Editorial opinion: First, iggest, best? McLaughlin proves true By JEFF WIDMER for The Collegian John McLaughlin will probably never replace Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman as the guitarist's guitarist the one who is copied because his music moves like jazz, not rock. Yet, he is a pioneer of sound and style, constantly searching to express something. His knifing solos and acid tone are so energetic that reviewers claim there is nothing between the technician and his spirit. He and his band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, are topical because their music on first listening is intense and shocking. It creates a tension in people accustomed to dance music and not jazz. The Mahavishnu Orchestra balances its forces on their newest album, Birds of Fire. In "Revelation," the poem, printed on the back cover, McLaughlin's spiritual guide Sri Chinmoy writes, "My soul is a Bird of Fire winging the In finite." to the editor The Collegian THROUGHOUT AMERICAN history there has been an ob session with being first or fastest, of being biggest and therefore being "best." History books are filled with "firsts," and many of these firsts led to important developments for use by mankind. Those books also are filled with lists of "biggests" and very often, those develop ments didn't do nearly as much good for the planet as they did for the American ego. Of all the inventions so im portant to the American life, perhaps the automobile best signifies the American attraction to firsts, fastests and fatests. THERE WAS A TIME when the auto meant greater efficiency in working, greater production, greater ease in transportation. The emphasis in America was mainly on practicality after Henry Ford built a common man's automobile. But even Henry was not satisfied completely with the Model T. Henry's dream was an inexpensive V-8. It was bigger and faster, and it was so much sportier. Status for a man without much money was something to be proud of. If Ford hadn't developed a mass production V-8, someone else would have. From there, it all spiralled. Cars got bigger, engines got bigger, roads got bigger, and During the title cut, McLaughlin's guitar sears and jerks in its flight. But after this track, he stops topping the other instruments and works with them to build a motion - more interesting than improvisation. The second track, "Miles Beyond," begins with the familiar sound of an electric piano. The guitar and violin enter together, McLaughlin playing slightly distorted chords, and Goodman bowing very low notes. Add bass and Billy Cobham's rapid drumming, and the song has the dazzle of a Buddy Rich number. "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" continues the spiritual theme. The song is five-beat truncated measures, giving an urgency to the rhythm. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" is 21 seconds of sound similar to the take off on Paul Kantner's Starship LP. For "Thousand Island Dream," the band balances the previous blistering material with a calm acoustic guitar, violin, piano and bass. The violin melody rushes, then slows, curving expected chords to the unexpected. Letters everything kept moving faster Typically American. Advertisements for American automobiles still bank on the people's desire for something unique. The car with the biggest engine, the fastest acceleration, the most overall power or the most legroom still attract buyers. WHAT IT ALL RESULTS in is 14 miles per gallon. Or maybe 12. Or even 10. Pollution devices might have cleaned up the air, but they have made an already unhealthy fuel consumption problem even worse. Certainly, American cars have not created the fuel shortage. But they're not helping it, either. The automotive monsters turned out by Detroit's Big Four are obsolete. Even if pollution devices are improved to the point where previous fuel consumption levels by cars are regained, they too are not designed to prolong the use of petroleum as a motoring fuel. Foreign automakers con sistently have built basic trans portation cars with practicality in mind. "Sexy" curves and flashy trim have been secondary to function. In America, it was always the biggest that was the best. IN RELATING POWER and size and roominess, think big, America. Start thinking small. "Hope ends the first side with strong bass and guitar lines climbing over a repeated violin and harpsichord motif. The distorted guitar sounds sinister, a paradoy of a song of hope. Side two sounds like a separate album. "One Word" is jazz in its accents, rock in its powerful and angry guitar. In "Sanctuary," guitar and-violin play in unison to create a mysterious, floating sound. The song, in a minor mode, surprisingly ends on a major chord which anticipates the next song. The band lightens the dark jazz tex tures with "Open Country Joy," a pleasant, familiar chord progression in four beats with a country fiddle bowing the melody. The song