The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 19, 1990 - Page 9 Cozy joys revisited Authors create fantasia out of the ordinary BY JAY PINKA REMEMBER the days when the only book you had to open was an illustrated edition of Grimm's fairy tales or Mother Goose's nursery rhymes? Read- ing for the simple pleasure of it might seem like a long-forgotten fantasy world while we're machine- gunned with deadline after deadline. Can we experi- ence that "cozy joy" of the past, when we sunk our heads into our pillows, letting words and images flow into our eyes and ears as Mom or Dad read us those "good ol"' bedtime stories like "Chicken Lit- tIe" or "Goldilocks and The Three Bears?" The answer is yes, according to writers Susan Weiner and Alison Hagy. While Hagy supplies us with the simplicity of elemental rural life, Weiner, with her vignettes about "people and feelings and ex- periences," transforms ordinary moments into con- temporary fables. As a psychotherapist, Weiner gathers her stories from her exposure to the personal conflicts and ad- ventures of people's inner (and outer) lives. Her char- acters, often in a space of three or four pages, "are people learning things about adversity." Her vi- gnettes, colored with "the joys and sorrows of who people are," bring out listeners' sympathetic interest time and time again. "People who hear it feel some recognition or identification with it," says Weiner, "Often times... people say, 'I remember that, I've experienced that."' "Humanness is what unites us all as people," she continues, "It's about people, and we're all con- nected." Weiner says she does not have a premedi- tated plan when she sits down to write. Rather, she transforms the feelings and events from her life into very "personal" fables which often "teach a life les- son." "I sit down and I just start writing things... about what is going on around me" says Weiner, "I don't know where I'm going (with it)." Having made a commitment to writing two years ago, Weiner says she enjoys "choosing to fit" the art of storytelling into her life, so she is looking forward to tonight's reading. "I like watching people respond to it," she says of her works. It is this desire to communicate through writing that contributes to her magic. If you're looking for the rural landscape of the tales of your childhood, Alison Hagy is a ready sup- plier. But trying to find Hagy under her books just might be like finding the needle in the haystack. "The real genesis in me for becoming a writer is reading," says Hagy, who considers herself "a South- ern writer." "I have always loved it." Hagy, who has been a journalist and a high school teacher, says she is grateful that she can exercise "one of the great passions" of her life. "I'm glad I found a profession where I get to do it all the time," says Hagy, who recommends reading to beginning writers. Hagy says she is particularly drawn to the work of Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers and William Faulkner. Having grown up on a farm in Virginia, "the lan- guage in their stories and characters - the way they spoke - struck a chord in me, of the sense of oral tradition in the South," says the University creative writing instructor. "It absolutely comes from the way I was raised," she adds. "The way people live in rural towns is dif- ferent from how people live in the city.... Some- thing about people who live off the land - human relationships seem to stick on in relief with a back- ground like that." SUSAN WEINER and ALISON HAGY will read at Guild house, 802 Monroe, at 8:30 p.m. tonight. Charlie Sheen has traded in the suit and tie from his Wall Street days for the much more becoming knickers and lad erhosen, so as not to clash with Juliette Caton's Swiss-attired Heidi. Swiss family fare Courage Mountain dir. Ch ristopher Leitch - BY W ENDY S HA NK E R Peter Murphy Deep RCA Records A few years ago in Rolling Stone, a reviewer writing about the new. Dennis DeYoung record suggested that it would be a good thing if Styx got back together. One may wonder how this nauseating proposal could ' be anything but catastrophic. Well, that way there would be less solo records by former members, or "Styx-related product" on the market. Instead of hearing three pseudo- Styx records a year, we would only be subjected to one. Good idea for Styx, but not for Bauhaus. I know that a lot-of people are going to jump all over me for saying this, but I'm glad Bauhaus broke up. Now we have two "Bauhaus-related products," in the form of Love and Rockets, and Peter Murphy. Deep finds Pete in just the gosh- darn happiest mood yet (although I use the word "happy" in a relative sense.) The songs are upbeat for the most part, with nary a trace of that old Bauhaus doom and gloom busi- ness. This progression has been