UNION, BALLROOM Featuring The Blue Meanles, Michigan's hottest dance band. Outrageous costumes are in order. Purim drinks and munchies. $2 w/costume $3 w/out costume ~>aI 4 Rent a Car from Econo-Car OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK WE RENT T19 YR. OLD STUDENTS! -. . _ _ I