arts
Old Main has a colorful history inside and outside
By JEFF BLISS
Collegian Arts Writer
Editor's note: This story was
inspired by an architecture survey,
conducted last semester by the
Collegian Arts staff. Old Main was
voted best looking interior and exte
rior.
The first thing you see when you
walk into Old Main is the black
robed, sober figure of Lincoln.
Painted by fresco artist 'Henry Var
num Poor in the 19405, Lincoln
stands next to a pious looking stu
dent holding a tree. If you pick up a
special phone at one of four listening
stations, a man with a voice of God
describes how each figure in the
mural, which covers three walls, is
a symbol of the University's partici
pation in engineering, agriculture,
liberal arts , and so on.
architecture
From this tourist's perspective,
Old Main seems more a monument
than a building. But behind Lincoln
and the student is a five story build
ing that looks comically out of place
in a desolate field. That building, the'
Old Main as it looked near completion way back in 1863. It is an excellent example of Rennaissance-style
architecture. Note the three jutting pavillions.
Hope tapes Easter show despite pain
By JERRY BUCK
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES Bob Hope,
rubbing his right arm, complained
that pain was keeping him away
from his game of golf.
"I can't play. I can putt a little,"
said Hope, 83, his back to the one
hole golf green in the backyard of
his Toluca Lake home.
His usual cure for pain, hanging
from rings on an open-air porch
outside his second-story bedroom,
had not worked. "It straightens out
the spine and cures back pain," he
said.
"But it didn't work this time. I'll
hang for about 30 seconds, then do it
again. I've helped a lot of golfers
cure their back pains, telling them
to go hang," he said.
The pain hasn't kept Hope .from
taping a new special for NBC,
which will be telecast Easter Sun-
Comic book heroes adopt more believable identities
By AMY RASKOVSKY
Collegian Arts Writer
In the beginning, they were invin
cible. They could do nothing wrong.
No task was too great, no building
was too high.
But today . . . well, things are a
little bit different. They don't always
succeed at least not immediately.
Their feelings can get hurt and they
actually get tired once in a while.
They've also received new and up
dated looks for the 'Bos.
They are the comic book superhe
roes that have been known and loved
for decades. The characters are tak
ing on new identities and roles and, in
the case of Superman, new origins.
The current trend, especially at ma
jor comic book publishers D.C. and
Marvel, is an attempt to make the
heroes more believable.
Steve Lieber (sophomore-business
administration), a comic book aficio
nado, feels that only one or two artists
are actually improving their charac
ters, while most artists are revamp
ing them.
"Superman has been new, im
proved and streamlined. Batman has
been taken out of the Batmobile and
put into the back alley. They're turn-
first Old Main, is where the history
of the University begins.
On the first admissions day of the
University's original incarnation,
The Farmer's High School, Feb. 16,
1859, students trudged through a
muddy field littered with lumber
and stone towards Old Main, the
campus' only building. Contractor's
shacks, mounds of earth and deep
holes surrounded the edifice, which
had no dining room, kitchen or bath
rooms.
According to Wayland Dunaway's
History of Pa. State College, when
Old Main was finally completed in
1863, critics in the state legislature
scoffed at the erection of "a building
of such pretentious proportions."
Not until 1887, when the University
got money for a major remodeling
of the interior, would the govern
ment take the building or the college
seriously. Even after improvements
Old Main still had a comic aspect
with the stout pillbox shape of its
tower and limestone walls, which
looked like they would nest swallows
in their cracks.
But the building, like the educa
tion at the University, was supposed
to be functional; aesthetics were
discarded to instill a practical, pu
ritanical atmosphere. Because of
the spartan aspects of the Universi-
• 1
day. Hope goes through a number of
songs and dances and sketches with
guests Vanna White, Stepfanie
Kramer, Lynda Carter, Gloria Lor
ing and Jack Carter.
"I did four intimate spots, one
with each of the girls, which cut
down my monologue," he said.
"This is going to be the fastest
monologue they've ever seen."
The monologue, which Hope uses
to open all his specials, won't be
taped until the last minute. "That
gives us a chance to be as current
as possible with our jokes," he said.
"I don't know what we'll do yet. It
depends on what's happening then.
Maybe something on Peter Holm
wanting $BO,OOO a month alimony
from Joan Collins and an intro
duction to Linda Evans. He also
want $20,000 a month for clothes.
I'd hate to stand behind him in line
at Sears.
"Maybe we'll have something on
ing it into a gritty crime story, and
are doing a wonderful job of it,"
Lieber said.
