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TeMichigan Daily AlVeekend, etc. Mv

etc. Retro Recordings
'Hot Rats'is
still weird
By John Uhl
Daily Music Editor
By 1969, vegetables were opulent the-
matic material for Frank Zappa and his
Mothers of Invention as songs like "Call
Any Vegetable" and "Mr. Green Genes"
paired Holst and Stravinsky references to
blues while commanding "eat your
greens" with invocations of "pumpkins ...
wax paper ... Caledonia, Mahoganies,
elbows" and a sacrificial prune.
But for "Hot Rats," Zappa dropped the
satirical pretense of The Mothers, retain-
ing only their
6 f woodwind and
Frank Zappa keyboard player,
Ian Underwood.
Hot Rat Thus the return of
Ryko "Mr. Green
Original Release: 1969 Genes," formerly
a parody of
American domesticity, as "Son of Mr.
Green Genes, is an intricate vocal-less
nine-minute opus of layered reeds, key-
boards, abrupt tempo, style and rhythmic
shifts between elaborate composition and
improvised passages that include some of
the best rock guitar on record.
The album includes three other com-
plex instrumental fusions of guitar, jazz
orchestration and modern classical music,
attained through assembling a stratum of
tracks and over-dubs by Zappa and
Underwood (with the addition of studio
musicians for bass, drums and occasional

courtesy of MTV
Tom Green lived out yet another pivotal and deeply personal chapter of his life in front of
the cameras this week, this time without much advance planning.
MTV wild man
goes under knifie

I

FRANK ZAPPA

I

I HOT RATS
violin). "Peaches en Regalia" is probably
the best known piece, but "Little
Umbrellas" and "It Must be a Camel"
each wander through shifting chord struc-
tures as if looking for the most beautiful
arrangement, pausing on certain clusters
to check for the most glorious harmony.
Underwood is a one-man horn section,
performing on "Little Umbrellas" some of
the most exquisite reed writing since
Ellingtonia.
Yet "Hot Rats" never becomes too high-
brow, paced by the pared-down dirty
garage band simplicity of "Willie the
Pimp" (greasy vocals by Captain
Beefheart) and "The Gumbo Variations."
Clocking at nine and seventeen minutes,
respectively, the phrasings of their gradual
improvisations are the foundation of
today's jam-bands (Trey Anastasio lifted
most of his bag from this record). And
much of the rock world's conception of
jazz, from Phish to Steely Dan, comes
from the chaotic lilt of this recording's
electronic manipulation.
"Hot Rats" rivals Miles Davis' "Bitches
Brew" as the most important of the early
combinations of jazz horn and rock guitar.

A As yet another excuse not to vote
in MSA's elections, please accept these
Hollywood news tidbits to waste your
time. You know you love 'em. This edi-
tion starts off with Tom Green.
Apparently, the talk-show guerrilla was
too busy being a prick to examine his
own, 'cuz he came down with some tes-
ticular cancer. Trained professionals
removed the tumescent genital organ
(he still has one left), and true to form,
Mr. Green had the procedure taped.
Lovely. He also set up the Tom Green's
Nuts Fund, a charity to help fight can-
cer. This is probably the strongest case
for the existence of karma ever seen.
This story first surfaced several days
ago, but there was extended suspicion
as to its credibility due to Mr. Green's
less than glittering reputation for
straightforwardness. While conspiracy
theories did not reach Andy-Kaufman-
faking-his-death proportions, it took a
follow-up surgery to ensure the purity
of Green's lymph nodes before the urge
to call "Shenanigan!" was fully quelled.
W It's not quite the trial of the new
century, but Lawrence Edward Ledent,
the Roadway Express employee arrest-
ed for stealing this year's Oscars, has
entered a not guilty plea and is being
held in lieu of 520,000 bail. Somebody
take up a collection. Ledent's colleague
Anthony Keith Hart was not charged
due to insufficient evidence, leading
many to mumble that Sipowicz and
Sorenson could have gotten Ledent to
turn over on his buddy.
Fifty-two of the 55 statuettes have
been recovered, and there are apparent-
ly plenty of replacements auditioning to
replace the three still missing. Phew!
Now yet another Oscars show can air,
bringing hope and meaning to the lives
of millions. God bless America.
w When Madonna's not getting
impregnated by gay men in movies,
she's doing it with more legitimacy off-
camera. Ms. Ciccone is pregnant with
her second child. The father is British
director. Guy Ritchie, who brought us
the energetic film "Lock, Stock, and
Two Smoking Barrels." And no, they
are not getting married anytime soon.

