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Tuesday, September 2
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The Big F
Is
Patience Peregrine EP
Chrysalis
Imagine the result of the singer
fromJackyl in aless-rough metal band
that periodically caves in to its urge to
play jazz and write deep lyrics. Take
this imagined sound and graft it onto
a generic-looking. four-piece college
band. You should now have a general
idea of what The Big F is about.
"Is," their spanking-new release,
seems to be an indication of where
metal is going. Screechy vocally,
softer musically and slightly more
introspective than their predecessors,
this new direction seems to be looking
for commercial success. It is not likely
that this will happen, however, con-
sidering thatThe Big F lacks the power
to gain acceptance by the metal world
and has chosen to release an uncom-
mercial-sounding single, "Patience
Peregrine." This is too bad, because
they deserve better than obscurity.
About half of the songs on "Is" go
beyond the normal limits of what is
played by ametal band, but not all that
far. The final track on the album,
"Lube," is a wondrous melding of
jazz and Jimi Hendrix-esque guitar
while "MotherMary" is vaguely remi-
niscent of Pink Floyd (but in a good
way.)
At the same time that most of the
tracks do not stand out as particularly
individual, most have something in-
novative about them. Different songs
employ internal tone and tempo
changes, heart-flutteringly stuttery
guitars and happy cyclic composi-
tion. Additionally, the two songs on
the EP that are not on the album are
better than most of the rest of The Big
F's work. "Towed" is cool, unslick,
rumbly, slightly skewed and nicely
unbalanced while "Three Headed
Boris" could be a really good Z-Rock
song. They are nothing if not eclectic.
It does not seem that The Big F has
replaced enough of that old metal
sound, though. Several of the songs
are very boring and a bit too reminis-
cent of Warrant. However, there are
good points to most of the songs, and
it is entirely possible that they may
transcend the metal haze for the lis-
tener. Perhaps the best thing to say
about them is that while they aren't all
that revolutionary, they aren't all that
much the same either. They may be
Author creates voices from the dead
worth your tine.
Check out The Big F openingfor
Chicago-based noise-meisters Tar
at the Blind Pig tonight. Doors open
at 9:30 pm, tickets are $5 in
advance.
- Ted Watts
My Life with the Thrill
Kill Kult
13 Above the Night
Interscope
"13 Above the Night" is the first
full album by Chicago-spawned My
Life With The Thrill Kill Kult to fail to
have an overriding theme linking its
songs together. Perhaps they have run
out of ideas, as the songs seem to
mostly fall under the categories estab-
lished on their three previous albums.
The categories are, however, the time-
less themes of sex, violence and evil
and their combined presence detracts
little from the album.
The slight change in the music is at
first unsettling. It is a little more disco,
a little less hard, a little more like the
KLF. Almost all these aspects stem
from the prominence given to the back-
ground vocals of the Bomb Gang Girlz.
While immediately disturbing, the
kitsch of the overall experience be-
gins to grow on the listener to the
point that he has the urge to dance.
The place the listener would imag-
ine he was dancing in is rather bizarre.
The song "Dirty Little Secrets," with
guest vocals by seductress Lydia
Lunch, creates the ambiance of a
techno-beatnik sex parlor where Ms.
Lunch is performing a politically in-
correct lap dance. The catchy "Disko
Fleshpot" locates the listener in asimi-
lar yet more active atmosphere. Other
songs set the scene as either hellishly
evil locales or somewhere not entirely
defined. Altogether, a fun group of
places to be.
But the highlight ofthe album must
be its residents. Samples place vari-
ous B-movie luminaries (including
Mark Lenard, Harry Morgan and
Sting) in the happy and twisted world
of MLWTTKK. Obscure
intertextuality has always been a mark
of this band, and "13 Above the Night,"
all the way down to the manic album
art, exhibits this. This is undoubtedly
more suited to the tastes of the cyber-
inclined than Billy Idol's recent ef-
fort, and is infinitely cooler.
