feb'r^ary 24, 19 70
• ^ I
Since its beginning, rock music
found its way into the medium of
film. At first it seemed to be
nothing more than typical Holly
wood capitalization, exploitation
of a "fad". But rock was more
than a fa:d, it was a (sometimes
successful) life-style. As the
music (and its listeners) matured,
film-makers found it necessary to
deal with rock seriously, even
understand it. Unfortunately, to
date, success has been only occass
ional.
The first major film to use
rock significantly was Btaakboard
Jungle^ a better-than-average (for
the times) study of juvenile delin-
quencye The song Was Bill Haley 6t
the Comets' Rook Abound The Clock
(still rock's all-time best selling
single). As the song was used in
the film, its effect was brilliant,
super-charging the intensity of the
plot. It conveyed the restless mood
of teenage gangs in the 1950's; in
tense, violent, looking for kicks.
The song was a vital part of the
environment the story created^
^Th\s^he.Nj \s The
The Fifties also provided us
with the first of the Elvis films.
Presley was (and still is) one of
the greats of rock music. Yet, he
has never come across in film. His
earlier films, such as Jaithouse
Rook, while poor movies, had in
frequent clips of Elvis in action,
pure gut-bucket rock and roll. But
most of his films, especially the
later ones, are mindless and plastic,
certainly not at all indicative of
Elvis' magnetic performing power.
Tons of films were released in
the Fifties that either featured rock
or had it as theme music. The
majority were abortive second-raters.
The music wasn't presented intelli
gently, but shoved into a showcase,
a freak sideshow. Films like
Rook Around The Clook ('based on
Haley's song). The Girl Can't Eel’p
It Twith Jayne Mansfield), Don't Knook
The Rookj High Sohool Confidential
(title song by Jerry Lee Lewis),
and naturally, Rookj Rook^ Rookj are
low camp today. But these insipid
losers often contain short segments
of great rock and roll performances.
Seeing Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly,
Little Richard, Ritchie Valens, etc.,
is worth the banality of the plots.
The first artistic rock films
were the Beaties' A Hard Day's Night
and Help! Just as the Beatles gave
the music a new potency, they also
lent it to rock movies. Both films
exhibit a sensitivity and under
standing of the music that is un
common in film (an "A" for director
Richard Lester). Although the songs
aren't used to musically translate
the dramatic action, they do commun
icate the frenetic pace of the
Beatles brank of comedy. Either
film is a lesson in rock movies, de
finitive of the genre and absolute
giggles to boot. (The Beaties'
cartoon. Yellow Submarine^ also
has good use of rock and shows the
sheer happiness inherent in the
music.)
The scene with the Yardbirds in
Antonioni's Blow Up is, conceptually,
rock/film's masterpiece. The sus
pense of the surrealistic plot is
maddening and peaking. The
photographer (David Hemmings) finds
himself at a rock concert where the
audience is stoned on their ear.
The song is Train Keep A Rollin'^ a
perfect choice, full of tension and
energy. But the Yardbirds can't
pull it off, their performance limp
and lackadasical. This song should
have had us careening off the aisles.
At the conclusion of the scene, the
group smash their instruments, which
in context of the plot, is an ex
pert directorial move. But it is
contrived, a simpering parody of the
Who (the group Antonioni originally
wanted until he found he couldn't
direct them). This scene could have
been dynamite, a powerful dramati
zation of the power or rock and a
climatic moment in the film. It was
neither, but a lame joke.
Other misguided attempts have
been Donovan's track for Poor CoWj
the boring varoom-beat of the motor
cycle epics; the bubblegum beach party
films; idiocy such as To Sir With
Lovei and quasi-rock like the Associ
ation's pallid schlock in Goodbye
Columbus^ (Why did they even bother?)
But rock has worked elsewhere.
In Lester's Peiulia^ a sardonic view
of the jet-set, the Grateful Dead do
an OQtasite, but all too short, bit.
Bruce Brown's surfing (the real
thing) documentary. The Endless
Simmery had muzak, but pleasant
stuff. Even Paul Simon's usually
pseudo rock-poetry was tasteful and
relevant in Mike Nichols' The Grad
uate^ (One of the finest scenes ever
done was in an underground film.
Little Matoh Girl^ a grown-up teeny
bopper sees her jaded reflection in
a toy store window and through the
past darkly, the poignant echo of
Mick Ja^er's laconic voice sings
As Tears Go By, All the pretension
possible was avoided and the scene
was moving and genuinely artistic).
Pennebaker's Monterey Pop^ a
semi-documentary, portrays the
spirit of rock. It's people playing,
listening, grooving, relating the
Page 3
A\_V\K\ rAwJc-N
Friday, the thirteenth of
February, two partial busloads of
NCSAers traveled to Greensboro to
see Alvin Alley's dance company
perform. The modern dancers, at
least, were somewhat depressed since
it had been the last day of classes
with Richard Gain who had formerly
been with the Martha Graham Company,,
Jeffrey Co., and ABT, Mr. Gain had
been guest-teaching here since before
Christmas, and all of us needed to
get away for an evening. Most im
portant, we needed to see a really
good professional company once
again, to rekindle our inspiration
and hope.
Alvin Alley's dancers didn't let
us down; the program developed suffi
ciently to leave those who appreci
ated it, exhiliarated.
First,presented was Dance for
SiXy choreographed by Joyce Trisler,
with music by Vivaldi. To be frank,
the dance world has seen better
choreography. Initially, I was
struck by the bright white leotards
on the dancers' shining black bodies
(it is mainly a Negro company)—
large, strong bodies. But as the
bodies began moving, all 1 saw were
arms and legs, no substance, and
step-step-step with no sense of
flow — a bad barefoot ballet. Even
the movements for the men were merely
"pretty". Nevertheless, the dancers
made some attempt to make it work,
and as I watched, I noted "involved
mature smiles". A couple of sections
of the dance did project some
cleverness: interesting relation
ships between one woman and several
men, their manipulation of one
another, and a tender, natural dance
of a man and woman.
The second piece 1 anticipated
as something special: Poeme was
choreographed by Pauline Koner, with
the second movement of Samuel Bar
ber's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
1 originally saw the dance performed
by Gyula Pandi and Geotgiana Holmes.
It is a lovely poem, and Gyula and
Jordie danced it with a quality
(Cant, on page 4)
vibrations of the best rock festival
everc Great scenes of Janis, Otis
Redding (WOW!), the Who, Country
Joe, Mamas & Papas, Hendrix raping
his guitar (phallic rock), and an
exquisite Ravi Shankar portion. See
this one.
In many ways, Easy Rider is the
best, most ambitious rock film.
Steppenwholf's Born to he Wild is a
bitch. Fonda and Hopper take off and
you hear: GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNIN’I
Pure speed, heavy metal rock. I al
ways want them to turn up the volume.
The Byrds Wasn't Born to Follow is a
lyric poem of the characters and the
landscape. Don't Bogart that Joints
(Cont. on page 4)