dissolves into a typical McLaughlin interpolation guitar and violin streaking down the scale in bursts of triplets. The song suddenly returns to the joyous country melody, preparing us for the album's final push. Birds of Fire builds towards its conclusion. The bass begins the last track, "Resolution," by pulsing on one Watch those transcripts TO THE EDITOR: On Jan. 27, I requested the transcripts office at Shields to send transcripts to various graduate schools. I paid for the transcripts at that time. Several days later, I received a letter stating my transcripts could not be sent because Blue Cross had not paid a bill for me at Ritenour. I immediately went to Shields and paid the bill personally. I was informed then that my transcripts would be sent out the next day. On Feb. 27, I received a letter from the University of Illinois stating my transcripts had not been received and that they were very sorry they could not offer me an assistantship without them. They also informed me assistantships for the midyear were extremely difficult to get. One day later, I went to Shields and found that the bursar had sent a release for my transcripts on Feb. 1, but the tran scripts office insisted the failure to send my transcripts was not their fault. I insisted that the transcripts office send a letter of apology to the graduate schools along with my transcripts. At first, the office was opposed to doing this, but after ten minutes, they I am writing this letter to suggest the transcripts office make it a policy to notify the students when their transcripts have been sent. If they do this, any student can notify the office to rectify the situation if his transcripts have not been sent within a certain period of time, and can avoid losing assistantships, jobs or admission to other schools. I further suggest the transcripts office make it a policy to send a letter of apology with delayed transcripts. If they do this, whoever receives the transcript will know the student involved was not at fault. Should the transcripts office decline to adopt such a policy, I strongly recommend that every student who has requested transcripts from the University check with the office to make sure his transcripts have been sent. If there has been an unaccountable delay, the student should request the transcript office to send letters of apology with his transcripts. The one true God TO THE EDITOR: Over the past few days I have been slightly amused—if not perplexed—over the latest quibblings and arguments among Christians and Jews over this Johnny-come lately god of theirs. We all know there is only one true God—Dionysus. For it is written that as Dionysus wedded sleeping Ariadne on the isle of Naxos, so shall we, the true believers in Him, have everlasting life, while you unbelievers shall be punished. So, during our sacred time of the year, as we initiate those into our group at the Spring Bacchic Celebration of the Dionysiac Mysteries, please keep the noise down. Dionysus conservat, Asclepius in servifutem ducitl `Richard T. Burk [sth-sociology] Libation Director The New Reformed Church of the infinite Frisbee Bacchic Rite In Israeli minds TO THE EDITOR: In response to Sharlf Ghalib's letter of March 5 and to those who think like him, I'd like to say that if people do not understand the reasons for an action, they should not criticize it until they have the facts. I do not support the shooting of a passenger plane by the 'One giant leap for mankind' Time and again, history has shown mankind the relation between challenging a frontier and advancing civilization. The voyages of Columbus and his comrades coincided not surprisingly with the beginning of the Renaissance. The breakthroughs in medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries led to a longer average lifetime and to a healthier society today. America matured and advanced as it expanded westward, and the same was true for world culture as it challenged the skies with the airplane. The exploration of space will be no different. Whether or not the space effort is "relevant" to social problems should not really be the question. No one pretends a walk on the moon can pull Appalachia out of poverty. We do know space exploration will be useful in eradicating pollution, studying the earth and its processes, and predicting what resources will be available in the future. Science is important to the well-being of the people, and the influence of spat eflight on science has been uni ginable. `The space program has been a fan tastic success. Few tax dollars have been better spent.