Dr. Gholz will plug you in now — at DPL
Longtime Metro Times contributor Carlton Gholz is now Dr. Carlton Gholz, having recently defended his Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Communication. The title is a fitting one for one of the co-founders of our Subterraneans column investigating techno, dance culture and the like. That title would be “‘WHERE THE MIX IS…
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants GRADE: C None of Water for Elephants’ leads — Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson or Christoph Waltz — can hold a candle to the raw charisma of Rosie (Tai the elephant), the aging elephant who motivates a good portion of Water for Elephants’ plot. Though none of the cast embarrasses, the little bit…
Plural Circle bandleader Ed Nuccilli … another jazz loss
Sad to report that Ed Nuccilli, leader of the band Plural Circle, has passed away after a long illness, according to family writing on his Facebook page Saturday. Nuccilli was a consummate arranger of his own originals and the works of the greats. When his group was featured during the Detroit Jazz Fest — if…
Patti Smith in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential in the world
Michael Stipe writes reverently about Patti Smith and her relevance/importance in his life and our culture in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people on earth in 2011. Telling video (below) accompanies the piece that sees Patti talking of her husband Fred “Sonic” Smith and his influence on her.
Chrysler Taps Dr. Dre For New Advertising Campaign
Chrysler keeps getting smarter and more hip with their advertisements. Fresh off of the overwhelming success of using Detroit hip-hop star Eminem in their commercial for the new Chrysler 200 during this year’s Super Bowl, the suits in Auburn Hills have agreed to bring on Eminem’s mentor, Dr. Dre, for a one-time ad spot as…
TV On the Radio Bassist Gerard Smith Dies — Tonight’s Show Canceled
In what has proven to be the saddest and most unexpected bit of music news to break all day, TV on the Radio’s long-time bassist Gerard Smith passed away this morning after battling lung cancer. The band was supposed to be taking the stage in roughly in hour at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit but…
Theo Parrish Refixes Owiny Sigoma Band’s “Wires”
Creating globally smart music doesn’t always require a passport, but it never hurts if you have one handy. Just ask a handful of British dudes who’ve been making music in London for years in the vein of the sometimes loved and loathed genre of Afropop. Roughly a year ago, they decided to hop a plane…
JYoung Releases Ode To Black History
Detroit-born but Lansing-based artist JYoung the General just released a new project yesterday that should gain a decent sized buzz if for no other reason than the title alone. It’s called Black History Year: Installment Two and is an eight song EP focusing on bringing unique awareness around lesser known aspects of black history. He’s…
Film Fans Unite!
As the battle over Governor Snyders budget proposals continues to rage and cold in the corridors of Lansing, in living rooms and diner counters state wide, one item burns red hot: the Film Incentives. After a star studded, well over capacity rally fired up the faithful and gained headlines in February , the creative community…
Headed off the cliff
"I think the hardship is negligible." —State Rep. David Agema, supporting cutting out the clothing allowance for poor children without parents "Let ’em eat cake." —Marie Antoinette Yes, there is a difference between those two statements. Poor, eventually headless Marie never said any such thing. But David Agema, arguably the worst member of the Legislature,…
Circle of lies
It has been more than six years since the day in March 2005 when Inkster cops, acting on a tip from a paid confidential informant, pulled over a beat-up Oldsmobile that had more than 100 pounds of cocaine stashed in a pair of black duffle bags sitting in the trunk. The bust was one of…
Health and flavor
The Treehouse for Earth’s Children Health and Holistic Center 22906 Mooney St., Farmington 248-473-0624 The Treehouse, which has occupied an unprepossessing blue-and-white building in the less affluent part of Farmington for 18 years now, evokes immediately all the stereotypes about very-health-conscious food. The shabby deli-cum-grocery-cum-supplements store looks like it hasn’t had a makeover in 30…
Potiche
Potiche GRADE: B- French screen icons don’t come much bigger than Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, and in Depardieu’s case quite literally; he’s apparently spent recent years pounding down cassoulet at epic levels. The former matinee idol’s immense girth is about the only real surprise in this breezy diversion, an homage to throwbacks that’s too…
The Princess of Montpensier
The Princess of Montpensier GRADE: B+ The Princess of Montpensier is well-made redundancy, boasting everything you’d expect from a lavish period romance: an ethereal beauty, an honorable warrior, a jealous husband, a dashing nobleman and a villainous dandy. Its 16th-century French backdrop captures the endless chains of civil wars that pitted Catholics against Protestants, while…
