RT S
Legendary
Stones roll
in Phila.
Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones kicked off their
Steel Wheels tour at Philadelphia's Veteran Stadium Thursday.
Compact discs slowly replacing records in production and sales
By SUSAN WATENPOOL
Collegian Style Writer
Lovers of old-time rock 'n' roll may soon have
to learn to like new technology.
Most major record companies are letting
record manufacturing machinery begin a slow
descent into dormancy, and soon the record will
only be a memory.
The decrease in vinyl production is a result of
waning interest as opposed to a promotional or
managerial decision, said Michelle Musarra,
promotional secretary at CBS Records, Inc.
"We're still selling it (vinyl) to a few of our
accounts," Mussara said.
Consumers and retailers alike have differing
opinions regarding the force behind the demise
of vinyl.
"I think the record companies are really forc
ing the issue because they can make two times
PSU dancers to perform in Israel
By TODD NILSON
Collegian Arts Writer
A new University modern/jazz
dance company will travel to an
Israeli university next May as part of
an international cultural exchange.
Ten to 12 dancers will be chosen for
the new company, which will stay
about 15 miles north of Tel Aviv at
Wingate Academy, said Kathryn
Kearn, coordinator of the new pro
gram and assistant professor of exer
cise and sports science at Ogontz
Campus.
While in Israel, the company will
attend and instruct dance workshops,
see sights and perform jazz and mod
ern dance pieces from May 9-22.
In addition to performing, the stu
dents will visit the U.S. Embassy and
be received by the U.S. ambassador
for Israel, Kearn said.
To reciprocate the visit, a group of
Israeli dancers are tenatively plan
ning a stay at the University in :ran
uary 1991.
University dance instructors will
choreograph several pieces for the
Israel trip.
"I think (the choreography) will
have an American taste just because
it's jazz," said Debbie Birrane
(senior-social work), the company's
student liaison.
However, $25,000 must first be
The 'world's greatest rock 'n' roll
band' kicked off a world tour last
week with incendiary concerts
By MARC FREEMAN
Collegian Arts Writer
PHILADELPHIA Rock music
fans here needed an emotional rescue
this July when the closure of JFK Sta
dium forced the temporary cancella
tion of the Rolling Stones first concert
in eight years.
But fans' hopes weren't shattered for
long.
The group many call "the greatest
rock 'n' roll band in the world" explod
ed on stage Thursday and Friday
nights in their new Veterans Stadium
venue, firing off the beginning of their
much hyped, $5O-60 million 36-city, end
of-the-decade Steel Wheels world tour.
After a blaze of lights, the legendary
band burst on stage with the apt 1981
hit "Start Me Up." Celebrating their
25th year, the aging Brits (vocalist
Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Rich
ards and Ron Wood, bassist Bill
Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts)
wouldn't stop for about two-and-one
half hours.
Almost as majestic as the Stones'
presence was their colossal stage. In
the form of a dilapidated steel mill, the
set takes three days to construct, is 100
feet high, 300 feet wide and 88 feet
deep, and contains large steam vents
that billow out smoke, various cat
walks and rows of orange girders.
Combine that with three video screens,
state-of-the-art lighting and 55,000
screaming spectators each night, and
you have magic.
The music wasn't bad either.
AP Laser Photo
as much money," said Josh Perko, manager of
Arboria Books and Records, 151 S. Allen St..
Record companies derive a $5 profit from a
CD sale and only $2 from an album, said Ken
Kohnla, manager of City Lights Records, 316 E.
College Ave. and a 1989 Penn State graduate.
Paul Newfeld, owner of Paul & Tony's Stereo,
121 S. Burrowes St., believes the change is a
matter of market demand.
"It's consumer demand that really changed
it," he said
Whatever the reason for the rise of the CD, the
vinyl decline has opened the floodgates of debate
and left music lovers on both sides of the format
fence.
"There are definitely die-hard vinyl fans,"
Ferko said. "There's no reason not to have
vinyl."
Kubala subscribes to that diehard philosophy.
"It's kind of like why people don't want to
raised to finance the trip. Most of the
money is coming through private
grants and from the Institute for
International Sport at the University
of Rhode Island, but Kearn said a
monetary committment still needs to
be met.
"We need to raise the money to
take the dancers there," Kearn quick
ly added. "It's not dropping out of the
air."
The Institute, which sponsors for
eign travel for sports-related groups
to promote international and intercul
tural relations, will cover food, hous
ing and travel expenses within Israel,
Kearn said.
Nine months ago, Kearn was
approached by the Institute to take a
group of dancers to Israel. She decid
ed to make the auditions available
only to full-time university students.
Membership in the company will be
open to graduate or undergraduate
students throughout the Penn State
system. University Park auditions
will be held 7-9 p.m. Sept. 8, 9 a.m. to
1 p.m. Sept. 9 and 10 a.m.-noon Sept.
