‘ April
Thursday • April 6, 1995
J\ggielife
The Battalion • Page 3
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elenas death echoes throughout B-CS community
Michael Landauer
The Battalion
he was compared to Madonna, but to local
fans the murder of Selena Quintanilla-
Perez meant the loss of more than just a
J strort pop star. They’ve lost a role model and Texas has
su PP("f) lost a woman who was dedicated to helping her
inted: j community.
irter ,1 D.J. Flores, a freshman accounting major, grew
1 set pi: |lp in South Texas and is a big fan of Selena’s music,
'f any; |« “I was shocked,” he said. “I was devastated —
why would anyone want to kill her?”
Patrick Conway, a junior genetics major and
ISC Town Hall Chairman, said his organization
was working with the MSC Committee for the
Awareness of Mexican American Culture to bring
Selena to A&M for a concert that was planned for
March 31, the day before she was murdered.
I The show fell through, but because of her fan
support, the groups were planning on bringing
her here in the future.
I Conway said the loss reaches beyond the His
panic community.
f “It’s a tremendous loss, not just for the Tejano
music industry,” he said. “She did a lot of charity,
^.community service and benefit concerts that real-
lea ^Wy helped society.”
? ua P'-»; Fans in Bryan-College Station got to see one
se a ^||f Selena’s last performances when she played at
ac k nCT wDenim and Diamonds the day before school re-
iatE2»jj ume d after spring break. Patsy Espinoza, owner
linstyplf Los Nortenos Cafe in Bryan, said the crowd
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was mesmerized by Selena and her voice.
“She played so everybody could dance but all
the people stood around and listened to her
sing,” she said. “Nobody danced.”
Selena was planning on doing an album en
tirely in English. Flores said non-Hispanics could
enjoy her music and that her community service
made her popular with people of all races.
“I think she was about to break through that
barrier of bringing non-Hispanics to listening to
Spanish music,” Flores said.
Selena’s music crossed ethnic lines and ap
pealed to people from different countries, Flores
said. Her style of Tejano music is a blend of
Spanish music, old Mexican polkas and country-
western music.
Flores said more people will probably want to
buy her albums now and the attention to Sele
na’s death may introduce people to Tejano music.
Todd Traylor, owner of Marooned Records,
said sales of Selena’s records have increased
since her death, and that many of her fans are
extremely upset.
“People are devastated in this town,” he said.
Espinoza said she and her family will miss Se
lena and her music and that her 10-year-old
granddaughter cried all day when she heard the
news.
“We have never felt a loss like we felt when
this happened to Selena,” she said. “Every time I
hear her music I can’t believe she’s gone.”
Selena will be missed for more than just her
music.
Hershal Whiteman, a senior computer science
major from Corpus Christi, said Selena touched
the lives of many people in his hometown.
“She appealed to the young kids because she
herself wasn’t that old,” he said. “She had an al
lure about her. She was really charismatic.”
He said it may be hard for non-Hispanics to
understand the impact Selena’s death has had on
her fans or the legacy she will leave behind.
“In that town this is comparable to someone like
(John) Lennon getting shot and it deserves the same
respect,” he said. “Some people may not understand
it, but anyway you look at it, it’s a tragedy.”
Stacey Fehlis, a senior journalism major, met
Selena six years ago. She said Selena did not
have the typical huge ego of many singers.
“She was a really sweet girl and she was real
ly down to earth,” she said.
Espinoza said it helps to know that they will
always have Selena’s music.
“We love her and we will miss her very much,”
she said. “But her music will live on. She will be
a legend.”
It is unclear what will happen to Selena’s
band, which included her husband, Chris Perez.
“I think Tejano music has lost someone very
special,” Espinoza said. “I hope Los Dinos will
keep it up in her memory.”
Flores said other Tejano singers will still look
to Selena as an influence and for inspiration.
“There might be some young female singers
who will try to continue her style of music,” he
said. “But there will never be another Selena.”
Selena
Bands battle tonight at Stafford
rve)
3ES
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s.
By Keryl Cryer
The Battalion
P sychosis is a term that
Freud used for mental ill
ness. Water Drop is what
your faucet does to keep you up
all night. Acid Bath is what you’d
probably like to give old furniture.
However, these terms are also
the names of several bands that
will be playing when Stafford
Opera House hosts the “Battle of
the Bands” Thursday and Friday
night.
