'W 9 music Dead people, fish: Hitchcock's song fodder Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians Globe of Frogs A&M Records What do insects, fish, and decaying dead people have in common? They're among Robyn Hitchcock's favorite song topics. In fact, it seems he writes about little else. And he's probably the only successful songwriter around who's been getting away with it for 10 years. Hitchcock has long been England's most eccentric export, but until about three years ago, he was little more than a cult favorite. His records with the Soft Boys are the best in deviant pop, much more upbeat though obviously influenced by Syd Barrett's neuroses. As a solo act and later with his band the Egyptians, Hitchcock's bizarre sensibilities continued to flourish with little notice. Now it seems he's everywhere. Globe of Frogs marks Hitchcock's major label debut, but it sounds like he's been preparing for it for years. As his Ann Arbor gigs have shown, he gets bigger and bigger with every outing, and as a result, his songs have become a little more accessible. Well, as accessible as dead people, insects, and fish can get. With its poppy tuns and spirited playing, Globe is a lot more fun than his last, rather dismal, LP, El- ement of Light . But fans of his older material will still be slightly disappointed. "Sleeping With Your Devil Mask" and "Balloon Man" are among his strongest singles, lunging straight ahead with a solid rhythm section backed by bassist Andy Metcalfe and drummer Morris Windsor. But the pop punch falls flat on "Unsettled" and the softly ringing "Chinese Bones," which features Hitchcock's favorite fan, Peter Buck of R.E.M., and jangles along like the most Byrds-y moments of Buck's own band. Hitchcock's Beatles influence is given a token outlet with the track "Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)," where Buck joins in for a light- hearted tribute song. The rest of the tracks tend to round out the LP in a somewhat appropriate but unsatisfying manner, filling in the spaces with material that is expected of Robyn Hitchcock. It's not espe- cially "new" sounding, and will make long-time fans impatient and likely to slap Fegmania! , Hitchcock's last really solid LP, on their turntables.t For too many years Robyn Hitchcock has been a rare serendipity in rock music, a warped genius who's created some of the most challenging and enjoyable pop songs in the import bins. His popularity may be growing with every album, but if he doesn't act quickly his originality industrious.non-virtuoso to conjure a virtual orchestra of sounds and rhythms. Such technology is not only of use to upstarts making their own demos and cassette-only re- leases, but recently, top artists such as Karl Wallinger of World Party, not to mention Springsteen and Prince, have taken near-total creative control in making such "solo" al- bums. William.Orbit- a multi-instru- mentalist, composer, and house pro- ducer for I.R.S. Records - is a product of these technological break- throughs. These aforementioned gad- gets allow Orbit to experiment with an enormous range of styles and genres without compromises and bring a prolific talent to vinyl unfet- tered. This edge encourages not only the wide spectrum of musical styles, but also a rapidity of recording, al- lowing him to release two albums in the last nine months. The first,Orbit, begins with a dreadful near-parody of T h e Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way" but offers few bright spots thereafter. Although Orbit's songs show a hand at keyboard textures and rhythms that bring Vangelis to mind, the album suffers from a lifeless, synth-schlock emptiness. What a godsend to Orbit, then, is his latest, Strange Cargo. On this LP, contrary to Orbit, the artist lets loose, displaying a remarkable stylistic variety. Orbit ranges from gorgeous excursions in flamenco- guitar textures ("Via Caliente," "Riding to Rio") to eerie techno-am- bient mood-pieces ("The Secret Garden") and mini-film-soundtracks ("Out of the Ice"). Orbit luckily avoids avant-garde meandering, though; "Fire and Mercy" is a dance- able funk-metal firestorm, a kind of kitsch -free Jan Hammer, and on "Jimmy's Jag" Orbit proves his mettle on the electric guitar solo. The variety of Strange Cargo is intriguing enough as a solo show, a sign uf the times. Its contrast to Or- bit shows just how much the new technology has liberated the pop au- teur in pursuing his muse-why this man's music is uniquely in- seperable from the here and now. - Michael Fischer The Kinks Live-The Road MCA Records These journeyed rockers still have what it takes to pull off a live show and make a live LP interest- ing, exciting, and fun. Great mater- ial, fine playing, and a sense of humor. Ray Davies' newer tunes haven't lost the edge he honed in the '60s and '70s. Brother Dave offers even more proof here that he is one of the greatest (and perhaps the most overlooked) guitarist in