- In fact, the space budget is less than that of any other national agency. Therefore, it seems amazing that American voices are still raised in protest of what is really an investment in the future of the world. Apollo and Mariner and Nimbus and Viking have been the spearhead of world pioneer pitch. Guitarand violin scale up, hold, regress and climb higher, repeating the pattern. • The song peaks, with them holding on a dissonant chord, then fades with a snare roll that sounds like bird wings flapping. Birds of Fire drives toward breaking up, but balances those areas with calm and familiar passages. McLaughlin, as the composer of all the group's material, is modifying his harsh music. His spirit may be evolving toward tonality after a steady diet of dissonance, but his energy has not slackened. The songs on Birds of Fire are not unified by a recurring motif, yet hold together because of something more than McLaughlin's style. There is a feeling of movement toward the final track, but the resolution given us is not firm. Like the final and thematically summary song on Santana's Caravan serai, "Resolution" propels us back into the album, implying the quest is not finished yet. equals freedom in the dorms. That seems to depend on whose freedom you mean. What of the freedom of students (apparently in a minority) who do not appreciate the behavior of the wilder denizens of the ecosystem? University dorms have very high ratios of students-cubic feet, students-bathroom and especially in the newer ones of students-thickness of wall. Freedom of the sort The Collegian apparently advocates leads to jungle conditions. Why should the dorms be operated solely according to the standards of the least civilized inhabitants, even if they are in the majority? During the last few years, I have had many students com plain to me about conditions in the dormitories, especially with reference to the impact on their academic work. TO THE EDITOR: We .really do not feel we should bother Some have moved to apartments. Others have dropped out dignifying your newspaper with a response to your coverage of temporarily or permanently because their parents couldn't or w the March 1 Student-Worker Day program, but a brief comment ouldn't pay for apartments, and the students couldn't take may be in order. dorm life under present conditions. Your first article before the event was encouraging, but the The most recent of these has written to me in part as follows, in response to my request for an explanation of his coverage of the day itself and the follow up "article" was, at best, inaccurate. withdrawal: The program was quite successful and the interaction "In my dorm, I think most of the guys were in... because between students and workers was plainly evident and they never did study. They constantly smoked and took drugs. They also ruined the bathrooms every weekend from drinking gratifying to all participants. The informal workshops were dynamic and instructive, well attended by both students and excessively, and they made noise or played their stereos at full workers, and by interested members of the University and volume until two or three every morning. There is no respect community. here for others in the dorm. The people in my dorm behaved We regret that David Selden, president of the American like animals, not people." Federation of Teachers, could not participate as our main I wonder whether more, not less, control of behavior in the speaker Thursday night, but John Stagg, education director of dorms is necessary to protect the more gentle inhabitants? the Graphic Arts International Union, filled in admirably as a Should these gentlefolk band together as GOPS? substitute. Alfred Traverse To say Student-Worker Day :tame to an abrupt end" Professor of geology and biology because of Selden's absence does considerable injustice to the dozens of people participating in other facets of the day and to Stagg himself. -,,Science without ethics While the Labor Studies Club members are certainly in N complete sympathy with Wells Keddie in his tenure denial by this University and while this day was originally his brain child, we do not feel he would want the day's success to hinge on his presence or absence. We regret personal circumstances prevented his attendance, and he would have added greatly to the program. However, the day was fulfilling because of the efforts of many interested students, workers and Labor Studies staff, and did not depend on any one contributing person. We hold little faith in a newspaper that so consistently distorts the facts, but we hope that in the pursuit of objective journalism, your coverage of Student-Worker Day 1974 and other campus events will begin to enlighten and to inform. • Douglas F. Allen Workshop coordinator, Student-Worker Day Israelis, but in their present day situation, the reasons for this tragedy manifest themselves. A few months ago, the Black September group threatened to fly a passenger plane full of bombs over Israel and destroy one of its cities. This is what went through the minds of the Israelis when they saw a plane coming toward one of their military bases. When the pilot ignored the international signals to land, what else could they do? Try again next year Karen Rosenberg [grad-speech) What about the GOPS? TO