The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 12, 1988-- Page 9 Sweet Honey in the. Rock Live at Carnegie Hall Flying Fish If you haven't heard of Sweet Honey in the Rock and are interested in music which will perk up your ears from its political consciousness, then set your soul on fire with singing not heard since the proverbial Black preacher reached his last crescendo on Sunday morning (or since we last heard Janis Joplin live). Live at Carnegie Hall lives up to its name. This group of seven women - former "freedom singers" from the civil rights movement - 'makes music which combines soul- ful gospel ensemble and African tra- ditional styles with ardent political messages that reflect a combination 9f deep thought and love. From merely a musical perspec- tive, Sweet Honey in the Rock must have sent shivers through their audi- ence at Carnegie Hall that night. With little accompaniment -- inter- mittent cuicas, tamborines, and a arum or two - these women go from ascending falsettos which are meant to sound like the screeching sirens of a police car in Emergency," to the kind of bass in- tonation which reminds one of Satchmo doing a slow trumpet drag in a smoky nightclub, in "Ode to the International Debt." Seven part harmonies! Call and response, improvised dialogue, and multiple leads make this an album to listen to when you're down and need that special kind of inspiration. ' . power in their music rings with hunger and thirst. These women can make you feel their strength. It lies deeper than just what is heard, it lies in what is felt. You'll sing along too. Not only do Sweet Honey in the Rock keep their culture's musical traditions alive and untainted by aes- thetic accomodations (such as blues with heavy metal guitar solos thrown in the middle or reggae with a disco beat), but they tap into a strong literary tradition as well. Sonia Sanchez, the Bible, and even tradi- tional Bambara song from Mali, West Africa, augment their lyrics. Verse by Sanchez is turned into a tone-poem of the highest order as they sing, "Dear Martin... come on in here... I want you to know the sun is rolling in from far away places. I hear your voice... you would have been 58 this year. I want you to know that we still hear you footsteps setting out on a road cemented with black bones. The decade after your death docked like a spaceship on a new planet. We were youngbloods, spinning hip syllables while saluting death in a country neutral with pain." Bernice Johnson Reagon and Eve- lyn Maria Harris sing not only to Martin of these being dangerous days but of how the "color of freedom be- comes disco fever, when soap operas populate our Zulu braids; as the world turns to the conservative right and general hospitals are closing in Black and poor neighborhoods," but they sing to all of us about the money borrowed for guns we can't eat, about Reagan's games with Bork... and all the others who are waiting in the wings, and about the garments we wear, ones made from cotton brought from the blood-soaked fields of El Salvador, for two dollars a day. Are our Hands Clean? It's a rare gift' to listen these fighters, organizers, and songleaders breathe melody into the words of Alicia Partnoy, a poet once listed as among "the disappeared" in Ar- gentina, or into a traditional song sung by Fannie Lou Hamer -- "Oh run, run, mourner run, bright angels above... If I had two wings... I would fly away to the kingdom... Escape for your life." Hamer, Reagon tells us in the liner notes, had learned the words from her grandmother, who had once been a slave. I guarantee that you'll learn more after a close reading of this album's liner notes than you would from a week's worth of the New York Times. You'll want to "wade in the wa- ter" too. You'll lament with Evely Maria Harris as she mourns the loss of the woman she loves, "love is here and now you're gone, I miss AAid your kiss, your