8C - New Student Edition - The Michigan Daily -_Wednesday, September 8, 1999
Beat the
rush! Avid
fans flock
to stores
Record stores Offenng new
releases as soon as they can
By Jewel Gopwani
Daily Arts Writer
When the clock strikes midnight and it's
officially Tuesday morning, do you know
where you favorite new releases are?
They're probably already at the music
store waiting for you to get your hands on
them before anyone else does.
Tower Records on South University
Avenue is open until just after midnight
every Monday night to serve early-morning
music customers.
Chris Youngman, a Tower Records sales
clerk on Monday nights, said the number of
fans purchasing new releases varies
depending on the release. "Normally we're
only open 20 minutes after midnight,"
Youngman said.
He added that when popular bands
release albums, it gets exciting.
"When the Beastie Boys released 'Hello
Nasty' there was a big line," Youngman
said, "Everyone was anxious to get the
album."
The only significant difference between
purchasing music at Tower during normal
business hours and buying new releases
late Monday night is that the sales clerks
keep all new releases behind the counter, to
make s-ure everyone gets what they want
quickly, Youngman said.
Mike Babcock, assistant manager at
Discount Records on State Street, said the
store holds late Monday night sales for big
releases. He added that although the store
holds these events for all types of music,
rap- releases attract the largest crowds on
Monday nights.
Paul Cahlenberg, general manager of
Tower Records, said at his store, new rap
releases are not the only albums that bring
in customers at midnight.
"Hippie bands" also help Tower's mid-
night sales flourish, Cahlenberg said, citing
the large crowd that went to Tower to pur-
chase the new Dave Matthews Band release
"Down These Crowded Streets" in
From bars to ballet, A2
has dance opportunities
By Daniel Wolfman
Aly Arts Writer
Though swing dancing seems to be sweeping
popular culture in Ann Arbor, alternatives to that
particular dance form remain viable options for the
interested booty-shaker.
A rival to swing - in number of followers and
campus popularity - is classic ballroom dancing,
the nostalgic aura of which reminds some of past
times they never experienced themselves. Some
members of the University community have been
attracted to square dancing or Latin salsas.
Geoffrey Blank, an LSA senior and an avid Latin
dancer, laments a relative lack of local opportunities
to salsa. Blank joked that upon graduation, he wants
to open his own Latin dance club. Luckily for fans
like Blank, the Michigan Union-based U Club
offers lessons in Latin dance from time to time.
Still, Blank says he can understand the dearth of
Latin dance opportunities - even he is unable to
identify a University group of Latin dance fans.
"In a way, I regret it. I wanted a chance to expand
my culture," Blank said of his interest in Latin
dance. "And I saw it as a de-stresser, a way to take
a reprieve from classes and studying."
The idea that dancing is a wonderful stress reliev-
er is a resounding theme among students.
"I have a sense of unconsciousness when I dance,
a sense of forgetting about myself," said LSA senior
Jasmin Rae Ziegler.
The Ballroom Dance Club offers lessons every
Sunday at the Michigan Union. The U Club occa-
sionally offers ballroom lessons (in addition to
swing lessons on Wednesday nights), and the
CCRB also has lessons available.
Thanh Tran, an Engineering senior, described the
allure of ballroom: "I think the appeal of so-called
structured dancing is that you really feel more con-
nected with your partner and the music," he said.
"You go to Scorekeeper's and everyone's pretty
much doing their own thing, but with ballroom or
swing, there has to be a certain level of understand-
ing between the partners. It's interactive."
LSA senior Sara Felman agreed. "Ballroom has
all these classic moves that one can incorporate, and
you really work closely with your partner."
Moreover, fans find something attractive about
the stylistic time travel involved with ballroom
dance. It is like revisiting a "bygone era," Helman
said. "There's a fascination with living that sort of
thing out ... artificial nostalgia, almost."
An aspect of dance that both lelman and Tran
seemed compelled by is the relationship that one
establishes with another person through the act of
mutual movement.
"It's going out and doing something, as opposed
to watching a movie or something" Tran said. "It's
a great way to meet people.