THE EDITOR: On Feb. 20, The Daily Collegian carried an editorial, "Knock, Knock, Who's There," attacking the University administration for too much surveillance of the dormitories. I do not live in the dorms, thank God, but I am reasonably well acquainted with some folks who do, and I visit the places from time to time. There must be two sides to the question on which The Collegian commented; in recent years I have seen or heard of almost no surveillance or security in the dorms. In my opinion, it is a situation potentially dangerous to life that some University dorms are actually less controlled than apartment houses in town. However, that is another story. What I really wanted to dissect a bit was The Collegian's implication that non-control By MICHAEL SOLLY Collegian Staff Writer science, serving as the outer limits Of the "state of the art" in many fields. They have forced an overall advancement in technology, a feat matched only by the military in wartime. More and more, the space effort is providing the research stimulus vbar previously fostered, without the destruction. According to Arthur C. Clarke, an English science writer, "The crossing of space, even if only a handful of men take part in it, may do much to reduce the tensions of our age by turning men's zie,Collegian PAUL H. SCHAFER Editor Editorial Staff: 865-1828 Business Staff: 865-2531 Business Office hours: Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Board of Editors: Managing Editor, Andy Beierle; City Editor, Karen Carnabucci; Editorial Editor, Gary Mayk; Assistant City Editors,Rick Nelson, Pat Stewart: Contributing Editors, Rich Grant, Elaine Herscher; Copy Editors, Steve Ivey, Kathy Suhorsky, Theresa Villa; Sports Editor, Glenn Sheeley; Assistant Sports Editor, Ray McAllister; Feature Editor, Angela Zito; Senior Reporters, Ginny Bentz, Mitch Chernoff, Ken Chestek, Jeff Deßray, Bill Guthlein, Diane Nottle, Judi Pavlichko, Mark Simenson; Photo Editor, Bob Kochman; Assistant Photo Editor, Jon Fortuna; Weather Reporter, Bob Konchak. Board of Managers: Local Ad Manager, John Todd; Assistant Local Ad Manager, Ed Todd;, National Ad Manager, Steve Wetherbee; Credit Manager, Howard Kaplan; Classified Manager, Calvert Tolbert; Circulation Manager, Tom Harris; Office Manager, Sherry Lee Herring; Art Director, Hellen Bittmann. Danny Lipowitz [Bth-psychology] Irwin W. Aronson Chairman, Student-Worker Day ! 1 4. 1 4 1; TO THE EDITOR: The abortion question being debated by various students of the life sciences in these Collegian letters seems to me to be ludicrous. The science of biology supplies knowledge, and that's all. When people attempt to superimpose their subjective values on science and pass it off as scientific truth, they had better expect disagreement. Science strives for objectivity. To mix it with ethics is, at best, harmful to science. It is society's role to take the knowledge supplied by science and use it as it sees fit. Scientists are indivduals with more than the usual training in certain areas. They are not purveyors of ethics. No amount of scientific training can teach the Truth. The wisdom of science cannot be overlooked, but it doesn't force man into any ethics. When we talk of abortion, we need to know how to define life, of course, but more importantly, consciousness and individuality. These biological concepts are now in a state of flux. But one importaht biological fact is clear. Humans are born without minds. (Mind: the active process of interpretation, storage and retrieval of inner and outer stimuli through such processes as remembering, feeling, willing and various other actions.) Life has no intrinsic value. It is only our minds which give it importance. Our minds are, to me, the most important things on earth. Mind is the result of the interaction between organism and environment. The human mind, the most complex biological system, can create•,much of its own environment. We should be aware of our freedom and not be bound to the outmoded value systems of the past. Science gives us the option of correcting our own growth, but how we use that power is up to us. minds outward and away from their tribal conflicts. It may well be that only by acquiring this new sense of boundless frontiers will the world break free of the ancient cycle of war and peace." Clearly, we must begin to change our conception of spaceflight as un necessary and wasteful. We must reverse the trend of across the board cutbacks in science and research. We will need the new ideas and new perspectives that science and space can offer for the eradication of old problems. Cutting off an unlimited source of knowledge is the direct road to disaster. JOHN . R. MYERS Business Manager 1 11 P .P . ' 1.11, 1 11 . ki,`'l'kl ' ,, Z•,..41 . :t i 1l i licr, ), 1 • I ~=L;i li 1 , 1 ? .‘ 144 1 ' ~•1; ' r- , , ‘ . I 'l l ;1:44k1111 lisl Michael Klymkowsky [7th-blophyalcal
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