MEDIA COOL
London, England) Someone should produce this over here or at least make a film of it, as this London (by way of Liverpool) stage production was the most powerful artistic statement on the life of Elvis Presley I�ve seen thus far. Set on the night of Elvis�s death, it intersperses flashbacks from his glory days and distant past with his horrifying present, following a basic rock �n� roll party line (watching �Elvis�—Martin Shaw is extraordinary in the role— mutter �You goddamn bastard� behind the Colonel�s back was alone worth price of admission).
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MEDIA COOL
This Month�s Media Cool was written by Bill Holdship, J. Kordosh, Jeffrey Morgan and Cynthia Rose.
ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?
(Phoenix Theatre,
London, England) Someone should produce this over here or at least make a film of it, as this London (by way of Liverpool) stage production was the most powerful artistic statement on the life of Elvis Presley I�ve seen thus far. Set on the night of Elvis�s death, it intersperses flashbacks from his glory days and distant past with his horrifying present, following a basic rock �n� roll party line (watching �Elvis�—Martin Shaw is extraordinary in the role— mutter �You goddamn bastard� behind the Colonel�s back was alone worth price of admission). Not totally accurate historically, but nearly perfect in terms of spirit and mood, capturing the heroes along with the villains, the chill factor along with the humor, the greatness along with the incredible tragedy of it all. There wasn�t a dry eye in the audience by the show�s conclusion, and some of these people were theatregoers as opposed to Elvis fans. Alan Bleasdale�s script (a work of love) is available from Faber & Faber publishing in London. B.H.
ROBOTS AND EMPIRE by Isaac Asimov (Doubleday)
If you�ve read Asimov�s tragically-flawed Foundation�s Edge, you�re aware that he�s desperately trying to tie his major work— the Foundation trilogy—to his seemingly-endless robot stories, and even dumber stuff. It seems to be a malady common to aging sci-fi �legends,� this wrap-up-allmy-storylines-in-on e-grandfuture-history syndrome...and ol� Ike never looked worse than he did in the aforementioned Edge, where he tried to leave room for every idea he�s ever had. Both of �em. Fortunately, Robots And Empire isn�t half as bad...predictable plot...the famous Three Laws Of Robotics mentioned only three times per page in some of the most restrained pontification yet...even a scientifically �correct� explanation of the boondoggle the Foundation
series has become. Expect even worse as the doddering Asimov
spends the rest of his life trying to justify his fiction and, worse yet, his science. J.K.
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (Orion Pictures)
Yes. Yes. Definitely.
B.H.
THE BEST OF FARM AID:
AN AMERICAN EVENT (HBO)
Well, now this really sucked. Anybody who missed the original telecast of Farm Aid last September wouldn�t know that it was probably the most entertain-
ing musical event of 1985 from watching this 60-minute travesty. I have over three hours of video which I consider the best of Farm Aid—and only about 15 minutes of it was included here. Where were the Blasters and Lou Reed? Where was Fogerty? Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers? B.B. King? Brian Setzer? Southern Pacific with Emmylou Harris? The Beach Boys? Mellencamp�s entire set? And the list could go on. Why didn�t they include some of the things the original telecast missed like X�s performance, or George Jones singing �He Stopped Loving Her Today,� or Randy Newman, Billy Joel and Daryl Hall joining forces for a spirited rendition of �Expressway To Your Heart�? And where was Roy Orbison?\? Oh, well, at least we were spared the ever-quotable Sammy Hagar dis-
cussing the size of his �dick� again. B.H.
SAM SHEPARD by Don Shewey (Dell)
This 183-page paperback is not the $3.95 pulper it would seem to be. With bibliographic fastidiousness, Shewey stitches together a complete chronology for the life of former farm boy Steve Rogers up till May 1984 (when Paris, Texas won best film at the Cannes Festival). He manages to strike a balance between his subject�s art and the experiences which have fed it. Included in the latter is a fund of pop-cultural info: from an assessment of Shepard�s musical career with the Holy Modal Rounders through the first real consideration of his affair with Patti Smith. By breaking down a network of influences, acquaintances, and experiences, it illustrates how many of the actor/ playwright�s most powerful themes evolved. And Shepard the �sex symbol� pales beside Shepard the son of an alcoholic, Shepard the adolescent showman, Shepard the restless dad. A fascinating document which details at least part of the price even successful American artists pay for �playing by their own rules.� C.R.
MY LIFE WITH DALI by Amanda Lear (Virgin/General)
Not only does Amanda get points for writing this while Dali�s still alive (which shows that, her head�s in the right place), she gets bonus points for dedicating it to Dali�s late wife Gala (which shows that her heart�s in the right place). What�s that you ask? Can she sling sentences together as well as she slings a wardrobe together? Well, yeah, as a matter of fact, she can. And I believe (almost) every word. As for Dali, well, he comes across as, well, Dali, larger than life and twice as much fun. My favorite quote from Dali comes when Six Million Dollar Man TV star Lee Majors is pointed out to the artist across a room. �What?� says Sal. �How much did you say? That insignificant man over there is worth six million dollars? I must meet him, he might buy a painting!� Whadda card. Better than Angie�s book, too. J.M.
