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CONTACT US I—I M \/l I V THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I i V I |/% CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE: “Whoever E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com -—■ ■ M M -JL- f U —m...,. loved that, loved not at first sight." with a little I Organization pairs USC students with developmentally disabled adults Members of Best Buddies dance during a Christmas party in the Russell House Ballroom. The USC chapter’s activities Include bowling, Ice skating and going to sporting events. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK BY KAMILLE BOSTICK THE GAMECOCK Normally, it’s the differences that di vide us, but friendships are often able to defy what is normal and define what is special. Best Buddies, organized to enhance the lives of people with mental retardation, pairs college students with developmen tally disabled adults to build one-on-one relationships. The organization recognizes that many with mental retardation have little inter action, especially with their non-disabled peers, outside of their families or com munity groups. It seeks to facilitate friend ships between individuals who, despite their differences, can do so much for each other. _ USC’s Ullcipiei brings Best Buddies to the Columbia area. According to chapter president Katie Smith: “Just be cause people are different doesn’t mean that their needs are differ ent. They need people there for them—just like us —to listen to them, to have social outlets.” Buddy pairs are matched based on sim ilar interests, shared activities and com mon characteristics. While this isn’t nec essarily a recipe for a successful relation ship, it’s a great starting point. Lauren Vaughn, who has been in Best Buddies since she was a freshman and has had the same buddy for the past year and a half, explained the benefit of the match es: “You’re matched with a friend that en joys the activities you enjoy, and the two of you experience things together. It’s through the experiences that you grow and learn about each other.” Spending time together is the major re quirement for participating in Best Buddies. Volunteers are expected to con tact their buddies weekly and plan two to three outings a month. The interactions help form the bonds that so many buddies have come to cherish. Vaughn, a third-year public relations student, understands the rewards of this time spent togetner. “All you have to give is your time, do the things you like to do and have fun do ing them. Participating is so simple, and you get so much from it,” she said. For Smith, having a buddy has rede fined friendship. “You can see the real virtues — the things you overlook and take for grant ed,” she said. “And, after a while, the re lationship extends beyond the organiza tional commitment to where you really become friends with your buddy.” Best Buddies does more than create a space for friendships; it enriches the lives of all involved. Just as much is gained as is given, and just as much is learned as is taught. “When I first got involved, I expected to be a mentor but got just the opposite,” Smith said. “It was not just teaching or me helping someone. I’ve learned so much.” Best Buddies was founded in 1989 and has chapters on 298 campuses. Worldwide, about 40,000 people active in the organi zation have touched nearly 175,000 lives. Of course, the true impact is felt not in numbers but in the hearts of those who share the relationships, and, as Vaughn said, enjoy the rewards. “This really is an organization that keeps giving. There are no dues to pay. All Inlrnc io enmn nf tTrtnr> limn mnlrn n difference in the life of someone who may not normally get that,” Vaughn said. March is national Best Buddies Month, and the USC chapter has planned several events, from ice skating to bowling, to cel ebrate the organization that has enriched so many of their lives. For more information about the Best Buddies organization, visit the national organization’s Web site at www.bestbud dies.org. To learn more about USC’s chapter, con tact Smith at smithkj2@mailbox.sc.edu. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Corrs offer little new THE CORRS VH1 Presents: Live in Dublin BY WILLIAM MILLS THE GAMECOCK A live album from Irish pop family The Corrs hit the shelves this week. “Live in Dublin” is full of hits, such as “Breathless” and “Radio,” from their last release, “In Blue,” which was the Irish siblings’ third and most successful album in the United States. Old classics from the quartet are also included on the album, which features performances of “Ruby Tuesday” and “Break Your Heart.” Produced by VH1, the album was recorded at a concert in Dublin. Ireland in January 2002. This album is full of the sound everyone expects from the Corrs. They have male and female vocalists, guitar, piano, violin, trumpet, trombone, accordion and Bono. That’s right; the U2 frontman and fellow Irishman accompanies the group on “When The Stars Go Blue” and “Summer Wine.” Both of these tracks have the pleasantly angelic Corrs sound, and Bono’s voice only adds to that on the predominantly pop album. If you’re looking for U2’s powerful lyrics, however, you’re out of luck. Everything about this group is nice and pretty but not powerful; so, don’t listen to be moved. All four of the siblings sing on the album; it is Andrea’s gentle voice, however, that’s heard most frequently. It’s hard not to feel romantic with the three sisters’ gentle voices holding your hand through every track. With the exception of Bono’s contribution, the album is just like most of The Corrs’ other releases, and there aren’t any new songs. So, if you don’t like live CDs and you