february 1987

6
1$E REPOR P.O. Box 22113 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY NOFTEN TiV ERROR - NEVER IN MUBTN cA 94122 FEBRUARY, 1987 OUR''LOVE-HATE'' RELATIONSHIP WITH LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIPS poor Vanna White - Iast year we loved her. This year we hate her. And what about Madonna? Two years ago we hated her. Now, we love her. Why can't we just like anybody anymore? The answer to this "Iove-hate" mystery is centered in a media-cyclone that is accelerating so rapidly that our symbiotic concept of the idol-idolizer relationship is nearing extinction. Rather than permit a superstar or a fashion trend to develop, reach fruition and then die a natural deathr w€ have become cultural bulemics, gobbling whatever's new, and then immediately puking it upr So that we can stuff the current media merde down our throats. This descent into a "Iove-hate" world has its roots in several trends from the past three decades: (1) an "instant hj-t" fetishi (21 a shortened shelf-life marketing syndrome; and (3) a guilt-driven conned-sumer mentality that somehow associ-ates cultural likes and dislikes with status. \ Most destructive of these trends has been the search for instant "hits". The formulaic emulaton of previous art and fashion money-makers has turned our cultural arbiters into tail-chasing art mongrels that xerox the current golden egg and then immediately abandon it if it doesn't ship platinum. Continued on Paqe 4 FROM th6 Ed.itor ALL U NEED IS LOVE - Roses ire re+ profits are black, circulation is up and we're glad to be back. This Valentine ish is the third in a series of annual "all-Iovett issues aimed at heating the heart and promoting safe but endless sex. And remember - limited editions of our multi-position T&A&R poster (with detachable candypants) are sLill available from our special products division. FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Werner Erhard isn't the only 60's mindbender jumping on the nutrition health bandwagon (see ish 12 "Get Ready for wernerburgers: You Are What you EST" ). A new microwave cookbook is in the offing from the scientology crowd - look for a June release of L. Ron cupboard's "Dining-etics " DREAM BABY DREAM - Response to our new feature "A&R's Rock Dreams" has been so strong that we've added a subcategory for your reading enjoyment- In addition to retelling personal specifics of our actual rock star dreams r w€ will be relating detiiis from oui sleep-induced fantasies about rock journalists - tftis month we feature our nighttime encounter with LA rock writer Roy Trakin. Til next ish - ed. A&R 1987

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Love-Hate Relationships, Rock Dreams (Bruce Springsteen, Roy Trakin) H & Happenin' breakfast cereals.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: February 1987

1$EREPORT

P . O . B o x 2 2 1 1 3

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

NOFTEN TiV ERROR - NEVER IN MUBTN c A 9 4 1 2 2

FEBRUARY, 1987OUR' 'LOVE-HATE' ' RELATIONSHIP WITH LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIPS

poor Vanna Whi te - Iast year we loved her . This year we hate her . And whatabout Madonna? Two years ago we hated her . Now, we love her . Why can ' t wejust l ike anybody anymore?The answer to th i s " I ove -ha te " mys te ry i s cen te red i n a med ia -cyc lone tha t i sacce le ra t i ng so rap id l y t ha t ou r symb io t i c concep t o f t he i do l - i do l i ze rre la t ionship is near ing ext inct ion. Rather than permi t a superstar or afashion t rend to develop, reach f ru i t ion and then d ie a natura l deathr w€have become cu l tu ra l bu lem ics , gobb l i ng wha teve r ' s new, and then immed ia te l ypuking i t upr So that we can stuf f the current media merde down our throats .Th i s descen t i n to a " Iove -ha te " wor ld has i t s roo ts i n seve ra l t r ends f romt h e p a s t t h r e e d e c a d e s : ( 1 ) a n " i n s t a n t h j - t " f e t i s h i ( 2 1 a s h o r t e n e dshe l f - l i f e marke t i ng synd rome; and (3 ) a gu i l t - d r i ven conned-sumer men ta l i t ytha t somehow assoc i -a tes cu l tu ra l l i kes and d i s l i kes w i th s ta tus .

