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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1995)
10 No 'Breakfast/ thanks That’s it. I’ve had it. I’ve endured months of a horri ble plague that has infected too many people, and for this I can not remain silent. All this from a simple song — “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Dal las-based band Deep Blue Some thing. It’s a simple enough tune, re ally — a mellow ditty about a troubled couple with only an old • classic film as the one thing in common. I don’t even blame the band for the song’s popularity. The inten tions behind making a pop love song are honest enough. Instead, I find fault with the mindless masses that have adopted the song as their national anthem. After the first few thousand times I heard the song, I realized that it has transcended the usu al annoyance of extended air play. It has seeped into our con sciousness, invaded the nation’s collective cerebellum and cere brum, and overtaken the processes that allow sensible thought and reason. I’ve seen it in people’s faces. When the familiar jangle of the opening chords begin, the eyes glaze over and the pupils dilate, like a bad zombie movie inhabit ing late-night television. Even worse is another reaction that I have had the misfortune to witness. Young men and women — when recognizing that, yes, in fact, the song of the century is be ing played — lift up their arms above their heads and scream “Weuuuuu weuuuuu” in unison. After racking my brain as to why human beings would behave in such a manner, I figured out that there must be some toxin re leased in the lyrics, “You say we’ve got nothing in common.” Who knew that seven words could transform intelligent people into brainless piles of goo? Yes, I am exaggerating. But considering the song’s age, exag geration is the only therapy I can think of. The song was originally on Deep Blue Something’s 1993 11th Song album. When the band signed to Interscope Records, the band’s Home album was remade and included “Tiffany’s.” Somehow or another, a de scendant of Dr. Victor Franken stein felt the need to resurrect the fluffy Velveetish song earlier this year. Much earlier this year. An interesting song parallel is that of another Dallas-based band, Tripping Daisy. With the release of its second album, i am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER, the “I Got a Girl” single hit Texas and the nation like a Mack truck. The song was a bit silly, but infinitely more interesting than “Tiffany’s.” From MTV to main stream radio, the song was a major hit. But it had its day, and it went away peacefully and thankfully. If only were the same for Deep Blue Something. But “Tiffany’s” continues to stick around like a nasty rash. It just won’t go away, no matter how many voodoo ritu als I perform. And even worse, the song is rising up the Billboard charts with a bullet. It’s amazing to think a possible Top 10 song could have such poor produc tion quality, weak melodies and awful lyrics. I suppose it hit me hardest on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., when I heard the song in a bar. Even worse, in a bar trivia game, the clue “This Texas band recently hit it big with the song ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’” came up on the screen. After I nearly choked on my food as I saw the clue, I answered the question on the keypad. As I expressed my disgust, a friend saw that answering the question correctly put us in first place. And I said, “Well, that’s the one thing we’ve got.” Roh Clark is a senior journalism major Comet struck John Amos brings one man show to campus By Rachel Barry The Battalion J ohn Amos went to the top of a hill in New Jersey hop ing to catch a glimpse of Halley’s Comet. What he found was inspiration for the biggest project in his life. Clouds covered the sky, mak ing it impossible for star gazers to see the comet. As he waited for the sky to clear, Amos caught sight of an elderly man surrounded by several genera tions of his family. “He had seen the comet when he was a boy and was talking about all the things that had happened since then,” Amos said. And so the star of Halley’s Comet was born. The show was written by, directed by and stars Amos and is sponsored by the MSC Black Awareness Committee. It will be performed tomorrow night in Rudder Audi torium at 7:30 p.m. Raymond Boney, director of programs for BAG and a senior speech communications major, said the decision to bring Hal ley’s Comet to A&M was an easy one to make. “When I initially saw the promotional tape, it was really moving,” Boney said. “I couldn’t imagine bringing anyone else.” Boney said the content of the show deals with issues rel evant today. “A big part of us bringing this is to make people aware of the contributions people can make to society,” Boney said. With only a tree stump and a few scattered leaves on stage, Amos uses anecdotes and flash backs to tell the story of one man’s life. “He regards the comet not so much as a celestial phenomenon as it is a visitor that comes into orbit to observe our con dition,” Amos said. The comet is sup posed to fill out a report card to take back to the “head master.” The man takes it upon himself to fill the comet in on everything that has been happening since he was a boy. He does this by relaying personal sto ries of wars, fast food and having to bury four of his children. The character’s name is unknown, which makes it possible for the audience to put a handle on their own matriarch or patriarch in their family, Amos said. Because there is a certain amount of re spect for elderly people, Amos decided that by making his character older, there would be a built-in credibility factor to what he had to say. “You don’t get to be 90 years old by being a fool,” he said. Amos