The story revealing
Pick up a novel and read the final chapter. In some cases, it would be the ideal way to read a book. In the case of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, however, a few building blocks may be necessary to fully realize how we’ve come to this remarkably human display known as No More…
Classic Cons
Classic high-tops for hipsters and wannabes….
More Kops
Responding to Cincinnati’s anti-police riots….
Two steps from typical
Some reviews just have to buck conventional opinion. The industry hype on new Motown recording artist India.Arie suggested the coming of an urban Tracy Chapman. The leadoff single, “Video,” proved to be a funky declaration of Arie’s regal regularity. All dreads, natural breasts, preferences for Crystal to Cristal, and the folk presence of an acoustic…
Hip hose
Designer socks of all stripes….
Blame the victim
Hate crimes increase against Michigan gays and lesbians….
Now hear this
In less than two years, Poland’s Magic Carpathians Project has released five of the most fiercely independent and perversely beautiful full-length recordings you’ve probably never heard. Led by a mountain forest conservationist and an eco-feminist scholar, whose academic focus is gender bias in indigenous cultures, you’d think the music on these discs would evoke only…
Relighting the fire
Q: I feel a bit awkward asking strangers questions about my relationship, but I am at a crossroads. I feel as though my wife and I have reached a boring level in our relationship. We have a 2-year-old daughter and we both are very busy with work and life. This leaves little time for freaky…
Bushwhackers
Tax-plan protestors lead rally against Bush policies….
Germanimaniacs
Idiology is almost ideology, but not quite. Perhaps it’s an expression of the imperfect, flawed and divisive nature of ideological rhetoric. Or maybe it’s a study in the idiosyncratic ideologies of Mouse on Mars. Then again, it could be something totally idiotic, like a ridiculous example of Germanic idiom. And to that I say, “Pass…
The Top 10 Censored Stories of 2000
Exposing news that didn’t make the news….
Wheeling around
National Lawyer’s Guild speaks out, sponsors forum….
Grow up
Once upon a time, Bis was a wee darling of the indie-pop scene. Peppy, sugar-fueled younger cousins to the Brit-pop “revolution” and superstars of the U.S. international pop underground. Those were the days of the vague concept of “Teen-C” power, DIY deliberate cheesiness and more energy, optimism and high school us-vs.-them poetics/polemics than you could…
Life savings
A Motor City medic stops to assess Bringing Out the Dead….
That’s our Bush
Georgie Bush writes a book (and colors it, too)!
Score’s tied
“Stan Kenton can stand in front of a thousand fiddles and brass and make a dramatic gesture and every studio arranger can nod his head and say, ‘Oh, yes, that’s done like this,’” Andre Previn once observed. “But Duke merely lifts his finger, three horns make a sound, and I don’t know what it is!”…
Head on out
After paying hard dues, Jazzhead makes a bold new sound….
Net gain
ABC serves up an engaging look at tennis’ historic “Battle of the Sexes.”…
Shooting star
With a style that’s seemingly improvisational but actually meticulously controlled, British director Jamie Thraves’ debut draws you in until it all actually seems to matter. It’s a little slice of modern life, dotted with humor and ambiguity — a quietly brilliant film.
Don’t be fooled
If it’s spring, it must be time for Earth Day, and if it’s Earth Day … you can bet it’s time for a heavy dose of corporate “greenwashing.” Greenwashing occurs when a notorious corporate polluter rushes out a touchy-feely ad campaign associating it’s name with Bambi or butterflies in a cynical effort to gloss over…
The Tailor of Panama
Director John Boorman’s heady blend of international intrigue and con-man comedy (based on John le Carré’s novel) sends up spy-movie conventions even as it embraces them. But for every leap into audacious storytelling, it promptly backpedals into safe, conventional drama — with Geoffrey Rush, Pierce Brosnan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Rocket fuel
Blasting out of the underworld comes Rocket from the Crypt….
Letters to the Editor
Lost privilege As Royal Oak’s proposed Human Rights Ordinance approaches I am reminded of the heterosexual privileges I have lost as a gay man. Heterosexuals are not told that they do not deserve rights because of their “sexual behavior.” Before I came out I was not reduced to simply what I did in the bedroom.…
Boy Meets Girl
Léos Carax’s 1984 feature debut ambles through an expressionistic landscape in search of the perfect tableaux, pausing for enigmatic monologues, staring down the richly black-and-white streets of an alternative Paris. A brilliant display, it’s something of a template for Carax’s later movies.