The event will feature perfor
mances by nine local bands as
well as any other bands that de
cide to enter the contest.
Thursday’s lineup includes
Meecho’s Mission, The Kenny
Rodgers, Boxcar Poets, Veil of
Veronica and Soma. Friday’s line
up will feature Psychosis, Mud-
show, Water Drop and Acid Bath.
Blake Brownlee, who will be
performing with his band Soma,
said the event will be a great op
portunity for many local bands.
“It’s like a showcase of the
original bands,” Brownlee said.
“There are a lot of local cover
bands, but there are a lot of good
(original) bands in town. We
want some of the people in Col
lege Station to get out and see
them a little more often. Maybe
this will be a good thing to get
people out."
Todd Traylor, from Marooned
Records, thinks the Battle of the
Bands will also give many of the
area’s local bands who normally
play at area clubs a chance to
take center stage.
“It gives the bands a chance
since a lot of times the bands lo
cally only get opening slots,”
Traylor said. “They get to open
up for out of town acts. They nev
er really get to play late at night
or be the main attraction and
this a chance for the local bands
to be the main attraction.”
In addition to gaining expo
sure to new audiences, the bands
will have the opportunity to win
several prizes donated by sup
porters of the local music scene.
First prize will be 10 hours of
recording time at Airplay Stu
dios, which would normally cost
about $400. Lippman music also
donated gift certificates for gui
tar strings, drum sticks and oth
er supplies.
The audience will judge the
bands on originality, stage pres
ence, ability and appeal but
Traylor said these are not always
the most important factors.
“A lot of times it does tend to
be whoever has the most friends
show up wins because they can
stuff the ballot box,” he said. “So,
there’s an incentive for the bands
to get their friends to show up be
cause your friends are there to
support you.”
Traylor said the $5 ticket price
is well worth the music lineup.
“You get to see like five or six
bands, which is a pretty good
deal,” Traylor said. “It’s going to
be all kinds of music. You’re go
ing to have metal, alternative,
rock. You will have a wide vari
ety of music.”
Um ... no
‘90210’-
the zip code of cheese brings cheesy music
By Amber Clark
The Battalion
Jamie Walters
Jamie Walters
Atlantic Records
(out of five)
In 1992, he had half the nation and
countless Fox television viewers wonder
ing how to talk to an angel. Now Jamie
Walters has everyone else wondering
when he’s going to give up on his so-
called music career.
As if he hasn’t already gotten enough
publicity as the newest good boy gone-
bad on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Walters
has now released his self-titled debut al
bum.
And if the sweet serenades on the
show haven’t yet struck the viewer as
mediocre, the drippy love songs on the al
bum will.
Walters’ material clings desperately to
an overused lost love motif. Of the 10
songs on the album, six ask virtually the
same question found in “The Distance.”
Walters sings, “Oh the distance between
us / How did we ever get this way / Oh
baby don’t slip away.”
Walters attempts to share his views in
a musical protest to street and gang vio
lence in “Neutral Ground.”
“Somebody’s waitin’ for my brother /
To them he’s just another number / To
me he never did no wrong,” he sings.
It’s hard to believe a NYU Film School
graduate would have much personal ex
perience with street violence.
But Walters’ lyrics aren’t the only
thing lacking. The actual music doesn’t
give much support to the weak material.
Every song, including the
more campy, upbeat songs,
sounds almost exactly like
the next. Apparently Wal
ters wasn’t concerned about
the drab studio production
sound and the redundance of
keyboard sound.
The slow tempos almost
never change, varying only
slightly between the saddest
songs to “Drive Me,” Wal
ters’ plea for a high-speed
escape from life’s boredom.
No matter how hard he
tries, Walters can’t quite
make his voice reach that
mysterious, sexy level he so
desperately wants to
achieve.
Rather, he sounds like
he’s recently recovered from
a bad bout with bronchitis.
In each song Walters seems
hoarse and scratchy. Al
though his voice barely rises
above a whisper, there are a
few rare instances where he
the music and voice together
hint at artistic fluidity.
Perhaps the only saving
grace on the album is “I
Know the Game,” in which
Walters states a phrase to
which almost everyone can
relate.
“I’ve got the bill/ But I
don’t want to pay it.”
If this album doesn’t start selling as
fast as his hit single “How Do You Talk to
an Angel,?” Walters may have some bills
he can’t pay.