- Ted Watts
By RONA KOBELL
If our ancestors could talk, oh the stories they
could tell about ancient rituals, traditions and
social customs. Of course, the dead can't really
talk. But in the realm of fiction, author Sylvia
Watanabe imagines they can.
In her recent collection of short stories, "Talk-
ing to the Dead," Watanabe (pronounced Wa-teh-
na-bee) illustrates how modern and traditional
values clash in her native Hawaii. As a Japanese
American who has been living on the mainland for
the past ten years, Watanabe says she can focus on
her characters better when away from home. "It's
easier for me to write here (in Michigan) because
of the distance from home and families. I always
feel too close in Hawaii, so it's hard to see things
clearly," she explains.
In "Talking to the Dead," Watanabe's charac-
ters are resilient and curious, peering into the
outer world while clinging to their unique island
culture. Older characters fight hybridization of
the Japanese/Polynesian culture, while other,
younger characters passionately seek change.
In "The Ghost of Fred Astaire," for example, a
young girl named Cousin Minerva dreams of
dancing and heads for Hollywood. Grandmother,
representing the older generation, claims that her
departure is "like stabbing an old man through the
heart." Similarly, in "Anchorage," a young teacher
with a promising career in Alaska contemplates
staying on the island to take care of her ill and
aging father.
The theme of passage into a different world is
familiar in Watanabe's own life. With land prices
in Hawaii soaring, tourism booming and educa-
tional opportunities growing, many people are
forced to leave the island for work in California
and other states. Those who do leave must grapple
with the differences between these two worlds,
which Watanabe claims is not always easy.
"What does a person do who comes out of this
world?" Watanabe queries. "Some say that stay-
ing [on the island] is stagnation [in "The Bishop's
Wife"], others say it's moving on. I didn't want to
present it as a pat answer - there are complica-
tions with either choice."
To introduce readers to Hawaiian culture,
Watanabe extracts customs from old myths and
presents them with a humorous twist. One such
custom is that of naming people. In her story "The
Prayer Lady," Okusan considers changing her
sick husband's name to cure him of a peculiar
illness. "People believe that there is magic in
names, that your name determines your destiny. It
was customary to change a person's name if they
were sick, whiny, etc., to turn their luck around.
This actually happened to my aunt," Watanabe
explained.
She continues to intersperse ancient myth and
modernity with the title story, "Talking to the
Dead." The title comes from an old practice of
visiting the dead and making peace with them.
Islanders brought their deceased loved ones their
favorite foods, told them their favorite stories and
lavished them with gifts. "Talking to the dead is a
way to make peace with the spirit of the departed,"
Watanabe said. "The custom is sort of a metaphor
for the struggle with the past. So much of the old
way is dying out that my book is my way of talking
to the past."
These days, Watanabe does not have so much
time for talking. She is currently working on anew
novel, in addition to co-editing two anthologies
on the literature of Hawaii and on Asian American
literature. But if she could talk to her dead ances-
tors, what would she say?
"I don't know," Watanabe chuckled. "Some-
times I have so much trouble talking to the living."
Syliva Watanabe willie reading from "Talking
to the Dead" today at 4 p.m. at the Rackham
ampitheatre. Admission is free.
Stereotypes bring down this 'Program'
By ADAM MILLER
Wasted potential.
That's one of the catch phrases in
athletics. It refers to a player who has
the ability to excel, but through lack
of work, fails to live up to his ability.
The Program
Directed by David Ward; written by
Ward and Aaron Latham; with James
Caan and Halle Berry.
For a good example of wasted po-
tential, catch "The Program." The
promise of the movie is great; indeed,
it is a brilliant concept. If you go
beyond the "X's and O's" of college
football, there is drama - human
drama. The drama of success and fail-
ure, of teamwork, of dedication to a
cause and of "the human spirit."
