EANNIE BREWER AT BORDERS
Jeannie Brewer will be at Borders on Tuesday,
at 7:30 p.m., to read portions of her new novel,
"A Crack in Forever." Brewer, a physician in the
Los Angeles area, wrote about a heterosexual
couple who faces the issue of AIDS.

ARTS

Wednesday A 9


HBO's Def Comedy Jam
mixes it up in Motown,
rockthe house
By Eugene Bowen
Daily Arts Writer Magic Johnson.
"My hat's off to the Lakers for
Russell Simmons' Def Comedy playing ball with Magic," Jay said. "If
Jam represents the cornerstone of I was on the team and he tried to
popular black comedy, and in its make a pass to me, it would be like a
time has introduced to the world, bet- game of dodgeball."
ter than any other The "high-
show to date, the REVIEW yella" Pierre gave
unique flavor of Q Russel Simmons'All- his usual com-
black stand-upS Comedy Jam plaint about how
Yet the closest August 10, 1996 " i g h t- s k i n n e d
many of us ever **** (out of five) brothas ain't in
get to experienc- At the Fox Theater style no more. But
ing the hype is that's all right,
tuning in to cable television's Home 'cause we ruled the '80s. But then
Box Office (HBO) network where Wesley Snipes came out and [messed
Def Comedy Jam airs weekly. us] up."
However, last Saturday, the All-Star However, it was the final per-
Def Comedy Jam came to the Motor former who turned the Fox Theater
City, complete with the ever present out. Ms. Sheryl Underwood got on
DJ Kid Capri, and with a few excep- stage and started preaching the
tions, rocked the gospel. Her hard line
house like it is sup- on blacks, whites and
posed to do. their relations in soci-
The emcee for the ety sparked a great deal
night was the middle- of thought, while earn-
aged Jay. Well known ing for her some much-
for his "O.J. Song" deserved laughter and
and his use of either cheering.
the microphone cord She let her stance on
or stand as a prop at many things be known
least once in every right away. "Like O.J, I
performance, Jay was ain't saying that he
his usual crazy self, killed her or didn't, but
Dressed in dark blueJ mceed at heJam. I know he was
slacks, a bright yellow involved. And did you
sport coat and a rainbow-striped tie see how her family was in court cry-
he did everything from Gregorian- ing? Now they know they wrong,
chant versions of songs from Luther 'cause they knew he was kicking
Campbell, AMG and Bell Biv Devoe that ass, and they weren't doing
to attacks on his least favorite player nothing then.
in the NBA, HIV-positive legend "And white people getting mad at

Comedian Sheryl Underwood brought her
brand of comedy to the show.
us asking how we could cheer for
O.J. Simpson. We weren't cheering
for O.J.; we was cheering for
Johnnie Cochran, that nigga we
cared about."
One of the best things about
Underwood's act is her ability to take
the high-powered microscope under
which African Americans have been
unfairly scrutinized by white
America and turn it around. She puts
herself in whites' shoes and lets them
feel the heat, hoping it'll open a few
eyes.
"Wanna know why I carry my purse
on stage? 'Cause white people be
stealin.' Anybody who'll take land from
the Indians will definitely take two or
three dollars from my purse. So when
I'm in the elevator with a bunch of

'Going Down' initially
intrigin but ends in failure
By James Wilson
Daily Arts Writer The anecdotes and chapters are all quite
short, generally refusing to wallow if
"Going Down" is the story of a the novelty of any one situation.
young woman wishing to be an actor, As such mild praise implies, this is a
struggling to attend NYU and financ- dismal failure of a novel. The heroine is
ing it all as a call girl. The novel follows incredibly undeveloped and incoherent,
Bennington Bloom through a rambling yet she is the most intricate of all the
series of somewhat characters. The rest
promising misad- F EvIEW are stiff gimmicks,
ventures that quick-R. so tritely and
ly lead to nowhere. Going Down incompletely char-
She starts as a high- By Jennifer Belle acterized that it is
Riverhead Books
class call-girl, then * tout of five) difficult to imagine
gradually slips them as anythi
down a slope to less but the product o
prestigious work. As she gets sucked in one episodic situation.
further, her prostitution begins to inter- "Gimmick" is the most apt way to
fere, unhappily, with her normal, other describe Belle's work. Every character
life. Filled with numerous subplots, is a superficial mannequin put on
Belle makes a fair attempt at exposing "stage" to make some contrived joke or
the entirety of her character's life, rather another, generally at the expense of any
than simply focusing on the tabloid- sense of realism developed earlier. And
esque professional sex. never, not even once, is the humor of
The premise of this, Belle's first Belle's characters worth the absolut
novel, is at least mildly intriguing, and shattering of her attempted fiction
as the story develops, it is rarely dull. See DOWN, Page 12
_:



III

This is the last publication for the
summer semester.
The Fall Edition of The Michigan Daily will be published
daily beginning Wednesday, Sept. 4.M
Don't forget to check out the New Student Edition, in
newstands on the first day of classes,
Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Thank you for a great summer


white people, I get in the corner and
pray, 'Oh Lawd, just let me make it to
my car okay.'
"Now I'm not saying don't have
interracial relationships. I'm just say-
ing if you're gonna, get the best you
can. 'Cause if I get with a white guy
it's gonna be a Steven Segal or a Jean Stabbing Westward to open for Pistole
Claude Van Damme. I ain't gonna
disrespect my black kings by bringing Normally, the opening bands at concerts sound like the main act. Well, this Frid
home a Woody Allen at Cobo Arena in Detroit, the headliner is the Sex Pistols and the opening bands bear
's ts all about what wvhite people virtually no resemblance to the Pistols at all. The Queen-saver only knows what
t doing either, black people' she Johnny Rotten and company are going to sound like, but no one can help but rec-
ognize openers Stabbing Westward.
warned. "We [make mistakes] our With its omnipresent single "What Do I Have to Do" filling the air with that pop-
See COMEDY, Page 12 Industrial the kids seem to like so much, their career is apparently worthy of being
included on the Filthy Lucre tour.
The popularity the band has earned
with their second album "Wither,
Blister, Burn + Peel" will probably help
NIEW ON TAP soothe you youngens who are going on
the basis of the Sex Pistols' narng
recognition alone. Also on the bill aW
Le e A leGravity Kills, who sound kinda like
* *A lStabbing Westward. You've gotta won-
der what Sid would think. Call 313-953-
3300 for more information.
From Belgium t
Come to a Daily Mass
at Meeting this fall
Michigan's September 3, 11, 17, 19
7.30 p.m.at *
Pe eF =420 Maynard
Multi-topOCall 76-DAILY for info
338 S. State Shreet 996-9191