The revamping of Superman's ori
gin, for example, is intended to make'
him, seem more human instead of
mostly alien. Jim Shade (senior-aero
space engineering), an avid reader
and collector of comic books, said
that the basic storyline of Super
man's origin is the same, but it has
been altered so that it is easier to
accept in the 'Bos.
A popular improvement is to give
the characters new, younger looks
that should appeal to a wide audi
ence. Both D.C. and Marvel are expe
riencing a renewed growth in
audience and sales thanks to the
changes.
The improvements in the comic
book industry are drawing many new
readers into the fold. There have been
articles on comic books in Rolling
Stone and Spin and John Byrne, the
artist who streamlined Superman,
has been interviewed on the Today
Show.
Shaun Faith (sophomore-pre-medi
cine), an employee at the Book Swap,
said that while some new readers
have started to buy comic books
because of the changes, quite a few
ty (no card playing or drinking was
allowed) students festered in the
Old Main dorm at night as they
looked for some outlet. The type of
undergraduate the University ad
mitted only made the situation
worse. In Penn State: An Illustrated
History Michael Bezilla points out
that "The 'Farmer's High School
seems to have been a kind of dump
ing ground for students who had
been expelled from other colleges
for academic, or more often, disci
plinary reasons."
Of a typical incident Bezilla says,
"One freshman, fearing the mo
lasses and sawdust treatment he
was about to receive at the hands of
a gang of sophomores, fled from the
campus and barricaded himself in a
borough lodging house. The sopho
mores, growing in number'and spir
it, wheeled out a cadet corps
cannon, filled it with vegetables
requisitioned from nearby gardens,
and began blasting away at the
house, smashing nearly all its win
dows before authorities arrived to
lift the siege."
But most of the pranks centered
on Old Main. After a day of working
three hours in the field, going to
classes and attending mandatory
study hall, students often found the
best release was to tie up the night
it t i L
the TV evangelists, if it's still prom
inent in the papers. I'll call up my
writers and give them .some ideas
for subjects. And they give me their
ideas. I'm always looking for ideas
in the newspapers. You do every
thing that happens."
Hope, referring to evangelist Oral
Roberts, said, "I called the movie
academy and said if I didn't get an
Oscar, God _was calling me home.
They said, 'Have a nice trip."'
Vanna White gets her first oppor
tunity to do something on television
besides flip the letters on "Wheel of
Fortune." She did play herself once
on an episode of "Simon & Simon."
Yes, Vanna can talk. She can also
sing. "After working with her I feel
she's had some experience some
where," Hope said. "She went
through it like a pro. There wasn't a
hitch."
White has become something of a
phenomenon on the game show,
are changing over to D.C. because of
the updating of Superman.
"The artist who does Superman is
an old Marvel artist. When he went
over to D.C., a lot of readers followed
him," Faith said.
While many of the older characters
are getting new looks, some charac
ters are being dropped by the pub
lishers because there really just is not
a big demand foi them anymore.
"D.C. has dropped a lot of their
Golden Age Heroes from the '4os.
There's no real easy way to ease
them into current continuity," Faith
said.
New heroes are always springing
up to take the place of the fallen,
though. Gobots and Transformers are
a popular trend in today's comic
books, especially with younger read
ers. They are not a huge success at
the Book Swap, though, because their
clientele tends to be the high school
and college students.
One of the biggest characters right
now is G.I. Joe. Now, most people can
recall seeing a G.I. Joe doll at least
once. However, the days of the 12-
inch doll with real hair in a crewcut
are over. In the current comic book
series, G.I. Joe does not even exist
anymore. He has become an elite
watchman and then fire off the
cannon, fill the bell with ice so it
couldn't ring or paint Old Snowball,
the campus mule, with green stripes
and lock him in the tower.
After awhile some of the practical
jokes became so violent that they
were cited as the major reason for
students dropping out. Undergrads
adapted milder forms of the rituals,
such as carving one's initials in the
bell tower, which continued for the
first 30 years of this century. By the
late '2os, though, Old Main was in
pathetic disrepair and had to be
condemned.
In the 1929, the year before re
construction, a writer in Old Main:
Past, Present, Future shows little
concern for academic traditions,
instead relating stories of "pistol
barrages," class fights and cows
and bats placed in the bell tower.
"These memories," the author
hoped, "are to be preserved for all
time in the coming of the new Old
Main."
Although the architects retained
the location, the building outline and
much of the original limestone,. the
new Old Main, in Dunaway's words,
was "devoid of the sentiment
inspired by its predecessor." Pre
tensions had been grafted onto its
facade: corinthian columns and a
tower supposedly modeled after In
dependence Hall were added to the
design. In 1940 Poor began his fres
coes. As the University grew, stu
dents spent less time around Old
Main, and it became primarily the
center of adminstration.
Increasingly people saw it as a
symbol. According to Bezilla, on
April 15, 1970, national. Vietnam
moratorium day, students rallied on
Old Main's steps. Unlike the anti
war protest of the previous October,
this gathering was controlled by
Students for a Democratic Society
and the Black Student Union. After
a brief march to another part of
campus, students occupied Old
Main and demanded, among other
things, support for Black Panther
Bobby Seale, an end to alleged har
rasment and oppression of the stu
dents and a severing of all
University ties to the military.
When students refused to leave,
police on five buses were brought in.
What had begun as a demonstration
by fringe radicals turned into a
though she only smiles and turns
letters of a puzzle. Something about
her has caught the public's imagi
nation.
"I'll tell you what it is," Hope
said. "It's the underdog. This little
girl, she's pretty, she's got a nice
figure, she never says a word. I
can't tell you how they. applauded
for this woman. And when you meet
her and talk to her, you like her.
People want to see her be a big hit."
Hope recalled that on his
Christmas show he had the new
generation of the Osmond Brothers.
"After the show I asked these kids
where they were going," he said.
"They told me they were going to
see Vanna White."
Although he wasn't hitting golf
balls, Hope was nattily attired in a
light blue golfing outfit with a club
name stitched onto the shirt and
pants. He will be 84 on May 29.
fighting force of several members,
none of whom are named Joe. The
force's enemy is no longer Commu
nism, but "Cobra," an all-around bad
guy who is not associated with any
particular country or idealogy, just
world domination.
He has also become a very profita
ble investment for many. Not only is
there a comic book, there is also an
animated cartoon as well as many
toys and accessories that have made
the G.I. Joe series currently the larg
est comic book item.
"Marvel has become the corpora
tion supreme at marketing. In the
1960's Marvel became the forefront of
the comic industry by upping the age
of comic book readers and bringing in
the college crowd. Now Marvel has
the childish products and D.C. is
doing things for the college crowd,"
Lieber said.
"Today, a lot of new comic books do series, is very good. The characters
both the comic book itself and a are little kids, about four or five years
cartoon, like G.I. Joe. They actually old. They've dealt with issues like
promote each other," Faith said. crack, and basically just kids dealing
"I think that the new cartoons have with school and life," Shade said.
really boosted the comic book sales, As for the future, the humanizing
especially the Gobots and Transform- trend should continue because it has
ers. The cartoons came out first, and proved to be quite successful for the
the comic books were done to support major publishers.
them," Shade said. "Sure, I think the trend will proba-
A picturesque, snow covered Old Main bell tower creates a familiar winter
scene. The tower was actually an addition made during the 19305.
"near riot" of students upset by the
police intervention. People sur
rounded the buses and hurled bricks
and rocks as protestors were carted
away.
Most recently people have used
Old Main steps for divestment ral
lies. At one such protest a few years
ago faculty, students and towns
people filed quietly into Old Main in
an attempt to see Bryce Jordan.
When they entered, most looked
Art in Public Places sponsors
second annual art competition
By CHRISTINE KOSLOWSKI
Collegian Arts Writer
The Central Pennsylvania's Festi
val of the Arts is an elaborate five day
extravaganza featuring the best in
art talent. But to emphasize the talent
of local artists, the Art in Public
Places Committee will be sponsoring
its second annual competition.
The committee's goal is a continu
ing program to install major works of
sculpture, either wall-mounted or
free-standing pieces, in outdoor areas
of State College made accessible to
the public. ,
Last year, Pictosaurus by Philadel
phia-based artist, John W. Parker,
was chosen by the Art in Public
Places Committee. Pictosaurus was
installed in State College's Frazer
Plaza during the 20th Annual Central
Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
Says chairman, Bob Potter,"Build
ing on our first year's success, we are
While the characters have been
involved in a trend of updating, the
story lines remain only vaguely topi
cal. Most of the comic books try to
keep up with current trends, but only
a few really try to deal with impor
tant social issues.
"One of the Superman titles has
been playing around with wiping out
terrorism. They invented a Middle
Eastern country where everyone
hates America," Faith said.
"Some of Marvel's stuff tries to
deal with human rights using normal
people versus the mutants," he con
tinued, "to parallel the black human
rights issue. They try to make a
stand, but it's just not done very
well."
" Marvel and D.C. deal with social
issues in very much a 'Movie-of-the-
Week' fashion," Lieber said.
