Page 8A
Wednesday, October 2,1996
Bird's EyeView
to HAT
Story by Dave Breitenstein
KU students face
KU students face the dilemma of whether to wear a hat each morning. It is quick and easy to throw on a ballcap in place of a shower, especially when it is part of your identity. But what about rumors of balding caused by hats?
No shower: no problem. Messy hair; never fear.
When in doubt: throw on a hat. KU students are finding that hats are the solution to many of their worries, and laziness is now easily accommodated.
"I wear a hat almost every day," said Michael Margherio, St. Louis, Mo., junior. "It's pretty rare for me not to wear one."
He said he usually wore a hat because his hair was hard to fix, and he was accustomed to wearing one, even though wearing hats takes its toll on his hair. His only hat is a Sting hat, and he said it was very comfortable and fit well.
"I wear a hat for the recognition factor. People recognize me as the guy who always wears the Sting hat," he said.
Margherio said there were several occasions when he did not slap a hat on his head, including eating at nice restaurants, going to church, and spending time with family.
"It depends on the occasion, but if it's a formal thing, I won't keep my hat on," he said. "My parents always tell me to take off my hat at the dinner table."
Brian Roman, Lenexa freshman, said his girlfriend's grandfather made him take off his hat inside the house recently, but he rarely is seen without one of his eight caps.
"I wear a hat all the time, just so I don't have to worry about my hair," he said. "I can just jump out of bed and go to class."
He spends about $100 each year on baseball hats, and he considers them another clothing accessory.
"Hats are very versatile," he said. "You can wear them forward or backward. Hats are both a fashion trend and also a sign of laziness. People also wear hats to show loyalty to their favorite teams."
ryan Fors, waiter at Teller's, 746 Massachusetts St., said few people came into the restaurant wearing a hat, but it was common for one generation.
"It depends on the age group, but it's usually younger people who are wearing hats," he said. "A lot of young people wear hats all the time, but it depends on the company they are with and the situation."
Fors said it had always been considered polite to remove a hat when entering a building, but it was not always important in most situations. So many people wore hats because they just skipped the shower and threw on a hat before they went out or to class.
"I really don't care if they wear a hat when they are just sitting in class, but I strongly encourage them to not wear a hat when giving a presentation," she said. "Once you get out of college, you'll find that most speeches are formal, and you wouldn't be able to wear a hat."
But Tammy Vigil, graduate teaching assistant, said students in her COMS 130 class were advised not to wear a hat because it inhibits eye contact.
couldn't be able to wear a hat there."
Vigil teaches her class in Ellsworth Hall at 8 a.m. She said many students just wake up, throw on a hat and walk down-stairs to class.
Norman Saul, professor of history, said it was disrespectful to the class to keep a hat on.
"You should always take off your hat when you enter a building," he said. "It's simply a matter of courtesy to the class in general, and it's easier for me to recognize a student's face."
Saul has taught at the University of Kansas for 25 years, and said he had seen more students wearing hats in the last few years.
"It's a new wave to wear hats in classrooms or restaurants," he said. "First came the trend to wear hats, then it became a habit, and now students wear them all the time."
The negative effects of continually wearing a hat are medical myths, said Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Health Center.
"It is absolutely not true that wearing a hat can make you lose hair," he said. "Many males experience male pattern baldness, but hats do not cause this."
ing hair from
wearing
hats,
but
Vockey said the correlation between hair loss and hats was a cause and effect question. People assume males are los-
many people are self conscious and
wear a hat to cover their baiting head. "There is no down-side to wearing a hat, other than hat lines in your hair," he said.
Besides hat lines in hair, some students have other reasons for not putting on a hat. Mandy Sander, Overland Park junior, said she never wore a hat because she did not like the way she looked in one.
"I always get up in time to take a shower in the morning, so I don't need to wear a hat," she said. "A lot of my friends get up late and just throw on a hat."
Sander said it was not a big deal if students wore a hat to class, but it was not acceptable to wear
Critical Volume
Music reviews by Robert Moczydlowsky
rmoczudk@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
Todd Newman easily could become the poster boy for this part of the Midwest's newest brand of power pop music.