smiling eyes..." but if the words begin to drift when you close your eyes and lay your head back on the pillow, and all that comes through is a chorus of voices in a grand hall singing, "denko et denko ye mousoo lou ye ne na koun ye denko ye," you'll know that truly, as Ysaye Maria Barnwell put it, it is a poem and now a song. -Rollie Hudson Christmas Stupid Kids (12") I. R. S. Records This Boston-based trio follows up their spectacular debut album In Ex- celsior Dayglo with yet another ex- ample of their ironic, cutting, yet catchy songwriting. "Stupid Kids," a harbinger of their long-overdue sophomore album forthcoming this spring, takes a cockeyed look at the social scene, sounding for all the world like a "party tune" while wit- tily cutting on that very swill-yer- suds-&-sow-yer-seed mentality ("What a party... looks like every- body came/ Before they went"). Its lyrical snideness is given a sarcastic boost by the devilishly playful, Christmas-carol harmonies (I swear that wasn't just a stupid pun) that back it up. Mix all this together with a driv- ing beat and a pleasant guitar buzz and you have a precursor of wonder- ful things to come. Sophomore slump, hell. -Jim Poniewozik Low Intensity Warfare Edited by Michael T. Klare and Peter Kornbluh Pantheon $.95paperback World War Three on the plains of Central Germany? Nuclear Armageddon between the US and the USSR? Forget it, according to the essays in this informative new volume on the latest fad in the Pentagon. If Kornbluh, Klare, and friends are correct - and their scrupulously researched essays would seem to indicate that they are - thinking in the Pentagon these days is far more concerned with conflicts in the so-called Third World than with how many bombs and rockets the Soviets are hiding in Siberia. Make no mistake - low intensity warfare, or LIC, is hardly intended to forget the Soviet Union. The narrow-minded mentality on which the U.S. military establishment seems to thrive depends upon blaming the "Evil Empire" for every revolution in every poor country. The dire social and economic conditions that turn campesinos into revolutionaries - many of them examples of the brutal logic of U.S. capitalism - are rarely mentioned by the Pentagon "intelligentsia" as possible reasons for people wanting to change the oppressive governments that perpetrate such conditions. On one level, the planners in Washington seem to recognize as much. As most of the essays demonstrate, LIC specialists, much like their counterinsu gency counterparts during the Vietnam War, are well aware that a mi1iKry defeat of a guerrilla army isn't worth a whole lot if the "hearts and minds" of the population aren't convinced that the reigning government is a good thing. The essays on El Salvador and the Philippines - two of the best in the collection - confirm this poit, concentrating on the psychological warfare programs of disinformatioi through which the CIA and its buddies try to convince the people of country that a Duarte or an Aquino really does care about their needs. °. If such programs have little more success than similar ones did in Vietnam, one reason, suggests Michael Klare in a separate essay, is that the U.S. tends to become involved at all in counterinsurgency efforts in those very countries where a rebellion exists because the government ha already proven itself incapable of reform. This is certainly true of il Salvador and the Philippines - the two countries the Bush transitipli team has identified as its major challenges-where the increasing power of the military and right-wing death squads belies U.S. claims that rulers like Duarte and Aquino represent genuine hope for democracy. The U.S..has an even harder time trying to convince the world that the proinsurgency forces it supports, such as the contras in Nicaragua and thle "Mujahidin" in Afghanistan, have anything to do with democracy whatsoever. Selig