"I think that Power Pack, a Makvel
The Daily Collegian
Tuesday, April 14, 1987
curiously around at the murals and
portraits of past adminstrators. As
it became obvious that the president
would meet with no one, demonstra
tors leisurely sat on the steps lead
ing to the second floor and wrapped
their arms around the wrought iron
railings. Some seemed to linger so
they could listen to the footsteps
against the polished brick floor give
off a cavernous echo. Many were
probably there for the first time.
now in the process of acquiring a
second piece of permanent outdoor
sculpture for installation during the
Arts Festival."
The Art . in Public Places Commit
tee urges all Centre County and sur
rounding area sculptors who have
existing works appropriate for per
manent outdoor installation, and who
would like to be considered for this
year's competition to submit slides
and a resume to the Art in Public,
Places Committee by April 20. All
materials should be sent to the Cen
tral Pennsylvania's Festival of the
Arts, P.O. Box 1023, State College,
Pa. 16804.
The Committee will hold all materi
als as a reference library which will
be made available to local builders,
developers, property owners, and any
other interested persons who wish to
use public art in their future plans.
For more information, telephone
the Arts Festival office at (814) 237-
3682.
bly continue. If they're making mon
ey, no radical changes will be made,"
Shade said.
"A lot of times they try to do too
much with the new releases, though,"
he continued. "I really don't think
that the story lines are as good as
they were five years ago, for that
reason."
A few characters are even being
resurrected in the flurry of activity in
the comic book industry..
"In a month or so, there will be the
release of a revitalization of The
Shadow, which is being done by D.C.
It'll be for adult readers because it'll
be violent and messy," Faith said.
Nearly everyone is in agreement
that the changes in the comic book
industry will only be beneficial, both
in the business and artistic senses.
There is the potential of a 'new'
artistic medium. The recent devel
opments in the industry may be a step
towards the acceptance of comic
books as an actual medium, as they
have been in Europe for years.
"The comics are no longer a mass
media. At best, they're a small clique
with the pretensions and potential
for strong influence. Now, they're
the ants that live under the shadow of
the mass media," Lieber said.
Jamie Rounds
State College musician is ready for big leagues after scoring a hit
By RON SWEGMAN
Collegian Arts Writer
Jamie Rounds had cause to be
exhilarated last October. It's not very
often that working musicians have
the opportunity to witness their
material ascending the record sales
charts. Yet that's what happened
when his studio band, The Metropol
itans, scored a hit with a single that
was competing neck and neck with
fellow newcomers Bruce Hornsby
and the Range and Crowded House.
"Camden Tide" was the song which
opened the doors for Rounds and his
band. It peaked last October at num
ber 35 on the Adult Contemporary
chart and made Billboard Magazine's
recomended AC pick list. It was in
many ways both the culmination and
the real start of his career in the
music business.
"It was such an exciting feeling
during those months (October-De
cember)," said Rounds. "Hit records
excite me." After a career which has
spanned nearly 15 years and more
bands than even he can keep track of,
it would seem that the time has
finally come for him to move on to the
musical big leagues.
Rounds got his start right here in
State College back in 1973. With bands
like The Kinks, Eric Clapton ("back
when he was still a 'guitarist") and
The Beach Boys as staples on his
record player, he began to write
songs with his lyricist brother John
(of Cartoon fame), a working
relationship which gave birth to The
Rounds Brothers Band back in 1974.
XTC's album reaffirms faith in British rock and rol
By CHARLES PATTERINO
Collegian Arts Writer
XTC: Skylarking Geffen
XTC? Didn't they do The Look of
Love? Or, aren't they the second
coming of Jefferson Airplane? May
be they're those art-hippies from
Athens, Ga.?
Wrong three letters, wise guy.
XTC has been the most unappre
ciated and overlooked British band
of the past 10 years. Their rewards
for churning out eight albums of
consistently original and often bril
liant pop include broken record con
tracts, health problems and public
apathy. They can't even maintain a
medium-sized cult audience.
The Musical Roundup
The following lists compile the top 10 al
bums for the week ending April 14, as indicated
by State College record store sales.
ARBORIA USED BOOKS & RECORDS, 151 S.
Allen SI.
1. The Joshua Tree U 2
2. Strong Persuader Robert Cray
3. Mirage Meat Puppets
4. Running In The Family Level 42
5. Midnight to Midnight— Psychedelic Furs
6. Into The Fire— Bryan Adams
7. Crowded House Crowded House
8. Another Scoop Peter Townshend
9. Graceland Paul Simon
10. Men & Women Simply Red
CITY LIGHTS RECORDS, 316 E. College Ave
1. Louder Than Bombs The Smiths
2. Sign 'o' The Times Prince
3. Mirage Meat Puppets
4. Joshua Tree U 2
5. All Fool's Day— The Saints
6. Rapture— Anita Baker
7. Crossover D.R.I.
8. Skylarking XTC
9. The Voice Bobby McFerrin
10. Into The Fire Bryan Adams
NATIONAL RECORD MART, 226 E. College
Ave.
1. The Joshua Tree U 2
2. Look What The Cat Dragged In Poison
3. Into The Fire Bryan Adams
4. Life, Love & Pain Club Nouveau
5. Slippery When Wet Bon Jovi
6. Back In The High Life Steve Winwood
7. The Way it Is Bruce Hornsby And The
8. Sign 'o' The Times Prince
9. Midnight To Midnight Psychedelic
Furs
10. Licensed To 111 Beastie Boys
WPSU NEW MUSIC TOP 20
The following records compose WPSU's new
music survey for the week ending April 15. At 8
tomorrow night, 91.1 FM will broadcast the Top
20.
A special on new music Influences airs at 8
p.m. on Thursday, featuring bands from the last
several decades that have shaped today's new
music. Then , at midnight Thursday, a live
concert featuring legendary British band The
Jam will be presented.
1. "Get On Down" Meat Puppets
2. "Clean Sheets" Descendents
3. "Cowboy's Reign" The Darrows
4. "(I'll Never) Kill Myself Over You
3
5. "Optimist" SWA
6. "Happiness" Cellophane Ceiling
7. "Why Up Here" Fleshtones •
8. "My Shoes" Blue Hippos
9. "For The Turnstiles" Yo La Tengo
10. "This Time" Go Four Three
11. "Trampolene" Julian Cope
12. "They Can't Touch Us" Nixon's Head
13. "Dear God" XTC .
14. "Brokon Bottles" Salem 66
15. "TV Party" McGuires
16. "Why?" Wednesday Week
17. "1000 Umbrellas" XTC
18. "Choose Any Memory" f IREHOSE
19. "Hangln' Around" Cat Heads
20. "Orange Airplane" Screaming Trees
UPCOMING CONCERT OATES
More information concerning dates pre•
ceded with (11 can be obtained by calling
Ticketron at 865-1884 or the hot-line, 8614500.
Information concerning other dates Is available
from the locations cited. • 'SPECIAL NOTE • ':
The U 2 concerts scheduled for the Mead•
owlands Arena In East, Rutherford, N.J. are
"It took a band to get me to play my
songs," says Rounds. The Rounds
Brothers and the string of bands
which followed provided him with the
security he needed to play his original
music. Like many musicians, he was
unsure and a little shy about playing
for an audience at first. His song
writing was prolific during these
years however and his next major
band, Backseat Van Gogh, had a
major local hit with the song "Catch a
New Wave" (which is on The Metro
politans' Storybook album), a tune
penned by Rounds.
The pressure to produce a similarly
successful follow up strenghthened
Rounds' songwriting skills further.
"I'm a procrastinator when it comes
to songwriting, it takes pressure to
get the songs out. Seeing the audience
singing along to "Catch a New
Wave," and even taking over the
vocals for that song during our shows
created that kind of pressure."
When Backseat Van Gogh broke up
in 1981, Rounds' career "floundered
around" until his friend, "the Rever
end Doctor" Karl Easterling offered
him a solo gig at the Brickhouse
Tavern, Humes Alley. Easterling's
offer would soon send him on a new
path towards success. "I owe him a
lot for where I am now," says
Rounds. His one man concerts be
came popular and a regular Monday
night solo show soon followed. He has
been working as a solo artist ever
since.
When he is not touring on his own,
he fronts the Philadelphia-based Met-
None of which has affected XTC's
creativity one bit. Skylarking, their
ninth album, not only matches their
past high artistic standards, it cuts
most other recent albums to talcum
powder as well.
Skylarking barely resembles the
hyperactive ska-pop of XTC's first
three albums; it also doesn't sound
like the amok weirdness of 1985's
The Big Express LP. These 14 songs
recall, if anything, later Beatles in
their combination of psychedelic
experimentation and cheery pop
melodies.
Producer Todd Rundgren (of Uto
pia fame) has smoothed out some of
XTC's dissonant tendencies and has
provided a "continuity concept" for
the album. Shylarking's songs don't
being handled by Ticketmaster, not Ticketron.
All live dates have been sold out; there are no
plans for additional U.S. tour dates prior to
1988.
