68 - Michigan Daily Weeke Maga ine - Tiursdaygtober 16, 1997 B 0 0 (Weekend, etc. Column Let us take a bit of a journey, shall we? A trip into the superior. self-ritht- eous mind of the music critic. I notice you cringe slightly. A little out of fear, perhaps. Could it be you feel disdain for the haughtily sophisticated, trendily cultured and loftily high- browed opinions of the music critic? Could the wrinkled brain of the mod- ern music critic - undoubtedly as The Michiganfaily Weekendi Ma Stores Car wide sel< CRITICALLY DISDAINED pierced, tattooed. goateed and swathed in loose-fitting velvet as the bohemians themselves - untap some kind of deep-seeded anxiety for the average, slightly timid reader? Fear not, my friends. Allow me to simplify the complexly artistic mind of the critic into a slightly less intimidat- ing credo of sorts, outlining some logi- cal foundations of these judgmental gods of rhythm and dance. N If it's country, it sucks. The Fugees are the cutting edge of hip hop. Anything by anyone who's bitter, disgruntled or generally dissatisfied with the state of society is deep, dark and, hence, sophisticated. This includes anything by the follow- ing groups: lesbians, black people angry at The Man, white people disillu- sioned because their parents have too much money and also anyone in gener- al who refuses to bathe on a regular basis. As soon as any of the aforemen- tioned people become embraced by pop- ular audiences, they have sold out and thus aren't truly counter-culture any- more. Therefore ... U Anything that can be classified as modern pop is devoid of soul, heart and artistic r.:Iklintegrity. Anything old is good, If it's a popular product of a time before this decade, it's some- CHRIS how innocent and FARAH free of all the cor- A A's rupting influences that make modern pop so devoid of soul, heart and artistic integrity. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I personally agree or disagree with any of these standards. I think lots of black people have good reason to be angry at America's social structure, and I think a lot of them make pretty good music - although just as many make pretty bad music, too. Rather than inspire me to join a line dance for some down-home fun, coun- try music usually makes me want to get in line for a bottle of Pepto Bismol to spare me from wretching my guts out. And who knows? Maybe people who don't take showers or women who don't shave their legs are better musicians because they have that extra 15 or 20 minutes a day to work on their songs. I don't know. I don't know what real- ly makes a song good or bad, or what makes a particular genre better than another one. And I don't think any of us - critics, musicians, teachers or the Pope himself - really do know what makes good music. I think we do, however, know what we like - and based on that entirely relative standard, we often make some very sweeping assumptions. Assumptions that too often get branded as objective truth. What matters about music -the only kind of objective, good or bad, that can really be determined i- s howr it makes individual people feel. Not whether it fits into a certain set of artis- tic theories, not if it conforms - or doesn't conform - to some critic's per- sonalized notions of what is hip, cul- tured or trendy Maybe Bush and Smashing Pumpkins lack the feeling and soul of Hendrix. Maybe they play up teen angst to sell records. Maybe they lack talent. But for some reason, who knows why, some people like them. Some peo- ple will remember with fondness the first time they heard "Machine Head" on the radio. I certainly won't, but who am l - who is anybody -- to try to take away or lessen that legitimate experi- ence for those people? Songs, whether we happen to like them or not, take on an identity or mean- ing of their own once they weave them- selves into the fabric of a listener's life. It no longer matters who they were sung by, what period they were originally from, or if they're rock, rap or R&B. Music - all music - transcends over-generalized boundaries because it means so much to individuals. Ecen country .., or so I'm told. - Chris Farah can be reached at STORES Continued from Page 5B3 Batmanghelichi agreed, saying, "I really like Schoolkids' because they carry a wider selection of imports for music I like, and that I can't find any- where else." Other students like Engineering first- year student Susan Cho were not so impressed with Schoolkids' intimate atmosphere. "My first impression of the Annex was stinky because it's seedy, dark and has weird music I've never heard of," Cho said. Across the street looms the over- whelming shadow of one of Ann Arbor's most commercial music stores - Borders Books and Music. Borders offers an overwhelming selection of jazz, blues, international, gospel, pop and country. Borders does, however, have a small- er variety of reggae music and a very limited collection of rap and R&B music. The store tends to concentrate mainly on mainstream artists. The adjoining bookstore and cafe are convenient to many students. Cho said these make her appreciate Borders' music section. "Borders doesn't have a lot of imports, which is a little disappointing. The main things I like about it are the chea comfortable atmosphere, the selection and the adjacent ca said. But Batmanghelichi didn'1 selection at Borders as di "Borders doesn't carry a lai tion of the music 1 like - Mode, Velour 100, Morr because it is mostly gearec Top 40." Tower Records, a popular chain, located on South U has a similar musical col. that of Borders, and it alsc wide array of videos and mu ture. Cho was impressed with variety of music and literati sorts of music; however, plained of the bad customer s was in the store for a good 3C and not one sales person c me." But, Cho added, "1 don't l service deter me from chec their large selection of all th like." One downside to Tower though, is that Tower's exceeded those at other are Most CDs cost more th except newly released CDs, BRYAN MCLELLAN/ Daily The billboard outside Hill Auditorium advertises upcoming musical events. I CONCERTS Continued from Page 413 $10. A stroll among the practice rooms at the Music School gives a good sense of the range of music presented during the school year. The notes of a Chopin etude melt into the improvisation of a trombonist, which mixes with the vocal runs of a soprano working on a Mozart aria. The whirlwind of musical events tak- ing place at any given time is mind-bog- gling. Performers plaster Music School stairwells with recital flyers and concert announcements for everything from a violin recital to a lecture on percussion in Japan. But while performances provide pub- lie outlets for aspiring musicians, dancers, singers and actors, a different kind of performance is often over- looked. Events that involve the history and theory of music are also abundant at Michigan. The Stearns Lecture Series, which takes place four times per academic year, spotlights ethnomusicological lec- tures. The annual Curry Lecture also explores musicology. Additional lec- tures can include topics ranging from music theory to the theory of singing or playing a particular instrument. As Chase noted, "to a musicologist, a lecture or publication of an article is equivalent to a performance." And what performances they are. Michigan plays host to top musicolo- gists from around the country, as well as featuring faculty and guests in numer- ous recitals and master classes each aca- demic year. To help keep track of what's going on in the Music School, the Campus Information Centers are adding School of Music Events into their centralized information service. "Starting the first of the year, the Music School will be part of that service for people who want to know what's going on on campus,'" said Chase. Perhaps Ira Gershwin said it best: Who could ask for anything more? Sr Go Loco i A F roa il For More Information Contact: BIANCHI-ROSSI TOURS at 800-875-4525 Web site: www.bianchi-rossi.com wrn i nl. nww m urnr... rw wu. nw wr r Are you thinking about law school? Do you want to collect tips from admissions deans? Plan to attend ... LAW"DAY * Collect application information and explore law education options with over 100 law schools, paralegal programs and test prep services. " Attend the Law School Admissions Panel. " Visit our homepage for a list of participating schools. lI m 1 32M0 Stdent Activities Bldg _ (313) 7W4460- - " w*4cppumic'td0d i #. ,i,. ; ,. Career Planning Plac ent f ___ , . r p AX xt 4a. A.. , .. . ;