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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1986)
Thursday, November 6, 1986 Daily Nebraskan Page 15 ' A M.D.C.: Are they punk or "peace and love" children? Bamdl digs love audi peace MDC urges 'The Kids 7 to drop out and tune into reality By Bryan Peterson Staff Reporter Millions of Dead Cops is a peace-and-love band??? Well, sure. "MDC stand against police re pression, brutality, the macho inferiority and ignorance that encourages people to take a jol where they can legally kick ass on the poor, minorities, women, homosexuals, use the law to strip all of their dignity. " liner notes from MDCs first album. Band Interview "It's a gut reaction, against the vio lence and abuse of authority that the police exercise. It's a pissed-off, angry message, like 'I hate hate' or 'I hate people who don't care.' Sometimes you have to love enough in your own heart to stand up to the injustice that you see, to put your life on the line." Franco (last name unknown) " drea med last nightno poli ceAn armyless world, doomed to peaceAnd now as all my dream ing stopsI see it clear, we need no more cops. " lyrics from "No More Cops, " on MDCs second album (Smoke Signals) Understand yet? MDC believes we can build a better world, a world with out the social injustices which lead people to commit "crimes" such as theft, which in turn create the "need" for police. MDC does not limit itself to songs about the police, by any means. Through two singles and two albums, the band has created material dealing with a wide variety of social issues. Those who simply dismiss punk as mindless rant ings against the system need pay no attention. Those who are willing to read and hear MDCs message may find themselves surprised, even englight ened. Compiled by Stew Magnuson Staff Reporter At St. Mark's On Campus: The Nebraska Director's Theatre will show a triple feature of one-act plays later this month. The theme is New York City by New York writers. The plays are "Death Knocks" by State of the Arts 'AN M t V To produce four releases and survive four years as a punk band is well above average. MDC has toured throughout the United States and Europe, and keeps them going? "It's really the Hundredth Monkey Theory, where if enough people are thinking the same thought, it catches on," Franco said. "It's based on the anthropological thing of monkeys wash ing their sweet potatoes, and once enough monkeys learned to wash their sweet potatoes, all the sudden mon keys all over the world started washing their sweet potatoes in a two-week period. That kind of consciousness tra veling over the electrical waves is, I believe, what's gonna change the world. It makes me feel glad that I'm out here, talking with people. The message gets amplified, and more people catch on. Rather than everybody supporting Coca Cola and that being the Hundredth Monkey Theory, that instead it's peace and love and we're all gonna make it together and we're not all just gonna die together." Back to the cops. MDCs scheduled appearance in Lincoln (Oct. 10) was brought to a halt just before the band began to play. A fight and a broken window around the corner caused the cancellation of MDCs long-awaited Lincoln appearance. Lead singer Dave was arrested as he ran through the throng, dodging police and singing "Chicken-Squak." Members of the crowd raised $50 for bail. Upon his release, Dave broke into verse: "When I walk into the storethey sell the chickens by the scorebut eating dead birds just ain't for me . . . Foghorn Leghorn wrote to meSays MDCs all right by me 'Cause we all learned to let our chickens free. " Cops and dead kids In an Omaha interview, Franco said, "We didn't just stop at Millions of Dead Cops. We try to go beyond that and say, 'We realize that the cops are sort of slaves in the situation, too. That the orders are coming from somebody else, the corporate heads who run the govern Woody Allen, "The Loveliest After noon of the Year" by John Guare, and Obie award-winner "The Indian Wants the Bronx" by Israel Horovitz. Jonathan Meyer is making his NDT directing debut with these three shows. The three plays will be performed Nov. 13, 14, 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. Reservations will be taken at 472 1610 from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday 1 i i Courtesy of Radical Records ment, so it's the Multi-Death Corpora tions. The result is Millions of Dead Children, because it even comes down to food distribution being used as a weapon. We trade arms that we make in this country for all the food in the Third World. A further result is a Missile Des troyed Civilization, and Massacred and Dismembered Cultures, like the Native American people whose lifestyle and culture is being destroyed." Energy and limitations It looks like MDC is up against the whole world. Then why put so much time and energy into a punk band, with such a limited audience? According to Franco, "If you look at just about any positive movement in the U.S. or almost anywhere in the world, you'll find that it's kids, youth, that are at the heart of it and that