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New NC-17 rating not
explicit enough
Robb Frederick
The Collegian
The Birmingham News has banned advertising copy for
Henry & June, the first film distributed with the new
NC-17 rating. The paper, which has a circulation of
180,000, announced that it would not run the ad or any ads
for future films carrying the NC-17 (No Children Under 17
Admitted) rating. In a recent editorial, the paper said that
"smut is still smut," and expressed a fear that the new rating
would open doors for more erotic and violent movies.
The Motion Picture Association of
America(MPAA) quickly condemned the action,
criticizing the paper's narrow-minded censorship approach.
But perhaps the MPAA is the one to blame. The new rating
is designed to allow "serious" filmmakers to market more
controversial works without attracting the pornographic
stigma that accompanies an X rating. The intention is by all
means honorable, but the MPAA failed to clearly
distinguish between the NC-17 and X ratings. "Serious"
filmmakers may get more leeway, but porn producers can
also reap the benefits.
Pornographic films can maintain their control over the X
market, but what is going to stop a producer from trying to
market a pornographic film under the NC-17 rating?
Certainly not the MPAA.
• Cries of racism continued to shadow the 2 Live
Crew obscenity trial last week when prosecutors asked for
the dissmissal of a black jurist who admitted a preference for
rap music.
Judge June Johnson also has to rule on whether an
audio tape of the fateful June concert can be used in the
courtroom. She has already decided that prosecutors could
Liner Notes
use four tracks from the band's LP
• Marlon Brando has finally made an offer someone
could refuse. Prosecutors have nixed the idea of a plea
bargain in the trial against Brando's son Christian, who is
accused of killing his half-sister's lover. The trial begins
Nov. 5.
• Look out Danielle Steele! Marilyn Quayle, who
refuses to sit around and do nothing while her husband sits
around and does nothing, has decided to enter the fiction
market. Quayle is working on The Rage of the Lamb, a
futuristic novel that documents the quest for control of post-
Fidel Castro Cuba.
• The Travelling Wilburys' second release,
tentatively titled Volume 3, contains eleven new tracks,
including a Wilbury dance number (with illistrated
directions). The disc will be dedicated to the late Lefty
Wilbury, commonly known as Roy Orbison.
• Bob Dylan, whose anti-war anthems like "Blowin' in
the Wind" inspired a generation, recently played for 4,000
cadets at the West Point military academy. The times
they are definitely a'changin'.
• Dustin Hoffman will move to the small screen early
next year when he provides the voice for an undesignated
character on The Simpsons.
• Vanna White has agreed to portray herself on two
episodes of L. A. Law, which will be aired early next year.
• Talk about subtle advertising: During a September
episode of Knots Landing, one of the show's male characters
snuck a copy of the skin mag High Society into a scene
filmed in an elevator. The magazine's editor, former porn
star Gloria Leonard, told Entertainment Weekly she was
pleased by the exposure. "It just goes to show that Knots
Landing has exceptional taste in periodicals," she said.
• Hey, Mom If you're still reading this, remember
Christmas is coming fast, and I really would like one of
those neat New Kids rid -the Block dolls that Hills is
advertising. And they're on sate for only $17.97 etch!
The Colle
tan
The Collegian
Neil Young rocks the garage
"Ragged Glory" revives feedback-drenched guitars
b Gar L. Nolan
The Collegian
Neil Young, rebounding
wildly off the rave reviews from
his previous album Freedom,
has struck again. His latest
release, Ragged Glory, is an
exploration of what Young
describes as garage rock.
Young, a sixties hero with
both Crosby, Stills and Nash
and Buffalo Springfield, returns
to his sixties roots. Echoes of
Hendrix fill the release, as
Young uses guitar feedback to
enhance his lyrical mood.
The Canadian born singer
reunites with his back-up band
Crazy Horse after a ten year
hiatus. In his reunion, Young
captures the sound that brought
acclaim to his solo work in the
early seventies.
The release begins with
"Country Home," a well
produced track that brings the
listener a taste of "Hey, Hey,
My, My," a Neil Young
anthem.
In an effort to address the
controversy over 2 Live Crew
and music labeling, Young
offers the song "F*ltlin' Up."
Always active in his fight for
Written and performed by Elizabeth Hissner
Original music and keyboard by Hugh Peters
A group discussion will follow the performance.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Wednesday, October 24th at 8:00 p.m.
Reed Lecture Hall
musician rights, the singer
offers his obscenities in an
obvious effort to fight for
freedom of expression. He also
accentuates this by ending the
piece with a guitar sustain that
lasts for fifty-two seconds.
The single released from the
album, "Mansion On the Hill,"
has an addicting harmony and
lively beat that brings back
memories of Young's glory days
with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Review
Songs on the album feature
the freedom of youth and the
sanctuary of home. Young also
expresses the need for enduring
love and time's effect on its
destiny.
In the highlight of the
release, "Days That Used to Be,"
the singer expresses feelings of
loneliness after friends diverge
and values change. He explores
the danger of compromising a
dream and selling out to
security.
ELiz
This one-woman play offers hope and
insight into the confusion and insanity of
drug and alcohol addiction and the hope
and joy of recovery. Written and performed
by Elizabeth Hissner, Elizabeth at 33 is a
one-hour autobiographical monodrama.
Directed by Donald L. Alsedek
Designed by Jett Walker
Thursday, October 18, 1990
Ragged Glory explores yet
another of Neil Young's
successful styles, while
combining those of the past. It
is possible not only to hear his
sixties influence, but the
country and electronic direction
of his past.
The release is completed
with "Mother Earth (Natural
Anthem)," a tribute to Jimi
Hendrix and his milestone
performance of the "Star-
Spangled Banner" that closed the
Woodstock Festival. It proves a
fitting finale to the release.
Production of the album is
deliberately sloppy in order to
achieve the "garage" sound of a
beginning rock and roll band.
Young makes an effort to revert
back to the days when
production was minimal, and
the rock and roll, not a
computer enhanced techno-rock
sound, was the root of the
sound.
Young gives hope in this
release that the rock and roll
legends of the sixties can indeed
compete in the nineties. His
unwillingness to compromise to
commercial music proves to
make his sound as classic today
as at its inception.
- AT 33