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STATE OF THE ROCK "This, that and no rubber." Jim McKay mentioned in last week's Flagpole that Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs is the poet laureate of modem music and while I agree that she has quite a way with words, e.g., "Jack Kerouac, I brought you a six pack, so give me my stockings back and please put on your slacks.". I must differ. I prefer HEARTS lyrics. Take for example this line from their smash hit "These Dreams" (Which is by the way the greatest song of the eighties. What a swell decade. Maybe swollen is a better word.). It goes like this. "Something, something, WHITE LINEN, PERFUME ON MY WRIST AND THE FULL MOON, something, something, something, THESE DREAMS IN THE MIST". Then the chorus kicks in "THESE DREAMS GO ON WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES EVERY SECOND OF THE NIGHT something, something, something and then something that rhymes with night.". Anyway that's sort of it but the ‘Jlagpote. 7 point is that: oy this time in the video you've seen s<> much of the blonde haired girl's breasts (I think she’s Nancy Wilson) that you don't care what she says anymore or if she says anything for that matter and that's the point I'm trying to make. I think that a poet should be judged by his or her videos and in videos sex is the main thing. Now for example in the 10,000 Maniacs video for the song "PEACE BARGE" (or is it peace train, anyway they're on a barge). Natalie Merchant has the perfect opportunity to introduce some sex into her video. She could easily fall in the river and get her dress wet and tight against her skin but she doesn't; maybe some natives or convicts could come after them and tear her clothes a little bit or at least they could have had the wind blow her skirt up. As you can see this was a golden opportunity. She appears to have a good body and a lot of white males (the main record buying crowd) are attracted to Mexican girls. Anyway I know I shouldn't be too critical because after all the Maniacs are CO c/> *n 3* c 2. o 3 CL 3 Q. ® Q. S’ ^ o *5 33 (oxoozo ® 3 O < OJ 1*2 5=? o£ 5 3 ° • *?i ® a. _ V =?G OB B 2 co CZ> © T| \