In fact, the social appeal of dance is cited by
many as a compelling reason to dance. Barn dances,
GETTIN' YOUR GROOVE ON
Ballroom Dancing: The Ballroom Dance Club gives
lessons on the medium Sundays at the Michigani
Union; 763-5750,
(3assic Swing: Learn the kind of swing dancing now
immortalized by commercials for The Gap every Sunday
at the Blind Pig, 208 S. First St.; 996-8555.
Flamenco, Jazz, Tap: The Dance Theater Studio,
711 North University, offers lessons in some of the
world's less traditional dance styles; 995-442.
Swing and Latin: The U Club offers swing dancing
lessons Wednesdays at the Michigan Union; 764-1342.
Waltz, Rumba, Fox Trot and Country: Go
Dancing, located at 5060 Jackson Rd., offers a variety4
of lessons; 994-4600.
For more information and links to other places offer-
ing lessons, check out the Ballroom Dance Club's.
Website at wwwumich.edu/~umbdc.
I
I
commonly held by fraternities and sororities, give
students an opportunity to square dance. David
Gracey, an LSA senior, said of these barn dances
that in effect, they are "date parties in disguise.
Of course, multitudes of students vastly prefe
modern dance to ballroom - believing ballroom
too regimented, restrictive, and difficult.
These people tend to head to places like The
Dance Gallery on Third Street, which offers classes
in modern dance and ballet.
"No other dance form allows a person to express,
his or herself in this way," Maureen Suter, an LSA,
senior, said of the kind of modern dance moves,
taught at places like The Dance Gallery. "It's a.
great, beautiful way to express yourself"
Beautiful as these dances may be, many students'
never try to learn to salsa or Jitterbug, fearing th*
styles may be too difficult. To a novice, the idea of
throwing oneself into a new form of dance may
appear to be a daunting proposition, rife with possi-
bilities for embarrassing missteps.
Many experienced dancers find this to be an
unfortunate misconception. Suter made it clear that
learning these dances is something anybody can do.
"There are benefits of (dance) to people of dif-
ferent levels of ability,"she said. "There are a lotof
moves, but beginner's would appreciate them."
"Most (dance steps) aren't hard to learn at all'e
Tran said. "As long as you're wiling to give it a,
shot," she said, although she did warn that it,
"depend(s) on how much of a natural dancer you
are.
Students said Ann Arbor's now-bustling dance
scene offers a little something for everyone.
Just ask area dance fans like LSA senior Sea
Stachura:
"There is, I think, dance for everyone, Dance is
good that way."
UDANI JONES/DaLy
Jeff Hayes, a member of the band Solid Frog, peruses the selections at Tower Records on South
University Avenue. Area stores often stay open past midnight on Tuesdays to sell new releases,
February.,
What would possess a person to travel to
their favorite record store and purchase a
release at midnight instead of waiting until
the next day'?
Matt Bolles, a student at Eastern
Michigan University, went to Tower
Records last Monday night to purchase the
new Silverchair disc, "Neon Ballroom.-
"I want to be the first one to get it,"
Bolles said.
Latrelle Eldridge, an Engineering senior.,
went to Tower to buy Black Moon's release
"Warzone." lie said he decided to get the
disc that night, "Lust to be the first to get it
and make sure I have it before it gets sold
out," Eldridge said.
It's all about getting the goods before
anyone else does and depending on the
release, maybe about getting more bang for
your buck.
Cahlenberg said the store sometimes
offers free memorabilia for music fanatics.
"If it's a big release ... we may have free t-
shirts or posters ."
The late night music sales are "really
something for the fans," Cahlenburg said.
Without youthful and avid interest in
music, lie added. the store wouldn't be as
exciting on Monday nights.
Cult films, 'Friction' part of indie rentals' charm
By Cortney Dueweke
Daily Arts Writer
It's late on a Sunday night, and
you've got a major paper due in your 8
a.m. lecture the next day. You're seat-
ed at your desk, books and papers,
scattered before you, a pen resting
thoughtfully between your lips. The
document on your computer is bare -
save for your name, date, course
name, section number and whatever
else you could think of to take up as
much space as possible.
Suddenly, your roommate says,
"Hey, want to watch a movie?"
