The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 4, 1997 -9 4Vora visits 'Aunt Carmen' By Jessica Eaton Daily Books Editor There are only two possibilities for a book titled "Aunt Carmen's Book of Practical Saints." It can either be really, really amusing or really, really awful. It can be an innova- tive work of lyrical genius, or it can be a book that, well, hould be left to gather dust on the shelf in a convent 16mewhere. While "genius" is a very strong word, Pat Mora does manage to create a witty tongue-in- cheek portrait in a book of poetry that P conveys the life and faith of an 80- year-old woman. This is, admittedly, an extremely subdued subject, but as Mora wil demonstrate in her reading at Shaman Drum this evening, in this book the subject never attempts to take itself too seriously. ' Aunt Carmen has been cleaning the church for years, and er prayers have become nothing but a thinly disguised veil of her life story. She has prayed since the age of 16 for "a handsome man who would never stray," but now she delights only in the: birth of her grandchildren and in the fact that the local priest is afraid of her. Her life story, in muddled Spanish and English, is that of feisty independence and extreme stubbornness ... hardly what you would expect from an old wife and mother. But then, Aunt Carmen is very rarely what you would expect. As she says, "I know about scaring men. Haven't I *en married for 60 years? Marriage works best when men think we're volcanoes .... Los hombres walk more carefully around us then.' Perhaps she doesn't always fit the tradition- al mold. Perhaps she does. Mora, the author of "House of Houses," writes each entry of Aunt Carmen's life using a varied conglomera- tion of traditional poetic forms, each meant to suit the O background of Carmen in a different mode. Each struc- ture, like its subject, is stubborn and inflexible, yet for- giving of the diversity of language and emotion which Carmen possesses, and in her language Mora creates a lyrical past for her. "Aunt Carmen's Book of Practical Saints" is a thin volume, with an illustration fitting nearly every poem and pages containing a variety of color and light. The book's appearance fits its contents, and its contents fit its author, and its author fits its sub- E V I E W ject. This is the only order that should exist in a self-respecting book of Pat Mora poetry. Tonight at 8 Mora has been called "one of the Shaman Drum most significant Chicana poets of our Free time," but she is, more appropriately, an author of the past, one who is able to appreciate convention and her own ancestry. And as such, Aunt Carmen, with her grandmotherly rebellion, is all the more endearing. "Let me bring you down to smell these roses from my garden," she says. "I tell them about you. Like children, they like a story." This is not delicate, writing-journal poetry. This is poetry to be read aloud, read by a strong woman with a rich, laugh- ing voice and a Spanish lilt to accentuate the rhythm. It is poetry to be read over a cup of steaming tea by some- one who will divert onto tangential stories about their child- hood and their memories of the book's illustrations. Its only drawback is that there aren't enough of those stories around anymore. Mora has been the recipient of a Kellogg Leadership Fellowship, Southwest Book Awards, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. "Aunt Carmen's Book of Practical Saints" has the same sort of homespun, good old-fashioned magic, and is an unusual treat of New Mexico tradition. Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien show off their musical prowess. Thankfully, they're not included on Conan's "Uve from 6-A." Conan gets cool w1th Lve album Brilliant'Newsradio' broadcasts on a gimmick-free frequency By Michael Galloway For the Daily Ever wonder why some shows catch on and other shows don't? I started to when I was watching "Newsradio" the other night. Here's a well-made comedy in which I have hardly ever een disappointed, and yet I won't schedule my week around it. Then I started thinking about the shows I have made an effort to record or R be home in time to see - "Hercules" "Xena: Warrior Princess," and (only for a while) "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." Though I'm proud I've never fallen into the pit of "Beverly Hills 90210," "Party of Five," or "Melrose Place," plenty of her people have. So I wonder - is "Newsradio" lacking something that these rather insipid shows have? "Newsradio" has a great cast comprised of veteran come- *dians, but I only remember three of them from other shows. Dave Foley often gave a more realistic portrayal of a woman than many actresses I have seen while he was on "The Kids in the Hall." Phil Hartman was one of the bright lights of "Saturday Night Live" (my personal favorite being his