Caveman to everyman
It’s not just a play, it’s a universal relationship theory. And using what he’s learned by developing his stage hit Defending the Caveman, comedian Rob Becker laughs all the way to understanding the sexes.
Goodbye, Joey
A fond eulogy for punk-rock genius Joey Ramone….
Josie and the Pussycats
This bubbly fable about the battle between sincerity and cynicism in popular music takes a pop-culture artifact and reinterprets it for a media-savvy era with tongue firmly in cheek. It’s also a much smarter, funnier version of what Spice World: The Movie attempted: to capture the giddy friendship behind girl power.
29 Taste Treats
As if you didn’t need any more impetus, special eating opportunities abound these days. The Michigan Humane Society’s annual Bow Wow Champagne Brunch is noon-3:30 p.m. Sunday (April 22) at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn. WNIC’s Jim Harper hosts the event with music by Classic Touch and a silent auction to benefit the Society. Call 313-871-2605, ext.…
Birds and water
Alley Culture springs forth with a new earthbound gallery project….
Nowhere To Hide
Korean director Lee Myung-Se has devised a kinetic live-action cartoon of wall-to-wall visual inventiveness and sharply glittering surfaces. It’s both impressive and numbing, busily rushing to well-tended climactic peaks but dramatically undernourished. It’s fun, then forgettable.
Free the salmonella
Bush raises question for consumers: ‘Where’s the untainted beef?’…
Funds for fecundity
A call for ArtServe grant applications (come and get ’em!)….
Kingdom Come
The latest all-black-cast family melodrama is a big-screen soap opera (like Soul Food), but with a comic twist, a few smiles and laughs. Though the acting has its moments, it’s mostly uneven — with L.L. Cool J, Whoopi Goldberg, et al.
All in a lather
Daytime dramas are so much more than mere entertainment. They can also teach us how to get what we want, feel better about ourselves, and to be more aggressive in the workplace.
Early Edge
Early bookings for Ann Arbor’s Edgefest 2001….
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Today I had an argument with the son of an Exxon executive. He grasped for every last straw as he defended the wisdom of ransacking Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in search of oil. Among his entertaining twists of logic was the insistence that since there are way too many caribou…
Their killer and ours
By allowing Timothy McVeigh’s execution to be broadcast, we are actively creating a new martyr — so why give him what he wants? Plus, updates on Dr. Kevorkian’s status and the Chinese spy-plane incident.
Who’s that girl
Madonna returns to metro Detroit … The Sights hop back up onstage … Members of Workhorse Movement regroup … Buddyhead.com pisses off Fred Durst (and vice versa) … & a couple of rockin’ art show openings.
South Normal
South Normal’s chords, riffs and beats droop and drive along with the spirits of the lead singer’s melancholic intensity. The sound is modern, classic, familiar and at times bordering on new wave cynical clarity. These Chelseans make clever rock songs that are easy to relate to and hard to get out of your head.
Birks works
Freaky, funky Birkenstocks forever….
Just like Detroit?
The current clash in Cincinnati centers around the police department’s black-and-white vision … it’s not the same situation that we had in Detroit three decades ago.
Gimme rock
Experiencing the Lanternjack live is a must, but Hussy, the band’s sophomore effort, provides enough nourishment for the band’s shock-me fans between gigs. And as the list of venues the band is allowed to play in gets shorter with each reckless display of drunken rock ’n’ roll mayhem, the album might prove vital. And a…
Kobe kicks
An automotive-style basketball shoe….
Hep, hipster bunnies
Being bad on Good Friday … Violent J likes Duncan Sheik … The hip and happenin’ Lager House … & DeLIEN and other electro-superstars light up the “Em in da Clem.”
Mi casa es …
This new Mexicantown restaurant resides in a light and airy room with wooden booths, windows all around and views of the city. The short menu is mercifully lacking in chimichangas and chalupas; the authentic Mexican breakfasts are reviewer Jane Slaughter’s favorite. Be sure to try the soft tacos with various meats, the rich, warm barbacoa…
Sharp stickers
Franken-spikes give you a greener lawn….
Duds do Dudz in
Judge rules on audience attire, not on police shooting report….
Message from beyond
Rocket from the Crypt’s John Reis talks about the expansive influence of Detroit music….
