..:.

No, not Charles Monroe...
16s Marilyn Manson, silly! This "goth
rock" combo will bring their creepy
atmospherics and thought-provoking
lyrics to Detroit's State Theatre tonight.
michigandaily.com /arts

LRTS

WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 29, 2000


In His
Life': John
Lennon
By Jacquelene Smith
Daily Arts Writer
Without argument,-John Lennon iS
one of 'the greatest musicians this
world has even known. What added
to his greatness was that he redefined
what it meant to be a rock and roll
star. It wasn't until after his death

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Daily Arts jumps on the list bandwagon
with the ten best songs to rock out to...

Courtesy or John Lenon
Ru re ' enn: s urthr immortalization in the NBC docudrama "In His Life."

In His Life: The
Lennon Story
NBC
Sunday at 9 p.m.
'0 i

that the world
appreciated how
he also helped
to redefine our
convictions.
While he was far
from being the
perfect human
being (If you
know anything
about Beatle his-
tory, John was
the "cheeky"
one always get-
ting into
trouble) there is

certainly a sort of sanctity in his name
and legacy. Perhaps it was inevitable
that a television network would want
to put his life story on your screen
at home. This is what NBC has done
with "In His Life: The John Lennon
Story."
The problem with such an under-
taking is all the inherent difficulties
and stereotypes that inevitably
accompany this sort of creative
endeavor. First of all, one must
consider that however truth ful one
remains to the story; the overwhelm-
ing urge to dramatize the individu-
al's life is always there. The nasty
result is what we witness with the
recreations of Joan Rivers' life for
example. Disgusting and ridiculous.
On the other hand, it could end up
like the Jimmy Stuart movies "The
Spirit of St. Louis" and "The Glenn
Miller Story." But let's not get car-
ried away.
The second thing to consider is in
what way should this dramatization
be created. A&E is very successful
in their documentary format. But the

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Lennon's first guitar at a Hard Rock
Cafe event. The segways don't con-
nect with each other. This explains
the reliance on the intertitles. In the
end, it's not clear what this dramatic
recreation is meant to be. Perhaps
that's why the term "docu-drama"
was invented.
While the actors chosen for the
respective parts bear sufficient resem-
blances to the fab four, this is hardly
a talent. We may compliment them
on their accents, but again, this is
hardly difficult for an actor who is
already British. What is so blatantly
missing from the movie is decent
acting. Phillip McQuillan as Lennon
seems so preoccupied with maintain-
ing the surface qualities that there is
little depth to his character. What's
more, this docu-drama assumes the
position that Lennon's life really
began when he started performing.
Perhaps the writers at NBC felt that
his life before age 17 wasn't interest-
ing enough to recreate.
Ultimately, what the viewer must
decide is whether to watch this movie
as entertainment or purely for edti-
cational reasons. Did you go to
"Titanic" to find out what happens to
the ship? Do you watch "The John
Lennon Story" to find out what hap-
pened to him? No. You want to see
the journey, the progression of the
individual. This puts the responsibil-
ity on McQuillan's shoulders who is,
in the end, not quite up to the task.
Bottom line: Ifyou were taking The
Beatles 101, this would be the movie
the professor would show when it
came time to study the chapter of
John. Don't look for any Emmy-qual-
ity acting.

