Word: staging
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Suddenly the packed auditorium explodes in an ovation suggesting that this might be, as they say, "It." But no. Here, nonetheless, is the next best thing; that foxy wizard of Itmanship himself, est's own Werner Erhard, has materialized on stage. The roar of welcome goes on as he lays claim to the spotlight, hoisting himself onto a director's chair, a gray-flanneled leg tucked underneath him. The clamor trails off only when his words and pale gaze begin to spill across the crowd, conveying the improbable intimacy that seems to be the gift of all magnetic...
...entering, the pilgrims quickly learn that what they may not receive from the voices on stage they can probably buy from the vendors whose stands and tables jam the lobby and adjacent corridors. They are hustling a cornucopia of aids to selfdiscovery, self-actualization, self-service, self-enhancement, self-assertion, and self-treatment. Equipment to facilitate what used to be called self-abuse, and literature encouraging its practice is also offered, along with energy pyramids, jogging shoes, biofeedback machines and ionizers, lore on herbology, kinesiology, esoteric breathing techniques, and organic sprouts from an outfit called Pinch of Love in Athens...
...easy, glancing about, to tell who the participants really are. Right off the bat in the morning, a bouncy little loudmouth takes the barren stage and tells everyone to pick a partner for a game. "One of you will be a frozen yogurt, the other a banana." Fantastic! This apparently fulfills the promise that there would be group "sharing" and mass "intimacy." Still, the participants are people who, en masse, become as obedient, as malleable as a class of terrified kindergarteners. They submit themselves with amazing unanimity to a series of silly exercises ordered from on high. Everybody stand...
...mindedness is the watchword, and the authors view all family arrangements, even childless ones, with approbation. This openness makes the book generally accessible, an accessibility widened by the book's scope--from pre-parenthood to being the parent of an adult. In short, Ourselves will interest anyone in any stage of bringing up children...
However the sight of these five men jumping up and down in unison on stage strikes you, there's no doubt that Devo has created one unique masterpiece--the de-evolution anthem, "Jocko Homo." The song opens with three chords on a standard electric guitar followed by a rising four-note sequence on some sort of synthesizer or Eno-treated guitar. This elusive rhythm continues throughout the song, as lead singer Mark Casale breaks out in a contorted voice with the de-evolutionary creed...