Yet "The Program" only pretends
to tap this. Set at the fictional Eastern
State University (really Duke in cam-
pus scenes, and the stadium of the
University of South Carolina), "The
Program" purports to examine the lives
of the ESU players, coaches, faculty
and alumni. It focuses on three indi-
viduals: Timberwolf coach Sam Win-
ters (James Caan), quarterback and
Heisman candidate Joe Kane (Craig
Sheffer) and freshman tailback Darnell
Jefferson (Omar Epps).
Of course, you can't just have a
movie about a football team with only
three people, so the company is filled
with all those who relate to the princi-
pals. However, they provide the movie
with its fatal flaw: they are horribly-
drawn characters.
Caricatures is more like it. Among
the majority of the cast members, there
is not one genuine individual, no one
who is "fleshed out." Instead, the pro-
ducers give us stereotypes, old stereo-
types we've seen countless times.
For instance, Steve Lattimer (An-
drew Bryniarski) is an offensive line-
man who's a parody of players such as
former Michigan State lineman Tony
Mandarich. He pumps himself with
steroids constantly, finding countless
ways to fake his urine tests and paint
his face with war paint before each
game. He's out of control, he's silly,
he's in the movie for no good reason.
Other stereotypes include the
cheating player who has another stu-
dent take his test but receives "special
treatment" and gets reinstated; the
shady alumni who put money in play-
ers' sport coats; the crusty old profes-
sor who insists that academics are
more important than athletics; and,
unbelievably, the female tennis player
who Kane falls for (Kristy Swanson).
There is one good student on the
Among the majority of
the cast members, there
Is not one genuine
Individual, no one who Is
"fleshed out." instead,
the producers give us
stereotypes, old
stereotypes we've seen
countless times.
team - Ray Griffen (J. Leon Pridgen
II). He's a medical student, the start-
ing tailback with whom Jefferson com-
petes and Autumn Haley's (Halle
Berry) boyfriend as the movie opens.
Why is he the only, good student, the
exception to the stupidity rule? Yet
another stereotype at work
Such stereotypes don't make good
drama. All they show is the laziness of
the writers. Writer David S. Ward said
"I've tried to illuminate a few of the
problems and make people understand
some of the stories behind the head-
lines." He also claims to have done
months of research. It doesn't show.
Instead of going "behind the head-
lines" we get the headlines themselves.
This is not to say "The Program" is
without some merit. The football ac-
tion scenes are top notch. Filmed at
halftime of a Gamecock game last
year, they have an air of authenticity
to them that much of the movie doesn't
(note to Michigan fans: you're bound
to enjoy one of these).
Caan gives the most rounded per-
formance of the film, showing the
personal and professional pressures
of a college coach. You believe his
emotions. And while Sheffer and Epps
give partially cliche performances
(Kane has never resolved a conflict
with his father, Jefferson wants to use
football as a path to prosperity), nei-
ther does a bad job. But neither can
really shine, either, given the script.
If you're looking for quality enter-
tainment, not stereotypes, spend a few
more bucks and catch a real game.
THE PROGRAM is playing at
Showcase
Mass meeting for
Models interested in
Fall Fashion
Sunday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. at
420 Maynard
CIGNA CORPORATION
INFORMATION SESSION
LIFE ACTUARIES DISCUSSING ACTUARIAL CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES
MEMBERS OF ALL CLASSES ARE WELCOME!!
DATE: Wednesday, September 29,1993
TIME: 6 p.m. --.8 pm.
PLACE: Michigan Union, Welker Room
DRESS: CASUAL
The New YorkTme bestseller *4
that tells why
-Ni
The London
Theatre Program
of SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE and the
BRITISH-AMERICAN lRAMA ACADEMY
Study with Britain's leading actors and. directors for
a semester or a year. A combination of acting classes,
tutorials, master classes and performances immerse
undergraduates in the British theatrical tradition.
For details and an application, write:
The London Theatre Program, Box BYM
Sarah Lawrence College, 1 Mead Way
Bronx-villc, NY 10708-5999
Big F takes day jazz and deep lyrics and fuses it with the college band look.
I MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS
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