Caston reads from 'Wounded'
Poet Anne Caston wil read from "Fying Out with the Wounded"
tonight at Shaman Drum. Caston is known for her emotiona style of
poetry that delves into the ultimate pains of suffering and the inten
sity of lovIng relationships. Caston won the NYU Press Pri for
Poetry in 1996 and also the SUNY Paumanok Poetry Aaid in 1995.
The reading will begin at 8 p.m. Call 662-7407 for further inorma
tion.
Monday
January 26, 1998
Old Spice? Girls overstay welcome with bland 'World'
By Jennifer Petlinski artistic or m
Daily Arts Writer But at the
I wanted to like "Spice World." had the pot(
Don't get me wrong - by no stretch could have,
of the imagination am I a fan or fol- with the Gir
er of such superficial Girl Power. characteriza
At the same time, though, I am not hilariously
ashamed to admit that "Wannabe" manager Cli
makes me want to carelessly dance and Maybe,
jump up and down on my mattress; "2 probably e.
Become 1" always sends me into my much, itc
wn inspired for-my-ears-only car-ride been mildly
endition; and play "Say You'll Be al.
here" or "Spice Up Your Life" and Who ar
uddenly I'm the life of the party. Ginger, Po
Sure, I don't really know their names and Sport
you know, Baby, Scary and the gang. How do the:
me, the Girls are one fuzzy blur of their succes
akeup, glitter, wild 'dos and bac
bnoxious clothes. But still, t
he Spice Girls are OK.
Their feature film,
Spice World," on the
other hand, is not.
Not that viewers
hould necessarily
xpect inspired per-
mances and depth
m the five girls
hose frivolously happy
unes and corny nicknames
suggest they have minimal Posh Spice: Victoria
usical capabilities.
very least, "Spice World"
ential to be fun. Maybe it
worked as a clever spoof,
rls poking fun of their own
tions and Richard E. Grant
stressing out as uptight
ifford.
although I am
xpecting too
could havey
education- <
questions goes on
"Spice World"
does not deliver any
of the answers, and
instead delivers a
paper-thin plot
about the
At 8
Spice Girls preparing for
their first concert while
they frolic and jiggle
about in skimpy
clothes and big shoes
- educational only
for those who want to
know why the Girls
made Mr.
ters. In the film,
V IEW the Girls play up
their silly nick-
Spic names. In the
mid t of a
rehearsal with
arwood & Showcase dancing,
naked men, Baby tells.
one stud about the mul-
titude of stuffed ani-
mals covering her bed,
in another scene, she
sucks her lollipop. her
limp, blond pigtails
wisping in the breeze.
Designer-cloth-
behind the success.
The film does absolutely no justice
to this call. What "World" offers is
spice without any flavor
2. Girl Power is for omen who
absolutely must go to the bathroom
together in groups. Not that I
felt inspired by the Girls'
schtick before "World."
but after seeig it, I am
almost offended by
their definition of
povwer.
t\While practicing
"Say You'll Be There."
Ginger sports a
skintight slipdress, the
word "Mind Power" jut-
ting from her
matter which one said it; such a use-
less, dumb comment could have come
from any of the Girls' mouths.
Topped off with their silly adventures
(If the Spice Girls can make a movie
about their going on a pointless boating
trip, why can't I film myself doing my
homework or walking to class? - it
would be just as engaging.) and their
flat, one-dimensional fantasies, "Spice
World" makes you want to cringe.
Not even cameos by Elton John,
Elvis Costello and Roger Moore,
whose role as chief of Spice fame is
probably one of the film's only bright
spots, make up for the bad.
Underneath it all, the Spice Girls are
not all that interesting.
Take away their catchy
re Baby,
sh, Scary
y, really?
y feel about
s, the recent
klash to which
I
Black well 's
list of worst
dressed
perform-
hey've been
subjected or Scary Sp
the prediction that they
are soon-to-be has-
beens already? How
do they feel about not
having distinct voic-
es? About the fact that
they were thrown
together by someone
else's vision of a much-
needed, successful British
girl group? My list of
Ice: Mel B.
ers.