Ed McMahon impersonation, "YES! You are correct, sir!"). And Andy Dick served a term on the short-lived but innovative Ven Stiller Show." "Newsradio" has great writing and directing, as creator/executive producer Paul Simms and Bernie Brillstein, .both from "The Larry Sanders Show," collaborate with Brad Grey on produc- ing wacky hi-jinx inside an office at a Why has news-radio station. James Burrows, co-creator of sodeed "Cheers" and "Frasier," directs the plight of a young news director, Dave Nelson time-slot (Dave Foley), as he tries to manage his ofy co-workers and maintain his own in three, nity._ He gets no help from his boss, Jimmy James (Stephen Root), the epitome of a clownish executive and also the most fun character to watch. Jimmy is hardly the only reason to watch, nor is he the lone source of Dave's problems. Matthew Brock (Andy Dick) is remarkable as a neuroti- cally sensitive street reporter who worships the incredibly I egotistical Bill McNeal (Phil Hartman). Then there's Beth (Vicki Lewis), the sassy and offbeat secretary who can't be put down in a couple of phrases, and Joe Garelli (Joe Rogan), the blue-collar jock and electrician with his slightly imperfect gadgetry and an infatuation with alien conspiracy theories. And there have been great episodes. In one, James Caan, who is supposed to be studying Bill McNeal for an upcoming movie, E V I E W becomes enthralled with Matthew, who is in his words, "the single strangest Newsradio son-of-a-bitch that I have ever seen." NBC Matthew ends up vomiting on him. Another episode has a "Mission Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. Impossible" break-in to the boss' office to recover a commandeered Dilbert doll. Then there was the time Jimmy James ran for president in order to meet women .... There have been love affairs, but they aren't as immediate to the plot as in other sitcoms. They're also a trifle more orig- inal. Dave bickers as much as he makes out with feisty fellow reporter Lisa Miller (Maura Tierney), who constantly chal- lenges his authority. Theirs is a refreshing TV relationship because it doesn't involve the cliche of opposites attracting. Of course, the relationship between the sophisticated news anchor and woman of color, Cathryn Duke (Khandi Alexander), and Joe, the Caucasian electrician, does just that. Still, the interracial angle of this affair isn't played up, various Artists Live from 6A: Late Night With Conan O'Brien Mercury Records It's 12:35 a.m. on a week- day night. There are two cures for your comedy- viewing needs: Conan. O'Brien or the ever- popular David Letterman. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" seemed doomed to remain in the shadow of David Letterman's "Late Show."To try and set the O'Brien show apart, producers struck a deal with Mercury Records to create an album culled from musical perfor- mances on the show. The album "Live From 6A: Late Night With Conan O'Brien" compiles some of the best performances from the show. "Live from 6A" is for those who can handle a little of the mainstream. A few of the songs are on the verge of being overplayed on the radio and nearly every artist on the album has been fea- tured on MTV. The album includes tracks from plat- inum artists such as 311, soulful rhythms from Jamiroquai and Soul Coughing, and critical faves such as Ani DiFranco. It mixes a little old with the new. Bjork brilliantly performs "Human Behavior," off her first album, "Debut," and Elvis Costello beautifully plays the title track from his new album, "All This Useless Beauty." Matthew Sweet performs the only cover track. His rendition of the Electric Light Orchestra's "Do Ya" is a fun flashback to the early '70s. The CD represents what the Conan O'Brien Show tries to do: Give voice to up-and-coming talent. The collection of music is by people who definitely deserve to be seen and heard. O'Brien suggests that the artists signed to his CD aren't huge - he must be crazy if he thinks names like David' Bowie and Elvis Costello won't attract sales. Other than the classic performers, the unique and unforgettable sounds of Bjork, Jamiroquai and the Squirrel Nut Zippers will undoubtedly catch the pub- lic's attention. The man just seems to want some- thing more to whine about. Mercury hopes its "Late Night" col- lection will spawn R&B and country sequels. I'm sure that O'Brien will go out and purchase his own copy of Letterman's collection to see the competition's final product. And if Letterman is ever interested in listening to O'Brien's cool compila- tion, I'm sure he can find someone to give him a copy. - Marquina /liev Charlie Parker Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection Rhino Records Perhaps Miles Davis said it best when he wrote "... all they could do was try to get Bird's approach, his con- cept ... Nobody could play