Concert Halls and Arenas
(t)Bon Joel, 8 p.m. April 15 & 16, Spectrum
(Philadelphia) • •REAR SEATS ONLY• •
' (t)Rodney Dangerlield, April 18, Valley Forge
Music Fair (Valley Forge)
Smithereens, 7:30 p.m. April 22, Indiana
University of Pennsylvania
(tKlymaxx , April 23, Valley Forge Music Fair
(t) Deep Purple, 8 p.m. April 24 & 25, Spec
trum
(t) Eric Clapton, 8 p.m. April 27, Madison
Square Garden (New York City) • •SOLD our •
(t) Huey Lewis and the News, 8 p.m. May 5,
Madison Square Garden
(t)Merle Haggard, May 6, Valley Forge Music
Fair (Valley Forge)
Rosanne Barr/Louis Anderson, 7:30 p.m. May
8, Syria Mosque
(t) Luther Vandross. 8 p.m. May 18, Spectrum
Wayne Newton, 7:30 p.m. May 19, Syria
Mosque (Pittsburgh)
(t) Genesis, 7:30 p.m. May 28, Veterans
Stadium (Philadelphia) • 'SOLD OUT' •
(t)Ricky Skaggs, June 4, Valley Forge Music
Fair
("Wattles Brown, June 5, Valley Forge Music
Fair
(t)Temptations, June 24, Valley Forge Music
Fair
(t)Freddie Jackson, July 3-5, Valley Forge
Music Fair
(jytraylon Jennings, July 10, Valley Forge
Music Fair
WEverly Brothers, July 15, Valley Forge
Music Fair
(t)Kingston Trio, July 18, Valley Forge Music
Fair
(tYlmericalThree Dog Night, Aug. 5, Valley
Forge Music Fair
(t)Emmylou Harris, Aug. 27, Valley Forge Mu
sic Fair
CLUB DATES -
The Stranglers, April 14, Revival (Philadel-
phia)
(t) Big Audio Dynamite, April 15, The Troc
(Philadelphia)
Wanderers/Go Man Go, April 16, Chestnut
Cabaret (Philadelphia)
Reverend Billy Wertz, April 16, Decade (Oak
land)
Billy Price & the Keystone Rhythm Band,
April 17 & 18, Graffiti (Pittsburgh)
The Fabulous Greaseband, April 18, Chest
nut Cabaret
Executive Slacks, April 19, Revival
Pedalfets, April 20, Decade
Lene Lovich, April 21, Revival
Webb Wilder, April 21, Decade
The Knack/Dwight Twilley, April 22, Chestnut
Cabaret
Schoolly D., April 22, The Trob
The Tubes, April 22, Graffiti
Bon Ton Roulet, April 23, Decade
The Mekons, April 23, Revival
Albert King, April 24, Chestnut Cabaret
Chesterfield Kings, April 25, Decade
John Lee Hooker, April 25, Chestnut Cabaret
Mission U.K., April 26, Revival
Stingrays, April 28, Decade
Dreams So Real, April 29, Decade
Scratch Acid, April 29, Revival
Billy Bragg April 30, Graffiti
Dave Mason, May 2, Chestnut Cabaret
Scruffy The Cat, May 5, Decade
Johnny Reno, May 7, Decade
The Neats, May 11, Decade
MRobln Trower, May 13, The Troc
Tallgafora May 14, Decade
compiled by Pat Grandjean
ropolitans along with Bill Rippon and
Bob Scammel (who has since left the
group). They are a studio band that
doesn't tour. "The Storybook project
was an experiment in songwriting
and arrangement with some studio
friends," said Rounds. Because of the
success of "Camden Tide," the
group's "no tour" status may change
in the near future. If the new single
"Don't Let This Love Go By" or
"Catch a New Wave" have similar
success, then the band, along with
new member John Plumley, will be
gin to play out.
The sound of The Metropolitans is
definitely the sound that hit records
are made of. In addition, they can be
called nothing short of diversified;
almost every song on the Storybook
LP offers a different style, whether it
be reggae, technopop, or 'sos rock
and roll with "Beach Boys" style
harmonies.
"As a writer, I try to reach as many
people as possible. Although I didn't
consciously plan a special sound for
each individual song, they develop
that way from my experimentation
with other stlyes. The variety makes
the record more accessible."
And accessible it is. This is a record
you can dance to and a record that
can make you think. The feature that
stands out most are its rich vocal
harmonies. All three band members
sing and the harmony they create is
simply awesome. Songs like "Star
light" and "Don't Let This Love Go
By" have arrangements that would
make The Beach Boys envious.
The fact that Storybook could hold
tell a story, but they do flow togeth
er immaculately thanks to Rund
gren's studio tricks, such as running
the opening song "Summer's Caul
dron" directly into the next,
"Grass."
