A i Dil W kene -Thursdav MA 27. 1997 S 12B - Th ivechiganD all y y -z ..A ,-. -. -- - dEntertainment News Oranic tourlieupschedued, <. $ :' S~*:f . fa 'A :SR r ; Goodn tostar111 1111 The Michigantily Weekend M Student Focus ~.: Parekh findspe rfectbalance of academics, activities in HSC. MUSIC V Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, the Orb and Orbital are already con- firmed for this summer's Organic pack- age tc , which aims to bring live elec- tronica to the American masses for the first time. Underworld and Meat Beat Manifesto are also expected to join the rave-style festival, which will hit four cities in July and reconvene in September for a full-scale 20-city tour. Like the Monsters of Rock tour in the '80s and Lollapalooza in the '90s, the Organic tour will expose fans to a particular genre's brightest stars, according to a spokesper- son for the bands' publicity companies. Though none of the groups on the bill have enjoyed commercial success in the U.S., Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers have 3become MTV Buzz Bin darlings, and their mix of techno and dancemusicis viewed by the music industry as the next big thing. The tour has its roots in last summer's one-day Organic festival, which took place in San Bernadino Rose has toying wil idea of ci over into electronic years, National Forest and produced by members Jack Hues and Nick Feldman specifically for this col- lection. Still, we're left wondering "What the hell is a Wang Chung' and why would I want to do it tonight?" V Plenty of movies are re-born as sequels, but with the exception of "Dirty Dancing," it's rare to see a hit soundtrack album inspire a sequel. But, according to Addicted to Noise, the makers of William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet," starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio, knew they had too good a thing going to leave it at one album. With the original soundtrack still kicking strong in the Top 20 on sales of over three million, now comes the release of "Music from the Motion Picture: William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet Volume 2" (April 8), a 24- track mix of beeinmusic and dia- logue that com- Sh - thepletes the first album's mission. rossng As promised, the CD is a cut-and- paste mix of story-telling set to ca for music. It weaves the classic story together with C r a i g Armstrong's omi- nous techno score and remixed versions of songs that didn't fit on the first album. The result is a shotgun blast style that accurately captures director Baz Luhrmann's quick-edit update of the story while still managing to squeeze in remixes of One Inch Punch's "The Montague Boys," "Kym Mazelle's "Young Hearts Run Free;" Quindon Tarver's scene-stealing coyer of Prince's "When Dove's Cry" and the Butthole Surfers/Dust Brothers collaboration "Tybalt Arrives." With the inclusion of tracks like the "Gas Station Scene" and "Kissing You;" Luhrmann (one of the album's executive producers along with Nellee Hooper), who's also credited with scripting the collection, manages to put yet another modern spin on Shakespeare's most enduring tale by re- introducing it as a contemporary opera set to near-pounding beats alongside swelling string arrangements. After all, what other album do you own that has both the Butthole Surfers and Wagner on it? ~ File it under the "strange but true" heading, but AxI Rose has indeed been in discussions with diminutive former- techno god Moby about producing the next Guns 'N' Roses album. Addicted to Noise tells us that the duo are said to have gotten along famously during meetings over the past three weeks and has supposedly seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things. The story goes that Moby, who spilled the beans last week by men- tioning that he had been meeting with Rose recently to listen to demos at a panel on the future of electronica at SXSW, went in to soak up some music compiled on nearly 300 DAT tapes that the band had filled with ideas, loops and sketches, and was duly impressed with what Rose and crew had come up with. As you might recall, Moby recent- ly abandoned his mantle as the God of Techno by releasing the guitar-heavy album "Animal Rights,' but what you may not know is that Rose has been toy- ing with the idea of crossing over into electronica for years. ~ Word is out that Skoal smokeless tobacco is sponsoring a summer alterna- tive rock festival. The tour, says Addicted to Noise, is to be known as Skoal Music ROAR (Revelation of Alternative Rhythms), is slated to feature a rock-ori- ented slate of performers including Iggy Pop, Sponge, Linda Perry (ex-4 Non Blondes), Reverend Horton