In fact, I learned
only two things from
the film.
1. Sporty is Mel
Chisholm; Baby is
Emma Bunton; Scary is
Mel Brown; Posh is
Victoria Adams; and
Ginger is Geri Halliwell.
ii
Baby Spice: Emma
g obsessed
Posh talks
incessantly
about her appearance
for the entire film and
the rest of the Prefab
Five equally fulfill
their names' expecta-
tions.
Yet at the beginning
of "Spice World," Baby
refers to the fact that fans
only care what the Girls
look like and says she
n_.__i_. a*re_.
Sporty Spice: Mel C.
female symbol attached
to her rear end.
Near the end of the
film, the Girls nearly
miss the big perfor-
mance to stay with
their pregnant friend'
(Knocked-dp Spice,
perhaps? through labor.
"NowFthat's Girl Power!"
one explains, once the baby
pops out. It doesn't even
chest and the
\
singing and dancing and
contagious vibe, and
they're just the five
lucky anybodies who
responded to that call
for a British girl
group.
The makers of
"Spice World" forgot a
very important truth:
Unless you are Jerry
Seinfeld, you can't make
something out of nothing.
Ginger Spice: Geri
Other than names, nothing else mat- wants them to know the real girls
Concert celebrates Mozart's birth
ean Smart and Nancy McKeon star in CBS' less-than-stylish "Substance."
4ediocre 'Style' lacks substance
By Anna Kovalszki
1 ily arts Writer
"Mozart is the greatest composer of all. Beethoven created
his music, but the music of Mozart is of such purity and beauty
that one feels lie merely found it ---- that it has alavs existed as
part of the inner beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed."
Albert Einstein, well known for his revolutionary discoveries
and theories in physics, found the music of this 18th-Century
composer worthy of such praise. And why wouldn't he, for in
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 35 years of life, he composed
more than 600 pieces, most of which are considered master-
pieces of the classical period in music.
Mozart's music has found revival in the 20th Century, and
Milos Forman's 1984 Cannes Film Festival winner
"Amadeus:' about the artist's life, has only boosted its popu-
larity. The University community has
been an avid fan of Mozart, and theM
PR
upcoming Mozart's Birthday Concert P
featuring the University Chamber
Orchestra promises to be a night of musi- Birth
cal talent worthy of this composer's musi-
cal genius.
Kenneth Kiesler, conductor for the
evening and director of University Orchestras, formed the
University Chamber Orchestra last fall. While the Symphony
Orchestra had been reduced to a smaller performing ensemble
for the birthday concerts of previous years, this year's program
will feature the full orchestra, Kiesler said. The orchestra will
perform the central piece of the so-called "Final Trilogy" of
symphonies that Mozart composed during six weeks in the
summer months of 1788.
These symphonies were apparently not written for any com-
mission, and not decisively performed during Mozart's life-
time. But they are the culmination in sophistication and depth
of the artist's symphonies, of which there are approximately 40.
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, is one of the most
well known symphonies written by Mozart, Kiesler. said. It
consists of four movements, beginning and ending with a dra-
E VIEW
Mozart's
hday Concert
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Hill Auditorium, Free
Kiesler, who has
cial, Kiesler said. Children who listen to
Mozart think better in abstract terms,
pick up languages faster, perform math
problems more confidently and can solve
puzzles more proficiently. Adults who
listen to Mozart before taking examina-
tions perform consistently better on
them.
conducted in Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln
matic, fast tempo. The middle consists of two movements,
which are more soft and languid. The minuet, which is the
third movement of the piece, was a popular dance of the 18th
Century. This part is therefore more playful.
There will be other attractions in the program as well.
University organ Prof. Marilyn Mason will perform in the
concert, celebrating the 50th year of her career. She will be
featured in three of the church sonatas for organ and strings,
K. 144, 329 and 336.
Xiang Gao, who graduated from the masters program last
year, will be the soloist in the Violin Concerto in D Major, No.
4, K. 218. Kiesler stated that Mozart wrote all five of his vio-
lin concertos within one year.
Listening to Mozart's music is not only enjoyable, but has
been proven in numerous studies to be intellectually benefi-
By Stephanie Jo Klein
Daily TV/New Media Editor
When you take the good and you take
the bad, if you take them both, well, there
you have another paint-by-numbers sit-
com. It's just incidental that this one hap-
pens to star Nancy McKeon and Jean
Smart.
In "Style & Substance," the two
*'esses are situated in yet another "mad-
cap" '90s office, where the fashionable
and insecure businesswoman meet her
match in an honest and practical new
manager.
Smart plays
Chelsea Stevens, a
Martha Stewart- Styl
incarnation who
runs her own taste-
fl ittle empire of CBS
e decorating
books, videos and TV programs. As the
"Style" part of the equation, Chelsea dis-
plays her domestic panache for wood
chopping, wallpapering and making
broccoli quiche all at the same time,
while neglecting her private life.
Enter Jane Sokol. Played by McKeon,
Jane's midwestern charm provides the
"Substance" angle, intrigues Chelsea,
fights with her, complains about her and
rntually they become friends. Later,
ey're forced to become each other's
houseguests, while viewers are supposed
to sit back and laugh, laugh, laugh.
Watching "Style & Substance," one
can't help feeling disappointed that
McKeon isn't decked out in tomboy
attire as "The Facts of Life"'s Jo
Polniaczek or that Smart isn't the sweet
E
e
Southern belle Charlene Frasier from
"Designing Women."
Yeah, those are the facts of this life,
you deal with them - but this is one
instance where I just don't want to.
Halfway into the second episode, I found
myself yearning for the cleverness of
both former favorites.
It doesn't have to be a travesty that the
show has a trite formula. There are tons
of programs with the same MO. After
all, it is a sitcom. But others, like "The
Drew Carey Show" or "Ally McBeal,"
somehow manage
to rise above the
VIEW miserable fate of
& Substance bland office come-
dy. "Style &
7k k l Substance" should
Mondays at 9:30 p.m. try that, too.
In giving the sup-
porting cast members real personality,
the show could be saved. "Suddenly
Susan,' "Caroline in the City" and
"Newsradio" are among the many recent
shows that have been saved by their sup-
porting casts. And the show could also
give Smart, a truly funny woman, better
lines than "Well, someone woke up like
a great big gargoyle this morning."
Though there a lot of times that the
laugh track seems much louder than
needed, there are many genuinely bril-
liant moments. In one recent episode,
Chelsea shows Jane her most treasured
possession, a complex old train set
called "Chelseatown," where blinking
lights signal the coming train encircling
the town and where a gravestone in the
back reads "Martha Stewart."
For a show with stars as well-known
as Smart and McKeon, there needs to be
a bit of redecorating before the show can
take off. The character names especially
could also use a touch-up - Chelsea
carries a bit too much baggage; Jane has
zero personality, unless you go for those
"See Spot run" kind of women; and then
there are the rest of the characters: Terry,
Trudy and Mr. John, who sound more
like they work in a whorehouse than a
decorating office.
Like all good children of the '80s, I
want this show to work. But unless
there's a bit more substance, and a lot
more style, I may just have to sit in the
front of my TV at 9:30 on Monday nights
and imagine Tootie running after Blair,
instead of turning on the set.
1
Center and the Kennedy Center among other world re-known
music halls, finds that Mozart's music, "speaks to us from the
inside, his music seems right. He conveys moods very well,
like the psychology of the characters in his operas."
So on this 242nd anniversary of Mozart's birth, we should
experience the music of a composer who many regard as the
greatest of all time.
For Mozart, music was not a learned technique but instead
something which he heard inside. There is no other explana-
tion for his mastery of the violin at the age of five with no
instruction and only sound for a score.
One can truly experience Mozart's genius through live per-
formance. There is no exception to who may enjoy Mozart's
music, especially because tomorrow's concert is free of charge.
Ki~ dl .
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