Wednesday, March 19, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Pago 9
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Glitz and
I am what you call a "fame junkie."
Every week I wistfully wait for all
my glossy, star-studded magazines
to arrive in the mail so I can drool over
all the photos of the celebrities.
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Every night my eyes are glued to
"Entertainment Tonight" and its perky
hostess, Mary Hart. I don't care what
David Letterman says about her. I
depend on Mary's sorority-girl grin and
her behind-the-scenes scoops about all
the latest sensations in show-biz.
That's why February and March are
my favorite months of the year, No true
fame junkie can resist the Golden
Globe Awards, the American Music
Awards, the Grammys and that haven of
glitz, the Oscars.
Awards shows are the ultimate fix
for fame junkies. Where else can one
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glamour
see stars in their socially perceived
natural environment?
The Oscars and the like are eye
catching and sometimes entertaining,
but they are too artificial. They back up
the fan magazine notion that stars do
nothing but wear chic clothes and ooze
glamour from every pore and wear glit
tery gowns 24 hours a day.
However, these shows do have some
merit. They let us see what luminaries
are pretentious fakes and which ones
are down-to-earth plebeians under their
sequined facades.
This is most evident in the accep
tance speeches the winners deliver.
Few ever go beyond the standard
. .and I also wanna' thank my pet eel
and Kiki, the Times Square hooker who
taught me how to be a man" speech.
Some, however, show some genuine
invention. Take Sally Field, for example.
Hollywood will never forget that
insightful epigram Field delivered last
year when she won the Best Actress
Oscar for "Places in the Heart."
"I can't deny the fact that you all
really like me," grown-up Gidget cooed.
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is the fix for this fame junkie
"You like me!"
What's even more interesting is the
reasons why some "artists" get nomi
nated. I'd like to express my fond admira
tion for the arbitrator of good taste who
nominated Lionel Richie's "Say You,
Say Me" for Best Theme Song. They
were probably very inspired by the
tune's touching, original, far-from-trite
lyrics:
"As we go down life's lonesome
highways The hardest thing to
do is find a friend or two. "
I'd also like to thank the people who
gave "EveryThing She Wants" by Wham!
the Best Video of the Year award. Who
cares that other musicians actually put
some thought and originality into their
videos. George Michael, bless his frosted
hair and hoop earrings, really had to
use his creativity to prance around
before a crowd of squealing hormone
glands. He deserved it, really, he did!
And I can't forget that pincushion-for-film-critic-putdowns,
Pia Zadora.
Some contend that Zadora's billionaire
hubby wined and dined the foreign
Courtesy of Brave Combo
press so she could win a Golden Globe
in 1983 for her marvelous debut in
"Butterfly," but I think she got it for
her acting. It took true brilliance to
play a barebreasted, incestuous sex
pot. She later used her talents in such
classics as "The Lonely Lady," in which
she displayed cinematic virtuosity when
thugs tried to molest her with a garden
hose.
Pia, George and Lionel are all per
fect examples of awards academics
picking those who have influence, es
tablished reputations or popularity,
instead of people who really deserve
kudos.
Purple seemed to be a jinx for some
fine film artists this past year.
Case one: Why did the Academy fail
to include a nomination for Steven
Spielberg's superb direction of "The
Color Purple"? The film received 11
nominations, but I guess the Academy
feels Whoopi Goldberg's and Oprah
Winfrey's provocative performances
couldn't be influenced by a man who
used to make corny sagas about candy
crunching space aliens.
'Nuclear polka'
unleashes at Zoo
By Mike Grant
Staff Reporter
Brave Combo, a "nuclear polka" band that will
play at the Zoo Bar tonight, may be on the cutting
edge of a new wave of music.
Band Preview
The band from Denton, Texas, has not been
alone on the music scene with its formula of
high-energy polka, pop, soul and Latin music.
"Conga," a Latin-beat song by the Miami
Sound Machine, recently cracked the top 10. The
tango has become a dance sensation in New York
City, and SCTVs Schmenge Brothers have brought
polka, if only satirically, out of the woodwork in
their cable TV movie, "The Last Polka."
Brave Combo includes Carl Finch on lead
vocals, piano and accordion; Bubba Hernandez
on bass; Mitch Marine on percussion, and Jeff
Barnes, who handles a variety of horn instru
ments. The best definition of Brave Combo comes
from Ian Anderson of the rock band Jethro Tull:
"They take a huge variety of fatally un-hip dance
forms that are rarely acknowledged outside of
the various ethnic and Third World com- ;
munities. . .and play them with the fire of a "
punkish, bar-room rock 'n' roll band."
The group has recently returned from a "Polka
Wars" concert at the Club Lingerie in Los
Angeles, which included other hard-core polka
bands like Polkacide and Rotondi. They were
also featured in last month's issue of SPIN'
maagazine.
, : See BRAVE on 10
Case Two: Woody Allen's excellent
"The Purple Rose of Cairo" received
only one nomination, for best screen
play. What about Mia Farrow and Jeff
Daniels?
Case Three: Why wasn't Cher nomi
nated for her well-done performance in
"Mask"? Some say her infamous purple
fright wigs, outlandish outfits and past
had everything to do with it.
What's even more irrational is the
costly ads film studios place in trade
papers like Variety to win nominations.
Universal Studios spent $40,000 on
ads for "Out of Africa"; Paramount
blew $100,000 to plug "Witness"; and
Cannon Films spent a whopping $200,000
on "Runaway Train," according to Us
magazine.
But who cares who wins and who
doesn't? The reason we tune into these
shows has little to do with logic.
Awards shows are a lot like that other
Great American Tube Event, football.
Both are beautifully boring extrava
ganzas where our favorites often lose.
Harrah is a UNL Junior in English and
speech communications.
