22—The Daily Collegian Friday, Dec. 12, 1980 Lennon: leaping while "Christ, you know it ain't easy, You know how hard it can be; The way things are going, They're gonna crucify me." John Lennon, 1971 By BRUCE MEYER United Press International John Lennon was an artist of living. In his music, in his politics, in his quest for peace both public and private, Len non was special because of his attitude toward life. He leaped while the world looked and whether he landed on his feet or flat on his face, he managed to point the way. Not so much a man of his times as one of those who helped make the times over to suit himself, Lennon became the ar chetype of a volatile generation, gleeful ly outraging his elders as he . delighted his peers. It began, of course, as a group effort: John, Paul, George and Ringo the Beatles. From their beginnings as a simple (some said simple-minded) pop group in John and Yoko Ono Lennon 'We feel like this is just a start now' the. early '6os, the Beatles went on to transform the world's taste in music. Their innovative blend of American blues and rock 'n' roll with the lightweight "skiffle" sound of their native Liverpool struck a sympathetic chord with young people first in England, then in Europe and the United States and finally around the world. They developed a following so loyal they could do what they chose and did, experimenting' and pushing the boun daries of rock far past its previous limits. And Lennon, more than any of the four, was a boundary-stretcher, unafraid in his music, as elsewhere in his life, to make mistakes and profit by them. At his worst, he was crude or maudlin or downright silly. At his best, he was the best there was. Lennon did not choose to be a leader he started out with no higher ambition than getting out of working-class Liver pool by becoming a rock 'n' roll star. But as he did, he kept arriving at places and states of mind a little ahead of everyone 'Double Fantasy': sharing the artists' dreams By JON BRIAN PETERSON Daily Collegian Staff Writer It's difficult to view John Lennon and Yoko Ono's latest release, "Double Fantasy," in the same light as I did last week. At that time I was totally engrossed in the record's magic, ranting and raving about it to all my friends. But now, it no longer needs my praise, or anyone else's for that matter. State College record shops have been sold out of the LP since Tuesday, and virtually all major East Coast distributors have also depleted their supplies. Apparently, nothing this side of Heaven is go ing to prevent "Double Fantasy" from rising to the top of the charts. The album represents a new phase in the personal and professional life of the couple. With the exception of "Somewhere in New York City," Yoko Ono's presence on previous Lennon albums served inspira tional purposes only; John went so far as even crediting Yoko with playing "the wind" on the primal "John Lennon-Plastic Ono Band" LP. But "Double Fantasy" is not similar to previous John Lennon solo works. Described by Lennon as being a "heartplay," or "a dialog between a man and his wife," it is a true collaboration between John and Yoko. Consisting of 14 new songs, (geven by Lennon, seven by Ono) "Double Fantasy" speaks for both. But the main themes for their songs revolves around John himself a new John. Lennon is no longer the "angry young man" of rock 'n' roll. For one thing, John is no longerangry or young. But "Double Fantasy" doesn't portray Lennon and his we looked else; his super-celebrity status as a Beatle took care of the rest. Lennon's role within the Beatles was clear from the start. Collaborator with Paul McCartney on most of the group's hits, Lennon was the hard rocker to Mc- Cartney's pop star. While McCartney banked the teeny-boppers' shrieks, Len non gathered the loyalty of the rebels who would later join him in the ranks of the anti-war movement. In the public record, McCartney is shown as the