like Bird, then or now." Now, thanks to those re-release geniuses at Rhino Records, the unparal- leled alto saxophone playing of Charlie "Bird" Parker can be found in a new two-CD boxed-set compilation, "Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection." It truly is a Herculean task to assem- ble the "best" works of a musician so versatile and highly regarded as Bird. The fact is, there are few recordings of his that are not fantastic. Regardless, this compilation opens up with "Groovin' High," a tune record- ed with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in typical fashion; the two musicians seem to meld together for a fantastic song. After all, it was playing in the same band that made these two famous. Some of the best work on the first disc is a session recorded in '46, with an incredible band including trumpeter Miles Davis and tenor-man Lucky Thompson. This group really grooves on the three classic Bird cuts, "Moose the Mooch" "Ornithology" and the title track, "Yardbird Suite:' None of these are especially new, but they all are well played and, more important, they sup- port some of the lesser-known pieces with their classic appeal. Unfortunately, they are placed in the middle of the line-up, so their impact is noticeably weaker. One reason why Bird is so well respected, despite his extensive drug habit, is that he had a yen for creativity and a sense of humor. This trait is evi- dent in the collection. Bird frequently steps aside to let the younger members of the band have moments alone to wail. Miles Davis, Bird's most famous pupil, comes across well in his, most notably on "Dewey Square." This swingin' piece seems to take off and never come down. One gets the feeling that the musicians are having a ball making this recording. The second CD lacks a bit of the intense emotion that is prevalent in the first. Still, a handful of tracks stand out as truly incredible. In "Parker's Mood," Bird teams up with pianist John Lewis of Modern Jazz Quartet fame. The bal- lad moves gently as Lewis, who was classically trained, leads Bird intol a more tame rhythm. If nothing else, this track shows Bird's versatility in the way he can switch from fast-paced Be-Bop tunesto sweeter ballads. "My Little Suede Shoes" is a true change of pace for avid listeners, as Bird incorporates bongos and conga drums into the mix, for an Afro-Cuban sound. "A Night In Tunisia" rings with this same sultry, Latin feeling. "Yardbird Suite" stands out as one of the best retrospective box-sets in a seemingly growing sea of such pre- packaged gold mines. All sidemen are given fair playing time and the mix of different recording sessions works in the compilation's favor. The booklet that accompanies the discs is a great resource for casual listen- ers and ornithologists alike. If perhaps your wings have been clipped or your feathers ruffled, Bird will know how to get you flying again. It seems as if once again the adage is true: Bird lives! -Aaron Rich See RECORDS, Page 10 j hl hI YO and I would prefer it that way. This unspoken acceptance is a sign of maturity, but this method doesn't boost 3 show the ratings either. So maybe that's the answer. Why has ad four a show so good had four time-slot changes in just three years? Because Cha~ngeS there's no gimmick. Nope, no focus on actors' sex appeal, ears? nor is there an effort at keeping the audience in suspense as to whether the main characters will ever fall in love. No "Ross and Rachel" romance, nor sexual preference announcements by office co-workers. Not to say Ellen's "outing" wasn't historic, but it was also a great way to take a larger ratings share. No, "NewsRadio" is just a funny, well-made show, but without the gimmick, I'm not sure if it will ever catch on. i' clw i0* pre-med at nyu The Department of Philosophy The University of Michigan announces THE TANNER LECTURE ON HUMAN VALUES X1997-98 Antonio R. Damasio M.W. Van Allen Professor of Neurology University of Iowa S{ EXPLORING TIHE MINDED BRAIN Friday, November 14, 4:00 p.m. Rackham Auditorium, 915 East Washington Street + Principles of Biology I and II " Human Physiology " Human r Reproduction and Development " Biochemistry I and II * Genetics " College Chemistry I and 1I e Introduction to Lab Techniques * Organic Chemistry and Lab I and II * Introduction to Quantitative Analysis * General Physics I and II * Calculus I and I1 PEACE CORPS INFORMATION SESSION Peace Corps is currently placing college seniors in posi- tions that begin in the spring and summer of 1998. For information about current openings, visit the University of Michigan campus representative at the International Center, 603 E. Madison Street. v summer intect iNew York University SYMPOSIUM ON THE TANNER LECTURE ANTONIO R. DAMASIO RICHARD DAVIDSON Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience