o- T Ti ?T"~fScftoI ucuy - vwcnr "-.- nuouay, .wrualy M.c.p MTrU 'Unplugged, By TOM ERLEWINE MTV has been responsible for many great things, no matter how much any- one would like to deny it. Without MTV,neither hip-hop or alternative rock would have become house-hold names. Of course, without MTV we wouldn't have had "MTV Unplugged." Over thepastthree years, "Unplugged" has made rock "mature," "responsible" and "adult;" it's the perfect solution for people over 30 that feel embarrassed listening to rock 'n' roll. Naturally, there have been several shows that have been quite stunning - particularly Nirvana's moving perfor- mance-but the majority of the shows are bland and predictable. At the begin- ning, the show was genuinely off-beat. After Paul McCartney's "Unplugged" performance, the show began to ignore lesser-known artists and concentrated on old favorites. Eric Clapton's Grammy-winning "Unplugged" album cemented that tradition. After his suc- cess, other veteran rockers lusted after a spoton the program. Rod Stewart was the most offensive of all, scheduling the release of his album before the show had even aired. Now, that's standard operating pro- cedure. "Unplugged" has become an essential part of any aging rocker's marketing strategy - it's where the whole comeback starts. It's easy -the album is usually comprised of old ma- terial. It's an event - old fans feel compelled to pick up the record be- cause it's unplugged, so it's also prof- ' over the hill and far away itable. For bands that haven't sold records in years, there's no reason not to do an "Unplugged"- in fact, it's even a reason to re-form. That's exactly what the Eagles and Led Zeppelin (in the form of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) have done in the past year. Under the guise of artistic renewal, both bands have regrouped for an album and a tour, beginning their whole campaign with an "MTV Un- plugged." While the Eagles' program aired after the first leg of their tour was completed, it was shot before they hit the road; by the time the record was released, tickets for their second North American tour were on sale. It was conceived as a financial operation, it was performed as financial operation. Even the titleoftherecord, "Hell Freezes Over," with its clumsy allusion to the tensions between Don Henley and Glenn Frey, gives the album the appearance of a truly special occasion. Of course, "Hell Freezes Over" isn't a special event - it's an attempt to provide retirement funds for the band. The Eagles may be crass and cloying, but they're smart; instead of acting like rockers on "Hell Freezes Over," they act like fine country gentlemen. But no matter what they do, they are still sleep- walking through these songs. The songs are unplugged, but that doesn't make a great deal of difference with songs that have acoustic roots. Never once do the Eagles re-invent their sound; recording "Hotel California" on acoustic and Spanish guitars doesn't constitute a re- interpretation of the song, it merely is a re-recording of the song. And that's all "Hell Freezes Over" is - re-record- ings. When Chuck Berry records the millionth version of"Johnny B. Goode" no one buys the record, so why should the Eagles be praised for doing exactly the same thing? Page and Plant avoid this problem on "NoQuarter"byusingabitofimagi- nation. "ThankYou,""That'sthe Way," "The Battleof Evermore"and "Friends" all sound essentially the same as the original versions, but the duo actually break some new ground on the album. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" becomes a mideastern dirge, the English folk roots of "Gallows Pole" come to the forefront and new songs like "Yallah," "City Don't Cry" and "Wonderful One" are filled with Arabic and Indian flour- ishes. Page and Plant aren't strictly unplugged-there's electric guitars all over the place - but they fulfill the original intention of the program: they reinterpret their material in a fresh way. Not surprisingly, "No Quarter" has been acommercial disappointment, fall- ing out of the top ten the week after its release. "Hell Freezes Over," which was released the very same week as "No Quarter," has been an overwhelm- ing success, debuting at number one and going m'ulti-platinum. It could be argued that the Eagles were more suc- cessful because their record cost less ("No Quarter" retails for $19.98, which is $5 more than average), but that would be slightly misleading. The fact is, people would have bought "No Quar- ter" had it fulfilled their expectations. Page and Plant didn't give the usual "Unplugged" and they suffered the con- sequences. What the Eagles did right was they acted the way aging boomers and yuppies want their aging rock stars to act - as conservative as them. For a public that just elected the Republicans leaders of Congress, it's not surprising that they would choose the conserva- tive Eagles over the mildly adventurous 101 As this photo shows, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had their respective lemons squeezed dry a long, long time ago. POSITION OPEN: CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH RESOURCE CENTER Professional development support center to provide CVD health resource materials, educational seminars and outreach strategies, with a special focus on reaching African-Americans and other minority populations. Three positions are open. * Project Coordinator * Health Educator * Clerical Assistant Please send a letter of application, resume of education and experience and salary history to Michigan Public Health Institute, 2465 Woodlake Circle, Suite 140, Okemos, MI 48864, or fax to (517) 349-7999. MPHI is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. At University Towers, we've got room just for you... / E R ...or thewhole team Exercise Room " Study Lounge " TV Lounge * Computer Room " Laundry Facilities 24 hour Attended Lobby * Game Room " Outdoor Pool * Heat and Water