Rock'n'Roll history. They tear up on "Destroyer." -Marc S. Taras COVER STORY Continued from Page 11 I Engineering Dean Charles VestI sees a renewed interest in science behind these application increases. He cites the prominence of comput- ers, the media's attention on Amer- ica's competition in manufacturing, and especially the excitement of theI space program. But he also believes students' values are changing in the '80s. "I have very mixed emotions," heI said. "I do think that we have overt the past decade seen an increase in thet number of students entering fieldst like business and engineering where they feel there is a rather safe path tot a well-paying job immediately upon graduation. "What I would cite as evidence is while we have seen remarkable in- creases in applicants and the qualityI of undergrads, I don't believe we seet enough of a percentage of graduates moving into graduate or doctoral programs... pursuing research or ad- vanced technology in academic kinds of careers... I think there may be more people in that category than I would like. That's an unfair overallI categorization. But too many peopleI look at the short term investment in their careers and are not looking hard enough into the long term invest-t ment."t According to Vest, the Engineer- ing School received visits from 260I employers last year who conductedI 455 interviews. He said that while there has been a slight drop in the sheer number of interviews recently1 along with the demand for engineers, which may provide students with less choices, the market is still "quite strong." Vest is also pleased with other developments in the school, such as the increasing numbers of women and minority students. But Joe White isn't so sure that students are any different in the '80s - at least not those in the Business School. "Students have always paid a lot of attention to where am I going and how do I get there," he said. In the 1980s, the American Medi- cal College Application Service and the U.S. Law School Admissions Council reported the University of Michigan to be the largest supplier of pre-law and pre-medical students in the country. Lou Rice, the Univer- sity's Chief Pre-Professional Advi- sor, is pleased although not surprised by these findings. "I think it's an interesting com- mentary on the University of Michi- gan in that it continues to produce large numbers of students interested in the professions of law and medicine in comparison to what ap- pears to be declining applicant pools," he said. Rice noted that the country's number of law and medical school applicants has been steadily declining since the 1974, and that despite being the nation's leading applicant sup- plier for these fields, the University has also been affected by the trend. Rice points to numbers. In the 1974-'75 year, 630 University stu- dents applied to U.S. medical schools, according to the AMCAS. In 1984-'85, that number fell to 461. Two years later, it was 355. He also sites a study he conducted of the University's class of 1975. Two years after graduation (with 61 percent responding), more than half the class had enrolled in graduate or pre-professional programs; and most of those were enrolled in medicine, law, education, and social work pro- grams. Only four percent were in an MBA program. Today, Rice said that report would be significantly different, and said that more University students are turning to business. He added that this is an indicator of students' val- ues. "Most of the stuff you read today suggests most students are interested in immediate rewards: financial secu- rity and job advancement. They see those opportunities more readily in the business world than in the medi- cal world." Rice added that the increasing cost of,education is also a large factor. "Students saw increasing debt and increasing cost and deferred financial rewards... they looked for more im- mediate rewards with less cost to them... "It may be they're making choices that result in more immediate re- turn," he continued. "There's a difference between a two year MBA program and a four year medical pro- gram with an. internship." As the 1980s draw to a close, the figures might be telling. But the de- bate continues as to where students' values will be moving in the future. "All you guys have done is read in the media since the recession how tight the job market is," said Debo- rah Orr May. "Today's student has a lot of pressure. The world costs a lot to live in. This is the first generation that may have to face a reduction in the standard of living." May added that she felt any such reduction would be reinforced by the impact of dualbcareer couples. "But how many of those dual ca- reer couples could do that on their own?" As the times are changing, Judith Chapman also feels succeeding on a high level is a little more difficult. "Self made human beings are to a large extent a thing of the past," she said. "They feel like to succeed they have to