have their other albums, you won’t be missing much if you leave this one at the record store. The recording’s quality is good, and the instruments and vocals are performed so well that you feel full and healthy after you’ve finished listening to the CD. Many songs on the album have an unmistakable Irish feel. The Corrs infuse their music with classical Celtic tendencies that give it bounce and spirit. Their lyrics, however, are slightly trite and a little insipid. Laying their music next to a cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” only highlights that failing. This album showcases the group’s musical talents, but it does nothing to elevate them from pop stars to musical innovators. This would-be supermodel family has a collective voice that overcomes even its physical beauty, and the inclusion of Bono makes this a vocally superior album, if not a groundbreaking one. Carrie Phillips contributed to this article. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Ramones, Talking Heads enter Hall of Fame BY NEKESA MUMBI MOODY THE ASSOCIATED PHESS NEW YORK - They repre sented the anti-establishment; so, it was a bit odd to see the Ramones so happy to become part of the music establishment as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But for the remaining mem bers of the punk rock origina tors — whose lead singer, Joey Ramone, died last year — Monday night’s induction at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel rep resented long-overdue respect for the band that helped revo lutionize rock with their rapid fire, guitar-heavy songs. “I’d like to congratulate my self, and thank myself, and give myself a big pat on the back,” Dee Dee Ramone joked. “Thank you Dee Dee, you’re very wonderful.” The Ramones were inducted _i_hi.___i_*_ uiuug vv xi auuiuvt wi puun o first generation, the Talking Heads. Also inducted were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, former teen idol Brenda Lee, soul maestro and “Shaft” score creator Isaac Hayes, and hit maker Gene Pitney. Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart was inducted in the non-performer category. Inducted posthumously was country guitar picker Chet Atkins, as a sideman. Petty, who wrote hits like “Refugee” and “Free Fallin,’” was inducted by the Wallflowers lead singer Jakob Dylan. Dylan recalled how he used to watch from the wings as his father Bob Dylan per formed with Petty as part of the Traveling Wilburys. Petty and the Heartbreakers performed “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “American Girl” as his daughters danced in the audience. Petty said he was sincere ly humbled to be a part of the evening — somewhat of a surprise, given his sometimes sarcastic take on life. “It’s very easy to be cyn ical about the hall of fame,” Petty said backstage. “But on the other hand, it’s really a beauti ful thing for someone like me. I dedicated my entire life to this music.” The Ramones and the Talking Heads were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, signifying a “new generation” of inductees. Tom Petty and Isaac Hayes (“Shaft”) also were honored. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK UCC VV CIO J UO L as honored by the induction. “I feel like Cinderella at the ball,” said Lee, who recorded her two best-known songs — the ballad “I’m Sorry” and the holiday standard, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” — before her 16th birthday. “It is a long way from the Georgia cotton field to the Waldorf-Astoria.” Joey Ramone, the Ramones’ lead singer, had anticipated the day that the Ramones would be inducted into the hall. But it came about a year too late—he died in April 2001 from cancer. Still, his mother said he died knowing that the Ramones — whose groundbreaking songs in cluded “Blitzkrieg Bop”—would find their place in the hall some day. “He felt pretty sure they were going to be inducted,” Charlotte Lescher said. “It was important for him to have recognition for what they did. He never felt they were really recognized.” Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam, echoed those sentiments as he induct ed the Ramones, which he de scribed as the precursor for bands like his own and Nirvana. “Something very unusual is happening here tonight, and that is this industry is paying some respect to the Ramones,” said a Mohawk-wearing Vedder in a long, rambling speech, which he interrupted twice to swill on a bottle of wine. The Talking Heads, who dis solved in bitterness in the early 1990s, played their first live gig in 18 years. They performed “Psycho Killer,” “Burning Down the House” and “Life During Wartime,” cuts that tracked their progression from arch, minimalist rockers to a funk orchestra. “I’d like to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for giv ing this band a happy ending,” drummer Chris Frantz said. Backstage, however, the band said the media had over played their differences, and even caused them. “If it wasn’t for the press, we wouldn’t have had the acrimo ny,” bassist Tina Weymouth said. Grammy winner Alicia Keys, not even born during Hayes’ early 1970s heyday, in ducted the veteran soul singer. Earlier, Hayes direct ed an orchestra and added the spoken-word passages of his best-known hit, “Theme From Shaft.” To a music industry audi ence, Hayes pleaded for musi cians of his generation to get all that’s owed to them for their past work. “I’m just asking you to prac tice some business ethics and a little humanity,” he said. “Do the right thing by me and my contemporaries.” At the end of the evening, ♦ RAMONES, SEE PAGE 8 use Best Buddies President Katie Smith, center, poses with buddies at a party. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK