MEDIA COOL

MEDIA COOL

DEPARTMENTS

This Month�s Media Cool was written by Keith A. Gordon, Richard C. Walls, Frank Fox,

J. Kordosh and Richard Riegel.

PLAYING IN THE BAND

By

David Gans

and

Peter Simon

(St. Martin�s Press)

The Grateful Dead have been unfashionable for a very long time. Hit records? Not yet. Videos? Not likely. Media Coverage? Not much. But then, being gloriously out of step with the music business has always been one of their most endearing qualities. This book (published as The Dead celebrate their 20th anniversary) is composed of excerpts from interviews with band members and associates. These insightful, often hilarious comments reveal both a passion for improvisational music and dedication to exuberant fun. The accompanying pictures are delight, particularly the ones from the Haight-Ashbury days, and the gleeful, impish charm of these early portraits is still seductive. There they are—kids again—eyes aglow with acid inspiration, possessed of a vision all their own. And they�ve always been fashionable on Mars, anyway. F.F.

A PRIVATE FUNCTION (HandMade)

Written by Alan Bennett of Beyond The Fringe fame and starring Michael Palin of Monty Python fame (a restrained performance) and Maggie Smith (bitchin�), this little British gem tells a story of post-WWII food rationing, a hotly coveted diarrhetic pig, a humble podiatrist and his would-be Lady MacBeth of a wife, and a gallery of less than lovable English types (my favorite is the always splendid Denholm Elliott as a society doctor who shudders at the prospect of socialized medicine: �I�ll be forced to treat anybody! Anybody who comes to my door!�). This has been compared to the great Ealing comedies of the early �50s (The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykiller, etc.) and there are some similarities—but Ealing�s class barbs were never this pungent nor its overall vision this dark; in an Ealing film the pig would have come to a happier end. Alas. (Highly recommended, all the same.) R.C.W.

SEASHELLS U.S.A.

(U.S. Postal Service) Forget about the nation�s economy, defense spending or environmental issues; the real reason the rest of the world is giggling behind our backs is because the United States continues to produce the ugliest postage stamps this side of Alpha Centauri. With the release of �Seashells U.S.A.,� however, our postal boys in blue hope to impress our philatelic peers with an exciting new book of stamps. Impressive they are, too, for who could help but be moved by the quiet dignity of the �Frilled Dogwinkle� or the simplistic beauty of the �Reticulated Helmet�? Five different designs, 20 stamps in all, for less than the cost of a movie ticket. Tasteful, yet useful, �Seashells U.S.A.� stamps will brighten up any card or letter...and don�t forget to use the correct ZIP code! K.A.G.

NEW ROCK RECORD by Terry Hounsome (Facts On File Publications)

In case you missed the first edition, there�s now a revised Rock Record that—at a mere $9.95—is clearly the greatest buy since March 1,1962, when the first blue light special in history occurred in Garden City, Michigan. Yes, this consumer-friendly tome is your directory to everybody who�s played on every album everywhere! Of course you know that Dinky Diamond played drums on Sparks� Kimono My House (1974, Island) but—for the hapless few that don�t—it�s in the New Rock Record. Picture the delight of the ignorant reader who discovers that Olaf Kubler, sax player and producer of Amon Duul II, also played on Can�s Landed! Why, it�s Christmas in July! So it will be in your home after you purchase this irreplaceable reference book. Do it now. J.K.

DIVORCE COURT (Syndicated television show) The continuing prime-time success of shows such as Dallas and Dynasty has proven that people enjoy wallowing in adultery, jealousy, conspiracy and good oldfashioned backstabbing while sitting in front of their TV sets. This peculiar facet of human behavior, though it might confuse the best minds in the sciences of psychology and psychiatry for years to come, should ensure a gold medal in the broadcasting Olympics for Divorce Court, a noholds-barred, knock-�em-down an� kick-�em-out real life mini drama. Right there on the screen we witness sordid tales of infidelity, drunkenness, drug abuse, political escapades and American style get-down nastiness as man and wife engage in hand-to-hand combat for a divorce on nationwide television. Whether you bet on the outcome or cheer for the underdogs, Divorce Court is fun for the entire family! K.A.G.

ROCK STAR CONCERT CARDS (AGI, Inc.)

From the folks who brought you Chu-Bops, the li�l album covers, comes this set of 108 heavy-duty rockin� cards. Although biggies like Bruce, Prince and Madonna opted not to be included in the pasteboard parade, Wham!, Huey Lewis & The News, U2 and—talk about a handsome card!—.38 Special are all here, and many others, too. The pix are of good quality, with everyone�s favorite being Alannah Currie of the Thompson Twins. Hubba. The info on the back includes discographies, brief histories and batting averages. A word of warning/encouragement: AGI says it�ll issue a new series every year if these things catch on, so be prepared for the consequences. J.K.

JULY 7th by Jill McCorkle (Algonquin)

This is absolutely the funniest novel I�ve read in years, and why shouldn�t it be? Ms. McCorkle has picked up right where my late great fave Flannery O�Connor left off in portraying the droll grotesqueness of Southern life ( = the droll grotesqueness of the human condition, of course). Except that besides being 30 years younger, Jill McCorkle�s sensual life hasn�t been laid low by lupus like O�Connor�s was. So in July 7th we get the immediacy of 1980�s sexistential perceptions in place of O�Connor�s heavy-handed Catholic sin & redemption fables. And this book contains literally hundreds of righton-the-mark trash-kulture references (e.g., Kiss, Burger King, etc.) that will make thousands of CREEM readers feel like jumping up and shouting, �Deja vu!� McCorkle uses just the right words to portray & fix all of our biodegradable intimacies for good. (For more information write: Algonquin Books, P.O. Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2225.)R.R.