10 in 132 White Building.
"Probably, most people coming (to
the audition) will have taken or be
taking dance," Birrane said, but
noted such experience is not required.
The number of candidates will be
narrowed Sept. 8 and 9 until final
membership decisions are made. Sat-
CONCERT
REVIEW
Playing a varied 27-song selection of
urday auditions will also include a
personal interview with each candi
date.
Birrane said the interviews will be
just as important as the dance audi
tions. "When we go to Israel, you
have to be able to communicate to the
students there," Birrane said, though
there is no language requirement.
The company will be the first dance
group to participate in the exchange
program.
Every month, the group will visit
the Ogontz Campus for a weekend of
rehearsals. Kearn said travelling
expenses will be reimbursed and
accomodations will be provided if
necessary.
Rehearsals at University Park will
be held Friday evenings and Saturday
mornings. Kearn is proposing that
rehearsals for company members be
offered as , a three-credit course. She
explained that participating students
will be covered by the University's
insurance policy if the program is
granted course status.
Kearn said she hopes three perfor
mances will help pay for the trip. One
show will be held at the Ogontz Cam
pus, one in the Philadelphia area and
one at University Park.
If the program is successful this
year, Kearn said she would like to see
it continue and broaden: "I'd like to
go to all sorts of foreign countries."
tracks from the 19605, 70s and 80s Fri
day night, the Stones had no problem
appealing to the desires of a middle
aged to teen-aged crowd. Although the
group certainly does not need an
album to tour on, Steel Wheels their
34th work, released by Columbia just
days before the show has been crit
ically hailed as their best release since
1978's Some Girls.
The Stones performed only three
songs from Steel Wheels, put together
in just five weeks earlier this year in
Barbados. The first single, "Mixed
Emotions," a lyrically tough and hard
rocking mix that symbolizes the
strained relationship of the Glimmer
Twins (Mick and Keith,) sounded
strong, but its newness seemed to con
fuse the fans. This problem surfaced
with two other future hits, "Sad Sad
Sad" and "Rock And A Hard Place,"
which both won applause, but not loud
cheers.
This wasn't a problem for the 1969 hit
"Honky Tonk Women," one of the big
gest crowd pleasers of the night. While
Jagger strutted around eliciting fan
sing-a-long participation, two towering
55-foot scantily-clad inflatable women
occupied both ends of the stage.
Other visual extras abounded, cre
ating a complete concert experience.
During "It's Only Rock And Roll" the
video screens featured dozens of other
famous performers including Elvis,
the Beatles and Chuck Berry. And dur
ing several songs, a technical video
wonder captured the transformation
of live action into automated action.
The Stones were often successful in
utilizing the stage to enhance their
serious approach to the music. In the
middle of the classic "Sympathy for
the Devil," Jagger disappeared during
Richards' and Wood's jam, only to
reappear in an eerie cloud of smoke on
a platform about 100 feet above the
ground. And as the song's last chord
switch to the metric system," he said, explain
ing his aversion to use CD's to supplement their
record collections, said Bruce Shamma, owner
of Blue Train Compact Disc, 418 E. College Ave..
"As for people who've sunk a lot of money into
an LP collection, it shouldn't be dismaying," he
said. "The industry's in that state of flux now,
over time people will forget."
Kubala, along with co-worker Paul Bernard
(senior-international politics), believe the com
pact disc was the catalyst in record rejection.
"If there hadn't been a new format I don't
think things would have changed," Bernard
said.
"It's a form of brainwashing. Half the time
CD's don't sound better." Kubala said vehe
mently. "People are all swept up in this 'l'm
hip'. It's a status thing." _ _ .
Whether status symbol or not, the CD is the
format of the future.
Artist George Segal adds new themes
and styles to his famous plaster works
By RAF CASERT
Associated Press Writer
KNOKKE, Belgium George Segal, whose life-size sculp
tures turned him into a pop art icon in the 19605, is molding
his plaster into other shapes
The 64-year-old American artist is adding color and reli
gious themes to his work and is even trying theater designs.
In his first major European show of the decade, at a seaf
ront casino in this beach resort, Segal has included his trade
mark plasters, but this time in either rusty or vivid tones to
add contrast. A series of pastel paintings is also on show,
revealing a new side the artist perfected in the 1980 s.
Biblical themes such as the Expulsion and Abraham's fare
well to Ishmael are on show alongside his ghostly plasters,
which seem to sleepwalk through modern society.
The soft-spoken sculptor avoids questions about these
changes. "You have to follow your own logic," he said in an
interview in the garden of the Knokke casino owners.
Segal made a stopover here to open his show following a
three-week stay in Moscow, where he designed his first the
ater set for director Maximilian Schell.
He said he never felt trapped by the plaster sculptures that
shot him to fame with such pop artists as Andy Warhol, Claes
Oldenburg, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein.
