8.- The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, January 12, 1995
Magazine helps keep eight tracks in mind UMS holds sale for students
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By TED WATTS
Thinking of buying a new mini
disc system? Or a DAT machine
maybe? You obviously haven't spo-
ken to the people at "8-Track Mind"
($2, quarterly).
An unIssuming little fanzine
hailing from East Detroit, "8-Track
Mind"'s winter issue (#83) is a
wealth of information concerning
the underground community of
people who dig those unwieldly
plastic cartridges (or carts) that seem
just so very trucker.
Of course, a main thrust of the
magazine is dispelling the myths
surrounding carts. There are discus-
sions in the pages that run the whole
gamut of musical styles. There are
mentions of recent finds of every-
thing recorded from the Beatles,
MC5 and Frank Zappa all the way to
the more bastardized end of the spec-
trum with Jimmy Swaggart. Apopu-
lar topic of discussion that surfaces
issue after issue is over the Sex
Pistol's 8-track, which has a ten-
dency to get more than $100 per
unit.
But the breadth of culture is not
limited to the pre-Reagan era, either.
A recurrent theme over several issues
has been the existence of Madonna
carts and the rabid reaction of several
readers over them.
Other snippets of information are
also divulged. For instance, some carts
also contain extra bits of music used
to round out the end of the four paral-
lel programs that make up the 8-track.
Even more interesting is the fact
that 8-tracks are still being made. One
reader submits that Country Music
Television ran an ad for Marty
Robbins' "Number One Cowboy" on
LP, CD, cassette and 8-track.
With only a handful of these things
being produced, the people who press
them must not be on very sturdy
ground. Maybe they make reel-to-
reels too.
Another major point of interest
in the mag is the technical side of
things. Gear heads probably sali-
vate at the technical diagrams in-
cluded to help you assemble a
vacuum tube-based 8-track system.
It's just a bit confusing for the non
tech initiated, though. And this is
for 30-year old technology!
More accessible are the discus-
sions in general terms about differ-
ent ways trackers have found to re-
habilitate damaged carts. Disinte-
grating sponges and problems with
pinch rollers might sound out there,
but it's surprisingly entertaining.
And I just know we can all relate to
the problems of a quad system. Uh,
then again, maybe we can't.
The reasons for sticking with 8-
track that come from the fanzine are a
bit odd. Some contributors admit to a
draw to obsolesence, but for the most
part people express an affinity for
analog music as opposed to digital.
The arguments generally run
along the lines that analog feels
warmer sounding than digital. The
levels of committment to this vary
with the individual. Some are pretty
easy going about it. Others refer to
people who partake of digital media
"CD traitors." In this issue, two ar-
guments are presented about the soul
of music and its closeness to 8-
track. Brendan deVallance puts forth
the argument that the tape in a cart is
closer to the format that the music
was recorded on than a CD, or even
the similarly analog LP.
Michael Tierney on the other
hand goes off on a long diatribe
against digital and for all things
analog. He paints a grim (and fairly
paranoid) vision of the music indus-
try. Evil corporations killed analog,
he whines, and the digital they re-
placed it with is made up of modular
pieces of information, not the con-
tinuous grooves of a record or con-
tinuous stream of magnetic particles
on non digital audio tape. He claims
that the music feels cold on a CD,
because the music isn't a continu-
ous wave, but only an approxima-
tion.
One of his suggestions of how to
change this is by not buying music
that is digitally mastered, even if
it's on an analog format. This would
seem to indicate that he cares much
more about the format than the mu-
sic.
It's the less extreme and much
more mystical philosophies es-
poused in "8-Track Mind" that seem
more enactable. The magazine is
dedicated to analog and to the eight
noble truths of the 8-track mind (al-
though there actually seem to be
nine of them; quite possibly a state-
ment itself). There is an almost
Aristotlian quality to the examina-
tions of the parallel programs and
self repeating nature of carts.
The publishers of the magazine
are soon to be breaking out into
movies as well. "So Wrong They're
Right" is a movie about 8-trackers
from all over the place. There was a
mention in response to a letter that it
could be shown in Ann Arbor.
We can only dream.
"8-Track Mind" can be ordered
from 8-TM Publications, PO Box
90, East Detroit, M1 48021-0090
for $2 for a single issue or $8 for a
four issue subscription. Make
checks out to Russ Forster.
The University Musical Society
(UMS), an organization responsible
for bringing numerous world-re-
nowned orchestras, vocalists and in-
strumentalists to the Ann Arbor area,
is holding their half-price student
ticket sale on Saturday beginning at
10 a.m. at Hill Auditorium.
At previous student ticket sales,
UMS has kept students in line for
eons, but spokespeople guarantee that
this semester will continue the im-
provement begun last semester when
students had finished the entire pro-
cess in under an hour. Student tickets
for these events are not on sale for
half-price because they are poor seats;
rather, many excellent seats are still
available for many of the Winter Sea-
son shows. The following is a brief
calendar of some of the events being
offered on Saturday.
Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute, January
25, 8 p.m.
The Romeros, guitar family, Janu-
ary 27, 8 p.m.
The Society Bank Cleveland Or-
chestra Weekend, February 3,8 p.m.,
February 4,8 p.m. (with Emanuel Ax,
piano), February 5, 4 p.m., "Chamber
Music with Members of The Cleve-
land Orchestra"
Noa, vocalist & Gil Dor, guitar,
February 9, 8 p.m.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
February 11, 8 p.m.
Freiburger Barokorchester, Febru-
ary 12, 7 p.m.
Kodo Drummers, February 13, 8 W
p.m. and Tuesday, February 14, 8
p.m.
New York City Opera National
Company presents Rossini's "The
Barber of Seville", February 28, 7
p.m. (Family Show), Wednesday,-
March 1, 8 p.m., Friday, March 3, 8
p.m., Saturday, March 4, 8 p.m., Sun
day, March 5, 2 p.m.
Hagen String Quartet, March 2, 8
p.m.
Warsaw Sinfonia, March I1, 8 p.m.
The Complete Solo Piano Music of
Frederic Chopin, Part I, Garrick
Ohlsson,piano, Sunday, March 12,4.
p.m.
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra pre-
sents "The Majesty of Louis..
Armstrong", March 15, 8 p.m.
Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind
Quintet, March 17, 8 p.m.
Maurizio Pollini, piano, March 20,
8 p.m.
Bill T.Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co.,
March 24, 8 p.m., Saturday, March
25, 8 p.m.
Cleveland String Quartet, Giora
Feidman, clarinet, March 26, 4 p.m.
The Complete Solo Piano Music of
Frederic Chopin, Part I, Garrick
Ohlsson, piano, March 31, 8 p.m.
Anonymous 4, April 1, 8 p.m.
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of
Amsterdam, April 6, 8 p.m.
Julian Bream, guitar, April 25, 8
p.m.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, May
14, 4 p.m.
UAC is looking for motivated individuals
for its executive board for a variety of positions
DESCRIPTION:.
friendly
responsible
team-oriented
dynamic
professional in attitude
LAST SEEN:
wandering on campus
REWARDS:
friends, fun, great satisfaction,
excellent business experience
If you fit this description, please turn yourself in
to the UAC office at 2105 Michigan Union to pick up
an application, or call 763-1107 for more information.
Applications are due Fri, January 20th at 4:30 pm
UAC, the University Activities Center,
is the largest student-run organization on
campus. We provide educational and
social programming for the student body.
Ohlsson breathes new life into beloved Chopin classics
'0
CHOPIN
Continued from page 1
Chopin was the master of small
19th century piano compositions
known as miniatures. The majority fit
into distinct categories, and many,
such as the dance forms of the ma-
zurka and polonaise, point to his Pol-
ish nationality. He is also the com-
poser of 27 etudes, 22 nocturnes, 18
waltzes, four scherzos, four sonatas
and four ballades.
He wrote other solo piano pieces
as well (over 200 published works),
many of which demand considerable
dexterity and technique from the per-
former. Yet unlike many other com-
posers of his era, Chopin generally
avoided the more flashy, virtuosic
showpieces. Rather, he is known prin-
cipally as a great stylist whose musi-
cal temperament ranged from deeply
introspective to picturesque to boldy
heroic.
Later composers such as Liszt,
Scriabin and Debussy were influenced
by Chopin's richly decorated melo-
dies and opulent twists of harmony.
He is also unique among composers
because he has always been as highly
esteemed by musicians as by the pub-
lic.
"Chopin has seemed to have main-
tained his popularity since he wrote
his music," Ohlsson related. "What's
funny is that the critical estimation of
him has gone up. There were a lot of
serious-minded German critics in the
19th century who considered him ba-
sically a salon composer, and he was
not that important for that reason.
Now he's considered by serious mu-
sic writers in all countries to be one of
the greatest composers, period - not
just a beloved composerof piano mas-
terpieces."
Ohlsson undoubtedly considers
the composer's enduring popularity
an asset to his mission. He likened the
scope of this upcoming series to a
museum retrospective and admitted
that "You can take Chopin's pieces
and make an absolutely fantastic pro-
gram for one or two recitals, but to do
six really good programs, you can
never make the ideal program."
Ohlsson added that there are cer-
tain considerations concerning the
programming of 200-plus works over
six installments. "For example, you
need a contrast of mood between the
various groups of pieces. You don't
want to have three mournful noc-
turnes in a row because the particular
tragic quality of each will get buried.
"Or within each opus of mazur-
kas, you get a variety of music -
lively, sad, tragic - and therefore
they often go together very nicely in
their opuses. So once I decided to
play the mazurkas within their re-
spective opuses, I had figured there
are 11 different opuses containing
mazurkas. Thus, each recital has to
have 2 opuses of mazurkas, and one
recital has to have one opus."
This skillful balancing act will be
evident with Friday night's program.
As centerpieces he will perform the
Four Mazurkas.from Opus six, Two
Nocturnes from Opus 27, the Scherzo
No. 3 in C-sharp minor Opus 39 and
the Waltz in A-flat Major, Opus 42.
The subsequent Ann Arbor dates
for Part One of the series are March
12th and March 31st. The second half
of the cycle will be completed in the
1995/96 UMS season.
Aside from Ann Arbor, Ohlsson
will give public performances of the
cycle in New York's Lincoln Center
and SUNY Purchase, located just
outside of New York City. He cites
the wide range and flexibility of the
UMS concert series as a incentive for
choosing Ann Arbor, as well as its
location. "There is the fact that it is a
very strenuous series to play, and
traveling makes it difficult, so if one
of them were in Los Angeles or Se-
attle, that might get awfully compli-
cated."
For all of its difficult aspects,.,,
Chopin is still as rewarding as ever
for Garrick Ohlsson. "It's a wonder-
ful opportunity to get to know they
works of a great master in such de-r
tail," he noted, "You really get a sense
of how his mind thought. His music
has so much structure as well as sur-
face beauty, and I find myself getting
more excited about the subtle details."
He added, "People have been ask-
ing me lately, 'Won't you be glad
when this is over?' I said that while I
might be relieved, I won't be glad
because I really feel so saturated with
Chopin's music and his musical think-
ing. I'm having no trouble at keeping
a fresh approach."
GARR!CK OHLS$ON will perform
thefirst of six installments of The
Complete Piano Music of Frederic
Chopin at Rackham Auditorium,
Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $26 -
$14 and student rush seats are $8,
available at UMS Box Office in
Burton Tower. 764-2538.
ACTUARIAL EXECUTIVE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
SENIORS & JUNIORS. As one of the largest and most diversi-
fled insurance and financial services companies in the world,
The Prudential knows what it takes to get to the top of the
corporate ladder. It takes ambition. Enthusiasm. Knowledge. Vision.
And experience.
It also takes an opportunity that allows you to make the most of
your abilities. At The Prudential, the role of an Actuarial professional
is just such an opportunity. It's the rare chance to use your leadership
skills, as well as your creativity and ingenuity.
It's also an opportunity that can lead to the most influential and
responsible positions in the Company. That's why our Actuarial
Executive Development Program is ideal for those with the drive and
determination to be the best. It's designed to offer you a broad view of
The Prudential through a variety of assignments, while also providing
you with the time and support you'll need for the actuarial exams.
Individuals with strong math, analytical and communication
skills should attend our Information Session to discover the fastest
track to the top. We're also interested in talking with individuals
who are considering an actuarial summer internship program. An
equal opportunity employer.
Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Union, Wolverine Room
From The Top of Your Class to
The Top of The Rock.
The-Young Women's Health Project
University of Michigan Medical Center
FEMME VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Young Women's Health Project is conducting an ongoing,
federally-funded study of nutrition and its impact on menstrual
function. Subjects are needed who have experienced
or are regularly engaged in any of the following behaviors:
" binge eating
" intense dieting or fasting
" vomiting or other types of purging
If you are interested, and you are a sophomore woman,
you may be eligible to participate.
For further information, please contact Eva Rosenwald,
Project Coordinator at 936-4867.
All subjects will be paid for their participation in this project.
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