Be'atle who initiated the band's formal split. But most of those who were on the inside at the time, as the '6os drew to a close and the war was heating up, say it was Lennon.and his in tense relationship with Yoko Ono, along with the heavy use of psychedelic drugs, that prompted The Beatles to crumble from the inside. "By his own count, John had taken a thousand or so acid trips," says author Geoffrey Stokes in a forthcoming book on the Beatles. "There were, as one might expect, consequences. Some of them were felt in his marriage; Cynthia new psyche as a "mellow middle-aged man," either. John's five-year hiatus from the music scene has enabled him to step down from his rock superstar pedestal and take on a new role -one which allows him to show us the man behind the legend: a fragile, flawed, sensitive human being. But devoted Lennonites need not fear. Just because former partner Paul McCartney turned the family ex perience into disposable pop schmaltz on early Wings. LPs does not imply that John must do the same. No "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for John Lennon. Tunes such as "Clean Up Time" and "I'm Losing You" display the perennial Lennon razor-sharp wit and flare in top form. Kicking off with "(Just Like) Starting Over," a 'sos styled mid-tempo rocker, "Double Fantasy" is essen tially divided into two parts. Side one represents an evolution in the development of their roles since 1975 John becoming the "house husband," struggling, suf fering, and learning in a reversal of roles as Yoko sets out to conquer the business world. On side two, the Lennons have worked out the pro blems encountered in their role reversal. In doing so the couple finally become androgenous and gain a new insight into their love for each other and their family, discovering that "the two of us are really one," as John tells us in "Dear Yoko." Many who have never heard any of the Yoko Ono solo albums in the early '7os might accuse her of jumping onto the New Wave bandwagon after hearing her songs on the first side. But before making any accusations, you'd better check out those early Ono efforts. Yoko has been making New Wave-styled music since th e daily collegian 0r Lennon (John's first wife) has written that 'the rot' struck them 'the moment cannibis (marijuana) and LSD seeped its unhealthy way into our lives.? " That "rot" apparently failed to seep into Lennon's second and more lasting love affair. From the last days of the Beatles to the final day of his life, Yoko Ono remained Lennon's true love, fellow artist and collaborator. "I hope I die. before Yoko," he told in terviewers for the RKO radio network, just hours before he was shot. "Because if Yoko died, I wouldn't know how to survive." When he met her, Lennon said, "she was protesting against war in a black bag in Trafalgar Square (in London). And when we met. . . what we wanted to do was carry on, me and my love-love love, and her and her peace-peace peace." Though the break-up of the Beatles was devastating for millions of music y:zr4.~ t~ ~.. fans, it was a welconie relief for Lennon, who moved on with Yoko to a series of more-or-less successful albums and anti war stunts, including the famous "bed in" for peace in Toronto. Then the Vietnam War was over and, typically, Lennon was quick to drop out while other anti-war leaders groped about for new causes. Anticipating what became known as the "me" decade of the '7os, - he settled into a "house husband" status in Manhattan, leaving his business affairs to Yoko and the lawyers and ignoring music while the glitter bands and Southern rock and disco and punk came - and went. He spent five years as a near recluse, making no records and giving no inter views. Then, apparently purged by the time and privacy, he began again. The single from his and Yoko's new album was called "Starting Over." The album, "Double Fantasy," was a 50-50 Ono-Lennon collaboration but the ~tZA .0..4. ft 7 Y iJ'it. Chrissie Hyde was knee high to a boll weevil. Propelled by the stinging guitar work of former David Bowie sideman Earl Slick, "Kiss, Kiss, Kiss," "Give Me Something," and "I'm Moving On" sound in credibly like The B-52's or Lene Lovich. Hard core NdVv Wavers might want to look into this LP for these tunes alone. One of "Double. Fantasy's" top numbers is John's soulful "Watching The Wheels," which opens side two. In top vocal form, Lennon belts through the tune with stunning style and assuredness. "I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round/ I really love to watch them them roll/ No longer riding on the merry-go-round / I just had to let it go." "Is it possible to still have a wife and child and still be an artist?" Lennon was asked by an interviewer several months ago. With "Double Fantasy,' Lennon and Ono have proven that they didn't need to self destructin order to maintain' high quality in they creative endeavors. John 'Lennon and Yoko Ono managed to survive the '7os. Their struggles with Ono s 's miscarriages, Len non's deportation hearings, their 18-month separation and other problems were all in the past. The storm had passed, and the Lennons had managed to carve out a new dream. "Double Fantasy" was the embodiment of that new dream, one of love for each other and th 4 family, inner harmony, and peace at last. Although the life of the most important figure in con temporary culture and music was ended only days ago, John and Yoko's vision still could not be destroyed. With "Double Fantasy," the Lennons have allowed us all to share in their dream. themes were familiar life and peace and love. Musically it was, perhaps, not his best effort. But it was a human record and full of feeling. "We feel like this is just a start now.' 0. I'm talking to guys and gals who had been what we ',had been through together, the '6os group that has surviv ed. . . survived the war, the drugs, the politics, the violence on the street, the whole she-bang," Lennon told his final interviewers. But John Lennon did not survive. The "violence on the street" got him. And for those Who loved him for his music and for his irreverence and for just being himself, it is a bitter irony that even as he emerged from that self imposed cocoon at last, John Lennon of all people should become a martyr to his own fame. Uncovering the mystery of Mystery Plays By PADDY PATTON Daily Collegian Staff Writer Half the mystery of a medieval mystery play is that few people really know what one is. But the Lutheran Student Parish will remedy that situation 'this weekend when it per forms five of thise works in authentic 15th century style. "A mystery play usually refers to some biblical event that theofetically reveals the mysteries of the scrip tures. They are among the earliest written English di.amas but they are seldom produced!" said John Wen zke, minister with the Lutheran Stu dent Parish. At 8:30 tonight in Eisenhower Auditorium and l:30 p.m. Sunday at the Grace Lutheran 4 Church, at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Garner Street, a cast of 35 actors will present "The Fall of Man," "The Parliament of Heaven," "The Birth of Christ," "The Play of the Shepherds" and "Herod and the Kings." The five English folk dramas will ii:!- * , Plus de pas de deux Gelsey Kirkland and Mikhail Baryshnikov may be smiling through their rerun of "The Nutcracker," to be presented on CBS-TV Christmas Eve, but lately they've been doing nothing of the sort . Baryshnikov., director of the American Ballet Theatre Foundation, recently dismissed Kirkland and principal dancer Patrick Bissell from the company, citing the couple "For their gross Wadi of contract, including their failure to 'appear for a dress rehearsal with orchestra at Ken nedy Center on Dec. 9." ThE poofEssioNAl STAFF of THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER WILL bE OffEßiNq Tim followiNg