1996_11 The Daily Collegian November 1996

              THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Thursday, November 7,1996
Opinion
News Editor: Jim Ward
Telephone: (209) 278-2486
What's in a
name; this band
is no 'Failure'
By Alice Egoian
The Daily Collegian
As members of a society con¬
stantly engaged in consumer wars,
we sometimes relv on the name of
a product to help us along with our
choice.
You'd never see a carton of milk
with the brand name "Spoils," but
you can listen to a very talented
band called Failure and the reper¬
cussions will be far from negative.
I recently had the opportunity to
interview the drummer, Kellii Scott,
who enlightened me further about
the making of their latest album.
"Fantastic Planet," and gave me
some insight into the mechanics of
creating music. Kellii has been with
the band for about three and a half
years, which was not long enough
for me to have remembered him
from a 1991 show at the Cadillac
Club.
What I recalled from that show
by Failure was a lot of noise that
didn't seem to make much sense.
What you will hear from Failure
today are more organized and ef¬
fective rhythms that exude a matu¬
rity rarely found in newer bands.
According to Kellii, "The fur¬
ther along we grow, we more or less
come together to learn one
another's idiosyncrasies and strong
points ... I think we're all pretty
good at pulling the best out of one
another, and in turn learning from
one another."
If you've read any of the reviews
for Failure's "Fantastic Planet."
you'll note, among other things,
that their music hints at being af¬
fected strongly by the Beatles.
Kellii had no qualms about that one.
"I think all music is pretty much
influenced by the Beatles," he said,
"They're basically like the ultimate
goal. Just the whole ideal of the
Beatles seems to be as large or out
on a limb as any band's ever got¬
ten."
Many bands, I've found, do not
always feel comfortable listing in-
Backstage with
the band
Group:
Failure
Album:
"Fantastic Planet"
Concert:
Today, in the Pub.
8 p.m.
$3 students/$4 general
fluences because they pride them¬
selves on "suppose" originality and
find it lacking to say anyone's in¬
fluenced them at all.
Grow up! This is the kind of im¬
mature attitude that causes bands to
appear in a flash and then suddenly
drop out of existence. For not do-
ing this, we must give Failure
credit, especially to Kellii Scott,
who had the courage to divulge his
secret admiration for George
Michael.
Not everyone would be willing
to admit to a liking for the flaming
half of Wham! who went on his
own and became God in a pair of
reflective sunglasses.
Personally, Kellii was influ¬
enced by lots of older musicians,
such as Pink Floyd. The Who, and
David Bowie. He also includes rock
icon Kiss to this list. Kellii says "I
would have to say Kiss definitely
influenced me. I probably never
would have picked up a musical
instrument if it weren't for Kiss.
They totally put that whole rock star
life in my head. I was just such a
kid. I wanted to be like them, play¬
ing for millions of people and, you
know, just the icon that they were
to every kid, all my friends. Thank
God I grew out of that and actually
learned how to play."
A lot of peop|e like to compare
Please see FAILURE page 4.
From the 14th amendment
to Prop. 209—now what?
By Hakim Allen
Special to the Collegian
The anticipation has sub¬
sided, and the ebb of anxiety has
brought flow of curiosity.
America's wish has been
granted: freedom and equality
for all. The implication of this
proposition outlaws everything
from magnet schools to wheel¬
chair ramps. Looking for a good
way to earn some extra money?
Go to law school with a concen¬
tration on Prop 209.
Where do we go from here?
Has history repeated itself?
It's common knowledge that
the 14th amendment abolished
slavery. In order to maintain the
American ideal of equality the
Civil Rights Act of 1865 was
passed. This granted everyone the
"full and equal enjoyment of facili¬
ties."
Eighteen years Tater in the civil
rights cases, this act was abolished
by a Supreme Court vote of 8-1.
Justice Bradley explained,
"When a man emerged from sla¬
very, and by the aid of benevolent
legislation, has shaken off the in¬
separable concomitants of the state,
there must be some stage in the
progress when he takes the rank of
a mere citizen, and ceases to be¬
come the special favorite of the
law ..."
Following the civil rights cases,
subordinated groups experienced
extreme prejudice, segregation, and
discrimination. America was sup¬
posed to be ready for equality to
adhere to the creed. "All men are
created equal." But we weren't.
The end of the civil rights cases
promulgated the Jim Crow
South. These conditions contin¬
ued in an overt fashion until the
Civil Rights Act of 1965.
Now, just 22 years- later,
we've come to the same place.
We have made the assertion that
there comes a time when one
must emerge from discrimination
and segregation and by the aid
of benevolent legislation, take
the rank of a mere citizen and
cease to become the special fa¬
vorite of the law.
Life's one big spin cycle un¬
less you can some how manage
to get in the dryer. An old wise
man once said: "Be careful what
you ask for. you just might get
Election outcome means
race for political center
By Derek Walter
The Daily Collegian
Another election has come and
gone, and there is much to learn
from this one. President Clinton
coasted to victory over Bob Dole,
while the Republicans retained con¬
trol of both houses of Congress.
This victory is bittersweet for
Clinton. He was able to persuade
the majority of voters that the coun¬
try is on the right track. But ques¬
tions about his integrity resulted in
another Republican Congress.
This leaves the government at a
status quo. It also means both po¬
litical parties will continue to pur¬
sue policies and ideas which are
aimed at the center. After the 1994
election, in which Republicans took
control of both houses of Congress
for the first time in 40 years, Clin¬
ton made a noticeable shift to the
right. His re-election campaign fo¬
cused on strong families, values,
and a "bridge to the future."
v-0
The Republican Congress took
a comparatively less pro-active ap¬
proach to this election than in 1994.
Many voters were dissatisfied with
the 104th Congress, especially
Speaker Newt Gingrich. Therefore,
there was no "Contract with
America II." Many Republican
members of congress ran cam¬
paigns focused on local issues, as
opposed to a national agenda.
This leaves two more years of a
divided government. Apparently,
voters feel safer if the two parties
play watchdog against another.
Bob Dole's lackluster campaign
was clearly a factor in Clinton's vic¬
tory. During the primary race. Dole
ran on a "it's my turn" platform. He
did not articulate any clear vision
to the voters until it was too late.
Also, Dole's criticisms of the Presi¬
dent missed their mark. It is incom¬
prehensible that Dole's harshest at¬
tack against President Clinton dur¬
ing the first debate was Clinton not
addressing George Bush as "Mr.
President" during the 1992 debates
The Republicans must articulate
a clear vision if they are to have any
success in the future.
It is true that they cannot veer
off too far to the right, which would
alienate a significant number of
voters. But they should not advo¬
cate policies which are solely aimed
at attracting votes and are void of
principle.
The Republicans need to formu¬
late a clear agenda and stick to it.
They need to push for a balanced
budget, a smaller federal govern¬
ment, and tax relief.-
The president is likely to take a
)-active approach and push for
ilth care reform, an expanded
version of the Family Leave Act.
and other proposals which are in the
works.
Compromise and deal-cutting is
a part of politics, but the Republi¬
cans should establish straight-for¬
ward ideas which will not be com¬
promised.
Daily Collegian
California State University, Fresno
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