Inside .. Check out the record reviews, movie preview and more. Ib % LidTgan EaiIg Monday 1 dune 12,1995 5.O Get oriented with Ann Arbor's entertainment ,.,,.- By Ted Watts Daily Arts Writer Say, for argument's sake, that you are new to Ann Arbor. For instance, an orientee. Continue along this line of reasoning and you'll discover you want to ditch Orientation for some entertainment - related activity. Then the question must be asked: what is there to do in Ann Arbor instead of seeing the Chem Building? Fortunately for you, there's a large number of en- tertainment industry outlets in Ann Arbor. Let's start with the record stores. Working from east to west (con- sult your Orientation maps), we start with Tower Records. It's a corporate stronghold full of all types of CDs, tapes, magazines, video games and video tapes. Next is Wherehouse Records, another corporate entity, and it contains tapes, CDs and videos. Both Tower and Wherehouse are on South University. Further west, on State Street, are Wazoo, State Discount and Discount Records. Wazoo has a massive assortment of used (and thus cheaper) music, Discount has some harder to find music, and State Discount has CDs for when you just need to get some U - M paraphemalia, Cheetos and music in one stop. And even further west, on East Lib- erty, are Schoolkids and Encore. Schoolkids is divided into three sections: a general store, a classical store and the Annex, which is an "alternative" branch. Encore is a used store that has an extensive inventory of classi- cal music as well as rock. There are other record stores around, but these are the largest and easiest to find for someone with limited time. Next up: Movie theaters. The two primary cam- pus accessible theaters are the Michigan Theatre and the State Theatre. The State, on State Street, is a smallish theater with two screens that show both current films and popular cult pies. (As of this writ- ing, "Pulp Fiction" is still playing more than half-a- year after its release.) The Michigan, on East Lib- erty, is a larger, lusher throwback to the days of grand movie palaces. The viewing fare ranges more towards artistic works, although there are occasion- ally popular films there as well. Between the three screens of the two theaters, there's likely something showing that's more worthwhile than the orienta- tion dance. Speaking of dancing, there are several places you can do that as well. If you're into dance music,the Nec- tarine on E. Liberty is your best bet. If you're more into live bands, you can generally slam away (no matter how inappropriate that may be for a given band) at Rick's on Church Street. The only catch is you need to be old enough to get in: Tuesdays 18 and up, 19 and up the rest of the time. Good luck. Bookstores are also extremely plentiful in Ann Arbor, and only an extremely limited rundown fol- lows. Big on the map, in both space and selection, is Border's, on East Liberty. It's two stories of tree leavings and ink of the finest caliber. As an added RECRD Duran Duran Thanzk You Capitol Records OK, this album has been slagged enough al- ready. It's time for a good review of Duran Duran's cover album, "Thank You," to brighten your day. Oh, the record isn't good - don't get me wrong - but it sure is fun. Oh boy! Duran Duran, the not-so-new wave group that stirred Casey Kasem to name them the number one band of the second British invasion, roused belea- guered and awed curiosity when they announced a few months back that their new album would be a cover album which would include Public Enemy, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan among other oddities. When the album was finally released last month, shrieks of troubled laughter and stunned ridicule descended from Mount Critic. But, though laughter can be substantiated for any rich, white and English band that dares to do a cover of Public Enemy's "911 Is a Joke," ridicule is difficult to back up be- cause "Thank You" is so bad, Duran Duran must have temporarily left its brain in England while the group traveled around the world to record this al- bum. It's a joke ... or is it? Again, "Thank You" is horrible ... and wonder- ful. No one should have been expecting accurate versions from a band with limited musical distinc- tion, limited energy and limited vocal range in singer Simon Le Bon. But, somehow on some tracks, Duran Duran supports, never really improv- ing upon, the original. The first single, Grandmas- ter Flash's "White Lines," for example, is an exhila- rating blast of ear candy perhaps due to the cameo of Grandmaster and the Furious Five. Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" is an honest version, as Duran Duran melds the song into the group's own overproduced soft-rock vision. Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" is surprisingly accurate and touch- ingly rendered, while the Doors' "Crystal Ships" flows smoothly as Le Bon doesn't attempt a Jim Morrison imitation, which could have resulted in apocalyptic disaster. Others like Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" and Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives" are tame and uninspiring, while a few like "911 Is a Joke" and Sly and the Family Stone's "I Wanna Take You Higher" are truly dreadful as Le Bon attempts to funkily mutter on the former and actually sing on ' the latter. Both fail. "Thank You" is neither horrible nor wonderful. It is an overproduced concoction with a few good surprises and a few flatulent pitfalls - one of those CDs that is kept on your shelf collecting dust just so your friends can have a good chuckle when they look at your collection. A party album for the ages and a future entry into worst-ever record lists - both which are shocking from a lackluster band ten years past its prime. -Matt Carlson Eric's Trip Forever Again Sub Pop Unlike many indie bands, who feel compelled to bury their melodic and pop sensibilities under layers of distortion and poor recordings, Eric's Trip are a band with beautiful songs. And they're proud of it. Even though "Forever Again" is an extremely lo-fi record, even when the band's voices crack and the srompboxes are on full tilt, the poetically simple and beautiful melodies shine through. The homemade, rainy-day quality of the record only adds to the beauty of songs like "December 93," "All Day," "Cloudy," "New Love" and "My Chest is Empty." At 19 songs long, "Forever Again" seems to last an eternity. But with a sound this mesmerizing, time would stand still anyway. - Heather Phares S. REcons, PsG. 14 College rock icons Pavement wish to welcome you to the University. bonus on the second floor is the music/multimedia somewhere between that of Border's and of department, full of CDs, videos and computer Dave's. Look around and you shouldbe able to find games. On the corner of East William and State is them in plenty. Dave's Comics. After ascending a slightly hidden There's quite obviously a lot of stuff to do irx stairwell, you can find a vast assortment of literate Ann Arbor that's better than what the University has comic books as well as the standard superhero fare. planned for you. Wander around by yourself. Might They've even got some cool toys. A large number as well orient yourself to some of the things you ac- of stores in the area have atmospheres that fall tually want to do while in college. Hey Parents Don't Lose Touch With Your Loved Ones Send Them Off With The Means To Call Home, With The Gift Of A Prepaid Calling Card. 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