film 2001, which is, of course, a campusnfavorite. Moreover, many have remarkednthat rock music tends to benmonotonous; Samuel Barber’s worksnaren’t exactly scintillating. Next, thenmove could be through William Bolcom’snSecond Sonata/Duo Fantasy/nGraceful Ghost (Nonesuch 79058), onnwhich Bolcom plays piano and SergiunLuca plays violin. Of the three Bolcompennednworks. Graceful Ghost: ConcertnVariation for Violin and Piano has annuncommon accessibility: it is formallynhermetic, yet has a riff-like texture thatnbespeaks an intimacy with jazz, a musicalnform that has inspired, among others,nrock musicians.nFinally, there is Morton Subotnick’snAscent Into Air I A Fluttering of Wingsn(Nonesuch 78020-1), which are partsnone and three of a musical drama entitiednThe Double Life of Amphibians, a titlenthat brings to mind Stevie Wonder’snmost curious work, The Secret Life ofnPlants The previous assertion about then”technological” superiority of rocknmusic will crumble before composersnlike Subotnick. Ascent Into Air is a worknfor 10 instruments (in this case thenCalArts Twentieth Century Playersnunder the direction of Stephen Mosko)nand “computer generated sound” (thendrone is controlled by, or modulated by,nthe performances of the cellists). AnFluttering of Wings, performed by thenJuilliard String Quartet, includes ann”electronic ghost score,” which has theneffect of shifting the instrumental soundsnand which requires a good speakernsystem. Modern music enthusiasts whon34inChronicles of Culturenwould rather listen to fingernailsnbrushed across chalkboards than worksnby Eno, Fripp, etc. would find Subotnicknto be deadly.nWhile some might think that thenclosing of the gap between the two typesnof listeners would be a laudatory act,nthere is a danger involved. Consider thenimages of Alex in Kubrick’s rendition ofnBurgess’s A Clockwork Orange, in hisnbedroom listening to “the gloriousnLudwig von.” Small minds can be devastatednby grand themes. (SM) DnDialing for DollarsnOne of the reasons why virmally all ofnthe well-known performers of what isndesignated “rock” cannot be considerednartists in even the broadest senses of thencategory is that they are essentiallynbusinessmen and women. Certainly,ntheir very appearances and the contentnof their noises (which have, admittedly,nvarious melodic values) seem to belienthis assertion, but the fact remains thatneven though the days of payola are,npurportedly, ancient history, bottomnlines are still the prime movers. Thencosts involved in producing, packaging,nand marketing records are phenomenal,nwhich explains why most record companiesnare parts of conglomerates. WhennElvis worked clubs in Memphis in 1954,nhe made $10 per night. Nowadays, $10nis good for a single album and somenchange that wouldn’t even buy a meal atnMcDonald’s. Because of the developmentnof cable television, which resultednnnin chaimels and channels and channelsnof air space, rock went more visual thannever before. Once, fans would tune intonAmerican Bandstand on Saturdaynmornings and watch, for the most part,nteens dancing to popular records. Now,nat any time, day or night, they can dialnMTV and see their favorite playersnmugging on “videos.” When Coppolanwas making Apocalypse Now, hendreamed of making brief, videotapednfeatures. This concept has been bastardizednfor MTV: no mere lip syncs, this isntheater. One consequence is that thencareers of many zillion-sellers, such asnDuran Duran, have been made by thenmusic network. Already-establishednpersonalities, those who were builtnprimarily on radio and concert appearances,nhave felt the tugs of the marketplacenand so recognize that theirnimages must be refurbished—updated,nff dollar signs didn’t dance in their heads,nthey would undoubtedly stick to whatnthey once, as many of them often put it,n”believed in.” But no.nJackson Browne is paradigmatic. Innone grand leap he’s gone from an electrifiednfolk-rock player to a turquoisetintednleather-suit-wearing chumpnwhose music is on par with that played atnhigh school graduation parties. But thenlook is right, “with it.” However, hisnLawyers in Love album (Elektra/nAsylum), which features the updatednBrowne, has merely a tough fecade. Theninterior is gutless. The woman vocalistnwho once added strength and resiliencynto some of Browne’s cuts, RosemarynButler, is not on that album, nor did shenaccompany him on the supporting tour.nThat she has what he is pretending to isnobvious on her solo album. Rosen(Capitol Records), which is proof thatnwhen it comes to music, the audio is stillnmore important than the visual. Unfortunately,nthe success of MTV seems tonindicate that posing is usurping performancenin a field wherein the latter has notnbeen all that noteworthy. After all, as allnof the rock businessmen and womennknow, it pays to advertise, and video is ankey sales tool. (SM) Dn