The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 08, 2004, Page 6, Image 6
THEY SAID IT
"You can’t build a reputation on what
page£ you’re going to do."
Friday, October 8, 2004 F0UNDER 0F fhorndrJot°o”
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Food, games
and concerts
are tradition
at the state fair
By MARIA CHARLES
STAFF WRITER
The South Carolina
State Fair combines music,
art, food, games and
amusement, all packed into K HT3,
a 10-day period. Starting
Thursdray and continuing through Oct. 17 this year, the fair
has become an annual tradition for many students and a
much needed escape.
Lexington native and second-year media arts student
Austin Paterek has only missed the fair twice in his life.
Paterek and his family “originally went because when I was
little I nagged them to ride all the rides, and then it became a
family tradition,” Paterek said. Remembering everything
from pig and duck races to the replica of a rocket where
parties that get separated are called to meet each other,
Paterek appreciates the diversity the fair has to offer — and
there is a lot of it.
Montgomery Gentry, Steven Curtis Chapman and
Lonestar were scheduled to perform. Free stage shows
include a hypnotist, a magic variety performance and a
Globe of Death and Comedy Bike show. A fashion doll
exhibit, a petting zoo, a display from the South Carolina
Society of Miniatures, “Under the Sea” sand sculpture, a
rodeo and a horse show are among the other attractions.
Also, local artwork is displayed and awarded prizes.
“I go to the art exhibits. They’re pretty interesting. It’s
always important to see what local artisans are doing,”
Paterek said.
The fair is open until midnight every day except for Oct.
17, admission is $7 at the gate, and parking is free in all state
fair lots. For a relatively cheap price, the fair can provide
hours of entertainment.
“It’s like the local fair times 10. It is something to go to
with your friends,” second-year business student Blake Pate
said. While Pate says the fair is more fun for children, he still
thinks going with a group of friends would provide a
different opportunity from the regular routine. Paterek
agrees, “It’s a break from the norm,” he said.
Special ride promotions are offered throughout the fair.
Six of the 10 days are Pay-One-Price Ride Days, which
allows unlimited rides all day for $18.
The variety of foods draw people as well. “I always get an
elephant ear to eat. It’s like a funnel cake. I used to split it
with my parents every year,” Paterek said.
There are always plenty of corndogs which Paterek takes
advantage of as well.
Food is abundant as contests seek the best recipes,
including the best Spam recipe, the best recipe using a
Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packet and low-fat cookies
recipe.
With its myriad entertainment options, the fair is a great
place to celebrate the end of mid-term exams — and offers a
welcome change of pace.
Comments on this story ? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@givm.sc. edu
Fans young
and old
enjoy the
merry-go
round
Thursday
night at the
South
Carolina
State Fair
near
Williams
Brice
Stadium.
JASON
STEELMAN/THE
GAMECOCK
Neckties
impress
employers,
the ladies
■ More than just tying a
knot, a tie can add
prestige to an outfit
I guess the thing people most
remember about the way I appear is
that I have to wear a necktie to work
almost every day, and it tends to draw a
lot ot com
ments. Those of
us who wear a tie
every day are a
dying breed of
professionals.
With casual dress
codes in
vading offices
everywhere, even
attorneys and
other public
servants often
feel overly formal
and intimidating
while wearing a
necktie with
So those pesky neckties, although
stylish and demanding of respect, often
drive me crazy, especially in the
sweltering summertime. And the
potential hazards of wearing one are
equally as disheartening. Imagine, for
instance, unknowingly slamming the
end of your tie into your car door while
closing it and then trying to walk away.
Talk about whiplash. Or how about
feeding a few illegal documents into
your paper shredder at the office only to
find your face against the receptacle that
now contains 100 percent hand-woven
silk confetti.
But don’t fret; men have been
donning ties for decades, possibly
centuries. Actually, I have no idea of the
historical origins of neckties and why
men would ever possibly think that they
would make a good accessory. I’ve
always assumed that it was an assertion
of masculinity in the way it could be
♦ Please see FELLNER, page 8
KEVIN
FELLNER
FOURTH-YEAR
MEDIA ARTS
STUDENT
clients.