This is the kiss of death, for once
the seed is planted, there's no going
back. Though the two conflicting
actions wrestle in your head, your
beanpole English teacher is no match
for Brad Pitt or Cameron Diaz.
Soon, you find yourself abandoning
your unwritten paper and strolling the
streets of Ann Arbor seeking a suitable
place to rent a movie.
Since laziness is what inspired you
to ditch your homework in the first
place, where you live is most likely the
main factor influencing where you'll
rent your 120 minutes of essay-free
entertainment. You're probably not
going to take a 30-minute hike across
campus just for a better selection
unless you're really itching to see a
particularly obscure film.
This excludes those lucky students
with cars, of course. For those living
in the northeast area of campus - the
Hill and surrounding areas - you're
screwed; you're going to have a
marathon walk no matter where you
want to go. For everyone living closer
to civilization, there are more options.
Nestled between Dollar Bill Copying
and Amer's at 611 Church St.,
Campus Video has more than 3,000
videos packed into a store the size of a
Mary Markley Residence Hall room.
Manager Sam Hyde said the store
recently expanded its film collection,
adding more titles to the cult and adult
sections. "I answer to no one," he said.
"We have an unrestricted selection,
and we don't censor ourselves. We
have obscure cult films, X-rated films
and NC-17 films.:
New releases cost $3, all others are
S2, and a credit card is required in
order to open up an account, though
there is no charge for doing so.
The most interesting title of the
bunch? "There's a porn here called
'Pump Friction,"' Hyde said. Might be
worth checking out.
Moving across campus, the next
option, Study Break Video, can be
found in the basement of the Michigan
Union. The store, which doubles as an
arcade, feels cramped and always full
of video game enthusiasts -- with a
few movies thrown in for good mea-
sure.
Employee Andrea Bell estimated
the stash to equal about 200 videos.
Though Study Break's selection may
pale in comparison to other stores, it
has its perks. A credit card is not
required to rent a movie there.
Students can leave their license or M-
Card as collateral and retrieve it when
they return the video. All movies are
S3; for multiple rentals, the second
video is S2 and the third is SL.
Bell agreed with Hyde - the best
part about being independent was not
having to answer to anyone else.
Unfortunately, the most interesting
titles Bell had to report were a string
of Monty Python films.
Liberty Street Video, located at 119
E. Liberty St. on the northwest out-
skirts of campus, consists of two
floors of well-organized and well-
labeled videos. Sadly enough, there is
no Chuck E. Cheese atmosphere here,
but there is room to breathe, which is
even better.
Owner Laura Abraham said the,
store boasts a selection of about
DANO'DONNEu Daily
These two Ann Arbor residents, who called themselves "Bug" and "Spitty," see n
pleased with the selections at Liberty Street Video.
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12,000 titles.
"Our emphasis is on international,
cult videos, gay and lesbian videos -
we're very diverse and have pretty
much everything," said assistant man-
ager and University alum Dan
Castorena.
"I don't have to worry about anyone
telling me what movies I can and can't
buy," said Abraham. "We would never
buy a cut version of any movie."
She also pointed out the negatives,
such as not receiving the deals when
purchasing videos - a treat from which
chains stores benefit.
A credit card is not necessary to
rent from Liberty, but a driver's
license and another piece of identifi-
cation are. Rentals are $2.88, with a 2-
for-I deal on Mondays and
Wednesdays. There is also a wall of 96
cent movies, and they honor competi-
tor's coupons. The most interesting
title?'"Even Hitler Had a Girlfr
in the cult section," Castorena sai.
A small base of competition for
these independent stores lies within
the residence hall libraries. Here,
videos can be rented for free without
requiring students to change oqt of
their pajamas and bunny slipper All
three stores expressed little conce at
business lost to the dorm libraries;'due
to the very poor selection,
"We have a lot of stuff they don't
have," Castorena said. "We don't It
particularly intimidated."
LSA junior Meghan Gonyo also
stuck up for the little guys. "I'd much
rather rent from an independent store,
because the staff knows more about
film, and it is a more quaint, persOnal
environment."
It is doubtful that Blockbuster'car-
rics any copies of "Pump Friction," at
any rate.
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