Trinity College School - Record Yearbook (Port Hope, Ontario Canada)

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Chicogoflhe Blues Today L'hicagof'l'he l5lnes, l'oday is a three volume set of long playing records featuring Aint-rica's first and very original kind of music. Some- times overlooked by music critics because of its simplicity, blues nevertheless reaches beyond the limits of mere popular music and acquires the status of the classicals. lt has its followers much as classicial music has its connoisseurs and this set of three long playing records amply records and reproduces the blues from Chicago today. To understand the significance of Chicago as the home of the blues some background information is necessary. Chicago has not always been the home of the blues, before Chicago it was New Orleans and before New Orleans, Memphis. But the same factor is present in all and this is the poor negro in a big city with no place to work and nothing to do. This is the negro who lives in his ghetto in the poor side of town, attracted to the big city by work, but finding that it is alla mirage. There is no work and the negro is stranded in the big city. This has been the case with all three homes of the blues, for the negro ghetto spawns unhappines, and unhappiness spawns the blues. Chicago then is the home of the modern- day blues, the blues that came from the ghetto on the south side where there is no work and nothing to do. But what is the blues, this unique music which so poignantly reflects the modern- day negro, torn by racial conflict and beseiged by problems ? ChicagofThe BluesfToday answers this question in a set of thirty-six recordings by nine artists, The Blues are astonishingly well documented illustrating all the styles of the Chicago blues, whether it be 'down home , 'bottle neck , or the new. expensive drive of the younger negro bands. From these blues recordings a broader view of the world of music is afforded. One realizes that music need not be symphonic or published, but that it can also be improvised, the work of individual artists expressing themselves in a specified framework. Because emphasis is placed on the feeling and outpouring of emotion, the blues must be heard not only through recordings but also through live performances. As everyone knows, a recorded musical piece lacks the pre- sence and life of a live performance. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of blues. To experience the life ofa 'live' blues band. F this writer went down to the ltiver lloat t'ott-ge House on Yorl-tvllle Street in 'l'oroiito. llie pci' formers were the Junior lN'ell's liand, ti-atnrt-d on one of the longplaying records. The ctinimunication and excitement which this formidable band developed was something to behold: my expectations were more than fulfilled as the evening wore on and the hand established an even greater rapport with it- audience. By listening to this set of recordings. one may learn much about the negro. Steinmingfrom the rather basic association with blues. is the idea of civil rights. One begins tu understand the negro mind better. and one cannot help but think that perhaps blues might he of some use to Governor Wallace of Alabama or lo anyone else who wishes to understand the negro. t'..-l ti. .ll1'C'llHot'fi

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R, uisr on f UIIUID IV 'UCI utntd. , ACH IVAIAIOWMIUNG - DIIICIM G 'DI WAR Gill' PRIVILEGE F'AlLJl. eICJDJEiE5 ' eliilkfi E5P1F2Ih4F'1'CJPl ucwcoicr QANFQRTH nconutnuw AS ,,, ,,,, , ,,, M, Annu rnnnmnum' llear reader. the terrors of conformity are at hand, save yourself before you are enveloped in a tide of the mass, before you become slaves lu the will of men, before you are no longer able to think for yourself! There, in less than forty evangelical words. is the message that Privilege has to offer. lt is, however, served up in a slightly more subtle, if more astonishing, manner. To tell the plot of the story would remove all neosssity of seeing the film, and that would not hang well with the people who released the film. Suffice it to say that the moral of the story, as well as the way it is presented, easily over- comes a wooden performance by Jean Shrimpton tshe was ineffable until she opened her mouth and tried to aetl and joins with the superb acting of Paul Jones tdisregarding the few scenes where he appeared about to wet his pants with self-doubtp. The result is a genuine attempt to show the evils of our day. There can perhaps be only one major criticism of the movie. The director, in his rush to point out to us the failings of our society today, wedges into the framework of one film issues concerning the apathy of youth, the dis regard for the individual, the personality cult, and the fantastic conformity of our life today. By the end of the film, the viewer tends to be just a wee bit morally worn out from trying to assimilate all these ideas, each of which is a basis for a film in itself. However, if the viewer does not think too hard during the movie proper, he can be guaranteed a pleasant time. Another warning - if you plan on seeing 'Privilege' at the Odeon Carlton in Toronto, it is better to arrive late for the film than to arrive early and endure the torture of Colin Corbett at the organ. S J. K. Carsley The theatre was dumpyi the movie was in Russian, and I missed the first scene. But Shakesphere's Hamlet still came off with a bang. Perhaps it was the Bard's eternal freshness or Grigori Koztintsev's brilliant direction that made this version such a success. Or perhaps it was Shakespeare, devoid ofpoetry, relyingcompletely on action. One thing for sure, the Russians, like the Czechs, are no philistines. In a few short years they have become very, very good at making movies. Note how Koztintsev dealt with the Hamlet Problem . To us, Hamlet is a man who cannot make up his mind. He cannot act. He is too much a thinker, too introspective and notenough a doer. But the Russians have played down this aspect of Hamlet's personality. Here he is pic- tured as a young man caught up in the evil designs of Claudius, the King. His famous soliloquies are cut short, and his half-hearted attempt to kill the praying King is omitted al- together. Hamle-t's second problem was insanity. Was Hamlet really mad, or was his strangebehaviour just an antic-disposition ? It is up to the director to decide. Koztintsev portrayed Hamlet as rational in front of people in 'ordinary'situations but very emotional when emotion was called for. He could turn his temper on and off like a tap. A too pure performance by Anastasia Vert- inslaid as Ophelia, and some tedious shots of a seagull were the only flaws in an otherwise flawless production. And I learned something from this per- formance: Hamlet is what you want it to be. The play itself is so elastic and calls for so much freedom of characters that it is the director alone who indicates his own bias and inter- pretation. He can change things. As in Koztintsev's case, he can introduce the inev- itability of death, he can pose Polonius as a serious consul, or he can change the conclusion to suit his own taste. I won't say the Russian Hamlet will smash all box office records. It's 'classicness' will see to that. But I heartily recommend it, both as a movie, and a living example of Russia's tremendous growth in fifty short years. t - R.D. Ramsay MGMT Page 26

