The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 19, 1997 - 9 Cold' heats up winter reading Id Mountain arles Frazier Atlantitc Monthly Press Haven't there been enough books and movies about the Civil War? Has it outlived its usefulness as an artis- tic subject? The answer to se questions ight have' been "yes,", until -Charles Frazier'sr " C o 1 d' Mountain" was .published. This beau- tifully written first novel revisits familiar historical and literary terrain, but tells a deep, original and *redibly absorbing story. Like two lines that meet at a vanish- ing p6int - or like lives that become intertwined - "Cold Mountain" draws together two stories that finally com- bine as the book draws to a close. The novel begins with Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who plans to desert from the.army - he sneaks out of the fieldIspital and starts walking back to his home.in the Blue Ridge Mountains. li2 Alternating chapters, Frazier 'ates what simultaneously happens to Ada, a woman with whom Inman has a a meeting with the Sirens, which, in Inman's narration, is rendered as: "He wondered what sort of house of sluts he had stumbled into.") Ada's story is less eventful but no less intriguing. Most readers will not have considered what running a 19th- century Southern farm entailed, but Frazier explains this in great detail. He enables readers to envision the South in 1864 - a world in which peo- ple had to pro- duce every- thing they needed to live, and in which money was devalued and a primitive barter sys- tem was the only means of exchange. Frazier's depiction of this society is thorough and fascinating. "Cold Mountain" stands out, most of all, for its stunningly lyrical and detailed language. Events are related from Inman's or Ada's perspective in characteristic 19th-century diction; this style is very easy to read, but must be read slowly to appreciate Frazier's unusual rhythms of language. Also, throughout the book Frazier includes precise descriptions of events, ranging from the appearance of the sky at dawn to the battlefield at Fredericksburg. One typical passage reads: "As the sun fell to earthline it found an opening in the clouds and rely one shot a beam of light the color of St novels hot hickory coals straight upward. i3 The light was tubular and hard- edged as the barrel of a rifle." Given descriptions such as these, readers have no trouble imagining every scene of the novel. "Cold Mountain" would be a strong achievement for any writer and is even more so for a first-time novelist. Its lan- guage resonates in readers' minds long after they finish the book, as do its characters and its powerful conclusion. This is surely one of the best novels of the year, and is an experience no one should miss. - Elizabeth Lucas Goldfinger took St. Andrew's by storm this past weekend. Goldfinger bonds with punk-rock audience tenuous relation- ship. Ada's father has died and left This is sL her to cope with his rundown farm; of the be as Inman journeys home, Ada of she ye becomes more f-sufficient as Te and a friend learn to run the farm. This parallel structure allows a great understanding of both characters: As Frazier relates their histories, thoughts and emotions, they come to seem com- pletely realistic, and in fact, almost real. "Cold Mountain"'s two plots are unfailingly gripping, though in differ- ent ways. Inman's journey has echoes of "The Odyssey,' as he experiences an tually daunting array of obstacles - rything from encountering bears in the woods to being captured by Confederate soldiers. (Frazier includes ~ul 95 Ra By Colin Bartos Daily Arts Writer Call them crazy, call them intense, or call them Goldfinger, but please, stop calling them a ska band. Goldfinger is one of the more popular pop bands rooted in punk and ska flavor and ideals to come around in the past few years and their hybrid sound defies a definitive R label. Their latest stop at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit this N weekend had a label, though, and it was madness. St.Andre "Everyone has to be labeled," S lead vocalist John Feldmann said in an interview before the show. "If people wanna call us a ska band, whatever. I mean, we're not. Anyone who knows ska music would never consider us a ska band." The majority of the public would, though. Goldfinger, especially with its latest release, "Hang- Ups," has incorporated a lot more horns, along with other new elements, to really round out their punky sound. "We always try to tour with ska bands to steal their horns," Feldmann revealed. They didn't need to steal anything to make "Hang-Ups," though, as members of Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, the Skeletones, and Fishbone lent their services and volunteered to play on the record. And now, Goldfinger tours with its own horn section. The crowd was out in full effect to see Goldfinger, despite horrible driving weather and a long wait out in E Vs the freezing cold. Save Ferris opened up the show with a bang. They're a new pop-ska and swing outfit from Southern Cali whose lead vocalist Monique wears a dress and high heels, and sounds remarkably like Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. It was their debut perfor- mance in Detroit, and they got the crowd rockin' and _ _ _ skankin' early. Even though their songs started to sound a lot alike V I E WAI by the end of their 40-minute set, they were quite entertaining. Goldfinger With the crowd warmed up good Hall, Detroit and ready, Goldfinger finally hit Nov. 15,1997 the stage about 20 minutes late. They opened the show with "Answers" from their self-titled 1995 debut, which went over well with the crowd. From the beginning, the true appeal of Goldfinger shown through: they put on an awesome punk rock dis- play. As Goldfinger continued their set, mixing songs like the straight ahead punk attack of "Anything" with new tracks, like the poppy "My Head," and the ska-core-ish sounding "Chris Cayton," the crowd continued to get more and more restless. Chaos hit, though, during the hilarious "Fuck You and Your Cat," during which Feldmann jumped up on one of the speaker stands on the side of the stage, and leapt down into the out- stretched sea of arms. About a half-hour into the set, "Dangerous" Damn leapt out from behind the drum kit to point at his Wings' jersey for the millionth time, before he grabbed the mic and started into a sarcastic hardcore version of the current radio hit "Tubthumping" -,by Chumbawamba. Then, he climbed up the speaker stack on the other side of the stage and leapt, too, returning to the stage under a full moon, if you know what I'm saying. Goldfinger has met with some commercial success, too, which was evident as the crowd sang along verbatim with the new single "This Lonely Place.' During-the MTV hit, "Here In Your Bedroom,"the band invited about 30 people up on stage to sing back-up as testament to its popularity. The success is something Feldmann'sa.,ot ashamed of either. "I don't think music's a thing you should hidCin your pocket," Feldmann said, "I think you should sure it with as many people as possible." After a short break, Goldfinger returned to roun~ut their 70-minute, 25-song set with the intense "Noes Away" as well as a cover of the Cure's "Just Cie Heaven," during which Royce of Detroit's own punkla heroes The Suicide Machines came out on stage to ig along. The set ended with the brand new "20 Cnlt Goodbye" and a psycho-hyper hardcore versiogof Duran Duran's "Rio."- It was a fitting end to a super show: tongue-in-clwek humor mixed with hard-edged punk, pop bliss, ed danceable ska music. And it sums up the Goldfinger quite perfectly. Remember though: they're not aba band -just a good one.