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6 « The Red and Black » Tuesday, April 28, 1992
A&E
Elvis Presley: Just let him be
Hey, Elvis is still making news, and after all these
years! And now, he is going to be on our mail. Judging
f rom the ballots already cast on which stamp to use,
he has generated more interest in the democratic pro
cess of voting than any of our presidential hopefuls in
the recent primaries.
The media has referred to him as the “fat" Elvis,
the “over sexed" Elvis, the “drugged out" Elvis, the
“old" Elvis, the “young^ Elvis, Elvis the “pelvis." But
little is said about the “caring, considerate" Elvis.
Documented facts of his good deeds have received lit-
le consideration by critics in discussing the man, and
i hese documented facts point to the “real" Elvis. These
facts, however, have been overlooked in order to write
about sensational gossip based on only partial truth.
What is it about human nature which takes more
pleasure in pointing out theoretical “bad" as opposed
to factual “good?" If the “bad" brings in more money,
it is only because this is what is printed. If more “good”
I were well written, perhaps more “good” things would
, sell. If we want to look at complete truth as opposed
j to partial truth, it would appear that the bad said
I about Elvis is in the “eye (and mind) of the beholder.”
I What does this say about the “beholder?”
Perhaps the issue is not so much Elvis and whether
he was good or bad. Nor is the issue whether or not
humankind has reason to like or dislike him. I believe
.he issue to be far more complex; humankind seems to
* delight in destructive criticism of others. Perhaps this
s to mask the flaws within ourselves. Elvis was a hu
man being, regardless of what people may try to make
of him. He lived under extreme pressures and had
many physical disabilities which were not publicized.
Nevertheless, he gave the best that he could, in the
best way he knew, to a receptive and demanding pub
lic. How can we “cast stones” when we, too, are hu
man. Heaven help us if we are overweight, or if we
have physical problems which are not broadcast to the
world. Elvis’ physical condition contributed to his
many problems in later years. These are facts which
have been suppressed by sensationalists who poke fun
and ridicule, perhaps to appear to be more than they
are.
As for which stamp would receive my vote; perhaps
the younger Elvis, but only because this is tire front
view. The older Elvis is a very significant stamp, how
ever. The picture used on this stamp was taken from
the Aloha Concert which was the first live concert to
be viewed world wide via satellite. This was a charity
event for which he had been asked to raise $25,000.
He raised $75,000.
One word of good and encouragement is far better
than volumes of sensational slander Ixised on half
truths and innuendoes.
I will use Elvis stamps, regardless of which one is
chosen by the public; if for no other reason than to re
mind myself that different does not mean better — I’m
just me, trying to make a good contribution to the hu
man race. So was he.
Deborah Dillard, a senior secretary for the
University’s Small Business Development Center, won
the Elvis essay contest with this piece alxjut which
Elvis she wants on her mail. Dillard describes herself
as "a self-motivated student of theology and psycholo
gy” who has studied the the fascination with Elvis for
years. Aside from being an informative and opinion
ated essay, this is the only entry we received. Shame
on you all for not caring about the King.
■ BEST BET
Write something incredibly prescient in the newspaper. Tell
all your friends about it. Wear the story so thin that even you
start wondering whether things really happened the way you
said they did. Sew hoopskirts. Sing about Craftsman Tools!!!
Flagpole celebrates sixth year
By CARMEN HAUSSNER
Contributing Writer
Nearly six years ago, Jared
Bailey and Rick Hawkins felt the
need to cover the Athens music
scene. From their early planning
emerged Flagpole Magazine, which
has become one of Athens most
popular publications with 11,000
copies printed weekly and dis
tributed to over 200 locations.
Presently, Flagpole contains a
varied assortment of music reviews
and interviews, art reviews, hu
man interest stories and political
articles.
According to Bailey, the early
Flagpole was more of an under
ground newsletter promoting alter
native music and alternative music
clubs. Bailey’s love of music and in
terest in journalism fueled his de
sire to help create the Flagpole.
“I already loved music so I de
cided why not do this thing,” Biiiley
said. “I started Flagpole because I
didn’t feel that the coverage of
Athens music was very thorough.”
Dennis Greenia, current pub
lisher of the Flagpole, first came to
Athens in 1979. He worked in
graphic arts for Rick Hawkins be
fore returning to his native Detroit
Weird Af - a true American treasure
vankovic’s latest tackles that
neat-o cultural icon - Nirvana
E MARK HODGES
C jmpus Correspondent
“Weird AT Yankovic: "Off The
Leep End* (Scott) Bros.)
Weird A1 is a nightmare. He’s
the guy in grade school that tried
to be funny, but nobody ever
laughed. And, if anyone ever did
happen to laugh, even just to be po-
’ite, I’m sure that Weirdness kept
repeating the joke until his class
mates locked him in a closet.
Hence, he took up accordion
lessons to round out his obnoxious
personality, so that the whole
world could enjoy his utter stupid-
Now we are left with such mem
orable parodies like “Another One
Rides the Bus," “Eat It,” “Like a
Surgeon,” and “Fat.” God forbid
that he would actually try again. It
seems like every time Michael
Jackson puts out an album, Weird
shows up in a video spoof, doing
what he does best. When I picked
up this CD, I expected to see at
least one parody of Jackson, even
though the first video release is the
Nirvana thing. But, I guess
Michael is too passe to dupe or just
t io much of a self-parody already.