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Dylan l-'rom the Medieval days of England, when the simple country folk would gather together after a particular festivity, and sing their songs of joy, to the present day. the folk song has been with us. Throughout the centuries, the folk-singers of the world have been putting into song their feelings of love, of hate, of beauty, of despair. The scope of the folk-song is very broad. Many great and highly influential folk-singers have come and gone through the years. Among these there is one I feel who stands out as the greatest of them all - Bob Dylan. Dylan's greatness can be attributed to two things - First, his genius for song-writing and second, his unique style. Like the folk-songs of olden times Dylan's songs convey a personal feeling. Be it a gentle love ballad such as 'Girl' from the North Country, or a biting protest song as in 'Masters of War', Dylan's personal feelings are always evident. Dylan uses masterful subtlety and almost alarming bluntness wih equal ease and success in conveying his message to the listener. The essential theme of Dylan's works is 'Change'. This message is epitomized in the title song of his second album - 'The Times, They Are Changing'. In this song, Dylan points out the need for change in our society and pleads to the older generations to accept this fact. Dylan is very forceful in his ideas on change, as one can see in the following verse of his song. 'Oh Poets and Critics 'I'hroughout the land, Don't criticize what you can't understand, Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command The old roads are rapidly fading Please get out of the new world . . . Art Display : Hew Elcock Some fifteen new drawings and paintings by Hew Elcock were presented in the second art exhibition in the Guild Room. Hew, who graduated last year, was one ofMr. Blackwood's studentsg it is evident that some of Mr. Black- wood's stark and vivid style has rubbed off on his pupil. This was particularly evident in the ink drawings exhibited. The watercolours were by far the most exciting part of the exhibition. They showed a soft interpretation of nature, somewhat reminiscent of the impressionist school,con- trasting very well with the harsher ink drawings, which tended to be a little on the sterile side. Poge 28 He follows this up with one of his funny songs called 'Talking World War Three Blues', which as one can imagine, is Dylan's inter- pretation of what will happen to the United States if certain policies are not changed. Dylan, in his song, illustrates his great ability to use wit and sarcasm to achieve a certain 'lightness'. For while dealing with a serious and very real problem in the world today, he seems to treat it as a matter of just passing interest. However, he does this, I feel, to draw attention to the problem and to make people become aware that it is something for us to be concerned about. Dylan's topics, however, are not the sole reasons for his effectiveness. He combines these lyrics with original and beautiful melodies. One is attracted to these tunes in the same way one is attracted to any other good piece of music - they flow and harmonize with the tempo of the song. Dylan's folk-songs will be with us for a long time. They are the type of songs which can be made relatively popular when sung and arranged by a variety of different musical groups, be they other folk groups, rock 'n' roll groups or even classical symphonies. However, these arrangements do not appeal to me. In my opinion, Dylan's works, when per- formed by Dylan himself, are inapproachable by any imitators or musicians of a different musical type. For it is Dylan's feelings and Dylan's emotions which have created the song, and thus it is with Dylan's sincerity only, that this feeling can be captured. I myself became personally concerned. His voice which is by no means a soft and flowing one, possesses that 'soul' quality which has the effect of projecting his concern about the many problems he sings of. Bob Dylan has become somewhat of an idol to me. If there has ever been a greater folk singer, I have yet to hear him. - C. G. F. Nation The best word for his choice of colours is pleasing . The eye is soothed, yet stimulated if such a phenomenon is possible. While it must be noted that Hew has yet to develop his style more fully, this exhibition leaves no doubt in my mind, and I am sure, in the mind of everyone who has seen it, that Hew is well on his way to a unique and very promising style. It is amazing and wonderfull that the School has managed to find and de- velop such talent. - JG. MacKay