seen in many artists, most notably in the evolution of Joy Division to New Order, and the results have usually been lackluster. Pete is an exception to this rule, however. His voice sounds the absolute best it ever has, and the songwriting has reached a new level of sophistication and ma- turity. So what if it's kind of happy? That never killed anyone. The same musicians from 1988's Love Hysteria are back and it ap- pears that Pete is pretty happy with them as they're "introduced" as One Hundred Men. And the results show- that Pete does indeed have much to be happy about. There is a great deal of stylistic similarity with the last record. But where Love Hysteria only had its moments, Deep is a solid work. From the techno crunch of "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth" and "Shy" (which has Pete doing something that borders on rap), to the almost R.E.M.-influ- enced "Crystal Wrists," the music and the production are both better than ever. The lyrics? Well, I'm not even going to attempt to interpret them. Suffice it to say that they're the usual Murphy brand of cerebral po- etry. And they show remarkable growth; seven years ago, the thought of him doing a serious, acoustic gui- tar/voice ballad would have seemed laughable. But now he pulls it off with ease in "A Strange Kind of Love." So is Deep a masterpiece? Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it is the best work Murphy has yet done. Although it lacks Bauhaus' quirky originality, it more than makes up for it in tight playing, great songs and an incredible vocal performance. And it beats Styx any day. -Mike Molitor How long has it been since you've seen a movie when the bad guy wasn't a drug lord, or at least a cor- rupt politician? When the biggest stunts didn't include helicopters, Porsches, or Uzi submachine guns? When you sat on the edge of your seat waiting for love's first kiss instead of love's first orgasm? Courage Mountain tells a new story about Heidi (made famous by Shirley Temple), an orphan who lives in the Alps with her grandfather. Director Christopher Leitch unravels further adventures about Heidi in her adolescent years. After receiving a large inheritance, Heidi (Juliette Caton) decides she must leave her tiny Swiss town of Dorfli to travel to an Italian boarding school. Jane Hillary (Leslie Caron), the head of the school, makes Heidi feel comfortable among the girls there. The evil Signor Bonelli (Yorgo Voyagis) sweeps up the girls and takes them to his rat-infested orphanage. With Heidi as their leader, they must escape his devilish do- main. Heidi's friend Peter (Charlie Sheen) and Jane at- tempt to rescue the group on a journey into the Alps, with Signor Bonelli close behind. Courage Mountain takes the best of Annie, The Rescuers, and The Sound of Music, melting them to- gether with high adventure and beautiful photography. Innocence beams through the entire film. When the group of escaped girls spot a couple in a tight embrace, one schoolmate vents her disgust. The others respond, "What's wrong with it? They love each other." At the site of a lost battle, one girl asks, "Are they Austrians or Italians?" Heidi slowly shakes her head and says, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter." These touching scenes illustrate to a young audience that war brings no happiness. Charlie Sheen plays the hero and relative stud of the film. He is the piece that doesn't fit the puzzle. His, "Hey dudes, I'm an American" accent sounds out of place among the delicate English of Heidi and the schoolgirls. Sheen also looks much older than Heidi, another mismatch. ("He's very old," Heidi explains to her friends. "He's 18.") One gets the feeling he's just there for sigh value. A big-brown-eyed Kathryn Ludlow, who plays the youngest orphan in the group, gives an innocent and endearing performance. Two-time Academy Award nom- inee Leslie Caron does a great Audrey Hepburn imita- tion as Jane, the caring schoolmistress. But the excel- lent untouched mountain locations take top billing in Courage Mountain. This is not a movie that would make a great double feature with Lethal Weapon kind of flicks, but for a sweet change of pace (or a way to keep your little sister occupied for a couple hours), see Courage Mountain. The bad guys are really bad, the good guys are really good, and seeing Charlie Sheen in Swiss knickers might be worth-letting your little sis drag you to the movies. COURAGE MOUNTAIN is playing at Showcase Clive Griffin Step By Step Polygram Step By Step is a marvelous solo effort by 25-year-old, singer/song- writer Clive Griffin. Griffin, a former London session singer and lead vocalist for the 18-piece group Bandzilla, enlisted the help of some seasoned musicians to make this LP a reality. Playing guitar is David Williams, who has