CD REVIEWS
Fogerty rips CCR glory on ‘Deja Vu ’
ZWmKMLmJmmmmt
“DEJAVU ALL OVER AGAIN"
John Fogerty
★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By STEVEN VAN HAREN
THE GAMECOCK
“Deja Vu All Over Again” doesn’t
flop so much as it skittishly trips like a
drunken fiddle player. John Fogerty has
taped a batch of down-home trifles,
salvaged only by a few brief rip-offs of
his 30-year-old glory days in Creedence
Clearwater Revival.
What’s good? Fogerty’s simplistic
writing style. As the undeniable master
of the four-chords-and-the-truth theory,
he can transform the most basic I-IV-V
progression into a refreshing statement.
Despite lifting the exact bass fills from
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” the title
track is Fogerty at his best — tasteful
drums underpinning those four effective
chords in a power pop-rock anthem. He
even takes his trademark husky growl to
a quiet reflection.
What’s OK? Some decent guitar
playing makes many sub-par songs turn
into fun jaunts. Fogerty’s brisk acoustic
guitar runs make “Sugar Sugar (In My
Life)” a sweet little ditty. Guest guitar
deity Mark Knopfler lends the Dire
Straits sound to “Nobody’s Here
Anymore.” Knopfler’s fluid delivery is
its usual ear candy, saving the song from
laughable lyrics.
What stinks? Everything else. “I Will
Walk With You” is a spot-on mimicry of
Fogerty’s old CCR anthem “Lodi,”
mixed in with a few tricks from Norah
Jones’ soothing style. Fogerty even shaves
lyrics from the Beatles and the Ramones
in “She’s Got Baggage,” a country song
disguised with punk intentions. The
intentions aren’t good, and the song fails
anyway. His attempt to chant “Hey ho”
is an embarrassing attempt at cool.
Fogerty splits time between electric
rockers and folksy acoustic tunes, but
neither side wins out. He fails to satisfy
his Neil Young complex, trying to
deliver a journeyman’s folk album.
Young’s “Silver-and Gold” is how this
album was supposed to sound — simple,
spare and unapologetically folksy.
Fogerty’s nonchalance is sometimes fun,
but goofy novelties like “Rhubarb Pie” (a
song about rhubarb pie) and “Honey
Do” paint Fogerty as a man resting
much too comfortably on his laurels.
As the former principal songwriter
for CCR, Fogerty can safely take some
liberties with his short-lived but
immensely powerful rock ‘n’ roll band.
If bits and pieces of the old sound come
through, it’s understandable. Too bad
Fogerty 2004 sounds too much like a
watered-down Fogerty 1970.
“Deja Vu” is 34 minutes long,
almost one minute for each year
Fogerty’s had to firmly separate himself
from his CCR days with bold new
music. If this is where Fogerty’s career is
at — picnic songs — then he’s not quite
the fortunate son we expect him to be.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu
Wilson brings ‘Smile' to fan's faces
“SMILE”
Brian Wilson
★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By MITCH FRYE
THE GAMECOCK
Following the critical and
commercial success of “Pet Sounds” in
1966, Brian Wilson attempted to
permanently divest the Beach Boys of
their sappy, suburban image. He and
lyricist Van Dyke Parks began work on
an album called “Smile,” an effort that
was to mix barbershop harmonies with
psychedelic instrumentals and Joyce-ean
lyrics.
But Wilson experienced a nervous
breakdown during production and the
record never saw the light of day.
Instead, the Beach Boys released
“Smiley Smile,” a sad parody of their
initial project that the group recorded
without the aid of Wilson.
Individual “Smile” tracks have
surfaced over the decades, however,
giving fans insight into the enigmatic
lost work that would have been
America’s answer to the Beatles'
Revolver. These fragments have hinted
at a record that would have been
optimistic, poignant, and intellectual.
But while these pieces all evidence
lyrical and musical genius, they are
virtually impossible to compile into any
coherent whole. Little wonder that
Wilson went insane trying to do so.
Last week, nearly forty years after its
proposed release date, “Smile” hit stores.
Encouraged by his recent resurgence in
popularity, Wilson decided to revisit the
“Smile” material, bringing with him
Parks and a back-up band including
members of the Wondermints. Parks
penned lyrics to the unfinished songs,
while Wilson and company re-recorded
the content of the album.
The resulting product is, on the
whole, awe-inspiring. Listeners familiar
with the bootlegged “Smile” tracks will
be pleased with their revamped
presentation here. Wilson’s stand-in
Beach Boys are as good as the real
thing. They eerily channel the
harmonies of the band at its peak, and
their instrumental work emulates
perfecdy the feel of the original “Smile”
sessions.
Wilson has also managed to culuvate
a heretofore unimaginable sense of unity
amongst Smile’s songs. Each track bleeds
creatively into the next, emphasizing
musical themes if not lyrical ones. And
though Smile’s lyrics are silly at dmes,
they are nonetheless fun and
endearing. Unfortunately, Wilson’s voice
is not as moving as it once was; his
falsetto has bottomed out. The result is
that he delivers some songs with deeper
vocals than they require. The record’s
excellent production remedies such
problems on most tracks, but
“Wonderful” and “Surfs Up” suffer
from Wilson’s damaged range. Fans of
the original versions may feel
uncomfortable hearing them handled so
sloppily.
No matter. The resurrection of this
project, thirty-seven years dead, is a
miracle, and the fact that it is has
resulted in a genuinely good record is
astounding.
To date, Wilson’s solo work has been
embarrassing at best and abysmal at
worst. But with “Smile,” he has pieced
together the fragments he so long ago
shored against his ruin and created a
record to rival “Pet Sounds” for sheer
quality. “Smile” is a work of
schizophrenic scope and sonic majesty.
It sounds wonderful.
Comments on this story ? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu
Students plan
visits home,
study time
for Fall Break
By FELICIA SAILEY
THE GAMECOCK
It’s that time of year again. Fall
Break: a chance to go home, visit
friends, take a road trip or make one
last trip to the beach before cold
weather sets in. This year, however,
road tripping and beach bumming
won’t be the only ways students will
be spending their vacation time.
Many students leaving town
during fall break this year are going
home to spend quality time with
their families.
“I am really looking forward to
going home for 611 break to spend
time with my family, especially my
baby nephew” second-year English
student Kristina Burgess said.
Third-year computer engineering
student Justin Smith is also going
home to see loved ones. “I like to let
my mom know what I am doing once
in a while,” he said.
Other students are heading home
over the break to make some extra
money.
Josh King, a second-year
international studies student said, “I’ll
probably go home and try to-get a few
days of work. I need money.”
Still others will simply be in search
of some peace and quiet where they
can get schoolwork done.
“Because it’s right in the middle of
the semester, 611 break is just an
extended weekend to me. I usually end
up writing a paper or something.” third
year English student Joe Stanton said.
The fourth International
Conference on East Asian
Calligraphy Education will meet at
USC’s McKissick Museum from
“Fall Break is
usually just an
extended weekend to
me. I usually end up
writing a paper... ”
JOE STANTON
THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH STUDENT
Oct. 15-17. Organized by experts
from around the world, the event
will feature Tan Ye, a professor of
Chinese language, calligraphy and
fdm at USC. Many students will stay
on campus to attend.
“I have been interested in it (Asian
calligraphy) for the past two years or
so, and I think this would be a great
opportunity. I am also excited about
getting a chance to see masters at
work”, third-year media arts student
Brian Atkinson said.
Other students are staying on
campus for less academic reasons.
Stanton said most of his friends are
staying on campus. “They are all just
taking a weekend to relax and enjoy
themselves,” he said.
The number of students staying
and going is pretty evenly split this
year, it seems.
But there still are some stragglers
who have yet to decide on their fall
break plans, including first-year
mechanical engineering student J.T.
Thompson.
“It depends on the number of
people staying,” he said. “If a lot stay,
then I’ll stay.”
_a_ $
Comments on this story ? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwmsc.edu