I mean, how can you top a farce
like “Remember the Time?”
Anyway, Weird A1 has re-sur
faced with Nirvana’s “Smells
Like...” in his sights before their
short-lived (hopefully) career runs
dry.
Have you seen the video? If not,
the song is almost pointless, but it
is kind of funny. The best thing
about it is the part where he gar
gles the lyrics on the third verse,
and I also kind of enjoyed the moo-
cow/sheep sound bites on the por
tion where Cobain usually says
something like “yaaeaaaeae.” The
album cover is also a take-off on
the Nirvana deal with a naked
(eeww...) A1 swimming after a
doughnut. I guess all we need is for
Weird A1 to not show up for a ru
mored show at the Georgia
Theatre, and the Nirvana thing
will be complete.
Other songs covered on the al
bum include a veiy lame spoof of
Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”
called “I Can’t Watch This," and a
semi-terrible rendition of the Milli
Vanilli “Baby Don’t Forget My
Number” named “The Plumbing
Song.” There are a few that fare a
little better. “The White Stuff* is a
parody of the New Kids’ “The Right
Stuff,” where the lyrics are as fol
lows: “Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh/Oh-
OREO/oh-oh-oh-oh/the white
stuff.” (You had to be there.) But
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in 1980. Greenia moved to Atlanta
in 1985 and worked as a produc
tion manager for Creative Loafing.
Eventually, he returned to Athens
and met Bailey, who asked him to
help with production for Flagpole.
Greenia began taking on a great
deal of responsibility and eventual
ly the two became partners.
Bailey is also co-owner of the 40
Watt and said that when the club
moved to it’s new location last year
his workload doubled. The respon
sibility of the Flagpole soon shifted
more toward Greenia’s shoulders
Six months ago, Bailey became
a silent partner. He hasn’t sold his
share of the magazine to Greenia,
but he no longer participates in the
hands-on work.
In the past year Flagpole has
undergone many changes in for
mat, including an increase in size
and in it’s diversity of content.
“Flagpole has grown out of the
efforts of Dennis,” Bailey said. “He
has strived to make it well-round
ed."
Greenia, on the other hand,
credits the Flagpole’s success with
its excellent staff.
He said he believes the people
working on staff are what make it
come together. Greenia said most
of the staff members haven’t had
any journalism experience and
that there isn’t a complex selection
process.
“We wait to see who walks
through the door,” Greenia said.
Greenia said he feels that most al
ternative papers are 60’s radical
papers tied to the baby boom gen
eration. The Flagpole is conscious
ly geared toward people who are
18-30 years old and more in focus
with the present generation.
“We’re putting out the type of pa
per many people haven’t seen,”
Greenia said.
“I’m surprised it’s carried on as
long as it has,” Bailey said.
However, he said that the
Flagpole has become more widely
accepted by the general population.
Greenia said he doesn’t have any
immediate plans in mind for the
Flagpole, but would like to expand
one day and produce editions in
other college towns.
For now, though, he stated that
his desire is for the Flagpole to be
come the best paper in Athens.
“At its root, we’re trying to put
out a publication telling what’s go
ing on in Athens that’s fun and in
teresting to read,” Greenia said.
my favorite parody on the album is
“Taco Grande," a take-off on that
classic by Gerardo, “Rico Suave.”
As if this song actually could get
any more ridiculous, Weird A1 uses
it to serenade his favorite Mexican
foods. This is actually pretty funny,
and Al’s Spanish is quite convinc
ing. It goes something like this:
“You see/ 1 just gotta have a tosta-
da, carne asada/That’s right, I
want the whole enchilada.”
One more “parody” is a polka
medley of recent pop tunes done up
in the Weird A1 accordion fashion
with lyrics intact.
This is hilarious. Just imagine
A1 doing “Enter Sandman,” “Losing
My Religion" and “Ice Ice Baby"
(among others) with a polka-from-
hell soundtrack. This somewhat
makes up for the bad stuff.
(One last word of warning: there
are five Weird A1 originals on this,
all which you should avoid except
for “You Don’t Love Me Anymore."
Not that this song is all that good,
it just isn’t as asinine as the rest of
them.)
This album should be seen for
what it truly is: a joke. Some of it
is funny, but jokes are usually only
funny the first time around. This is
not a keeper by any means. But, if
you have loads of disposable in
come, have a very dull and boring
life and enjoy strange looking at
hairy guys that play the accordion,
then knock yourself silly with this
one. Otherwise, I’d say have a good
chuckle and get on with life.
Other People
& Downright
$3
■tf
\
r v < T\ \
M
Drama and
driving mix
at Fine Arts
ft
Chris Kayser (Percy), John
Ammerman (Robert) and
Jessica Phelps (Laurel)
perform a scene from the
Georgia Repertory
Theatre's production of
Driving Lessons, a play di
rected by drama depart
ment head August W.
Staub.
The play begins its run in
the Fine Arts Theatre April
29 through May 2. Tickets
are $6 for students and
$12 for all others and
available at the Fine Arts
Box Office from 12 p.m. to
5 p.m. daily.
Special double-tickets for
this play and The Madcap
Moon, running May 6-9,
are $15 for students and
$20 for adults.
For more information call
542-2838.
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