By Chris Kula
and Christian Hoard
Daily Arts Writers
To rock out, one must be must be so moved by the sounds
of rock 'n' roll that one's body begins to physically emulate the
instruments of destruction that created said music. One begins
power strumming and/or shredding electric guitars, pounding out
furious air drum fills or, in the most extreme of cases, miming
steady bass lines.
In choosing the 10 best songs to rock out to, our criteria were
fairly simplistic: If it gets inside you like an evil spirit and forces
you to thrash about, y'best believe it's rocking out.
10) "Cum on Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot When vocalist
Kevin DuBrow kicks off the song with the larynx-quivering invi-
tation to "Cum on feel the noize/Girls, rock your boys," you have
to wonder just how wild this 1983 single will get. Luckily, the
band answers for you: "Wild, wild, wild ... wild, wild, wild."
Folks, that's 6x wild.
9) "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen The Who created "rock
operas," but Freddie Mercury and Co. wrote a rock tune that
incorporated an honest-to-goodness mini-opera. While the a cap-
pella portion of the song makes for a rousing sing-along, it's the
bombastic rock section that set the heads of Wayne and Garth
a-bangin'. Plus, you have to admire that a band fronted by a flam-
boyantly gay man could send stadium crowds into frothing fren-
zies.
8) "One" by Metallica We're not sure what's more ferocious:
Drummer Lars Ulrich's attack on the double-bass kit, guitarist
Kirk Hammett's searing guitar leads or the fluny of headbang-
ing that ends the "One" music video (which, rumor has it, fea-
tures clips of a stately Jason Robards from the World War I film
"Johnny Got His Gun").
7) "Training Sequence" from "Rocky IV" A darkhorse can-
didate that inspired us at the I1I1th hour, this tune - which pro-
vided the driving, pre-industrial soundtrack to the famed "Rocky
IV" training sequence in which the Italian Stallion prepared for
his bout with Ivan "The Siberian Express" Drago by lifting rocks
and dragging a besledded Burt Young- is the brainchild of'80s
composer great Vince DiCola. Its official title lost in time, this
tune's known as "The Training Sequence" to all aspiring pugi-
lists.
6) "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC "Well
the walls were shakin'/The earth was quakin'/My mind was
achin'/We were makin it" - this one explains itself
5) "Panama" by Van Halen How could you compile a list of
the top rockin' out songs without including at least one selection
from the brothers Van Halen? With a catalogue chock full of tunes
capable of pumping you up before the big cross country meet, it's
tough pick just one. But we settled on "Panama," a song about
... well, we're not really sure, but it's safe to say that even under
Manuel Noreaga, the real Panama never rocked this hard.
4) tie: "Whole Lotta Love" and "Black Dog" by Led Zep-
pelin This one was too close to call. Voters found the cover art to

I


: ;

Courtesy of Efekt
AC/DC charted two songs on the countdown. Angus deserves a cooki
Zeppelin IV confusing, and it's believed that a number of bal
were actually cast for "When the Levee Breaks." Robert Pla
has demanded a recount, and things were further complicate
when Jimmy Page, who had assumed recount duties, vomited o
a number of ballots and subsequently passed out.
3) "Paradise City" by Guns'n Roses The cannon-like drum
beat says, "On your mark," Axl Rose's cigarettes 'n' whisky ras
says, "Get set" and the whistle - the whistle! - lets you kno
it's time to rock out. And the band does just that. Back in the da
before the pretentious artiness of the Use Your Illusion duology,
'n R was more concerned with the simple pleasures of rock
like green grass and pretty girls. And Duff McKagan's melodi
bass lines.
2) "Back in Black" by AC/DC "Dunh ... duh nuh nu
... duh nuh nunh ..." and then Angus comes in, filling out wh
is quite possibly the baddest rock riff of all times. We wanted t
spell out that distinctive lead line, too, but you'd have to be flue
in Ojibwa to actually be able to read it. You may never don th
knickers, and you may never master Angus' patented on-stag
stutter-step, but for those about to rock, this is pretty much all yo
need.
1) "Baba O'Reilly" by the Who The great thing about thi
songis that, while rocking out to it, you can imitate any of the
band members: Pete Townsend for his windwill guitar move
Roger Daltrey for his trademark mic twirls, Keith Moon for hi
schizoid, ape-man druming and John Entwistle for his as-close
to-superbad-as-a-white-man-can-get bass playing. "They're al
wasted!" And you will be, too, following the Middle Eastern
inspired synthesizer romp at the end. Incendiary.

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