performed with Michael Jackson and Madonna. Eric Clapton's bassist Nathan East and the Average White Band's drummer Steve Ferrone lay down solid rhythm. tracks. James Ingram also appears, providing doses of background vo- cals throughout. But these musicians do not 'steal the focus from Griffin, whose powerful and passionate voice remains the center of attention. Lyrically, the songs vary. "The Way We Touch," is sensual ("when you surround me, I hear the eagles cry... within your body I start to fly"); "Don't Make Me Wait" is compellingly desperate. Griffin urges his love interest to "reveal (her) se- cret heart and end the misery that tears (his) soul apart." And there is even a share of the prosaic; on "Love Street," Griffin sings "just like a flower you need a loving touch" and "why waste this precious time when all the world is yours and mine." Even though the lyrics are at times ludicrous, the instrumentation is still phenomenal. "Dancing After Dark" starts off with a dazzling combination of bass and brass. Intri- cate guitar work and a great horn sec- tion stand out on "Try to Be. Happy." Even the most disappoint- ing song on the LP, the long and repetitious "Head Above Water," ends with some brilliant piano play- ing. The album closes with the title track. At first, "Step By Step" sounds like a ballad. But after a few bars, the song picks up and borders on being funky. Strong bass, gleam- ing horns and sparkling keyboard ad- Step By Step, which also includes the romantic "Lonely Lady," the ex- tremely soulful "Be There," the ca- lypso-like "In Another Lifetime" and the slightly depressing "By Heart," is a substantial LP. Whether a ballad or a dance track, each of Griffin's songs is laden with irresistible hooks that are not easily forgotten. -4lyse R. Shanz Various Artists Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown GRP Aside from two tracks, this al- bum is a huge disappointment. That fact is quite astonishing considering the lineup of talent featured: B.B. King, Dave Grusin, Joe Williams, Chick Corea, and several others. The title refers to the 40th an- niversary of the Peanuts comic strip. The music, though, comes from the series of Charlie Brown an- imated television specials that have been produced since "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in 1965. Most of the scores for these shows were writ- ten and performed by jazz pi- anist/composer Vince Guaraldi until his death in 1976. For the recent series "This Is America Charlie Brown," Dave Brubeck, David Benoit, and Grusin were recruited as composers. It is a shame that Guaraldi's de- lightfully melodic music (represented on eight of the 12 tracks) is given such shallow treatment by the per- formers on this album. Oh, to be sure there are a few high points. Corea, on acoustic piano with drum and bass accompaniment, gives an energetically swinging version of "The Great Pumpkin Waltz." And, in what is easily the highlight of the album, baritone sax player Gerry Mulligan delivers a cool, laid-back version of "Rain, Rain, Go Away." From wistful beginning to the lose any sense of direction. King shows little spirit in his vocalizing or guitar playing on "Joe Cool," and Williams fares slightly better sing- ing the humorous "Little Birdie." Some of the synthesized accom- paniments of the vocals lack a warmth that could have been more inspirational to these three singers. The non-Guiraldi tunes, "History Lesson" and "Breadline Blues" (with a repetitive cold-toned solo by Kenny G.) are trite productions that are quickly forgotten. "Benjamin," a rhythmic Dave Brubeck original, is the best of the bunch but even it is fairly lackluster. If you enjoy the music in the Charlie Brown television specials, get the soundtrack to "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (Fantasy 5F-8430) or the beautiful "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (Fantasy F-8431). Both of these recordings feature the Vince Guaraldi trio and they are both far superior to the boring electrified funk on the commemorative album. I mean, good grief, Chuck and his pals deserve better. -Phillip Washington REVENGE Continued from page 8 manhood. Tiburon now has the right to make things equal with Cochran (has him beaten to a bloody pulp and left in the desert to be covered with bugs) and Miryea (has her drugged and put in a whorehouse and forces her to have sex with obese Mexican men). But the bad guy always goes too far (kills Cochran's dog), giving the hero an excuse to become fright- eningly obsessed with revenge. Now this is the point where someone like Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger would slap on the grease paint, sharpen his favorite machete, and hunt down and kill Tiburon and ev- ery member of his gang. But instead, Costner makes a few friends and