Food Stuff
Your Mother Should Know — It’s never too early to plan for a meal with Mom. Ferndale’s Assaggi Bistro has announced a Mother’s Day brunch and prix fixe dinner. Depending on the weather, the backyard patio may even be open. But the food promises to be as fulfilling as any special meal these masters of…
Crank
Beady Eye Different Gear, Still Speeding Dangerbird 3 Stars Riffing: Oasis with better songs. Reference points: Beware of lame, self-referential couplets. Song-of-the-year candidate "Millionaire" is pure Beatles and Stones, and Liam Gallagher goes absolutely ape-shit pop on "For Anyone" and "The Morning Sun." If you like: Oasis, Beatles, Stones, U.K. stadium rock made by millionaires.…
Solitary Man
It’s another spring morning in Tom Bell’s backyard. Birds whistle from the bare branches above, squirrels jump through the crispy leaves below, and another day of being alone, another day of nothingness, lies ahead. Bell is homeless, but only in the official sense. Because when he found this place a decade ago, he made it…
Spun
FRIGHT FROM THE BINS The Longines Symphonette Society The Great Melody Years 1968-72 (1972) I don’t know what kind of society The Longines Symphonette was planning on, but clearly it revolved around the worship of cheese. Many people would take exception to the title of this seven-record set just by scanning the song selection since…
My Heart Is an Idiot
My Heart Is an Idiot GRADE: B- As far as romantic navel-gazing goes, FOUND Magazine auteur Davy Rothbart’s warts-and-all doc is reasonably entertaining stuff. Energetically directed by David Meiklejohn (culling the film from more than two years of footage) and boasting a handful of hipster cameos (Zooey Deschanel, Ira Glass), My Heart bears a resemblance…
Iggy & the Stooges. Tuesday, Apr. 19 at the Michigan Theatre
Despite Iggy Pop’s claims in his recent MT interview that this show was just "a gig", it was always going to be more than that and, in all honesty, Iggy knew it. That’s why he ignored convention and had a band from Ann Arbor teen center the Neutral Zone, amusingly called the Space-Age Toasters, open…
Letters to the Editor
Detroiters’ discontents I read your article on the recent census number for the city of Detroit ("What the Numbers Mean," March 30), and I couldn’t agree more with the premise that the city has failed to do what’s necessary to retain and attract middle-class families. In 2007, a local daily newspaper ran a front page…
Blurring the lines
Since I started writing this column last October, I’ve been amazed at the number of organizations and events, and the complexity of marijuana activism. The most recent event to appear on my personal horizon is the May 7 Cures Not Wars Cannabis Liberation Day. The fact that it is taking place is no surprise. What…
Motor City Five
Like American musicians from Jelly Roll Morton to Harry Nilsson, the members of the Oblivion Project love an Argentine tango. So much so that as the Oblivion Project they play nothing but tangos, specifically tangos by the great tango modernist — instigator of the nuevo tango movement — Astor Piazzolla. Three members of the Oblivion…
Name that ‘tude
Ignite Detroit — no, it’s not some new, politically correct, non-denominational term for Devil’s Night. It’s a fast-paced evening of 15 mini-presentations by a variety of people on an array of topics with musical guests. The Wonder Twins hit the Motor City Casino Sound Board the other night to catch the spark. D’Anne: Ignite Detroit…
Lacto-freakout
Q: My wife and I have been married for a few years and are expecting our first child. I’m really into the idea of being sprayed with my wife’s breast milk. The other night, she was fretting about when her boobs are going to start leaking. This seemed like a good time to bring it…
Queen to Play
Queen to Play GRADE: B Kevin Kline’s talent often makes acting look easy, and this time, just to show off, he does it in French. I’ll leave it to Francophones to rate his pronunciation, but his performance is marvelous. He plays Dr. Kr�ger, a gruff old academic isolated in his stately hillside home, his scraggly…
The Chemical Brothers – Hanna Original Soundtrack
The Chemical Brothers – Hanna Original Soundtrack Universal Having frantically regained dance-floor cred with their 2010 effort Further, the Chemical Brothers try what all their hip peers are doing: They partake in a film score. In contrast to Further’s lengthy, at times meandering bangers, Hanna features bite-sized blips of music, some as short as 11…
Live Review: Iggy & the Stooges. Tuesday, Apr. 19 at the Michigan Theater
Despite Iggy Pop’s claims in his recent MT interview that this show was just “a gig”, it was always going to be more than that and, in all honesty, Iggy knew it. That’s why he ignored convention and had a band from Ann Arbor teen center the Neutral Zone, amusingly called the Space-Age Toasters, open…
New Elzhi Album Promo With Will Sessions
The Will Sessions band sure know how to back up some of Detroit’s best musicians. After a solid weekend of backing up Detroit guitar legend Dennis Coffey at the Detroit Music Awards and working with various 313 artists like Black Milk in the past, the local funk band is at it again, this time working…