Heat, the Bloodhound Gang and Tonic at the bud- get price of $10 a ticket. In a nod to the competition, the tour is expected to fea- ture multiple stages and side-attractions like virtual reality tents, rock-climbing walls and the like. The first-time event will kick off in early June and work its way across the country, no doubt trailing controversy behind it at a time when the drive to restrict teen access to tobacco products is on the upswing. FILM V Having just been shown the Oscar, Cuba Gooding Jr. may soon be shown By Jack Schillacl Daily Arts Writer On a campus full of "the leaders and the best;' a constant struggle exists within the active student body between work for student organizations and the trials of classes and homework. Often, one or the other suffers. Inteflex third- year studentAnand Kamlesh Parekh has managed to fulfill both sides of the quandary throughout his University career, maintaining a strong dedication to the Hindu Students' Council while devoting enough time to his studies to graduate a year ahead of time. "The Hindu Students Council is a student organi- zation that focuses on pre-f serving and raising aware- Universitj ness of the Hindu culture With Stud and adding its part to main- great i taining a more tolerant com - dedicati munity and campus,"" Parekh said. Inteflex thi HSC is a national organization with more than 50 chapters at various universities and col- leges. This year is the 50th anniversary of India's independence and each of the country's chapters are putting on one- day seminars as part of "Freedom Festival '97," a program designed to "raise awareness about India's indepen- dence;' Parekh said. The University's council celebrated the anniversary in three parts. The first 0 re a rd is an art display in the Michigan Union study lounge that is still running. It con- sists of art work from many different religions worldwide, showcasing the tolerance and diversity of the Hindu religion. The rest of the celebrations consisted of a guest lecture by Dr. Veena Gandhi, who spoke on the role of women in India's freedom struggle, as well as numerous discussions on the role of Indian women in education, religion, health and family. The final -part was a night of cultural dances that took place in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Participants came and learned cultural dances such as hat the the Raas, the Gerba and the is filled Bhangara. HSC also nts with sponsors weekly discussions of s and Hindu religion and culture , every Wed- nesday in the Anand Parekh Union. The J-year student council takes part in a volun- teer project once a month and also holds Yoga sessions. The University's chapter of HSC has a unique structure with no officers or hierarchy. The basic premise is that stu- dents come to the weekly meetings and make proposals for the group's activi- ties. "In this way, it makes it seem like you are in an organization with a lot of people who have the same interests, Parekh said. "It is not about what posi- tion you are but working with people, learning and having fun." Within the council, there is a core group of members who come to every meeting and take on specific roles such as managing finances or media rela- tions. Parekh's role in the HSC has grown over the years. As a first-year student, he attended the council's meetings, learning more about his culture. He took on the specific role of taking care of funding for the organization. During his second year, Parekh's commitment grew. He began working on publicity and programming for the weekly discussions. This year, Parekh has taken a larger role on the national level of the HSC. He is in charge of HSC's media public relations for all of North America. "I keep the general media informed of what HSC is doing in trying to promote religious tolerance and harmony," Parekh said. In-between handling national media coverage and helping with the arrange- ments for a daylong seminar, Parekh has managed to excel academically. He spent the first semester of this year in England studying international rela- tions at Oxford University. As an Inteflex student, Parekh will be attending the University's- Medical School starting in the Fall of 1998. He will be graduating a year early in May and plans to spend the interim year in the MD/MPh program at the University's Health Policy Management School - part of the School of Public Health. "I finished early in three years so it __o, included many of the same acts. V Maybe Andy Warhol assured us that everybody would get a stab at 15 minutes of fame in the future, but does that include "Best Of ... " compila- tions? Publicity for Geffen Records announced something