Harrison's detailed essay on Afghanistan demonstrates that the guerrilla armies supported by the CIA have very little popua appeal and are less interested in democracy than in a brand of Islamio fundamentalism not indigenous to Afganistan, but exported from Iran. The situation in Nicaragua is even more scurrilous. At least il Afghanistan, one can point to the Soviet invasion and unpopular Kabl government as complicating factors. But the Sandinista government in Nicaragua remains popular with its people, despite disinformatidn campagins by everyone from the CIA to Ann Arbor's own CDL, (Coalition.for "Democracy" in Latin America) intended to convince U.$S citizens otherwise. In this context, the wide array of actions undertaken by the U.S; government to destroy Nicaragua- provided in excruciating detail %y Peter Kornbluh in perhaps the best essay in the volume -are not only outrageous, but criminal. In the name of democracy, the U.S. has consistently supported a band of thugs who are repeatedly cited for humaq rights violations, mined Nicaragua's harbors and sabotaged its ports; refused it economic credits (a repeat of Nixon's decision to "make the Chilean economy scream"), and denied its citizens visas. One wonders given the cruelties which the U.S. is willing to commit in the name'of democracy, what kind of "democracy" it is actually interested in and fighting for. Richard J. Barnet raises the same issue in the concluding essay of the volume, "The Costs and Perils of Intervention." Alluding to the Iran- Contra scandal, Barnet echoes concerns of most of the writers in the collection when he wonders whether democracy can survive in a United States where the people are consistently lied to by their government about what it is doing. Leaving aside the question of whether the U.S. has ever, at any point in its history, been a democracy, Barnet raises a serious concern about the prospects for the country's future should it continue to pursue a policy of covert operations. If Ollie and his cohorts, with the connivance of the- President-Elect of the United States, can systematically subvert the U.S. Constitution and then get away with it, how far away are we from a day when people here, as in Nicaragua, are deprived of what few rights they have in the name of freedom? -Mike Fischer 6Don't throw 'mother BY TONY SILBER Motion pictures may be the last bastion of. hope for humanity on Earth, but can we make the same claim for Dan Aykroyd? Kim Basinger does in My Stepmother Is An, Alien, a new film that deservedly warrants the subtitle The Good, The ,ad, and The Ridiculous. ,4 If in-depth, interesting, multi-textured plots are for you, then Stepmother isn't. But if you're; looking for a few legitimate laughs and a kooky and crazy story, then it's worth your time. Dr. Steve Mills (Aykroyd) is an MIT-bred astrophysicist who accidently sends an electrical ,,ansmission to a galaxy thousands of light years away. Super-intelligent beings intercept it and send representative Celeste (Basinger) to find Mills so that her planet can be saved. Saved from what, we- -don't know. No further information is given or ;necessary. You know this film is not gonna be any brain fest, but it's also a bit more interesting -han an astronomy lecture. Predictability then takes over the film as Celeste and Mills encounter various extraterrestrial -adventures as time runs out on her planet. ,Celeste's purse is the ringleader of the whole mission. It talks, glows, and provides numerous displays of spectacular "script escape" while helping Celeste to assimilate to Earth life during her two-day stay. The only snare is that Mills' daughter (Alyson Hannigan) is on to Celeste's weirdness when she catches her drinking battery acid out of the family Honda. No, you really don't need a Ph.D. to understand this extraordinarily complicated plot. How does one judge a film like My S Is An Alien? Well, there