"When pop art fast became noticed, I felt I was sitting on
the tail of a rocket," said Segal. "Amazingly, it still flies."
And it is still spanning the globe.
He said interest in Japan had increased in the 1980 s to the
extent that he had to reduce his presence in Europe, where
he made his first international breakthrough at the Parisian
gallery of Beg= Sonnabend in 1963. In the 10s, the West Ger
many contemporary art museums stocked their showrooms
with his plasters.
Now he is back on the Continent, even making a rare detour
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vibrated the building, the stage was
shrouded in a dark red haze.
Inspired renditions of "Miss You,"
"Ruby Tuesday," "Tumbling Dice,"
"Brown Sugar" and a 10-minute treat
of "Satisfaction" topped off the bill.
With those numbers, favorite songs
like "Angie," "Shattered," "Beast of
Burden" and so many others could be
innocently left out.
Throughout the show, the endurance
of the Rolling Stones, now on their 11th
U.S. tour, was somewhat surprising.
The 46 year-old Jagger's energy level
stayed on a high the entire night.
The band's sole encore, "Jumpin'
Jack Flash," was an emotionally
charged juggernaut which left every
one's wheels spinning. All of the fan
"I have a turntable but I don't use it," said CD
player owner Brian Walter ( junior-engi
neering).
Newfeld said the ratio of CD players to turn
tables sold is about 30 to 1.
In the past, Paul and Tony's Stereo carried
about 15 different turntable models, today there
are only 5 or 6, and next year there will only be
half that many.
"Nobody wants to spend a lot of money on a
turntable because they realize records are on
their way out," Newfeld said. "Some manufac
turers don't even make turntables anymore. I
haven't been into records for years."
Radio stations, too, are adapting to the tech
nology.
"We initially signed on with as much CD as we
could get," said Paul DeMille, 8103-FM pro
gram director.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 5, 1989
fare ended with a short fireworks show
after the Stones left the stage.
The Stones move on to Pittsburgh's
Three Rivers Stadium tomorrow night.
Fans are paying $28.50 apiece for tick
ets; scalpers are reportedly getting as
much as $2OO a ticket.
Preceding the Stones, the fairly new
band Living Colour opened the show.
While their radio hits "Cult of Person
ality" and "Glamour Boys" sound
promising for the band's future, their
stage bit needs help. Living Colour
played, seemingly unaware of how dis
torted the music sounded because of an
earache-causing volume. After 45 min
utes of loud noise and cracking micro
phones, one could only hope they stay
on MTV.
to the Soviet Union. Schell lured him into a Moscow theater
to create the decor for "Faith, Love, Hope," a 1936 play by
Austrian Odon Von Horvath, because the stage director
thought "the dark, gray, grim mood of the sculptures was
similar to the mood of the play," Segal said.
Returning to the Soviet Union for the first time in 15 years
brought equally bleak visions of Soviet society to life for
Segal, despite the spirit of glasnost. "It is just as grim. There
is less food and more cars."
His return there also proves his appeal has remained undi
minished. "I never expected to be so popular over such a
large part of the world," he said.
Segal still uses his chicken farm in New Jersey as a studio
and he continues to work at a steady pace, not pressured by
increasing demands and prizes
"I just refused to accelerate production," he said, explain
ing that it could have changed his art.
Segal was first a painter, pursuing, the impressionistic style
of Matisse, before a nagging insecurity pushed him toward
experimenting with plaster and wire in the late 'sos. He soon
started making molds of models and placed them in real set
tings.
His work was lauded by other pop art greats.
"We all knew each other. We went in and out of each other's
studio. We all shared basic ideas," he said. "We were in reac
tion against pure abstraction and wanted to reintroduce the
real world."
Instead of abstract expressionist drippings of Jackson Pol
lock, pop art produced such pieces of "reality" as Warhol's
Campbell's soup cans, Lichtenstein's blown-up cartoons and
Segal's sculptures
Segal has gone on from there, and his pieces now increas
ingly resemble the academic works of 19th-century sculptors
such as Rodin, another master in creating theatrical compo
sition.
Because albums cannot be played directly on
the air, they must be taped unlike CD's that
arrive air-ready.
"It cuts our labor in half," DeMille said.
WPSU-FM incorporates both vinyl and CD,
said station manager Dave Dzikowski.
The majority of the WPSU library consists of
LP's, with the newer products arriving on disc.
Dzikowski, said the station has no plans to
revamp the two format formula.
"We see no point in getting rid of perfectly
good vinyl to spend 16 bucks to get a CD of it,"
he said.
As for just when the extinction will be com
plete, there is only speculation.
Newfeld estimates 1990, while Ferko said it
may take up to two years.
Kubala, too, realizes the end is near
"It's my hobby. It's my life, but I'll buy a CD
player when I have to."