No word yet on how embarrassing the
child's name will be.
e Those with a hankering for the
obscure and bizarre need look no fur-
ther. A fireman in New York (evidently
with some serious issues) was caught by
security cameras repeatedly breaking
into an expensive restaurant after hours.
He would then disrobe completely and
consume lots of fancy food. He was
caught because he has a Mr. Peanut tat-
too on his ass, which the camera record-
ed (reportedly against its will). Ugh. I
guess that's what New York is for.
o You would think celebrities, after
being in the spotlight for so long, would
stop acting dumb, but apparently Halle
Berry hasn't picked up on this. She is
currently involved in a hit-and-run law-
suit. In February, she plowed through a
red light into another car, then immedi-
ately drove her fender-bent vehicle to
the hospital, ignoring the other driver.
Neighbors say she's a real speed demon,
peeling out of her driveway "like it was
the Batcave." Whoa there. I've seen
"Passenger 57," and I can assure you
Halle Berry is no Batman.
0 In a move that makes the MSA's
resolution policies look effective in
compariun, Leonardo DiCaprio is lend-
ing his support to the fight agairist glob-
al warming. No word on whether or not
Mr. L. D. "Crapio" plans to stop driving
his cars and private jets, but environ-
mental experts agree he should stop
making movies. Now, that would make
the world a better place.
A Has anyone actually heard about
this movie, "Battlefield Earth?" This
has got to be a joke. Proving John
Travolta is Scientology's bitch, he will
star in this sci-fi adaptation of a novel
by L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard, of course,
is the dead founder of the vaguely dis-
turbing cult. Travolta plays a nine-foot
tall Klingon-like alien with dreadlocks.,
Vincent Vega, how far you have fallen:
- Compiled by Daily Arts Wr-iter
David Victor with Weekend, Etc. Editor
JeffDruchniak. Page 6
(xwl-page6.comn) and Entertainment
Weekly Online (wx'ewcom) con-
tributed to the repo-t.

Top 10 Pop Albun
(The nation's best-selling albums fort
1. Carlos Santana, "Supern
2. George Strait, "Latest Gr
3. Black Rob, "Life Story"
4. Dr. Dre, "2001"
5. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, '
6. Sisqo, "Unleash the Drag
7. Macy Gray, "On How Life
8. Gerald Levert, "G"
9. Kid Rock, "Devil Without
10. Destiny's Child, "The W
Top 10 Books
(The weeks best-selling hardcover f
1. "The Brethren," John Gri
2. "Carolina Moon," Nora R
3. "Daughter of Fortune," I:
4. "Bridget Jones: The Edge
5. "Gap Creek," Robert Mo
6. "Day of Reckoning, "Jack
7. "The Lion's Game," Nels
8. "Tough Cookie," Diane N
9. "Moment of Truth," Lisa
10. "Sick Puppy," Carl Hia
Top 10 Movies
(Who released them and how muc
1. "Erin Brockovich," Univers
2. "Mission to Mars," Touchs
3. "Final Destination," New Li
4. "My Dog Skip," Disney,
5. "The Ninth Gate," Artisan,
6. "The Whole Nine Yards," w
7. "American Beauty," Dream
8. "The Cider House Rules," Mi
9. "Snow Day," Paramount
10. "The Tigger Movie," Disn
THE WEEKLY Q
Oh, the wacky things ft
"Movies are all so dif
up at a starting line a.
of like a competition 1
-"The Insider" di
"The editorial board <
flushed into the river.
tripe. It's Menudo ... 1
know that I pray for y
And one day you're g
quit that vile, horrible
-Alec Baldwin, to
(whom he also called "r
"Everyone loves the I
wants to pick up the s
-Rich Brown, on
"Gore sent Bush that
back, but he couldn't
-Bill Maher, on'
"Just give me (what's) i
prostitute. Don't give m
-David Duchovn:
-Compiled by Jeff1

ALUMNIASSOCIATION
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
student alumni council


residence halls association
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