The songs themselves are among
the best in songwriters Andy Par
tridge's and Colin Moulding's al
ready formidable canons.
Partridge's "Ballet For a Rainy
Day" and "Season Cycle" both fuse
ethereal melodies to vivid, day-glo
musings about nature, like "Orange
and lemon / Raincoats roll out and
tumble / Together, just like fruit
tipped from a tray."
Partridge stretches his musical
vocabulary with the beatnik jazz of
"The Man Who Sailed Ai - round His
Fox stars as a Kansas farm boy
'The Secret of My Success' fails as new romantic comedy
By ANN SKOMRA
Collegian Arts Writer
Kansas has thrown another of its
country-bred natives out into the
big, bad world but in The Secret of
My Success instead of landing in
Oz, Michael J. Fox landed in New
York City.
Brantley Foster is a farm boy
that, after four years of college, is
still working on his parents' farm.
Well, the business graduate, des
perate for a chance to prove him
self, allows his dad to buy him a
round trip ticket to the Big Apple.
However, Brantley insists that he
will make it on his own and return
home in the company jet. This
might seem like an impossible task
until you remember that this is
Michael J. Fox and he can do any
thing.
Directed and produced by Her
bert Ross, The Secret of My Success
seems to have been written exclu
sively for Fox. Brantley, who is
working in his uncle Prescott's mul
ti-million dollar firm, has been rele
gated to the company mailroom.
Before long, however, Brantley re
alizes that he can blend into the
executive world and become one of
the "suits." A. J. Carother's story
line becomes more twisted as
Brantley, who is performing two
different jobs, commits incest with
his aunt (Margaret Whitton), and
falls in love with his uncle's mis
tress (Helen Slater).
All of this leads to two hours
worth of Fox's famous hectic and
harried antics. If the quick leaps
over furniture and dashes through
hallways seem familiar it's proba
bly because the same stunts were
done in Fox's previous movie suc
cess Bach to the Future. Paced like
a drawn out chase scene, Fox
spends more time trying to change
suits, and running through offices
partially clothed than actually de
veloping a plan to save the compa
ny from a hostile take-over. This, of
course, will come naturally to the
farm-boy.
Carothers and Ross must have
assumed that the average viewer
had the I. Q. of a Kansas cornstalk;
by no stretch of the imagination
does Fox look or sound like a farm
er. Fox's fast-talking character fits
too easily into the New York sur
roundings, as the suddenly street-
its own against the big lable bands
like Bruce Hornsby is even more
impressive because it was indepen
dently produced and released on T. C.
Records, (distributed by Sutra Re
cords). It was also independently
promoted, a fact which created some
heartache for Rounds. "We promoted
it (Storybook) with our own money,
but in the end we just couldn't keep up
with the bands backed by big lables."
This fact hasn't deterred him. The
success of "Camden Tide" has drawn
some major lable interest from both
Arista (Whitney Houston) and Man
hatten Records. "Arista's Clive Da
vis would like to hear more," said
Rounds.
The future for both Rounds and The
Metropolitans is looking bright. "Ask
any radio station, they know about
us," says Rounds. The attention of
WHFD FM in Ohio is especially im
portant for the band's future pros
pects. This is the station that first
played Crowded House in America
and it appears that The Metropolitans
are next on their list of new bands to
give substantial airplay. Next week,
The Metropolitans will go to Arch
bald, Ohio to do a radio show for
WHFD. When Rounds wrote "Catch a
New Wave" way back during the
Backseat Van Gogh days, he just
might have made a premonition of
big things to come. All we can do now
is sit back and wait, and see if they
really do catch on.
Jamie Rounds will perform at 8
p.m. tonight at the Brickhouse Tav
ern. He -will be opening for Tony
Wareham.
Soul" and an all-orchestral arrange
ment in "1000 Umbrellas." He also
comes up with a punchy rocker,
"Earn Enough For Us," in which he
frets about supporting his family
over a jagged riff.
Colin Moulding's songs booby
trap their lush music with darker
sentiments. "Big Day" offers cau
tionary advice to newlyweds: "Are
you deafened by the bells / Could be
heaven, could be hell / In a cell for
two" between the a capella har
monies that declaim the song's title.
In "Grass" Moulding describes in
the first person what could be a
romantic interlude or a rape while
the synthesized violins and acoustic
guitar glide around in hazy reverie.
The ambivalence is disturbing when
wise kid overcomes everything
from a rat-infested hovel to eye
witnessing a shoot-out that would
have made the boys from Hillstreet
Blues proud. Very little of the dia
logue is spent developing a plan
that will save the company, most of
the script is taken up with Fox's
attempts to woo female co-exec
utive Chrissy Wills.