are the driving force. Because if you don't have the youth involved, then it kind of has no future." So Franco plays music for us kids while he is about to become a father. Age and last name unknown. He is much older than almost his entire audience. He said, "I'm just a kid, and I hope I'll always be a kid. And I hope that I never get so jaded or burnt-out that I forget what youth is about, because youth is the strength to really got out on a limb and stick your neck out even if you know it's gonna get cut off. It's like our good friend Dave Whittaker he's a beat poet who is super-active in th soup kitchens in San Francisco said, 'I think that the Man of the Year for Time magazine should be The Kids, because it's The Kids that are dropping out and tuning in to the reali ties of the world that surrounds them, rather than just living in a la-la-land: 'Let's get a car and then let's go to college and then let's work and such all our lives to a boss.'" "You find a lot of people giving up .and saying, 'Oh, there's nothing I can really do to change anything,'" Franco said. "If you 're gonna let 'em win, go ahead. But not this kid." through Nov. 14. Admission is $4 for the general public and $3 for stu dents and senior citizens. On Cable: The original 1933 classic "King Kong" with Fay Wray shows tonight at 7:05 p.m. on WTBS, channel 4. Also, don't miss "A Shot in the Dark," the original Inspector Clous seau flick starring Peter Sellers, at 11:30 p.m. on WGN, channel 2. Ws-style kicks up By Stew Magnuson Staff Reporter "French Cancan" by Jean Renoir On the surface, "French Cancan" has all the appearances of one of those cheesy 1940s MGM musicals, except that everyone is speaking French. It has the Technicolor. It has the beautiful and talented young woman, working in a laundry and destined to live a life of poverty. It Movie Review has the rich impressario who is going to make her a star. And it has all the tiny soap-operaish stories: the jealous boyfriend and the aging, jealous, headstrong lady who doesn't want a new rival on the stage. "French Cancan" has the plot and look of a '50s MGM musica, but it's not. First, there's plenty of bed scenes where everyone's jumping in the sack, not stealing innocent kisses like in the American musi cals. Well, that's the French for you. And, happily, nobody suddenly breaks into a sappy song with an unseen orchestra playing in the background. But when you realize Jean Renoir, the Master of French filmmaking for twenty years, dir ected and wrote the film, you must know this can't be a typical Ameri can musical. Renter's "French Cancan" plays this weekend at Sheldon Film Thea tre. The complete, uncut 35mm print is being screened for the first time in the United States since its original release in 1954. "French Cancan" is set in the 1890s in Paris' Montmartre district where the rich "bon vivants" go "slumming." Montmartre is still a "Oui, oui! Top of the Pops The following are Billboard's hot record hits as they appear in next week's issue of Billboard magazine. HOT SINGLES 1. "Amanda" Boston (MCA) 2. "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" Robert Palmer (Island) 3. "True Colors" Cyndi Lauper (Portrait) 4. "Human" The Human League (A&M) 5. "True Blue" Madonna (Sire) rr - j o j.-.s 'Cancan ' its heels poor district and just becoming a trendy nighttime handout for upper class people who want to feel even more wealthy hanging out in lower class nightspots. One of these rich entourages stumbles Into The White Queen, where the pretty Nini (Francoise Arnoul) is kicking her legs and doing the old folk dance, the Can can. In the entourage is Danglard, the proprieter of one of the most popular clubs in Paris. He, natu rally, discovers Nini's talent and sets out to make her a star by reviv ing the cancan and building a new club, the now famous Moulin Rouge, on the very spot he discovered her. Jean Gabin plays Danglard per fectly. He dumps the jealous La Belle Abbesse (Maria Felxi), his former star, and throws his energy into the Moulin Rouge and the revi val of the cancan. He's certainly not going to let her get in the way of his dreams, although she finally suc ceeds by sleeping with his rival. After Nini's jealous boyfriend pushes Danglard in a hole at the construc tion site and breaks his leg, La Belle Abbesse and her new lover move in to buy the Moulin Rouge while Dan gland is in the hospital and can't make payments. "French Cancan" is a psuedo musical with a message. And if you're not into that and you still want some eye-candy, just go for the spectacular final cancan dance scene. You'll believe you're watch ing a moving Henry Toulouse-Lautrec painting. "French Cancan" is show ing at the Sheldon Film Thea tre on Friday and Saturday and again on Nov. 20 and 22. Screenings are at 7 and 9 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m. Courtesy of The Sheldon oooeeew!" TOP LPS 1. "Third Stage" Boston (MCA) 2. "Slippery When Wet" Bon Jovi (Mer cury) Platinum (more than 1 million units sold.) 3. "Fore!" Huey Lewis & The News (Chrysalis) 4. "Break Every Rule" Tina Turner (Capitol) 5. "True Colors" Cyndi Lauper (Portrait)
