The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 20, 1998 - 13
Bern delivers his
'Eggs' to Ark
'Moon' takes giant leap for Emmy
HOLLYWOOD (AP)
1cm."
"Emmys, we have a prob-
By Amy Barber
Daily Arts Writer
For years, Dan Bern has been
traveling from city to city across
the United States, playing mostly
in relatively small folk clubs for
crowds who go to his concerts
with very minimal prior knowl-
edge of his music.
But once concertgoers hear his
sarcastic, political, upbeat folk
performances, the majority walk
out as Bern fans, entertained and
inspired by an extraordinary
show.
Most of Bern's success has
come as a result of these fans
becoming inspired to spread the
word.
That's exactly what happened
six months ago when Bern played
at The Ark. As a result, his
Saturday night return concert to
Ann Arbor drew almost twice as
many fans as the last time.
And twice as many of them
were familiar with his songs,
judging by the way they sang
along when Bern requested crowd
participation.
Most of what Bern played,
however, was unreleased material.
It was somewhat disappointing
not to hear familiar songs, but
this disappointment was out-
weighed by the quality of his new
songs.
He sang about everything from
being in love to blaming the fall
of communism in Russia on the
building of a McDonald's in
Moscow. A fun time was had by
all.
Bern is currently touring after
just having released the album,
"Fifty Eggs," which was produced
by fellow musician and folk rock
rejuvenator Ani Difranco.
"It was a really fun, positive
experience and I'm pretty proud
of it," Bern said about working
with Difranco and of the efforts
he put into his recent release.
Following along the same lines
as his past work, the album is
highly political, with very strong
and potentially offensive social
commentaries.
With lyrics like "go down
Moses / go down on me," he
inevitably receives constant criti-
cism.
"It's important to have a good
filter," he said in a recent inter-
view. "I try to separate legitimate
criticism from shying away from
certain subjects that are simply
real. People are free to like it or
not like it but it doesn't change
how I see things."
Perhaps a key explanation of
why Bern has not yet received
much radio play and mainstream
success is the nature of his lyrics.
But this is not
a foremost
concern of
Bern's.
Dan Bern "It's not
what I think
The Ark about when I
April 18, 1998 make a
record." Bern
said. "A lot of
my stuff
would sound
just great on
the radio, but
it's not where
radio happens
to be right now. But things change
pretty quick. When Nirvana came
out things changed drastically in a
very short time so the whole land-
scape could change."
So maybe fame and fortune are
in Bern's future.
He has been labeled the Bob
Dylan of today's generation by
critics since the beginning of his
career and perhaps he will
become just that. In fact, he has
been compared to Dylan so fre-
quently that he has finally
become immune to it.
"At this point it doesn't even
really mean anything. I don't
think about it one way or another.
He probably doesn't either," Bern
said.
No one can be sure what is in
Bern's future, but he has made
quite an impression in the past.
And Saturday night was a fine
example of what a remarkable
entertainer Dan Bern is.
In a decision that has put the group that presents the
Emmy Awards squarely at odds with the major net-
works that televise them, the Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences ruled that "From the Earth to the
Moon" - Home Box Office's 12-hour docudrama
about the space program - can be considered for the
Emmy as outstanding miniseries.
Senior executives at CBS, NBC, ABC and the USA
cable network recently wrote the academy, vigorously
objecting to the program's eligibility in that category
rather than the one for best drama series. They cited
such issues as the use of different directors on each
installment and the project's format, which explores
different episodes in the space program as opposed to
following a single story in linear fashion.
At a meeting Wednesday evening, the academy
determined the program is eligible as a miniseries and
refuted the network claims, relying in part on histori-
cal precedent. The organization pointed out that the
epic miniseries "Roots" used four directors (10
worked on "From the Earth to the Moon") and that the
HBO entry meets the requirement that miniseries have
"continuity of production supervision" because exec-
utive producer Tom Hanks served as "the guiding
force behind the entire project."
Although network officials declined comment
awards show that would potentially undermine the
Emmys.
It has even been suggested that the four major net-
works balk at extending their existing contract to
broadcast the Emmys, which are nearing the end of a
deal in which the telecast has rotated among them.
NBC will televise the next ceremony in September.
Should the networks follow that approach, various
cable networks, including HBO, have made it clear
that they would be eager to televise the awards; how-
ever, such an occurrence would mean that the indis-
try's foremost self-congratulatory showcase wouldn't
be available to homes that don't subscribe to cable, a
scenario that most involved would like to avoid.
Still, the networks have grown increasingly frustrat-
ed with HBO's dominance in certain Emmy cate-
gories, as the pay channel, which generally spends at
least twice as much to produce a film as the broadcast
networks do, has claimed outstanding movie honors
five consecutive years.
Sources say NBC and CBS have been especially
vocal regarding the latest controversy, claiming that
the academy has been "manipulated" by HBO. An
HBO spokesperson responded when the complaints
first arose that "From the Earth to the Moon" clearly
fulfilled all miniseries criteria and that network objec-
tions were "ludicrous."
HBO spent $68 million to produce the docudrama.
Courtesy of Universal
Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon and Tom Hanks star In
"Apollo 13," a film that Inspired Hanks to produce the
HBO miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon."
Thursday, sources said various retaliatory measures
are being weighed.
The most strident options mentioned include legal
action, declining to submit their own miniseries for
Emmy consideration and even establishing a rival
l..
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