are a number you could look at individually. If it is to on special effects alone, you have a real If you judge it on script and acting, should be disbarred. But how do youj comedy? The first thirty minutes of t WEAK; trust me - I was already forn scathing attack in my head, buts someway, and I don't know how, St saved itself, somewhat. Aykroyd (Blues provides some needed comical direction in some genuinely funny scenes. Basin Weeks) can't act, but is attractivec maintain some interest in her wacky role The saving element here is Jon Lo from the train Stepmother who provides the most dynamic comical of criteria contribution, bringing a wonderful sliminess and be judged sarcasm to his role as Mills' brother, Ron. There l gem here. are also some corny sequences like a Jimmy , then you Durante song-and-dance routine which add some judge it on ,silly moments, but they seem logically welcome he film are in this silly movie. mulating a Generally, My Stepmother Is An Alien is a somehow, mixed bag of comedy, special effects, bad acting, epmother and ridiculous storylines. But there is enough Brothers) merit here to warrant a look, especially if you're in n, resulting one of those crazy moods on a blustery Saturday iger (9 1/2 afternoon. So with good, bad, and ridiculous, enough to Stepmother won't sweep the Oscars, but don't e. exile this to the Hollywood junkpile, either. vitz (Big), Unseen Continued from Page 8 this painting is unusual because the artist em- ployed only tones of reds, browns, and black. Becauses of this, the painting is considered part of the Tonalist school, known for works that are painted in tones of one color. The deep, bold red in the middle of the painting contrasts starkly with the ebony-brown figure of the deer. Edward Willis Redfield's painting "American Landscape" shows a crystal-blue stream cutting through a snow-covered field. The oil is applied thickly, giving the painting a good texture. The trees' branches mix in a network of browns and black. Redfield, one of the American Impressionists, painted most of his works less than two miles from his home in Pennsylvania, said Downes-Leguin. The exhibit is part of a project entitled "Illustrated Catalogue of European and American Painting and Sculpture: The University of Michigan Museum of Art." If you are wondering what other painters worked during the time of great American artists like James Whistler and Winslow Homer, do not miss this exhibit. The immediate effects of mod- ern European artists are readily apparent in these paintings. UNSEEN OILS will be on exhibit until January 7 in the Corridor Gallery of the University Mu- seum of Art. The Calendar of The University of Michigan The calendar combines meeting, lecture, workshop, and conference announcements with other events happening each week on campus. It is based on The University Record calendar, and is open to all University sponsored groups and organizations recognized by the Michigan Student Assembly. Items must be submitted in writing by 5 p.m. the Tuesday before publication. Address all information to: Marcia Bennett, publications assistant, University Record, 412 Maynard St. Asterisk (*) denotes events to which admission is charged. MONDAY DECEMBER 12 Integrity-- Lesbian-gay male community open house, 8:45 pm, Canterbury House, 218 N Division. 665-0606. Tae Kwon Do Club--Mtg, 6:30-8:15 pm, 2275 CCRB. Begins welcome 662- 8637. Archery--Mtg, 7-10 pm, Coliseum (corner Fifth & Hill). 764-4084. Tau Beta Pi/Eta Kappa Nu/Pi Tau Sigma--Math & Sci Tutoring, 8-10 pm S Quad Dining Hall; 8-10 pm, Bursley Rm 2333; 7-9 pm, Mary Markley Lib; 7- 11 pm, UGLI Rm 307. 