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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1993)
ber 4,1993 Thursday, November 4,1993 The Battalion Page 3 2 16 ducation of Math rrton. paratory students d attend 2 Uruver- dTAMS, omplete •k. (S at the 'ears she 78 hours to A&M she was m. Even nd 1370 Test, the needed :nce be- i. lied to >nly did >erience Iso had :ored a Ilaridge most of rid she vkward are two /Page 9 X3K na, luring r $1. !>25. Jitor tor editor Stephanie bobbins, and semesters ■riods), at Iniversity, ivision of tcDonald sing, call ^ through b charge um the raffle, sorority's iol of the Chairper- ? came up ie she was would get not only ; students Iso some- vell," she rids." THeaTre Jnkululeko A&M theater group captures state awards By Margaret Claughton The Battalion Both the actors and the director of Texas A&M's Theatre Inkululeko received top hon ors and numerous awards at this year's Texas Southeast Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival. A&M students Sam Levassar, Steve Mize, and Rapulana Seiphemo performed Paul Slabolepszy's "Saturday Night At the Palace," hard hitting South African play that ad dresses the social and ethnic issues as well as the political strife of South Africa. "Saturday Night At the Palace" was named Critic's Choice and Directors' Choice at the festival. Adjudicator Becky Prophet in her cri tique of Inkululeko's performance said, "A fine production of a very powerful script with apowerful interpretation and some very pow erful acting." Theatre Inkululeko was given a Certificate Excellence for Ensemble Acting and each cast member was given a Certificate of Excel lence for acting. All three members were nominated for the Irene Ryan Award, a schol arship competition which culminates at the national festival in Washington, D.C. in April. "I knew they were working hard and I knew they were capable, but the awards were still sur prising," said Dr. Roger Schultz, A&M theatre professor and director of Theatre Inkululeko. In addition to the production's other awards, a Certificate of Excellence in Direct ing and a Certificate of Excellence in Scenic Design were awarded to Schultz. "The acting style, combined with the blocking, he use of the set, and the pointing of specific mo- lents was really powerful," Prophet said. Cast member Mize was elated at the pro- ktion's success. "We were all surprised," Mize said. "This night open other people's eyes to not just look at American plays and American playwrights." "Saturday Night At the Palace" is the first of a series of multicultural plays all part of Theatre Inkululeko. Schultz created the idea of Theatre Inkululeko after spending the sum mer of 1991 in the township theaters of South Africa. The purpose of Theatre Inkululeko is depict the diversity of the world through plays and to show that "the world is not a vanilla place," as Schultz said. "When a production like ours wins," Schultz said, "it encourages other universities to do the same kind of play that we are doing the kind that addresses the sociopolitical is sues of our time." Wr kj\^. t\ IlL fJji N ITH THE TOUCH OF A Getting the music you want at your door By Joe Leih The Battalion T here is a new way to find and purchase al bums without exploring a single record store. And amazingly enough, it's not even illegal or detrimental to your health. It's clean, safe and possible through Campus Records in the Texas A&M Bookstore. Campus Records has developed a kiosk or computer terminal stand that has a database of approximately 100,000 album titles. Anyone can browse through the collection by punching any performer, song title, album title or musical category on a touch screen. Plus, the ter minal offers additional information such as record reviews and if the album is available on CD, record or cassette. After viewing the information, the album can be ordered with a major credit card and deliv ered in 72 hours. Gary Spearow, general manager of bookstore operations, said that Campus Records' album listing is more comprehensive than any conven tional record store. "Its programming is updated frequently, and I haven't seen too many people not be able to find what they want on it," he said. Spearow also said Campus Records' amount of information available about the albums is more vast than any record store employee's expertise. "Buying a record is a very personalized sale where you need a lot of knowledge at your dis posal," he said. "In retail, there isn't always that knowledge." But Spearow said that Campus Records will hardly steal any business from the local record stores. "The niche that it is really filling is the people that normally wouldn't go to those markets," he said. "Campus Records is for people who want speed and convenience. There won't be any di rect competition." Stephen Maupin, co-owner and manager of CD Warehouse, also said that Campus Records will not hurt local retailers. "I think it's interesting," said Maupin, a senior business major. "But customers would like to see what they are going to get. They would be hesi tant on ordering through the mail." But Lewis South, a former student and user of Campus Records, believes the future of record stores just might be in peril. "It's so simple," he said. "Instead of wandering through the store you just punch it in. Something like this could make record stores obsolete." --Tv Amy Brozvning/THE Battalion Chris Meyer, a sophomore forest science major from Garland, attempts to order Pearl Jam's new album "five against one" from Campus Records. With approxi mately 100, 000 album titles, any album can be ordered and received in 72 hours. Music REVIEWS Country greats sing Eagles hits By Lesa Ann King The Battalion "Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles" The Eagles Country Giant records Country music's finest entertainers have come together to recreate the en during sound of one of the all-time classic rock-country bands in "Com mon Thread: The Songs of the Eagles." The project demonstrates not only the powerful legacy of The Eagles, but the generosity of the country music community and its commitment to the environment with a portion of the royalties benefiting the Walden Woods Project. Founded by Don Henley in 1990, the project helps protect the woodland area surrounding Walden Pond. Artists contributing to the album in clude Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, Billy Dean, John Anderson, Clint Black, Suzy Bogguss, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Year- wood, Little-Texas, Diamond Rio, Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker and Travis Tritt. These artists perform such classic Ea gles hits as "Lying Eyes," "Desperado," "Heartache Tonight," "New Kid In Town" and many others. During their 10-year career, the Ea gles — Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Randy Meisner, Bemie Leadon, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit — sold over 80 million albums world wide, had four number one albums, five number one singles, four Grammy Awards and countless sold-out tours throughout the world. "Common Thread" reflects the strong influences the Eagles have had on the new generation of country artists. "A lot of artists, when listing musi cal influences, talk about the Eagles," recalls Trisha Yearwood. "I think everybody involved in this project sang See 'Thread'/Page 5 Concrete Blonde barely succeeds with new album ‘Mexican Moon’ By Joe Leih The Battalion "Mexican Moon" Concrete Blonde Capitol Records Ever since Concrete Blonde's debut eight years ago, the members have continued to crank out their own blend of intense, gloomy rock-n-roll. "Mexican Moon," their fifth al bum, proves that they have hardly changed their style. Guitarist James Mankey still ren ders his distorted, shimmering guitar picking and bassist/vocalist Johnette ipc ful huskiness. In fact, Napolitano's vocal antics are the high point of the album. Her high wavering chorus in "Heal It Up" skillfully casts a dis turbed feeling of urgency and her gospel-tinged solo in "Jesus For give Me (For the Things I'm About to Say)" gives a new slant to the word soulful. However, Napolitano's vocal ex periments don't always succeed. Her dubbed-in harmony on the Latin style "Ai yi yi's" of "Mexican Moon" sound incredibly cheap, and her cho rus on "Jesus" is painfully reminis cent of a bad disco choir. But most of the flaws are hidden by the band's talent for setting the tones of each tune. Mankey's Spanish guitar and Harry Rushakoff's percus sion playing instill "Mexican Moon" with a beautiful Spanish flavor; and Paul Thompson's ever-pounding drums on "Jesus" keep the song's pulse alive. Overall it's the skill of the band members that has enabled them to make "Mexican Moon" a success, but this trio must watch its future pro jects very closely. The members just might distinguish their style so much, that their music becomes repetitive and boring. It almost did on this one. Mankey, Napolitano and Rushakoff. M Illiit i : ' : - :