said he wanted to keep the project as close to his origi nal vision as possible. “It’s like not wanting any body in the kitchen while you are cooking a recipe that is very special to you,” he said. The first time Amos per formed Halley’s Comet was in front of a small audience at the American Stage Company in New Jersey. Amos said he had been working on the script and wanted to perform what he had so far to see how the audience would react. “There is nothing like hear ing the words you have labored over in the privacy of your home spoken in front of an audience and to have the chance to hear their reaction,” Amos said. t ' f -' < 1* T IF IS j Amos Getting immediate feedback is part of what attracts Amos to the theater, he said. Amos, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for his por trayal of Kunte Kinte in the miniseries Roots and also starred in Coming to America and Die Hard II, said that in television and film, there is a disadvantage of not being able to got immediate feedback from the audience. “The stage is an actor’s medi um,” he said. “It is a medium where the actor is the final edit ing process.” Amos said creating Halley’s Comet made him more patient and reaffirmed his belief that he was a good writer. But with realizing he had the ability to write well came a tough lesson he had to face. “Ypu can’t fall in love with everything you write,” he said. Amos said he has at least three to four hours of material in addition to the two hour show he performs. Amos said he learned a lot from his close friend Atex Haley. Haley wrote the Pulitzer-Prize winning book Roots. Amos has dedicated every performance of Halley’s Comet to his memory. “It was in his spirit that I wrote it, and it is in his spirit that I perform it,” he said. Amos said Halley’s Comet is a show families should see togeth er. He said he hopes people will bring the oldest members of their families to see the show so younger generations can learn what has happened in their grandparents’ lives. “Alex Haley once said"that each time an elderly member of our family passes away, it is like a library burning down,” Amos said. Freshmen find support, friends in Fish Camp discussion groups By Amy Protas The Ba h align aking new friends, taking unusually hard classes and fear are all part of the fresh man experience. Fish Camp tries to ease the burden by forming Shane Elkins, The Battalion Camp Funkhouser meets weekly in Hullabaloo. discussion groups, or DGs, for freshmen to make new friends and air their worries about begin ning college. When new students go to Fish Camp, they are divided into DGs of about 10 people. The students are led by two upperclassmen, who meet with the freshmen throughout the school year. Jessica Ponder, a Fish Camp counselor and a sophomore nutrition major, said DG leaders should stay in contact with their freshmen. “You need to be there for them,” Ponder said. “It’s good to have someone to call who’s been here. It gives you someone else to know and is security for them. A&M is such a large school, and knowing you have a bond with someone is comforting.” Ponder said experiences with her DG lead ers taught her how to lead a discussion group when she became a counselor. “We didn’t stay in touch at all,” Ponder said. “Because we didn’t talk to them, not even a phone call, it influenced me in an op posite manner. I knew what it was like on the other side.” Fernando Hernandez, a Fish Camp coun selor and a junior marketing major, said his experience as a freshman showed him how important DG leaders are to the freshmen. “I didn’t go to Fish Camp because I’m an inter national student,” Hernandez said. “There was no one here that I knew, and I came to realize how important it is for freshmen to have someone here that they can call when they have a problem. The first semester is always so hard.” Many of the counselors get together with their' DGs during barbecues, dinners and by playing on intramural sport teams. Laurie Nickel, a Fish Camp counselor and a sophomore general studies major, said her DG and partner kidnapped her on her birthday. “My DG came and got me and surprised me on my birthday,” Nickel said. “It was midnight, and I had already gone to bed. It was great.” J.T. Townley, a Fish Camp counselor and a sophomore English major, said he is a member of an intramural football team that some of his freshmen have joined. Some freshmen said it means a lot to them that their counselors take the time to keep in touch. Holly Collins, a freshman general studies major, said she cannot imagine what it would be like if her DG did not stay in touch. “My DG leaders give me calls even though we’ve all been busy,” Collins said. “It’s really important because we all became such good friends. It would be very weird if we didn’t stay in touch. The pur pose of Fish Camp is to start meeting friends.” Hernandez said he understood the significance of DG bonding by observing his own DG. “I came to realize how important Fish Camp was one night when I walked into my camp room and saw my DG,” he said. “They had already bonded on their own, and it was wonderful to see that.” "A&M is such a large school, and knowing you have a bond with some one is comforting." —Jessica Ponder Fish Camp counselor As the semester moves on, many freshmen make new friends and lose contact with their counselors and fellow DG members. Kristen Lloyd, a Fish Camp counselor and a ju nior chemistry major, said it hurts her feelings that some of her freshmen do not keep in touch but she is glad they are meeting new people. “It’s hard because a couple of people haven’t kept in touch,” Lloyd said. “It’s frustrating be cause I felt like we were so close at Fish Camp. But I am happy they have made friends and are adjusting well. 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