i6B--The-Michigan Daily Weekend Maga Ie-TtTursday, -Septeber25, 1997 -- -- - -- --- - -- --0- -------------------- Tfirli~inDaiy-A e agaiMti L Music Feature * McCartneymakes new classic' 21Weekend, etc. Column PITY THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN T( Los AngelesTimes LOS ANGELES - When the Beatles used to record in the Abbey Road studios, their loud rocking and rolling would often annoy EMI's classi- cal artists in neighboring studios. Daniel Barenboim was one of the com- plainers who got the Beatles to pipe down. But last summer Paul McCartney told a London newspaper that he and his mates had felt a certain righteous indignation. After all, their sales were subsidizing the company's classical recordings. Times have changed. The classical side these days is expected to pay its own way. So what's a label to do, espe- Paul McCartney (top left), shown here with his Beatle buds in 1964, recently released a classical composition for EMI classics entitled, "Standing Stone." cially with classical sales sagging? For EMI Classics, the answer has been to co-opt its cash cow. As a celebration of the label's 100th anniversary this year, it commissioned McCartney to write a symphony. And now "Standing Stone," a 75-minute epic-tone poem for orches- tra and chorus, is released, in a perfor- mance by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus led by American conductor Lawrence Foster. "Standing Stone" is McCartney's sec- ond classical composition, and at least as ambitious as his "Liverpool Oratorio" of five years ago. Not reading music and not having had much experi- ence in large-scale musical form - although "Sgt. Pepper" and the White Album argue somewhat against the lat- ter - McCartney relied upon help from his friends with the oratorio. With con- siderable hand-holding from film com- poser Carl Davis, a Beatle fashioned out of songs the nostalgic oratorio about his working-class origins in Liverpool. If the result was perhaps artificial and overblown, the musical material was not charm. sincerity and genuine inspiration. The real problem seemed to be that McCartney, insecure at such an undertaking, had chosen his collabora- tor too conservatively. The Beatles' greatness had always come from both their restless experi- mentalism and a lot of help from their producer and arranger George Martin, who knew how to realize their often inchoate musical concepts. And, of course, there was the frisson between the Beatles themselves, particularly McCartney and John Lennon egging each other on with a continual stream of fresh ideas. McCartnev may be too old, too secure in his lifelong success, and too senti- mental now to be as good a collaborator as he was in his Beatles days. He also may be too intimidatingly rich, famous and powerful -- his colleagues are noxN more like hired hands. But he hasn't lost his vision or his talent. "Standing Stone" can seem painfully hokey both in some of its music and certainly in its poetic program. But it also can stop a listener short with its sheer musicality. McCartney has taken pains to explain how "Standing Stone" is a more independently made work than "Liverpool Oratorio." Instead of dictat- ing ideas to another composer, he com- posed alone at the computer, which can print out music played upon it. The computer, happily, also proved to be a kind of virtual John Lennon - elec- tronic mistakes crept in, mucking about with McCartney's sentimental side. Wisely, McCartney recognized the interest in such dissonances and wild effects and kept them. Only later did he turn to others, including the saxophon- ist John Harle, to advise on structure, and the versatile composer Richard Rodney Bennett to orchestrate. Mc~artney's problem, though, is that he does not have the compositional means to develop material, especially at an epic length. And so he falls back on cliches to keep the programmatic ball rolling. Without development, McCartney can only expand through orchestral weight, and that means the soupiest of strings and the kind of harp glissandi that even hacks have long since tired of. But these are times when a large symphony doesn't have to sound like that. It can be anything. McCartney can bring in his guitar and play with an orchestra. He can be as eclectic as he likes. Form doesn't mean what it used to collages can be messy. This is a moment in history when it is actually interesting to let the rock n' roll in the studio next door bleed into Beethoven. McCartney has become a knight and respectable, and with "Standing Stone" he is writing respectable music. But respectable symphonic knights happen to be a dime a dozen in Britain. There is. however, only one Paul McCartney. and classical music could really use a Beatle right now. Forget about getting our asses kicked in the trade war with Japan. Forget about the destruction of family values, Forget about our waning work-ethic and the loss of manufacturing jobs. The perilous state of American soci- ety can be summed up in two words. Our toys. A year ago. I had the pleasure of working in a summer day camp for younger kids in grade school. Many things about them shocked me. These little