be coming out of school with a high place position and salary," said Deborah Orr May. "In reality they get entry level posi- tions." "Sometimes students think they should be at the same level as their parents when they start," said Doreen Murasky, noting that it is difficult for one to do as well as one's par- ents. "And (sometimes) students who are graduating with degrees from par- ents who don't have a degree feel kind of guilty that they're going be- yond what their parents have done... this may even be more true for women... "This is a generation moving in new directions in terms of sex roles," said Murasky. As the semester winds down, many seniors are currently weighing their options and making plans. Current figures have it that approxi- mately 75 percent of a class of enter- ing University students will com- plete a degree within five years. For some, the option after that will be a graduate program. For others it's facing the workforce. And in each case there is reason for excitement and anxiety, often both at once. "I'm taking a year off," said Tony Edelblute, an LS&A senior who plans to graduate in April. "I've changed my plans completely, so I'm pretty nervous about leaving this sheltered environment." "I have anxieties," said one Resi- dential College senior. "That I won't find a job. That's probably the biggest, that I won't be able to sup- port myself next year. And that I'll lose touch with my friends." David Mancino, a senior in the School of Engineering, is more op- timistic. "I can't wait," he said. "I'm counting the days. I have tons of work to do 'till then. I've been here five years, I'm getting a degree and a job is waiting for me." Doreen Murasky feels these mixed emotions are all a part of the process. "It's normal to have stress and anxi- ety around changes, even if it's posi- tive." And "change" doesn't necessarily mean the "best years" are over yet. Two graduating seniors celebrate at l THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GIL ----NI) MENDELSSOHN U 1} What the hell is Robyn Hitchcock holding in his hand? Who knows; the guy is really strange. Look at him. may be taken for granted. --Beth Fertig The Jean Paul Sartre Experience Love Songs Fundamental Music The Jean Paul Sartre Experience. What a cool name. Fortunately there's much more to this album than its existentialist-psychedelic moniker. The delicate, windy guitar ballads on Love Songs drip slowly and softly with quiet persistence much like a leaky faucet. In fact, you can hear a faucet dripping in the background on the LP's opening tune "Fish in the Sea." Songs such as "The Grey Parade" and "Loving Grapevine" float lazily from the vinyl like a synth-stripped Cocteau Twins, their simplicity swaying drunkenly toward nihilism. The lyrics at times seem like a chronicle of boring everyday experi- ences. But it is exactly this simple philosophy of stripping down to the elements and fighting a daily battle to gain control of your destiny that is so refreshing. The Jean Paul Sartre Experience says let your own happiness be your only law. This is very mellow, quirky, pop music with swell lyrics like "I like rain tapping against my window/I like rain dancing on the pavement/I like rain when I'm inside." The band-members cite their "obvious musical influences" as "folk ballads, soul music, funky music, and Owen Gutsell music." Needless to say this is a laid back album that's lots of fun to listen to. -Todd Shanker William Orbit Strange Cargo Orbit I.R.S./No Speak Records The advent of affordable audio technology has opened pop music to a whole new legion of artists - in much the same way, strangely, as did the anti-technical revolution of punk- rock. Perhaps for the first time in the history of recorded music, one artist can singlehandedly create complex tracks on a master tape allowing the EXPERIENCE KIBBUTZ For the summer, semester or year! APRIL 6, 7, 8, 9 & 1 APRIL 9, 10 & 16, APRIL 15 AT The Gondoliers Centennial Celebration precedes the April 15 performance. Join us at 8:30 for Italian fare, cocktails and entertainment by UMGASS' Pretty Committee, as we toast the 100th anniversary of this delightful, vivacious operetta Tickets on sale at the Mendelssohn Theatre box office For information cal\ 761-7855, or the box office at 763-1085 KIBBUTZ ULPAN Israels most popular He- brew study program, for two, three or six months. Univer- sity credits available. UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS Study in English at an Israeli University and experience the unique lifestyle of a kibbutz. Earn full academic credits. PROJECT DISCOVERY Participate in an inspirational archeological dig while living on a kibbutz. TEMPORARY WORKER Personalized kibbutz placement during your stay in Israel. IflI. V Contact: Idit Bechor 973-0038 Yofet Ozery 661-1000 Hiid 663-3336 r PAGE 4 WEEKEND/APRIL 8. 1988 WEEKEND/APRIL 8. 1988 PAGE 4 WEEKEND/APRIL 8, 1988 WEEKEND/APRIL 8, 1988 F. +e 2 a. S ." a.. n.