GROUPS This WINTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ANd ASSISTANCE IN dECidiNg ABOUT pARTiCipATiNg, CONTACT US by cAlliNg 863-0395 OR sTopp iniq AT 217 RITENOUR HEALTH CENTER, MONdAy Thoough FRidAy, 8:00-12:00, 1:00-5:00. MOST gooups will bEgiN ThE 3Rd WEEk, STARTiNg MONdAy, DECEMbER 15Th. • GRAdUATE STUdENT GROUP RESOLVINq ISSUES RELATEd TO WORK ANd INTERPERSONAL RElATioroships OF C I RAdUATE LIFE. MONdAyS, 8:30-10:00 A.M. MOTIVATION GROUP FOR wookiNc i ON clAoifyiNc i YOUR INTENTIONS ANd dIRECTINg YOUR RESOURCES TOWARd ATTAINMENT of qoAls. WEdNEsdAys, 3:50-5:00 P.M. GROWTH GROUP FOR WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERESTEd IN Exploßinq ThEMSELVES, ThEIR bEIiEfS, fEEE iNgs, RthaioNships. TuesdAys, 7:00-8:30 P.M. PERSONA' GROWTH Gnoup FOR STUdENTS iNTERESTEd IN EXPLORING ThEMSELVES, THEIR bEIIEfS, FEEL iNgs, RElATioNships. ThunsdAys, 11:00 A.M.-12:30. ANOTHER TIME TO bE ANNOUNCEd. MALE-FEMAIE REIATiONShipS - fOCUSiNq ON bEginNiNg REEATioNships WITH TIM opposiTE SEX. TuEsdAys, 8:30-10:00 A.M. STRESS REdUCTION LEARNiNq TO RELAX ANd TO dEAL MORE EffEcTivEly wiTh A VARIETy Of STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. , TuEsdAys, 10:00-11:00 A.M., TuEsdAys, 1:00-2:15 P.M., TuEsdAys, 2:20-3:45 P.M. MANAGING DEPRESSION ANd SIMILAR "Low - FEELING" STATES will Focus ON STRATEGIES FOR oEduciNg dEpoEssivE STATES, INCREASING PLEASURABLE STIMULATION, ANd TILE IMPROVEMENT OF MOOd STATES. ThuosdAys, 2:00-4:00 P.M.. CororoolliNor i SUBSTANCE USE ANd ABUSE focus ON REdUCiNg dEpENdENCiES ON VARIOUS dRUc SUbSTANCES, WORKING TOWARdS MOdERATE USAGE OR AbSTINENCE, ANd LEARNING ALTERNATIVE SOURCES of GRATIFICATION. FRidAyS, 2:00-4:00 P.M. TEST ANXIETY FOUR SESSIONS Of STRUCTUREd EXPERIENCES FOR REduciNg ANXIETy, INCREASING CON fidENCE ANd RELAXATION FOR EXAM PREPARATION ANd TAkiNg. MondAy 10:45-12:00 NOON. ANOTHER TIME TO bE SET. • WEighT CONTROL 2 TERM gßoup. FIRST TERM, REdUCTiON REAdINE.SS WILL WORk ON PATTERNS THAT pßOhibiT SUCCESSFUL REdUCTION (E.g. MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS, EMOTIONAL EATiNg). SECONd TERM, WEigla Loss ANd MAINTENANCE WILL TEACH A VARIETy OF STRATEgiES FOR EFFECTIVE wEiglar loss ANd MAINTENANCE. TIME TO bE ARRANCIEd. GROWING Up whir AN Alcoholic fort STIUdENTS who NAVE OR ARE ItAviNg TO COPE wiTh PARENTS OR OThER SIGNIFICANT PERSON who is AN Alcoholic. FOR suppowr, INFORMATION ABOUT UNdERSTANdiNq ANd copiNg WITH AN ABUSER ANd ExploNiNg pERSONAI impAcT of bEiNg iNvolvEd WITH AN Alcoholic. TIME TO bE, ARRANcEd. AdVANCEd STRESS REdUCTION FURThER WORk WiTh RELAXATION TRAINING FOR ThOSE WiTh EX PERIENCE. Will iNCIUdE USE of IMAGINATION ANd EXAMINATION Of ATTiTUdES. TIME TO bE ARRANCIEd. ASSERTIVENESS TRAiNiNg will pitovidE AN oppoßTußiTy foR MEN ANd WOMEN TO LEARN TIN skills iN VOIVEd jN ASSERTIVE bEhAViOR. TkußsdAys, 3:45-5:00 P.M. BiNgE IEATiNg ANd PuNqiNg will focus ON PROBLEM EATINg PATTERNS ANd THE PERSONAL/EMOTIONAL CONCERNS THAT ACCOMPANY such pßoblEm bEhAvioN. TIME TO bE ARRANgEd. • If YOU ARE iNTERESTEd IN A gooup ANd ThE SET TIMES do NOT FIT YOUR schEdulE, OR if you wish TO Talk ABOUT OTHER SERVICES, PLEASE CONTACT US TO MAkE AN APPOINTMENT. CONSIDER JOINING A GROUP THE , MENTAL HEALTH CENTER 217 RITENOUR HEALTH CENTER be presented as they would have been performed between 1450 and 1500 at the cathedrals of York, Lincolnshire, Wakefield and Coventry. Wenzke, who has been researching the proper presentation of the plays, has noted the difficulties of such a performance. "Often the only way scholars have to judge is to look at town records and see that so-and-so was paid to build this or that for a set," Wenzke said. "But we also have pictures. Adam and Eve were always dressed in white leather, for example, because they thought that that would show their skin, show their nakedness in the Garden (of Eden). All the colors were symbolic like that." Not all the plays are of a serious