children, as harmless and innocent as they seemed. would get into vicious fights with each other. They would curse, they would spit, they would taunt and they would scratch. On really bad days, they would crap their pants. But rather than disdain them, I felt sorry for them. During their more sane moments, when we could actually com- municate on a normal level, they would beg me for stories about the toys and heroes of my youth. They sucked up stories of Mr. T, He- Man, G.I. Joe and Transformers as quickly as they sucked up animal crack- ers that had fallen on the filthy carpet during snack time. One small lad, in particular, had me repeat over and over again my imper- sonation of Mr. T's voice, dialect and unique phrases - so familiar to us chil- dren of the '80s. And although my impression is as good as that of any scrawny white guy who possesses no earrings. no jewelry and all his hair, I m no Mr.I. I pitied the little fool for his lack of a decent role model. Where w\ould I be -- where would any of us be - without the influence of Mr. T and his action figure friends? The thought is a scary one indeed. Mr. I w-ho was nothing less than a cultural icon, with his own toys, TV show, cartoon show and even cereal - and others like Optimus Prime and He- Man taught us how to be strong. They taught us stuff like the value of honor and decency. and how to live like upstanding Americans. The kind of stuff you need to hear when you're a kid. What do the toys and cartoons of today teach nS? i" ilashamedly admit that I have watched one or two episodes of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. (I will point out in my defense, however, that I was desperately trying to procras- tinate - something to which most stu- dents can relate.) The Power Rangers - who are really nothing more than bastardized versions of Voltron -- seem to be telling viewers one simple thing: You are stupid. In fact, you are so stupid that you will not only watch but enjoy the ridiculous effects. moronic dialogue and rudimen- tary dubbing. "Kids of the '90s" the Power Rangers seem to enthusiastically proclaim, "you are dumb now, and we hope you stay that way for the rest of your lives. Here, allow us to help keep you dumb." G.I. Joe and Transformers may not have had the highest production stan- dards, but they featured some surps- ingly intricate plots. One G.I. Joe episode. in wfhih obra creates ab0 s- alternate reality in an attempt to procure information from a Joe, is complicated and twisted enough to be in a fantastic lit class I'm currently taking. One thing the Power Rangers actually have, which many of today's heroes do not, is a clear distinction between good guys and bad guys. This is a quality that almost all the toys of the '80s shared. I understand that the idea of straight- forward good and bad is simplistic, f but kids need heroes they can actually admire and try to exemplify. Imagine the shock CHRIS parents must face FARAH when they ask their FARAD'S 10-year-old about FAUCET his latest role model, the Spawn. "What's that you're playing with, Tommy." dear, old Dad might ask, thinking back to the days of the eternal- ly righteous Superman. "This is Spawn, Daddy. He's one of hell's minions sent to Earth to do Satan's bidding. I want to be just like him when I grow up!" replies Tommy with a beam- ing look on his face, as horns begin to mysteriously grow out of his head. Transformers, ironically and tragical- ly, helped mark the initial decline in the state of toys - a decline that has turned recently into a freefall. How shocked I has w hen I saw rTransformers, the Mo% ie," in the theater as a youth. only to hear Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots (the wood guvs). use nrofanity! At the time, I was old enough to sweair myself every now and then but Optimus Prime? Cursing on the big screen? After Transformers lowered the stan- dards of the cartoon world, it wasn't long before the television airwaves were polluted with the animated garbage of shows like "New Kids On the Block" and "Hammerman." Perhaps you think I'm overreacting. Toys and cartoons don't impact culture 'U ':Awesome I that much, you may say. I offer up as evidence a particularly vile type of toy; a toy which, due to its longevity and popularity, is usually deemed a classic by the deceived mass- es: Barbie. For years Barbie's long, blonde hair and perfectly molded plastic figure have provided ridiculous standards for the average woman to struggle to achieve. Now, of course, Barbie is more than a housewife. She can be a doctor or Meet Dick V a lawyer - something professional besides just cleaning dishes. So you see, it's okay to be smar long as you're gorgeous at the same ti At an alarming rate, women all c the country have been replacing ti noses, breasts and faces with pla substitutes, ala Barbie herself. M coincidence? I think not. But there's still time. Something can be done about our t before American men and women t Book signing West Side ' Book Shop since 1975 Used & Rare Books Bought & Sold 113 W. Liberty (1/2 block W. of Main St.) 995-1891 It's Worth the Trip! 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