Chrissy is an innocent Harvard
business graduate, who is colder
than a rainy Monday in Happy
Valley, but this doesn't deter Fox
who proceeds to win her with words
as only a sauve and sophisticated
mid-westerner can. Never mind the
fact that Helen Slater, previously
seen in Supergirl and Ruthless Peo
ple, is taller than the diminutive
Fox, after all Ross seems to have
disregarded the comedic effect of
pairing the elfish male with a stat
uesque blonde. At times, this visual
contrast creates laughs where Ross
was trying to be sensual. Brantley
becomes enamored with the way
that Chrissy drinks water and this
wimpy attempt at eroticism leads
to a dream sequence that uninten
tionally had the audience roaring
with laughter. It's sad that the
funniest parts of the movie were
derived from the love scenes, Fox is
an average comedic actor but it is
too much of a strain to accept him
as Slater's love interest. Perhaps
the movie would have served itself
better had Ross accepted the fact
that he was creating an extended
version of a Family Ties episode
and left the romance to someone
else, it was almost a diservice to the
other actors to force the movie
away from its naturally humorous
path.
Margaret Whitton's portrayal of
Brantley's under-sexed Aunt Vera
brings honest comedy to the screen,
none of her laughs are the results of
misconstrued directing. Bordering
on being a prostitute with a heart of
gold, Whitton's creates a great
vamp . that not only manages to
forgive•and forget but saves the day
by giving Brantley the presidency
of her Daddy's company.
Richard Jordan is passable as the
manipulative, health-conscious
Howard Prescott. Although it's not
awe-inspiring, Jordan can easily be
pictured as a cold hearted, self-cen
tered, ego-maniac without any
straining of the thought processes.
Jamie Rounds, who recently scored a hit with "Camden Tide" from th
Metropolitan's Storybook LP, will perform at the Brickhouse tonight at 8.
he sings "You are helpless no
w /Over and over we flatten the
clover" without any inflection that
could resolve the tension.
Head games like these are part of
the reason that XTC has failed to
connect with a large audience. The
main, maybe only, problem with
Skylarking is it is so obviously clev
er and inventive that it risks alienat
ing people who favor a more direct
approach. It is hard to imagine XTC
suddenly breaking into Louie Louie
or Twist And Shout.
Nevertheless, XTC plays its songs
with commitment. Colin Moulding's
fluid bass playing nails down "Sea
son Cycle" and "Big Day" with
authority. Guitarist. David Gregory
provides an inspired solo on "That's
Even more enjoyable is seeing Fred
Gwynn's version of the powerful
business tycoon who is waging the
hostile take-over within the compa
ny. Gwynne, better known as Her
man Munster, is a delight despite
the fdct that he only has 20 lines.
The soundtrack also has its brief,
shining moments. Although the
song that's receiving the most com
mercial attention is the three-year
old hit "Walking On Sunshine" by
Katrina and the Waves, it's a heavi
ly synthesized song by the group
Yello that gets the smiles. The over
dubbed song "Oh Yeah" has a slow
methodical cadence that comple
ments Whitton's actions as she
stalks and seduces Fox. Sounding
like a tape from a hot-and-heavy
night in the back seat of a car that
In The Secret of My Success, Michael J. Fox plays a college graduate farm
boy who goes to The Big Apple to seek fame and fortune as a musician.
The Daily Collegian Tuesday, April 14, 1987
r YOI
Really
.Super, Supergirl" and solid
keyboard playing throughout. Guest
drummer Prairie Prince (formerly
of The Tubes) navigates the occa
sionally quirky time signatures with
grace.
Perhaps Skylarhing's greatest
achievement is that it reaffirms
one's faith in British rock and roll.
This album has almost everything
that English rockers since the
Beatles have done best: clever
songs, inventive production, affir
mation of the wonders of life. If you
believe that nobody makes albums
like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band anymore, XTC has a
pleasant surprise for you. What
more could anyone ask for?
was put on extended play, this song
is perfect for the senes in which
both couples, Foster and Wills and
the Prescotts, sneak around the
house hoping to have a midnight
rendezvous.
Unfortunately, the movie relys
too much on Fox's popularity. If
people enjoy Michael Keaton then
they will enjoy Foster in The Secret
of My Success the roles are one
and the same. However, it is exact
ly this type-casting that prevents
Fox from being believable as a mid
western farm boy fighting his way
up the corporate ladder. Unfortu
nately for the movie, Fox is a char
acter actor who, although he's good
as a harrassed yuppie, doesn't fit
the image of a down-home boy let
alone a romantic lead.