called "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight ... Wang Chung's Greatest Hits" (out this week), which, after you get through the hits "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," "Dance Hall Days" and "To Live and Die in L.A.;' is about 11 songs longer than it should be. The 14-track collec- tion jpadded out by a new dance remix of "ante Hall Days" by UK DJ's the Rapino Bros., a previously-unavailable- on-CD ballad demo of "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and a new song, "Space Junk;' written, recorded and an enormous paycheck as well. According to Variety, Gooding Jr. is being courted to star as the mixed race politico protagonist in Mike Nichols' adaptation of the best-selling "Primary Colors." Already in the cast of the cam- paign satire are John Travolta as the Clinton-esque candidate, Emma Thompson as the prospective First Lady and fellow Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton as the James carville- inspired advisor. "Primary" will begin campaigning before the cameras in late spring. ~ Speaking of Billy Bob,Thornton is following up his Oscar win for "Sling Blade" with next month's comedy "Homegrown,"a film about, of all things, marijuana, as reported in Variety. Pot affi- cianados Cheech & Chong and Woody Harrelson will not be seen, though the ensemble cast does include Jon Bon Jovi and Jamie Lee Curtis. Apparently, three names are a prerequisite. V Those of you fans who are anx- iously awaiting the arrival of the high waters and Christian Slater aura of "The Flood" will have to wait sever- al more months, according to USA Today. The rainy season-and-bank robbery-thriller starring Slater, Minnie Driver and Morgan Freeman has been postponed until at least September, so that re-shoots and re-edits can be performed. You might say that "The Flood" is now just trying to keep its head above water. ~ Who are the 10 hottest young actresses in Hollywood today? This month's Vanity Fair Hollywood issue thinks that Claire Danes, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jada Pinkett, Renee Zellweger, Minnie Driver, Alison Elliott, Charlize Theron, Fairuza Balk and Jennifer Lopez are so hot, they devoted an entire fold-out cover to the talented women. Check out this April extravaganza for the latest and best in portraiture of the rich and famous - everyone from Madonna to Eddie Murphy to Kristin Scott Thomas are profiled. Anand Parekh, at the HSC-spoan was a question of, 'What shoi with my fourth year?"' Parel "I'm very interested in health p (the MD/MPh program) merq career interests of going into n and my interests in public pol political science:' Parekh's interaction with ma ferent student organizations an ers has given him firsthand kno Expressionist Willem de Kooning dies at 92 The Washington Post Willem de Kooning, 92, one of the leading American artists of this century and a giant of abstract expressionism, died Wednesday at his studio in *Mst Hampton, N.Y. He had Alzheimer's disease. De Kooning's paintings and drawings profoundly influenced the development of art in this country in the years since World War II. His career spanned more than six decades, and his artistic style underwent sever- al transformations. But he probably is best remembered for the violent, slashing brush strokes and the volatile, cataclysmic and fearsome expressions of his midlife periodwhenhe painted the "WomaW ties of pictumieR To many of his admirers, de Kooning was the great- est of all living American artists. But there also were critics who said he peaked in the 1950s and that his sub- sequent work lacked its earlier brilliance and intensity. With friend and fellow artist Jackson Pollock, de Kooning was a dominant figure in the group of abstract artists that revolutionized the New York art community in the late 1940s. Their compositions were characterized by a selfiexpressive and.sponta- neous application of paint, a style that eventually came to be known as abstract expressionism. The style helped make New York City the art capital of the world. For the first half of his life, de Kooning painted in relative obscurity, and he lived in poverty for much of that time. His first one-man show, in 1948 when he was 44, won him critical acclaim. In 1982, "Two Women," a 1955 de Kooning paint- ing, was sold at auction for $1.2 million, setting a record for the highest price paid for a work by a liv- ing American artist. Seven years later, that record increased almosttwentyfold, when another 1955 de Kooning, "Interchange," was sold on consignment to a collector for $20.6 million at a Sotheby's auction in 1989. + , e Kooning is survived by his daughter : WIlem de Kooning