\ Mos t des t ruc t i ve o f t hese t rends has been the sea rch fo r i ns tan t "h i t s " . Theformula ic emulaton of prev ious ar t and fashion money-makers has turned ourcu l tu ra l a rb i t e rs i n to ta i l - chas ing a r t mongre l s t ha t xe rox the cu r ren tgo lden egg and then immed ia te l y abandon i t i f i t doesn ' t sh ip p la t i num.

Cont inued on Paqe 4

FROM th6 Ed.itorALL U NEED IS LOVE - Roses i re re+ prof i ts areb lack , c i r cu la t i on i s up and we ' re g lad to beback . Th i s Va len t i ne i sh i s t he th i rd i n a se r ieso f annua l "a l l - I ove t t i ssues a imed a t hea t i ng thehear t and promot ing safe but endless sex. Andremember - l imi ted edi t ions of our mul t i -pos i t ionT&A&R pos te r (w i th de tachab le candypan ts ) a re sL i l l ava i l ab le f rom ou r

spec ia l p roduc ts d i v i s i on .FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Werner Erhard isn ' t the only 60 's mindbender jumping on

the nutr i t ion heal th bandwagon (see ish 12 "Get Ready for wernerburgers: You

Are What you EST" ) . A new microwave cookbook is in the of f ing f rom the

sc iento logy crowd - look for a June re lease of L . Ron cupboard 's"D in ing -e t i cs "

DREAM BABY DREAM - Response to our new feature "A&R's Rock Dreams" has been

so st rong that we've added a subcategory for your reading enjoyment- In

addi t ion to rete l l ing personal speci f ics of our actual rock s tar dreams r w€

w i l l be re la t i ng de t i i i s f rom ou i s leep - induced fan tas ies abou t rockjournal is ts - t f t is month we feature our n ight t ime encounter wi th LA rock

wr i t e r Roy T rak in . T i l nex t i sh - ed .

A & R 1 9 8 7

Page 2: February 1987

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@ = _ t - _ - - . K a s e r n , i\r / vou might l ike to add a #5 to your exposit ion on 7-l l . You r i l l be pleased[to I --- - - /

know that the all-purpose way-station reached the penultimate on f{ew Yearrs- Iknow that the al l-purpose way-stat ion reached the penult inate on f{ew Yearrs- LEve in South Hanpton, Long Island. For al l those people who didn't uant to \ | _ . r Ispend the Eve at ' the Plazi, tne Ualdorf Astoria or 'evbn at the Iocal movie, \ | n\ \ .p \ r .r | |7-I.l proved to be available, joyous and crowded. Balloons uere hung inside a l_.\) V \- Wl I I

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and outside the way-station, the festive air perneated, car doors banged in /l ieu of noisemakers, beer cans were thrown around with aplonb, and al l in al l , I l^. teveryone seemed to be having a rousing good All Anerican time!

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l thy was I there? cause that 's where freedom is wait ing! \ * lnq ^

I 'd l ike to be a regular subscriber because I l ike yhat you have to say andhotv you say i t . Bi l l me!

Enclosed is my check for $10 for ny T-Shirt.

_- Fondly, ffi,1Esther B. SiegelNew YocK

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Page 3: February 1987

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Page 4: February 1987

"Love-Hate" (cont inued f rom page 1 )

