feature-length film that deliberately aijnednat educating the viewers, people wouldnstay away in droves. Thus, documentarynfilms end up being screened in schoolnauditoriums, union halls, church basements,nand the like; given the audiences,nideology undercuts the education.nhs Documentary shows, people shouldnnot underestimate the significance andnpower of documentary films, for theynhelp shape the views and opinions ofnthose hearty few who are wQling to takenthe time to watch something that isn’tndesigned as entertainment, those whonobviously have a social commitment. Tontreat the films as being marginal is tonOld & Old as NewnPreservation Hall Jazz Band ofnNew Orleans, LA; Volume II.nPreservation Hall Jazz Band ofnNew Orleans, LA; Volume III.nLinda Ronstadt and the Nelson RiddlenOrchestra; Whafs New; Electra/nAsylum Records.nOn the back cover of Volume III, thenentire Preservation Hall crew is groupednaround a table on which is mounted anfeast of classic Creole New Orleans food.nFor an insider of this kind of festivities,nMUSICnIn the Mailnmake a mistake. While general releasesntend to be soporific, documentaries arenoften incendiary: chapter titles in Z?OCMmentaryninclude “Prophet,” “Advocate,”n”Bugler,” “Prosecutor,” “Promoter,”n”Catalyst,” and “Guerilla.” Anyone whondoubts the efficacy of the films shouldnconsult the bulletin boards at large universitiesnand then wonder why there arenall of those ads for films hailing then”heroic” Latin American revolutionaries,npromoting the nuclear freeze, and excoriatingnAmerican corporations—^justnto name a few of the topics. Clearly, someninterest groups take documentaries verynseriously. (SM) Dnone glimpse at the jambalaya, sausage,nrice, and bread suffices to know that thennourishment comes fi-om Buster’s, thenfamed musician’s hangout and eatery atnthe corner of Burgundy and Orleans.nThus, instantly, just by looking at thenpicture, we land in the center of one ofnart’s most powerful ingredients: authenticity.nIn the 1950’s, a youthful jazznaficionado from Philadelphia by thenname of Allan JaJflfe came to New Orleansnand never left. He immersed himself innthe slowly evaporating sources of thenmusic which defined the American 20thcenturynculture to a degree not yet fiillynresearched and decided that authenticitynmust be rescued, preserved, andnThe Higher Men by Robert Arthur Paglia; Philosophical Library; New York. This mysterynabout coed murders is, tiie publisher says, “so composed as to generate a dialectical process forndiscussion of formal, academic ideas encouraging the Socratic Method.” A bigger mystery is this:nwho can withstand the barrage of asinine questions that are asked in the first three p^es?nNati(malizingCriminalProcedure:TheDoctrineofIncorporationandtbeThreattonFederalism by the Young America’s Foundation in cooperation with The Center fornJudicial Studies; Young America’s Foundation; Reston, VA. This book, billed as “A Handbooknfor the 1983-84 Scholastic Debate Topic” (i.e., Resolved: That the United States should establishnuniform rules governing the procedure of all criminal courts in the nation) is packed full ofninformation yet has only four pages for notes. Who’s kidding whom?n34inChronicles of Culturennncelebrated. To achieve this goal, henbegan selling authenticity and soonndiscovered that even in an America ofnPeople magazine and Studio 54 the realnstuff sells like hot cakes. Today, thanks tonhim, Preservation Hall is a landmark, anninstitution, a symbol, a shrine, and anflourishing enterprise—^while a bunch ofnoctogenarian “musicianers” (SidneynBechet’s term) keep enjoying, in theirntwihght years, the supreme bliss of bemgncreative and admired artists.nCan a tough pop-i-ock singer findnhappiness in slow ballads in which thenmeditative blends with both impulsenand sentiment? Once upon a time, suchnballads denoted emotionality andnsophistication in American popularnmusic, two elements thoroughly ravagednby the merciless cult of amplificationnthat reigned during the 1960’s. YetnLinda Ronstadt, a veteran storm troopernof the California rock scene, proves thatna reconciliation is possible. She sailsnsmoothly through Whafs New, supportingnthe quasiphilosophical bemusementnof the title in an act of easy symbolism,ninjects some rock inflections intonSinatra’s “I’ve got a crush on you,”nstumbles a little on Billie Holiday’snstandards, and makes the final point onnthe album’s cover in a tulle and satinndress. In it, she may attract quite a newnconstituency for herself and for anyonenshe would choose to campaign for in hisnquest for ofl5ce. Dn