nature, however. "The Play of the Shepherds" concerns a man who has stolen a lamb, and tries to pass it off as a baby. The ugly but vigorous fake arouses so much curiosity that the neighboring shepherds discover the fraud. Poet Lucey illumines human experiences There is a vanishing act performed in certain sorts of writing: Look hard at the poem - the poem's not there at all. A shadow may be glimpsed shaking hands with the title; An ambiguous ghost sensed melting through the wall. By ANDY O'HEARN Daily Collegian Staff Writer • Beyond a "shadow" of a doubt these words belong to Irish poet Sean Lucy, who read his poems and those of his countrymen at a reading Tuesday in the Rare Books Room of Pa ttee. Lucy, a ruddy-looking professor of English from University College in Cork County, Ireland, read poems which ques tioned the powerful, dark extremities of human experience, and the worth of love and order in the face of inevitable destruction. Especially noteworthy in this respect is Lucy's latest work, "Unfinished Se quence and other poems," his first published collection of poems in a decade. Meant as"a lament but also a celebration," Lucy said, the collection is a tribute to his friend, the late Irish com poser Sean 0 Riada. Poems from this work, which Lucy called, "the hinge of my writing life," deal with the personal difficulties, deprivation, and vulnerabilities of en during such a loss. In one poem Lucy described how trouble has trailed him: "clear on my shoulders is the track of her feet." Yet the moving part of such poetry is the author's attempt to persevere, in ex tending the limits of poetry honestly into the corners of his own life. One poem, "Mousey," ' defiantly declares, "It's dangerous out there, mousey/ Anything can happen in the light/ And that is ex actly why I'm going out." The elements of such danger are evi dent in other aspects of Lucy's writings. His poem on the tragedy of northern Ireland, "Men of Action," ends with the imagery of cold reality: "from the shat tered street scrape up the scattered dead." Writing love poetry poses an especial ly difficult obstacle, due to the cynical Choirs present 'Hodie' By KAREN KONSKI Daily Collegian Staff Writer The Penn State Choir will celebrate an early Christmas this year by performing "Hodie," a Christmas cantata, at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Eisenhower Auditorium. "We're performing this because it's a very joyous Christmas kind, of thing," said Assistant Choir Director Tommie Irwin. "It's very exciting; some of the lines of the text are from the Biblical text about the Nativity." The cantata is divided into four parts with 16 movements. The entire choir will be singing the choruses, while the nar rative sections will be done by soloists and a boys' choir. Irwin himself will perform the tenor solo. The baritone soloist is Peter Dunham from Susquehanna University and Kim Kronenberg (sth-music) is the soprano soloist. The Schola Cantorum from Our Lady of Victory Church in State College is the featured boys' choir; they are directed by Chris Kirkpatrick. "Hodie" also includes two chorales that will be sung a capella by the Penn State Singers, a special organization made up of choir members. Raymond Brown, professor of music nature of the times, Lucy said. One must learn to make fun of himself to observe humanity, and that directness is sometimes embarrassing; he added. With a poet's holistic viewpoint of the world, Lucy writes in his poem "Casual ty" of "how I begin to long for the last migration," and asks in his poem The Daily Collegian Friday, Dec. 12, 1980-2 Sean Lucy "Testimony in the Cave" a question fo the future. . ."Why should we grope i cold and breaking dark?" The answer, as any of the audience a the reading will attest to, is becaus: poets like Sean Lucy provide the ii lumination to continue our search. Photo by Bill Storey
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers