The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 4, 1998 - 9 'Pretty fly' guys to fly tonight Museum houses Worcester 1 By Amy Barber Daily Arts Writer "Our singer gets decapitated - no, scalped, by a sev- ered hand." Such is the fate ofThe Offspring's Dexter Holland in the soon-to-be-released film "Idle Hands," as described by lead guitarist Noodles. Working on the film has been one of many projects keeping The Offspring busy throughout past months. Also included in the band's list of things to do has been the pro- duction of its most recent album, "Americana," and the launching of a tour. As for the film, the guys play a small part in which they don't have to do much acting, portraying a band perform- ing live at a dance. "We did the movie just for fun," said Noodles. "It's kind of a shellac, horror, comedy film that doesn't take itself very seriously. It makes fun of that whole genre" More important, The Offspring just put out a new record, which has already begun receiving significant attention with the release of "Pretty The Fly (For a White Guy)," which has spring been :ncluded in the regular rotation St. Andrew's Hall, of radio stations throughout the Detroit country. Tonight at 8 p.m. The most striking aspect of the new al um is the band's punk cover of the classic "Feelings," the last song anyone would have ever expected The Offspring to play. "The song was our singer's idea," said Noodles. "He just had the song stuck in his head one day and thought it was a really cheesy song that needed to be made fun of. No one expected it - not from a band like The Offspring. I'm looking forward to doing that one live." "Feelings" is not the only surprise on "Americana." The band mixed up its style on a few other songs as well. "We always have a Middle Eastern flavor on at least one or two songs," said Noodles. "We really tried to capitalize on that this time. And 'Why Don't You Get a Job' is almost a Caribbean acoustic song with a lot of percussion." The decision to title the new album "Americana" seems ironic at first, giventhe definition people generally associ- ate with the word. By using this title, The Offspring attempts to change people's definitions of Americana. "When people talk about Americana, they refer to real- ly quaint examples of American culture," said Noodles, "like Norman Rockwell paintings, kid on a swing kind of thing. For us there's a hell of a lot more to American cul- ture. Every song is a different example of American cul- ture." The making of the record went smoothly, despite the fact that the punk world has accused The Offspring of sell- ing out from the minute the band signed on with Columbia Records. The guys aren't phased much by negative criti- cism in this regard, but they certainly hear their share of name-calling even today. "A lot of other bands call us sell-outs," said Noodles. "But it doesn't really bother us. At Columbia, things are great." Although the band takes criticism from other bands with a grain of salt, The Offspring never would have formed without the influences of other groups. "A lot of California groups got us interested in playing music ourselves," said Noodles. "Bands like Social Distortion and The Dead Kennedys" When the band finally did get together, one of its biggest difficulties was coming up with a name. "We fought for a couple weeks about our name," said Noodles. "Our old drummer came up with the name. We all had these weird ideas that none of us could agree on and The Offspring was the only name that none of us hated." More than a decade and five albums later, Dexter, Noodles, Greg and Ron are back on tour, playing shows across the country to promote their new album. But this time around may not be The Offspring's most memorable trip to Michigan. "Our biggest headlining show ever in the U.S. was at Cobo Hall,"said Noodles. "It was right after Smash. Right after we went on, we called Fletcher from Pennywise and left a message that said, 'this is what 12,000 people sound like, cheering for your band."' Although The Offspring just started its current tour, the guys already have future recording plans. "We just finished recording," said Noodles, "and Dexter's already like, 'you know, we should make another record.' So there will definitely be more Offspring records in the future," By Anna Kovaluzi Fine & Perforning Arts Editor Drawing has been used in many ways, including its function as a preparatory method and later, asa form of artistic expression. "Master Drawings from the Worcester Art Museum" exhibits 100 drawings from . the 1300s to the present, by artists of many nationalities. Although drawing is flat and arguably not a very dynamic medium, the artistic and chronological range of the exhibit and its inclusion of colorful drawings make it a rare jewel. The centennial year of the Worcester Art Museum prompted this exhibition, including a catalogue by David Acton, curator of the exhibit and a University Alumnus. The muse- um owns more than 1,500 drawings, and it was therefore appropriate to celebrate this medium. Drawing has been a collected form of art for many centuries. Artists such as Peter Paul Rubens used it to hone their abilities. One of Rubens' many drawings, "Council of the Gods" (1601) exhibits his use of drawing as a learning tool, since he actually copied Raphael's Villa Farnesina Master Drawings frescoes in this Art Museum work. These drawings were University then collected by Museum of Art other artists to learn from the masters. Within a num- ber of categories, such as artistic training and experience, por- traits, windscapes and nudes, the orga- nizers of the exhibit demonstrated their disposition toward diversity. This aspect does not only lend much need- ed visual variation, but also asks one to "The Death of John the Baptist" (1640) by the Circle of Rembrandt, is on display. ponder, what do LAiszl6 Moholy Nagy and Jaques-Louis David have in com- mon? In fact, these two artists are dis- played within the exploratory draw- ings category, and while "Untitled" and "Apollo with a Cithara," ,Hungarian and French and 1938 and 1874 seem far removed, there is at least one aspect which is similar. Exhibits, on occasion, tend to become boring when they remain in a particular, well-defined field. While drawing unites this exhibit, the inclu- sion of Diego Rivera, Vincent van Gogh and George Bellows diversify it. Pop Art artist Tom Wesselmann showed a particularly interesting way of drawing in "Study for the Great American Nude #59" (1965). He used a bit of line, a bit of color but mostly empty space to define a nude female. His drawing alludes to the commer- cial and comics world. Another high- light came by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' study for a later portrait. Ingres' famous argument for the importance of line as opposed to color becomes sublimated here. While the features of the woman are incredibly sharp and delineated, her overall perfection, especially the points of light in her eyes, makes one focus less on the debate, and more on Ingres' subtle talent. Master Drawings allows one to view many aspects of drawing. Arguably, these drawings seem to show artistic expression more than just static mediums of preparation. The range of styles, artists, colors and techniques makes the exhibition an enjoyable experience, and it subcon- sciously becomes a lesson in the pro- fessional life of an artist. I Yretender' stars discuss charact By Jie Un Daily Arts Writer Since "The Pretender" premiered tw it's been a hit on Saturday nights. This i easy task to accomplish, especially sin nights aren't exactly must see TV nig not on college campuses). But the intri ing the multi-faceted genius, Jarod is ever as "The Pretender" enters its third Every week, J evil by undoing injustice in theN Miss Parker (And The hotly pursuing Jar Pretender ing to bring him t Centre. For those+ NBC haven't really kept Tomorrow at 9p.m. the recent developn show, here's a qt Toward the end of season, we fount Jarod's biologic worked for The may have murd Parker's mother. In finale, Sydney (Patrick Bauchau), Jarod The Centre, planted a bomb in The Ce beginning of this season, the repercus: bomb left Sydney blind and Jarod insane. In the premiere episode, he was to the loony bin, but now he's back to hi playing the savior. But this season, Jar PSYCHO Continued from Page 8 charismatic character in "Swingers" and "Clay Pigeons," he has yet to demonstrate that he can handle psy- chopathology quietly. What made Perkin's performance so disturbing is that he was so unusually normal. Sure, he seemed like a peeping Tom, but he s a lonely mama's boy. But the success or failure of this film sits on Van Sant's shoulders. Van Sant is a hit or miss director, with such stunners as "Drug Store Cowboy" and such vile filth as "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." But the question is, do people really want him to make a good movie? Van Sant could end up doing a tremendous job (however unlikely that is), and still ed up getting panned just for doing o years ago, sn't such an ce Saturday hts (at least igue involv- hotter than season. arod battles some grave world, with rea Parker) od and try- back to The of you who up with all nents on the nick recap. the second d out that al father Centre and ered Miss the season 's teacher at ntre. At the sions of the temporarily committed s old tricks, od is trying to discover his father's identity. With startling reve- lations such as Miss Parker's missing sibling being another Pretender, Mr. Lyle - the guy with the missing thumb (Jamie Denton) - there are bound to be many new surprises in store as this season continues. In a recent telephone interview with The Michigan Daily, the stars of the show Michael T. Weiss (Jarod), Parker (Miss Parker), Patrick Bauchau (Sydney) and the two executive producers, Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle talked about their show. Discussing their inspiration for the show, the producers explained their frustra- tion "with criminals getting off the hook on techni- calities and the way justice was getting dispensed. Most people's reaction is 'How sad,' and then they turn the page. We thought it would be interesting if they had a hero who didn't turn the page," Long said. Their purpose was to "create a hero that would extract emotional justice, an eye for an eye." They certainly have that hero in Jarod. Weiss has come a long way from his earlier days as Michael Horton on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives." As a chameleon-like hero who avenges the wrongs for those who cannot fight for themselves, he brings a great deal of depth and dimension to the role of Jarod. In one minute, Jarod is going under- cover as a police officer, and the next, he is a child, sprawled on the floor with 50 different kinds of Pez dispensers. His ability to play such diverse charac- ters is what makes the show worth watching. That er adaptation and the fact that he is not too bad looking. Viewers tune in week after week to discover which role Jarod a.k.a. the Pretender will assume next. So far, Jarod has been a forest ranger, a fash- ion photographer, a security guard, a race car driver, a U.S. Marshall, a male escort and the list just goes on and on. His most embarrassing role, according to the star himself, will be later this season when he takes his turn as a male stripper. "What I like best about Jarod is the versatility of his character," Weiss said. He admitted to the difficulty of keeping Jarod "innocent." What he loves best about coming to work is that "everyone gets to be creative and do something different every week" The actors and producers also revealed some upcoming plot descriptions. Some future personas for Jarod will be an ex-con, an alarm dealer and a pool hustler. Jarod will have more romances this season, and even Miss Parker will get a love inter- est for the first time. Parker described her role as the "toughest man on television." Hopefully, her romance will not soften her image. Then there is always the possibility of Jarod and Miss Parker getting together. Things change in "The Pretender" even faster than Jarod than does. Part of the fun is guessing what will happen next to Jarod and the rest of the gang at The Centre. As long as the intrigue keeps coming and Jarod pretends to be something akin to a male escort or stripper once a season, "The Pretender" is likely to rule on Saturday nights. $25 million, "Psycho" will probably struggle to make its money back. No place fun to shop in town? Although the film might do solid Shop online at opening weekend business based on fans of the Hitchcock movie seeing the Van Sant version to criticize it and curiosity seekers, a second weekend is unlikely. Not only does "Psycho" have , " - strong competition this weekend from the family oriented "A Bug's Life" and "Rugrats," it also has competition in the adult market from "Enemy ofb the State." And even if it does over- * as * as * en es * come this week's competition, it will " faux fur purses evening gloves almost certainly photon torpedoed next weekend with the release of "Star This Venitian scoundrel swindles his acquaintances Trek: Insurrection?' Either way, it stands no chance of not getting lost in out of their money, jewels and wives! the Christmas movie shuffle. Gone from the Van Sant version is the surprise, shock and thrill that accompanied the original. But never- theless, the spectacle is still there. All that's left to say about this movie is chance of satisfying in the end. a comedy by! Ben Jonson_. . directed by A i John Neville- Andrews ....--MR3H'ETE D POOLDec. 3J-5 at 8PM S U TO Pa SONSDec. 6 at 2 PM R - EPower Center Tickets $18 & $14 Students $7 with ID League Ticket Office m of TheareandnDrUM School of Music it! 734-764-0450 4A ACIYBEC, L320Dept. of Theatre and Drama Charge t 3-6-40 The University of Michigan School of Music Friday, December 4 Opera Workshop Joshua Major, director * an evening of staged opera arias McIntosh Theatre, E. V. Moore Bldg., 7p.m. Saturday, December 5 Contemporary Directions Ensemble James R. Tapia, director " music by prize-winning composers Rackham Auditorium, 8 p.m. Sunday, December 6 Michigan Chamber Players Deborah Chodacki and Fred Ormand, clarinet Richard Beene, bassoon Paul Kantor, violin Hong-Mei Xiao and Yizhak Schotten, viola Anthony Elliott, cello; Stuart Sankey, bass Logan Skelton, piano " Glinka: Trio Pathetique * Prokofiev: Quintet, Op. 39 * Brahms: String Sextet, Op. 36 Britton Recital Hall, E.V. Moore Bldg., 4p.m. Percussion Ensemble "Hands-On" Percussion Petting Zoo McIntosh Theatre, E.V. Moore Bldg., 3 p.m. Percussion Ensemble * music by Cage, Methany, Campbell, Cahn " music from Cuba and Trinidad/Tobago McIntosh Theatre, E. V. Moore Bldg., 4p.m. Monday, December 7 Power Repertory Showings Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 4:15 p.m. Composers Forum Britton Recital Hall, E.V. Moore Bldg., 8 p.m. University Choir Sandra Snow, conductor ' music by Morrison, Derr, Argento, Byrd, Willan Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 8 Comp Showings & Congolese Dance Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 2:30p.m. Wednesday, December 9 University Chamber Choir and Orchestras Theodore Morrison and Kenneth Kiesler, conductors Rebekah Nye, soprano; Dana Pauls, mezzo-soprano Michael Gallant, tenor; Woodrow Bynum, baritone " Beethoven: Mass in C Major " R. Strauss: Metamorphosen " R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m. Thursday, December 10 Comp Showings Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 2:30 p.m. Dance & Related Arts Performance Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 8 p.m. [Admission $5 at door one hour prior to performance] Events are free, no tickets required and are wheelchair accessible unless otherwise specified. The E.V. Moore Bldg.js located at 1100 Baits Drive, North Campus. Formore information phone (734) 764-0594 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ' "