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.. Read the Daily online at http:/iww purnicheduidaiy Shaman Drum BOOKSHOP Textbook Buyback Begins Mon-Sat,10:00arn - 6:00pm April 20th - May 9th Upstairs 313 South State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104 662-7407 c i[a ,, U 1A - * &. 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