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The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition -- Thursday, September 7, 1989 - Page 14
The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursda
Turn the pagew
A passionate encounter
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By Nabeel Zuberi
Daily Arts Writer
"There's more to life than books,
you know....But not much more."
Uttered by the eminently quotable
Morrissey, erstwhile singer of Brit-
ish pop band The Smiths, this
epigram speaks volumes to lovers of
language everywhere. If you're one
of those people who needs regularly
to feel the dryness of the printed
page between your fingers, then Ann
Arbor shouldn't disappoint you. For-
get about those ludicrously priced
books you have to get because the
professor said so; here we'll be talk-
ing about the pleasure of the text.
However, to assuage academic
concerns, I'll tell you right here and
now that most of your textbooks can
be found at U l r ic h's (549 E.
University) and Michigan Book &
Supply (at the corner of North
University and S. State), the cam-
pus's two most boring bookstores.
They're just warehouses, designed to
sell academic books as efficiently as
possible, with minimum hassle for
customer and retailer alike. Pur-
pchasing here is a perfunctory ex-
perience, with no satisfaction for the
seasoned browser.
Where real print junkies go first
is Border's (303 S. State), the nub
of the Ann Arbor book world.
Border's is a browser's paradise;
book lovers can even lounge on the
several benches as they peruse publi-
cations. The store has everything
you could want, from irresistible
Penguin modern classics with pale
aubergine-colored spines to the latest
psychoanalytic treatise on the frag-
mentation of the self in the post-
modern world. Being inside Border's
is like that blissful yet aching, sus-
pended moment just before orgasm;
your urges compel you to spend, but
you want to prolong the moment
where every book you want in the
shop is potentially yours. It takes a
special resolve to curb one's spend-
ing in Border's.
Even more fun than Border's is
(the host of used bookstores in town.
David's Books (622 E. Liberty) is
the most prominent of these - be-
cause of the yukkiest mural in town
announcing its presence. It's the
only drawing in which the feminist
author Anais Nin looks like Ziggy
Stardust. David's has the pungent
odor of the classic Olde Worlde sec-
ondhand bookshop, and a fat cat in
permanent residence. This is the
place to get those Dostoyevskys,
Flauberts and Kafka-Books You've
Always Pretended To Have Read And
Now It's Time To Sit Down And
Really Read Them.
Dawn Treader (525 E. Liberty
& 1202 S. University) is the most
eclectic of the used stores. Here
you'll find classic sci-fi and mystery
paperbacks with gloriously kitschy
covers and that first edition paper-
back of Kerouac's On The Road
you've always wanted. Dawn Treader
is ideal for the Books You've Been
Hunting For Years Without Success,
the Books You Could Put Aside
Maybe To Read In The Summer, and
Books You Need To Go With Other
Books On Your Shelves.
The State Street Bookshop
(316 S. State) has the genteel air of
an antiquarian bookseller. It's more
highbrow than other used bookstores
in town, being less populist and
more collector oriented; the paper-
back collection here is a sorry sight.
Still, the old maps, globes and piped
classical music provide a pleasant
ambience in which to roam come a
free afternoon.
Tucked away upstairs at 313 S.
State is the Shaman Drum Book-
store, a small but perfectly formed
little store, attracting the more ideo-
logically sound reader than Border's.
If you want books about growing up
in Pakistan and feminist semiotics,
then this is the one for you. The
Shaman Drum has a gentrified ve-
neer and polish, as well as a very
select catalogue. No secondhand
books here.
Of course, there's also Commun-
ity Newscenter (1301 S. Uni-
versity & 330 E. Liberty), which
sells periodicals mainly but is good
for bestseller hardback bargains from
time to time. And Logos (1205 S.
University) is Ann Arbor's premier
holistic, life-affirming, religious
bookstore. And I suppose I should
mention Waldenbooks, B. Dal-
ton, and the Doubleday Book
Store (all at Briarwood Mall), but
then visiting them is about as en-
gaging and entrancing as going down
the aisles at Kroger's.
Books are a serious business.
Shopping for books is a pleasure to
be taken seriously.
Sniff es
Continued from Page 13
"Wait one second," Mike cau-
tioned, "if Cindy has the sniffles
we're not going anywhere.
"Sorry gang, maybe I'll ask Mr.
Ditmier if we can go fishing on his
boat next Sunday." 0
By Kristin Palm
Daily Arts Writer
The task: to mold the unblemished minds of as
many incoming freshmen as possible. To take their
trusting nature and Bon Jovi-saturated eardrums and
tune them into something new, fresh, and (dare I say
it?) invigorating.
The hard part: to highlight the bands which offer
funk, folk, thrash, trash, salsa and psychedelia on the
Ann Arbor scene and describe them with few or no ref-
erences to the MC5 or Iggy and the Stooges. Iggy left
A2 long ago, and the site of the MC5's Translove
Energies is now more commonly known as Luther
Co-op, so let's give it a shot.
First, we must set the scene. It's a typical night on
an given weekend in Ann Arbor (Thursday nights do
constitute the start of the weekend here. Welcome to
college!). Funds are waning, but another night of dorm
lounge movies won't cut it. What's one to do?
Frat parties are free - and wouldn't a warm, flat
beer hit the spot just about now? O.K. - how about
waiting in line to get into Dooley's or Charley's? By
the time you get to the door you'll be so hot and fed
up you'll want to go home. You're bound to save
some money that way. This is the time to check out
the sounds of the bands which inhabit Ann Arbor.
We'll venture a little ways from the safe, familiar
strains of "I Think We're Alone Now," but the
territory will not prove completely foreign. Begin with
a popular cover band, the Iodine Raincoats. No,
these are not top-40 covers. More like Joy Division
and the Cure - but everybody's into these groups
around here anyway
Mars Needs Women performs covers, too but
they dig farther back to the days of Aretha Franklin and
Chuck Berry. However, George Thorogood also ap-
pears in their repertoire. Unfortunately, they are seen
most often at the Apartment Lounge up by North
Campus, a bit of a walk without a motorized vehicle.
But they have been known to play at Rick's every once
in a while, so if you're 19 - or know someone who
looks like you who is 19 - check them out.
A Rick's regular with the same type of sound is
Steve Nardella's Rock 'n Roll Trio. With rumors
of Elvis' death being a hoax and all, it might be a good
idea to see these guys up close. The King just may
have found his niche right here in A-squared in the
confines of Nardella's trio.
For those who are stuck in the 60s but prefer mel-
lower sounds, two other bands to investigate are
Flashback and Juice. If you're just entering college,
you are obviously too young to have witnessed the
Grateful Dead in their heyday. So why not settle for
second best? These groups have definitely got, the
sound, and a large portion of their following consists
of hardcore Deadheads.
Venturing out a little farther from the mainstream
is the funky, dance-pop sound of the Difference. If
you think you might have seen this group on MTV,
you're probably right. In the spring of '88 they won
the music-video network's nationwide battle of the
bands. At times they may remind you of the synthe-
sizer-oriented bands played on Eurobeat night at the
Nectarine Ballrooom. The fact remains: the bass player
cannot be denied. What's to say? Randy Martin jams.
Toning down on the electronics, or eliminating
them altogether, is the way of groups like Map of the
World, the Opossums, and Frank Allison and the Odd
Sox. These bands let their guitars do the talking.
Longtime A2 mainstays Map of the World have
recently returned from a one-year hiatus and are going
strong again playing their brand of folk music with an
edge. As are the Opossums - formerly the
Folkminers, (and they sounded just like the name
might imply) they have rearranged the group and their
approach to present a sound that still demonstrates the
group's talent but allows them to play some real down
n' dirty rock n' roll.
And then there's Frank Allison and the Odd Sox.
With this band of Chelsea natives, it is hard to tell
which is more intriguing: the music itself, the song ti-
tles (i.e. "Suzie's Got a Brand New Ape"), the lyrics
(i.e. "Looking back at all the things we did it makes
me mad/ Like when we bought that barracuda, hid it
from your dad") - or the funny faces Frank makes
both on and off the stage.
It's hard to stay off the dance floor with this band,
and Frank's crowd seems to have it's own patented
dance to go along with this unique brand of rock n'
roll. If you have just broken up with the love of your
life or are experiencing some other trauma, your best
bet is to stay away from this band for a while. Frank
and the Odd Sox are definitely a bunch of happy guys.
Also hailing from Chelsea are Ann Arbor's answer
to the Replacements, the Holy Cows. While at times
this band's desire to emulate Paul Westerberg and Co.
becomes a little too obvious, they do play mostly
originals and they do play rock n' roll. In other words,
they still beat Charley's or Dooley's on any night of
the week. With two albums out, they really have no
need for cover tunes, which is actually unfortunate in
this case. In their early days, they impressed one
young listener with a mean cover of Black Sabbath's
"Paranoid" and the only better-than--adequate Police
cover ever performed, the little-known "Fall Out."
Also included in the category of straightforward
rock n' roll locals are Ann Be Davis and Big Box of
Nines, who play original tunes - a definite plus.
For a more island-oriented beat, club-goers can turn
to the sounds of Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band. This
See.Bands, Page 5
Music made in Michigan
Area clubs feature bands with local roots
Playing a classic college-sound brand of g
ments, locals The Holy Cows are on the ris
Up n smol
rockers st
BILLWOD/uuuaiy
The identites of the writers pictured on the infamous mural on the side of David's Books puzzle many students.
The authors are (I to r) Woody Allen, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Hesse, Franz Kafka, and Anais Nin.
WELCOME STUDENTS!
BUY 3 COOKIES
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ENGLISH COURSES
Intensive and semi-intensive
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Registering Now
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663-9415
By Brian Jarvinen
Daily Arts Writer
Like many student outfits, the
Holy Smokes formed around a
core of people from the same
dorm hall. The guitar players,
Lawrence and Chuck, started ev-
erything by getting together to
hash out chords; soon, band fever
set in. Ultimately, the group
ended up in that middle ground
between those local bands who
have managed to release nation-
ally distributed records on indie
labels such as Restless and Touch
& Go, and those who never make
it past playing covers in the
basement.
The first hurdle any band
would face is the quest for prac-
tice space. Finding room to set
up a drum kit, amps, ashtrays,
speakers, and beer cans ain't all
that difficult; avoiding a visit
from tree-town's finest is.
Fortunately, Lawrence found a
house with only one neighbor
and some fairly sound-proof
walls. One of Lawrence's new
roommates, Kieran, volunteered
to try singing. Lawrence and
Chuck bought a drum kit before
finding a drummer. They soon re-
cruited another hall-mate, Bill,
who
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