Orchestral I
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the
Dark-O.M.D.' (Virgin-
Epic)-Oceta Manoeuvres in the
Dark make every other band that plays
synthesizers sound narrow-minded.
They don't see why electronic music
need be just "moody" or "silly" or
"danceable" or "weird," when it seems
quite easy to them to combine all of
these qualities (and more) into one
sound.
For in the course of proving their
point, the two men who comprise
OMD-Paul Humphreys and Andy Mc-
Cluskey (with occasional help from
Malcolm Holmes on drums)-run
through music as pastorally poetic as
Eno, as industrially threatening as
Throbbing Gristle, as humorously
engaging as Kraftwerk or The Silicon
Teens, as single-mindedly danceable as
Visage, and as passionately compelling
as Joy Division.Now, roll all those soun-
ds into one, putthem behind a clear,
clever, lyrical melody, and you've got
one OMD song.
NEEDLESS TO say, their musical
vision is incredible. "Stanlow" seems
to be a good example of that. This tune
is introduced by coldly clunking
mechanical sounds that soon prove to
be perfect backing for a wistfully hear-
tfelt BALLAD. No kidding! Few bands
could conceive of a sentimental pop
song as strangely touching as
"Stanlow," and I'm sure only OMD
could realize it as beautifully as this.
Of course, the best example of their
Never
Rema in s
Silent
76+4-0558
Manoeuvres
The Michigan Daily-Friday, August 14, 1981-Page 11
Putting on 'Yellow
Wallpaper' at EMU
wryly danceable (and subtly humorous)
music is their dance club hit "Enola
Gay." You might well think "Enola
Gay" was only the quintessentially
symphonic electronic pop ballad that it
at first appears to be. Then you realize
that it's also a song about the bombing
of Hiroshima (the pilot named the plane
after his mother, Enola Gay) and all of
a sudden the words take on a whole new
level of meaning; it is no longer simply
a song about an individual's lost love
but also a tribute to humanity's lost in-
nocence.
"Enola Gay,
Is mother proud offlittle boy
today?
Aha, this kiss you give
It's never going to fade away. "
And OMD are always thinking on
several levels just like that. Just as
they play electronic music that utilizes
the full range of synthesizer sounds,
they also write songs that reflect the en-
tire range of human emotions. In both
ways, they are clearly a cut above most
of their peers (Gary Numan, Joy
Division, Ultravox, etc.) as well as
their descendants (Duran Duran,
Spandau Ballet, et al.).
OMD make writing simple pop songs
with great dance beats and state-of-the-
art electronics seem so easy that you
can't imagine why it seems so difficult
for everyone else.
-Mark Dighton
By GAIL NEGBAUR
Daily Arts Writer
The 19th century woman had even
fewer choices than today's woman if
being a housewife and mother was
just not enough. Charlotte Perkins
Gilman and her heroine in "The
Yellow Wallpaper" literally went
crazy due to this oppressive
situation. Although Gilman was able
to recover and write many books,
her character was not as lucky.
This story, though first published
in 1892, has become a strong political
statement few women of the 20th
Century. The piece challenges
women and American society itself
to reevaluate the confining roles
women are forced to fill.
JUDY CASSEDAY has recently
written a play based on "The Yellow
Wallpaper" which she will also
direct in performance as part of the
Ypsilanti Yesteryear Heritage
Festival.
Casseday, who works with the
mentally ill in Washtenaw County,
originally saw the play as a com-
ment on the treatment of the men-
tally insane. Soon, however, she saw
broader implications. "Looking at it
existentially, she (the main charac-
ter) chooses to go mad because this
is the only option she has left."
In the story, the young woman is
confined by a supposed illness to a
room in an old mansion. The walls
are covered with a yellow wallpaper
that slowly begins to drive her
crazy.
'... It is dull enough to con-
fuse the eye in following,
pronounced enough to constantly
irritate and provoke study, and
when you follow the lame uncer-
tain curves for a little distance
they suddenly commit
suicide-plunge off at
outrageous angles, destroy them-
selves in unheard of contradic-
tions. "
She tries to avoid the implications
the paper begins to take on for her
and be the kind of wife that her
husband wants her to be. But then
she begins to see a woman caught
behind the pattern. That woman,
like herself, cannot escape.
CASSEDAY USES three separate
actors to portray the heroine's split
personality. One is the obedient
wife, one the "imaginative side
demanding expression," and the
third the "mysterious woman
behind the wallpaper."
The way the trio of actresses will
share the stage and the costumes
they will wear will make it clear that
they are indeed all the same person.
The play will be performed in the
Laboratory Theater of the Quirk
Theater Building on the EMU cam-
pus in Ypsilanti. It will be performed
at 8 p.m. on August 28, 29, and 30. A
three dollar donation will be
requested.
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