A mov ie tha t doesn ' t go seven f i gu res i n i t s f i r s t weekend ; a TV show tha td o e s n ' t r u n a N i e l s e n 2 0 i n i t s f i r s t 1 0 m i n u t e s ; o r a r e c o r d t h a t d o e s n t thave a h i t f ac to r o f 97 ou t o f t he box - a re a l l des t i ned fo r pa lookav i l l e .our demand for instant success has become so h i t -dr ivenr w€ now need onlyre ly on prev iew decis ions to determine i f a genera l re lease is evenworthwhi le . Why burden the publ ic .wi th a movie that wi l l on ly break even when35 yahoos f rom El - Segundo g ive i t 'a thumbs down? Forget aUoir t "bu j - ld ing anaud ience" o r "word o f mou th " - i f you can ' t p ro jec t i i ckpo t res idua ls w i th ina w e e k , i t ' s t i m e t o c l o s e t h e c a s h r e g i s t e r b e c a u s e - i n a h i t - f l o p w o r 1 d ,i t ' s n o t e n o u g h t o j u s t c l e a r a p r o f i t :The second t rend feeding th is cu l tura l n ightmare is the shor tened shel f - l i fephenomenon. For a wor ld weaned on pre-p lanned obsolescencer w€ no longerexpec t ou r p roduc ts o r se rv i ces to l as t . Th i s conned-sumer a t t i t ude haswaf ted through our complete env i ronment . Everyth ing must be replaced bysometh ing new and so we eager l y d i spose o f ou r l i gh te rs , shave rs , spouses ,and supers ta rs , be l i ev ing the b i - coas ta l med ia adage tha t a l - I i n l i f e i seventual ly superceded.I f th is were not enough, we've been browbeaten in to an over \ r rhe lming gui t tt ha t ou r s ta tus i n soc ie t y i s measured by ou r cu l tu ra l assoc ia t i ons . The"wha t rs ho t - wha t ' s no t " men ta l i t y p rop lgand ized th rough TV and mass marke tmagazines has forced us to rea l ign our tastes for fear that we might beperceived as being out o f s tep. We now l ive in a wor ld where every act iv i ty ,every cu l - tura l category, and every form of fashion must be separa led by somese l f -appo in ted expe r t i n to l i s t s o f bes t and wors t o r i n and ou t .r t ts no wonder wetre confused about what movie to see or what record to buy.our own cul tura l d iv is ion ism and box of f ice repress ion has become far moredangerous than any po l i t i ca l cha l l enge to f ree -speech o r a r t i s t i c exp ress ion .So nex t t ime some med ia hypes te r t r i es to te I I you wha t ' s ho t o r wha t ' s no t ,remind h im that in a l -ove-hate wor ld , you ' re not a f ra id to walk down themidd le o f t he road .

JeRs- Rg"k.\'rt+.r Dtenxs g A a" Bruc€ 6P, ingsfeen "

R went fD Pi:,l '1 . fuy.Trakr'vr v $ nyp, lavcinq h rh'.ks in 4+o go *o A l4or-r-Y A'hrcs1 6 'uoo+[- ,,; ;'eriirii,,rr - ,r wal-tw 5v I_o. 4 t-tv.-t-I n/T I st7 E-f Doo+\ in A".tdstaurariT -'tP wAs

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Page 5: February 1987

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;oFTEN rN ERRIR - NEVER rn oou6r,

Page 6: February 1987

Last year the number one requested item on our annual readershipsurvey was the A&R T-shir t . Af ter del iberat ions wi th several maiort-shir t manufacturers and the si lkscreeni .ng unionr w€tt" pr""d- [6-of fer the f i rst i tem in the A&R Special l {erchandise l ine. That 'sr ight 100t Cotton Heavyweight Ciewneck T-shir ts wi th the A&i- f -goand notto ("of ten in Error - Never in Doubt") proudlv emblazonedacross the f ront. Not only that , but r r re 've el iminat6d the hassleusual ly associated with other t -shir t of fers. The A&R-T comes in oneco lor (b lack w i th wh i te le t te r ing) and one s ize (X t ra la rge) sotherets no need to waste t ime ch5osing colors and sizes.

-The only

decision you have to make is how many to order.

Fu t - tba t rs .no t a l l . I f you order w i th in the nex t two months , we w i l linclude, dt no extra charge a f ree pop star celebr i ty g x 1 ophotograph sui table for f raming (no- two photos ar ike' t )

And th? t rs g t i l l ng !_a l l . w i th each order , wer l l guarantee a 1 -yearex tens ion o f your_A&R Repor t subscr ip t ionr w€ guarantee wer I l "p3 i fyour name correct ly and we promj-se not to disclose any informat ionabout you or your spouse to any other consumer marketing ormerchandise services.

So f i l l out the handy order form, enclose your check for $1 0 to theA&R Repor t and we '11 sh ip your qua l i t y Tee w i th in 6 -8 weeks . That ' sr ight - No shipping and handl ing charges! please, no phone calrst

ADDRESS

HOW I.IANY WHO DO YOU LOVE?

Ma i l $1 0 pe r T -sh i r t t o :The A&R Repor t , p .o . Box 22 ' t ' 13 , sunse t s ta t i on , s .F . cA 94122