He could become the next big thing from Kansas, the signature harmony and hummable melodies of the Lawrence rock resurgence.
this side of Kill Creek and the Replacements. Never mind that his new record, Temporary Setback, is the best local album of the year.
Instead, he'll content to have played some of the purest, most honest rock'n'roll
But he won't.
What is it about Newman that will prevent those outside of the local scene from noticing him?
He spends too much time on his signature brand of honest rock n' roll, for one. And he doesn't have a glamorous aura or an eccentric, rock star personality.
In short, he's just a guitar player from Toeka.
todd newman
on the radio these days.
I'm not really sure who the album appeals to, because
I'm not really sure what it is that people listen to. I'm happy with the record — and of course I hope people will buy it — but I'm
"I just play pop music," Newman said. "I wanted to make this record be a change from the regular grunge or whatever that is
going to wait and see what happens." This down-to-earth nature and b
earth nature and blatant honesty is the foundation for Newman's lyrics and straight-ahead guitar work. The album's first single, *Kiss Your Ass Goodbye*, features lyrics chronicling a relationship's decline in ironic, sadly humorous ways: "We all have our luggage to carry; the cross you bear, the loneliness I married/ Before you know/ you're just mowin' away/ The best-dressed clowns/
come to dinner with red noses on.'
It's the kind of writing only a guy with a long list of hard, trying experiences can create. And when it comes to experiences, especially in the Midwest music community during the last 15 years, Newman has plenty to draw from.
he started playing gigs as part of a long-forgotten cover band that opened for touring acts at Off The Wall Hall, now The Bottleneck.
He played in other bands, including the Minneapolis-based Leatherwoods. The band released one album on Twintone
this week Robert takes a look at regular guy Todd Newman's new piece, as well as Nirvana's From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.
Records and then disbanded weeks later.
His most recent album, on local independent label Barber's Itch Records, is comprised of songs he wrote both recently and several years ago.
"I've been associated with the Lawrence local scene even though I live in Topeka because I don't think anybody wants to mention the Topeka scene, or lack thereof." Newman said with a laugh. "I did an interview on the Lazer, and a friend of mine actually asked me if we could get that station in Topeka. I guess he thought it was just the college station or something.
"There must be a lot more to the 25 miles between here than we think," he said. "You really have to come to Lawrence to find an actual music scene."
For an upcoming set of regional shows, Newman has assembled a three-piece band that features drummer Bill Belzer, who has played with Uncle Tupelo, and bassist Doug Olmstead.
Newman will play two shows tonight in local clubs. First, he is scheduled to open the early, acoustic portion of the benefit for the Sierra Club at The Bottleneck.
Later, Newman and his band will headline at the Granada. Scheduled opening acts include Tank Farm and The Switch. Call the Granada box office or The Bottleneck for more information.
Nirvana From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (DGC Records)
Nirvana was — let's be honest — one of the loudest, most feedback-drenched live acts around. They tore up stages, trashed their equipment and more often than not, left without playing their biggest hit songs. And thankfully, the tracks on this record, compiled by surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, capture the
Todd Newman Temporary Setback (Barber's itch Records). Overall, out of 10, and including the bonus points for exceptional album art: 8
Just as the Nirvana: Unplugged album showcased Kurt Cobain's pure songwriting ability and beautifully sad voice, this new live record revels in the raw emotion and sonic force that most casual Nirvana fans don't appreciate.
band in all of its aggressive, ear-scorching glory. It's too bad this won't be a hit record. Oh sure.
it will sell a bunch of copies, but nowhere near the number of the unplugged album.
For those of you who have spent time bouncing around your living room on a pogo stick to the band's earliest albums, go get this record and complete your collection. If you own only the unplugged album or Nevermind, put this one off for a while and buy Bleach instead. Overall: 7
There are no real radio-friendly tracks, and there are no breaks between songs, making a complete listen difficult. Kudos to the Lazer for playing *Aneurysm* in their regular rotation, though it is nowhere near the best song on the album.
Why? It takes dedicated fans to appreciate the music on this record.
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Note: Submissions should be sent to Critical Volume, care of the Kansan, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. All local submissions will be reviewed.