Included Page and Plant. Although the duo hardly act as wild as they did during the '70s, when they slept with every under-age groupie in sight as they took any drug they could get a hold of, they aren't acting their age, which is exactly what the Eagles are doing. "Hell Freezes Over" is the work of respectable citizens, the kind that might get slightly drunk on the weekends, but nevertheless show up tochurchon time. It doesn't take any chances and it is certainly not embarrassing. It'sjust dull. In that sense, the Eagles reunion and "Hell Freezes Over" is the culmination of a trend in popular music that began in 1986, with Paul Simon's "Graceland." The success of "Unplugged" doesn't signal rock's artistic maturation, nor its stodginess; it simply shows that its au- dience has become as relentlessly middlebrow and conservative asjazzor classical fans. Instead of accepting great rock 'n' roll for what it is, most main- stream rock fans have a deluded notion that rock should conform to the most rigid standards of high art - that it needs to be intellectual, not emotional, and that it has to respectable, not plea- surable. The average consumer over the age of 30 has to be enticed into a record store to buy a record; they need to feel what they are purchasing is im- portant and worth the trip to the store. "Unplugged" albums appear to of- fer something that hasn't been heard before-"genuine," rootsy versions of old favorites. By recording these songs in an acoustic setting, the artists are giving the songs a supposed authentic- ity that they lacked before. What nei- ther the artists or the consumers realize is how that very notion assumes that all of the old records they cherished are inherently worthless. What "Un- plugged" leaves behind is a false re- spectability and phony, artistic achieve- ment. Only Clapton's and Nirvana's records could be called great, but that is because of the quality of their perfor- mances, not because of their artistic pretensions. The most distressing thing about this trend is the fact that it will continue for years. All of the second-generation rockers (Stewart, Clapton, Eagles) are set in their "mature" ways, but so are third-generation rockers like Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel; even '80s artists like 10,000 Maniacs and John Mellencamp show signs of succumbing to the altar of maturity. And all of these artists have the poten- tial to be recording for decades, which guarantees that the alleged artistic ma- turity of "Unplugged" will make it the old folk's home of rock. I STUDENTS Give Walking Tours Plan Parents Weekend Network with Alumni Operate AluMnet Work on Tuition Raffle Be Creat ive You can do all this and more with SAC Student Alumni Council Mass Meetings: January 1 1 & 12 5:00 p.m Membership Meeting January 29 12:00 p m All at the Alumni Center Changes are not to be feared but welcomed FACE Continued from page 3 them. These women are not stuck up; they're about as down-to-earth as they come. These women sing country songs on long car rides. (They need to try and fix up that dumb-ass "Achey- Breaky Heart" song.) These are women who love to bowl and watch music videos. These are women whose greatest fantasies, in the words of Charisse Rose, revolve around "bubble baths and candlelight." And yes, both women are cur- rently involved. If one of them breaks up, remember, I get first dibs. Changing Faces' greatest wish is for people to know "how crazy we are, how sensitive we are, on the in-l side." Their hopes for the new yeara aren't too much to ask for either. "Hopefully in '95, we'll be ac- cepting some award from somebody. I pray for that." Cassandra ain't got to beg; she should know it's gonna happen. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to give one to them? Charisse and Cassandra have more immediate concerns, however, as they prepare to tour with Boyz II Men and to later have a tour of their own. With. voices like theirs, accompanied by the melodious sweetness of back- ground music in their old-fashioned love songs like "Lovin' Ya Boy," "Thoughts of You" and "Keep It Right There," it can be guaranteed that not an empty seat will be found at any of their concerts. Changing Faces is the duo to watch in '95. Their debut release is all that. Fame couldn't have come to two people more deserving of it. They're creeping up on R&B listeners all right, and they're killing us softly. 1Univerity Towers Apatiment 536 S. Forest Ave. 761-2680 j Auditions for Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore Tonight 6-10 Friday night 6-10 At the Student Theater Arts Complex (behind Crisler Arena) Performance Dates: April 6-16 Bring a prepared song and be prepared to dance For more information call 996-1653 The Office of AcademiclMulticultural 9nitiatives is now taking applications for Student Leader positions for the KingI(hdvez/Parks College Day Spring Visitation Program Application Deadline is 7anuary 27, 1995 Student leaders accompany visiting middle school students throughout the day serving as guides and role models while providing information about the college experience. Student leaders usually work in teams of three. They should be fairly 41 The University of Michigan Libraries and The School of Infor- mation and Library Studies invite you to hear bell hooks, a social and feminist activist. The professor at Oberlin College, is the author of such books as Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black and Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics. Attention Graduate Students!! The is seeking Resident Fellows to teach and live in Pilot for the 1995-6 academic year. The Pilot Program is UM's oldest and largest living/learning program, offering First-year students some of the advantages of a small liberal arts experience in the context of UM. Your responsibilities include: " Teaching a 4 credit course of your design " Living in a residence hall advising students 9 mm