Jamie Walters
For now, Walters best bet is probably to
stick with his cameo appearances on
“90210.” There he can sing to Donna with
out tying up perfectly good radio air
waves.
Class gives unique view of homosexuality
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T here are quite a few
relieved Aggies float
ing around campus
lately. The reason for their
glee? A highly publicized
march on Sunday after
noon. Excited — because it
was not held at A&M.
But in Austin, the sight
of women kissing women
and men holding hands could be viewed
on the front lawn of the capitol building.
Only a “liberal” city like Austin would
permit such a flagrant display of homo
sexuals marching to protest hate crimes
in Texas.
But those few need to contain their ex
citement, because the fever has spread.
This week is Gay Awareness Week at
A&M. The school has “gone to hell in a
hand basket.”
Don’t feign surprise. Virtually everyone
here knows that homosexual activity is
not accepted by the vast majority of A&M
students. But let’s face it, homosexuality
is a commonplace that must be dealt with.
I do not condemn homosexuality. It is
just not my cup of tea. As a matter of fact,
I was at that march on the capitol with
my boyfriend, and we were two of the few
straight people there. We wanted to show
our support for a culture that constantly
faces senseless brutality from “gay bash
ers.”
Four months ago I might have had sec
ond thoughts about showing my face at
such a controversial event, but thanks to
a class offered at A&M, I’ve gained a new
perspective.
Ready for this? Yes, this semester there
is actually a class called Gay and Lesbian
Literature, a class which is soon to gain
permanence among the ranks of classes at
this fine institution.The
class has changed my life,
as well as my view of the
student body.
Last fall, I was trying to
find an interesting class to
take with a friend. We
came across this special
topic class in the English
department and decided it
would probably be a blast. Not knowing
what to expect, we jumped in feet-first,
ready to submerge ourselves in a culture
about which we knew relatively little.
For the first few weeks, we were busy
trying to determine which members of the
class were gay and which ones were
straight.
Then we had a sudden revelation.
While we were so busy filling in stereo
types, we realized that other people were
probably doing the same thing to us. We
always dressed in jeans and flannels. We
wore little or no makeup, and we were al
ways together.
Stereotype No. 1: lesbians avoid femi
nine attire and qualities. We weren’t les
bians, but we sure fit the superficial
stereotype. We quickly learned not to
judge on appearances.
I was taught my second lesson on as
sumptions when I mentioned to a col
league that I really enjoyed my lit class.
“Which one?” she asked.
“It’s Gay and Lesbian Lit,” I said.
Slight, uncomfortable pause.
“Are you gay?” she asked.
Where did that come from? I told her I
was simply interested in the literature
and that I found it amazing that a signifi
cant number of popular authors were ho
mosexual. Besides, what difference did my
sexual orientation make?
In my mind, that was equivalent to
asking me if I’m Iraqi because I’m taking
a class on Middle Eastern geography.
But this wasn’t the last time I faced the
same question, and frankly it was begin
ning to annoy me.
Lesson No. 3 came soon after. In simi
lar discussions, students have told me
that they simply cannot believe that an
institution of higher learning would offer
a course containing such atrocious materi
al.
Atrocious is a relative term — what is
appalling to some may be interesting to
others. As far as I’m concerned, an insti
tution that prides itself on being world-
class should at least offer a class on one of
the many subcultures that constitute
American society.
I’ve reaped an immense amount of in
formation from my experiences in this
class. The professor has done a fantastic
job of presenting both straight and gay
views of homosexuality. The literature
has awakened my not-so-open mind to the
idea that there are people in the world
who can have a totally different lifestyle
from my own and still produce the high-
est-quality literary material.
Unfortunately, I’ve also realized that
not everyone is willing to accept and learn
the way I have. I think it is sad that peo
ple continue to adhere to stereotypes and
false information.
Naturally, I accept some of the blame.
But at least now I can try to make a dif
ference, and I’ll start with the next con
versation about the class or the next
protest against hate crimes, whichever
comes first.
Amber Clark is a junior
geography major
Environmental Fact of the Week
The annual 19.2 million tons of Texas municipal solid
waste would fill two lanes of 1-10 from Beaumont to El
Paso up to 10 feet high.
— Recycling Coalition of Texas
Fact courtesy of Joe Sanchez, Recycling Coordinator for
Texas AdrM’s Physical Plant