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December 24, 2025 | Latest Issue
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Arts
Arts

Book explores male view from a bar stool

By Ben Mandelker | November 17, 1997

It seems like the politically correct movement has spawned a backlash of sorts, or at least with Ralph and Reggie, the two authors of the book "Macho Meditation." The book is an account of the thoughts and ideas of these two bar-dwellers as they reflect on certain notable quotables day after day. The two reminisce on when a guy could be a guy and not some new age softy.

Arts

Spiceworld: 'Say You Won't Be There': 'Spiceworld' follows the premiere of group's self-titled debut album

By Joe Manera | November 13, 1997

When you eat spicy food, the saying goes, expect it to repeat itself on you. That said, those ten million listeners that ignored this bit of wisdom and gobbled down the Spice Girl's debut album earlier this year can be blamed for the explosion of flatulence that hit record stores last week. That's right. The Spice Girls already have a new album, "Spiceworld," and predictably, too much of a bad thing is still a bad thing. In what is surely one of the seven signs of the apocalypse, the Spice Girls have become global superstars this year, and the self-proclaimed gurus of "girl power" have been flooding the market with Spice stuff. Two albums in one year, Spice dolls, a Pepsi commercial, and a movie on the way, there is absolutely no way of avoiding these five hyperactive English pop tarts. With their trashy look, slickly-produced pop songs, dubious musical pedigree and obnoxious public personas, it is no wonder that rock critics despise them. They embody a highly commercial cheesiness not evident in popular music celebrities since the heydays of M.C.

Arts

Murder, lust and revenge make 'The White Devil' sizzle

By Shialing Kwa | November 12, 1997

Massive metallic double doors dominate the stage. The combination of metal with stone already suggests the modern/classic duality of "The White Devil." When two men and a woman clad in tight black leather and wild eye makeup burst on stage and begin to pour forth 17th century language, this duality is confirmed.

Arts

Webster's 'The White Devil' premieres today

By Shialing Kwa | November 6, 1997

Unless you're a theater scholar, you probably aren't aware that "The White Devil," a play by John Webster, is a major Jacobean revenge tragedy. Most likely you just associate "The White Devil" with that penetrating facial expression that's plastered on posters all over the campus. The poster promises "a classic revenge tragedy of lust, murder, power and betrayal." So, what's the story behind that intriguing face? The plot centers on Vittoria Corombona (the "White Devil"), a married woman who falls for the Duke Brachiano. In order to ensure that she and Brachiano may be together, Vittoria convinces him to murder their respective spouses; her brother Flamineo is Brachiano's secretary and aids him with his plans. This conspiracy sets in motion a complicated series of events which includes divorce, poisoning, a trial, a wedding, false identity and attempted suicide. Though this plot might sound like an episode of "Melrose Place," Webster based his story on actual events and real people who lived in sixteenth century Italy. He adapted and dramatized history to create this classic example of a Jacobean revenge tragedy.

Arts

Midori, Robert McDonald to perform: Works of Beethovan, Elgar included in violin-piano recital

By Nicole Tsong | November 6, 1997

As a child prodigy, her brilliance on the violin amazed, but for the violinist Midori, musical maturity and expressiveness is what has now captured the spotlight. She was celebrated for her musical prowess as a child, but critics such as William Glackin of the Sacramento Bee in 1996 recognized her mature musical abilities, "Here is a mature artist with all the brilliance that made her famous, now used with passion and control in the service of musical intelligence and personal feeling." Although the world-class musician is only a tender 26 years old, she has performed on stages all over the world for the past 15 years of her life. Midori was born in Osaka, Japan and began playing under the tutelage of her mother at the age of four. Her guest debut with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta in 1982 at the age of 11 launched her career. The demand for her performances range from some of the most renowned orchestras in the world to collaborations with great artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Isaac Stern. For a number of years, her transition from a child prodigy to a mature musician was questioned by those who watched her already astounding career, but as Joe Banno of The Washington Post said in 1995, "She shows no sign of squandering that early promise or pandering to the 'greatest hits.'" Although the fears of stunted musical maturity has been debated for a number of years, Midori has taken only one short hiatus in her career as a violinist and has already been lauded with a number of awards, from the Los Angeles Music Center's Dorothy B.

Arts

Fu Manchu's latest, 'The Action Is Go,' is dead on arrival

By Hank Leukart | November 3, 1997

The other day, a friend of mine was listening to Bush when her roommate walked in the room and said, "What is this, Metallica?" That is essentially how I feel about Fu Manchu's first major release, "The Action is Go." Fu Manchu's music is not ultra-heavy, but it is so close that it might as well be.

Arts

Spring '98 provides musical direction for a capella group

By Nicole Tsong | October 29, 1997

J. Carrie Spring '98, this year's musical director of the coeducational a capella group, the Dodecaphonics, has been destined for the spotlight since the tender age of seven. "I sang in a church choir in Japantown, (a predominately Japanese section of San Francisco;) I was the only Caucasian in the group.

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