764-6250. Intl Ctr--Lunch Discuss, "Racism & Ethnocentrism: Quality Of Life Issues For Intl Sdts," noon-1:30 pm, Mich League Rms 4 & 5. Faculty Women's--Drop-In Lunch, noon, Mich Union Univ Club. Wkshp--"Graphics: The Workshop," 1-4:30 pm, 1111 Kipke Dr Reg req. 764- 7410. Medieval & Renaissance Collegium--Lec, B Roy, "Qui, Quand, Ou et Pour Qui: Tout Sur La Farce de Maitre Pathelin," 4 pm, Rackham W Conf Rm 763- 2066. Nat Resources--Coffee & cookies, 3:30-4 pm; Sem, S Winterstein"Techniques For Examining Survival In Wild Populations," 4-5 pm, Dana Bldg Rm 1046. Ctr N East & N Afr Stds--Brown-Bag Film, %F2The Price Of Change noon, Lane Hall Commons. 764-0350. Sch Music--Hymn Festival, "The Seasons," 8 pm, Organ Studio 2110 763-4726. *U-M Flint--Concert, Symphonic Band, 7:30 pm, Flint Thtre. 762-3377. SACUA--Mtg, 3:15 pm, Rackham Amphi. *U-M-Dearborn--Luncheon Concert, noon, Music Rm. 593-5000. Gifts of Art--Wheel Demo, 2 pm, Taubman Ctr Lobby. 936-ARTS. *HRD--Wkshp, "Graphics: The Workshop," 1-4:30 pm, 1111 Kipke Dr Reg req. 764-7410. Geol Sci--Coffee & cookies, 3:30 pm; Lee, E Essene, "Magmatic Metamorphism (A Review of 15 Yrs Wk In The Grenville Terrane)," 4 pm, CC Little. Sch Music--Early Music Ensemble, 8 pm, Recital Hall; Concert, Chamber Choir & Orchestra, "Christmas Oratorio," 8 pm, Hill Aud. 763-4726. Diabetes Research & Train--Wkshp, Molecular Biology Core, 2:30-4 pm Towsley Ctr. 763-5256. Hosp Info Svcs--MCMUG Mtg, K Hinkle, "Presentation Manager: The Face of OS/2," 3-4 pm, Ford Amphi. 936-4900. Biopsychol--Colloquium, J Jenness, "Large-Field Rayleigh Matches of Normal Trichromats & Polymorphism of Cone Photopigments," 12:30 pm, MHRI Rm 1057. 747-0933. IPASC--Indian Film, Uphaar, 7 pm, MLB Video Viewing Rm 2nd F1 973-7091. Ctr Human Growth & Devp--Brown-Bag Luncheon, C Mistretta, "Receptive Fields For Salt Taste: How They Develop," noon, 300 N Ingall Bldg Rm 1000, 10th Level WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14 *Zen Buddhist Temple--Yoga & breathing class, 9:30-11 am, 1214 Packard Rd. 761-6520. Lord of Light Lutheran Church--Bible study, 6:30-7:30 pm; Worship 7:30- 8 pm; Choir, 8-9 pm, 801 S Forest. 668-7622. Guild House--Faculty Brown-Bag Lunch, noon; *Beans & Rice Dinner, 6 pm; Discuss mtg, 8 pm, 802 Monroe St. 662-5189. Men's Campus Club--Social for gay & bisexual male sdts, 9-11 pm, E Law Quad Cook Rm. 763-4186. Counsel Svcs--Dissertation support grp, 8:30 am, Mich Union Rm 3100 764- THURSDAY DECEMBER 15 United Coalition Against Racism--Mtg, 6 pm, Mich Union. 936-1809. Archery--See Dec 12. *Mich League--Intl Night, Scandanavia; 4:30-7:30 pm, League Buffet. Socially Active Latino Sdt Assoc (SALSA)--Mtg, 7:30 pm, MLB Rm 111 973-1161. *U-M-Dearborn--Luncheon Concert, noon, Music Rm. 593-5000. Vision Training Prog--Vision Lunch Sem, S Easter, "Very Early Development in the Zebra Fish Brain," noon-1:15 pm, MHRI 2055. 764-0573.' *U-M Flint--Film, Broadcast News, 7 & 9:15 pm, Univ Ct Kiva.73 Biol--Sem, D Noden, "Movement & Patterning Of Craniofacial & Mesenchymal' Tissues," 12:10 pm, 1139 Nat Sci. Sdt Woodshop--Safety Class For New Shop Users Pt 11, 3-5 pm, SAB 763- 4025 FRIDAY DECEMBER 16 *Bridge Club--Bridge Game, 7:15 pm, Mich League Studio Rm. 764-4648. Gay Liberation--Brothers Coffee House, 8 pm, 802 Monroe St. 763-4186. *Mus Art--Concert, Lafayette String Quartet & S Bryant, 8 pm, 525 S State. 764-0395. Lowbrow Astron--Mtg, 7:30 pm, Detroit Observ. 434-5668. *U-M Flint--See Dec 15. Sch Music--Carillon Christmas Caroling, 8 pm, Burton Tower. 763-4726. Biology--Sem, D Noden, "Development Of Sensory Neurons From Placodes & Neural Crest," 4:10 pm, 3056 Nat Sci. Folkdance Club--Line & Circle Dances E Europ & Middle East, Teaching 8-9 pm; Request Dancing, 9-11 pm, Mich Union Anderson Rm. No partner nec.. 663-3885. Univ Lutheran Chapel--Video/Game Night, 7:30 pm, 1511 Washtenaw 663- 7550 SATURDAY DECEMBER 17 *Exhibit Mus Planetarium--Shows: "Holiday Skies," 11:30 am; "The Christmas Star," 2 & 3 pm, Exhib Mus 4th fl, corner Geddes-Washtenaw. Guild House--Dawntreaders Mtg, 7:30 pm, 802 Monroe St. 677-1785. Gifts of Art--Concert, Ann Arbor Civic Chorus, 2 pm, Hosp Lobby 1st F. 936-ARTS SUNDAY 11