THE ART OF ACTING BORED
AND SUPERIOR HOW-TO PAGE 3B.
Q&A AND IPOD PLAYLIST FROM ALUM AND GAWKER EDITOR JESSICA COEN. PAGE 6B.
B
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5,12006
Singlizg
out the
best
Ever since RCA Victor
introduced the 45 RPM
record in 1949, millions
of singles have been released
on the for-
mat. One
stands
above
them all:
Motown,
M1157.
I've
repeated
these
words
dozens
of times LLOYD H.
since I CARGO
stumbled
across a $.59 copy at a hole in
the wall record store in Phila-
delphia - "Close your eyes,
I'm about to put on the greatest
single of all time."
You have to start with the B-
side. Drop the needle and the
first thing you hear is a few
measures of Rhodes electric
piano before Michael Jackson
starts in with "When I had you
I treated you bad and wrong my
dear ..." with a startling passion
that belies his age - he was
only 11 years old.
The year is 1969, the song
is Smokey Robinson's "Who's
Lovin' You" and the group is
the Jackson Five. In my opinion,
it's quite possibly the greatest b-
side of all time - and it is cer-
tainly the most heart-stopping,
jaw-dropping, remarkable per-
formance from a pre-teen that
ever has been or will be. It's not
hard to see how Michael could
burn out the way he did when he
was absolutely slaying people
before he even reached puberty.
"Who's Lovin' You" is fairly
simple slow-burning blues bal-
lad, but production crew The
CorporationTM (Berry Gordy,
Freddie Perren, Deke Richards
and Alphonzo Mizell) makes the
most with its minimal elements.
The bass line is the foundation,
creating a rock-solid groove with
the drums while a guitar bathed
in tremolo strums the occasional
punctuating chord. Over all this
Michael coos and pleads with
incredibly mature melisma. He
drags out the phrases, "I-I-I-I-
I should have never, ever, ever
made you cry" and really drives
it home with raw emotion
An 11-year-old isn't supposed
to have pitch like that, range
like that. His "All I can do, all
I can do, since you been gone is
cry" can't possibly be from per-
sonal experience, but he sells it
with all his soul.
The ending is the best part,
my favorite 30 seconds of music
ever. The band keeps crawling
along at the same pace while
Michael's shouts become more
and more frantic. The last note
he hits - "who's lovin' you" -
is about an octave higher than
even Smokey Robinson himself
could hit, which is saying a hell
of lot. It never fails to give me
chills.
And that's the motherfucking
B-side.
Before people even have time
to gather their composure after
the needle lifts, I like to hit
See CARGO, page 2B
~LISJ
Oct. 6 to 8
0 A weekly guide to
who's where, what's
happening and
t why you should be
there. Arts editors
recommend this
week's best bets.
AACA
-($
Courtesy of Detroit Institute of Art, Annie Leibovi
Clockwise from BOTTOM LEFT: Blues legend R.L. Burnside with
family, Willie Nelson, Detroit's The White Stripes, Lucinda Wil-
liams and Po' Monkey's Lounge.
Famous rock photog-
rapher Annie Leibo-
vitz's photo exhibit at
the Detroit Institute of Art,
"American Music," running
through Jan. 7, is signifi-
cantly skewed by one of the
most important - and rarely
noticed by the uninformed
- aspects of art exhibition:
curation. Just as film critics
place sizeable weight on the
distinction between actors
and scripts, directing and
acting, so does an art exhibit
demand that viewers scru-
tinize the curator. Case in
point? "American Music."
On top of such a potential-
ly esoteric grievance is the
more accessible issue of legit-
imacy. Can one artist fully
capture "American" music?
Our culture is fraught with
cultural authenticity - we
are the "melting pot," after
all. But Americans can claim
with certainty a uniqueness
of musical expression. Just
as the French Impressionists
took this nation by storm,jazz
and blues music avalanched
through Europe. Extending
from that framework is the
issue of authenticity - is it
"American"? Is it "legit"? So
on and so forth. Whether fair
or not, Leibovitz's ."Ameri-
can Music" is loaded with
anticipation before you even
enter the museum, and the
simple, straightforward title
"American Music" belies the
significance of the exhibit.
The exhibit's title makes
no presuppositions and
leaves the viewer to found
his expectations on the actu-
al content. And the result
is surprising: "American
Music" is both a legitimate
See DIA, page 5B
i
IN THE STARS OUT & ABOUT
ON THE FLOOR
The new late-night "Umix" divi-
sion, part of the University's Union
Arts & Programs organization,
brings back instructors Tony Rojas
and Hilda Halabu for a night of salsa
dancing. Don't worry if you don't
know your left foot from your right
or have no previous experience -
there's an informal, basic instruction
session for an hour at 10 p.m. Open
dance follows from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Free admission.
Take your sweetie on an edu-
cational date that's bound to leave
him or her starry-eyed. The Student
Astronomical will be opening the
telescopes atop Angell Hall Friday
night to University students as well
as the rest of the public; they will
also offer free planetarium shows.
The Student Astronomical Society
Open House will be held on Fri-
day Oct. 6 from 9p.m. to 11 p.m. in
Angell Hall.
The Office of Lesbian Gay Bisex-
ual & Transgender affairs will be
"celebrating our identities as Michi-
gan Wolverines and as LGBT people
... and empowering others to do the
same" with a tailgate before the big
Michigan/Michigan State football
game. There will be free food, infor-
mation, resources, lawn games and
a dance tent. The Rainbow Tailgate
is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this football
Saturday.
IN CONCERT
Ann Arborites Nomo have toured
here, there and everywhere in sup-
port of their 2006 album New Tones,
a release described by their respect-
ed record label Ubiquity as "a full-
color, spiritual soundscape that
marries the exotic with the gritty." If
you haven't seen this soulful, musi-
cal amalgam yet, here's your chance.
Nomo rocks the Blind Pig on Friday,
Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. Cover is $11, or $8
for those older than 21.
I