FUCKING AWESOME FEST IN PHOTOS…
We’ll be posting a full report from the Wonder Twins in this Wednesday’s issue on the Fucking Awesome Fest, which was held at the Majestic Theatre Complex this past weekend. Until then, though, here are some photos, courtesy of lensgal Jamie Hornsby, which demonstrate that a) the festival did take place; and b) it was…
Million Dollar Arts Challenge: Win Stuff From MT Too!
Starting Tuesday at 10 a.m. the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM) will match 50 percent of donations to Detroit area arts programs until their million dollar pledge is depleted, which hopefully occurs before the September 19 cut-off date. How long will it be there? Where will it go? It’s up to you to decide.…
Kind of Blue turns 50
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue arguably the greatest jazz album of all time. And if your criteria value both artistic merit and audience acceptance — it’s an argument you should win every time. Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time, and that’s…
KISS REVISIT “DETROIT ROCK CITY” AND “ALIVE”
KISS — which currently only features Gene Simmons (one of the nicest, most liberal, talented and charitable rock stars ever) and Paul Stanley from the original foursome — have announced that their next album, Sonic Boom, will be available through Walmart exclusively. This is a nice move, especially since Walmart helped put all the small…
Meanwhile at the foot of Woodward: Caribbean Parade kicks up
While cars were the center of attraction with the Dream Cruise further north on Woodward, on the last stretch to the south, heading toward Hart Plaza, a sort of delirious foot traffic was the center of attention. The annual Caribbean Carnival Parade shifted from its usual Jefferson route to strut with the high-drama of sky…
Ann Arbor’s Firefly Club turns out the lights
There was a time when we wrote about Ann Arbor’s Firefly Club as the hub of the A2 jazz scene, carrying on for the much-missed Bird of Paradise. Now the Firefly, which started off in 2000 in the Bird’s old digs on Ashley before a troubled move to South Main earlier in 2007, has closed…
Detroit musicians at Woodstock? Here are three.
So how many Detroiters performed at Woodstock, which took place 40 years ago this weekend? We recently received an e-mail from percussionist Muruga who noted that (news to us) he was there with folk singer Tim Hardin and that he can be heard with Hardin for one song on the new Woodstock: 40 Years on…
FYE DEAL…AND THE DEATH OF A GIANT
Our ed-in-chief W. Kim Heron came in a little while ago to offer a tip for the few of you out there who still buy CDS and believe that musical artists should actually be paid for their endeavors. Kim was in a local FYE store earlier today where he discovered that every single CD in…
MT video: The Reeds go free
July, 31, 2009: After spending eight years in prison for a crime they did not commit, Deshawn Reed and his uncle, Marvin Reed, are freed after the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office drops charges against them. Video shot and edited by editorial intern Jacob Goodman.
THE HIGH STRUNG PLAY GUANTANAMO BAY – REALLY
Two things nobody will dispute about the High Strung – they are arguably Detroit’s hardest touring rock band and they play a ton of libraries. So when I saw on their website that they were playing a library in Guantanamo Bay on July 30th, I thought it was possible…but most likely it was just them…
Our dire states of America
In what should be the greatest liberal moment in decades, Barack Obama runs the risk of presiding over a socially and politically devastating triumph of conservative strategy and policy. It won’t happen at the federal level, where a reasonably progressive president and Congress have begun to renew the critical missions of agencies starved by right-wing…
Snappy answers
Q: Do you think post-op transgender people have any obligation to tell their lovers they were once the other sex? —On The Fence A: Yes. Q: I’m in my 40s and straight. My wife of nine years is no longer interested in sex. Period. She relents every few weeks, but it’s never enjoyable for either…
Getting it wrong
Imagine that you foolishly are in the habit of leaving your back door unlocked. One night, a burglar comes in and steals all your money. You flip out, call the cops, and they catch him. A lengthy legal process follows, but eventually he is convicted and sent to the slam. Most of your money is…
Agent double-o-soul
The song, pressed on the local Wheel City label, is one of the most obscure in the history of recorded Detroit soul music. Yet when the band breaks into its intro, the packed house of testifying dancers erupts, and when Melvin Davis sings that first line, they’re right there with him. They know every word.…
Letters to the Editor
More health care discussion In response to Jack Lessenberry’s article "Time to get real" (July 29), I’ll start with a disclaimer: I work with the MEA. That said, I am concerned about what you write about the plan, "a single, statewide, uniform health care plan for everyone who works for state or local government in…
Cheat Code
King of Fighters XII SNK Playmore Xbox 360, PS3 Arcade fighting games are a culture with intricate customs. Plop down your quarter to signify your place in line, and when your time comes, the sizing-up begins. You’ll pick your character, and then a quick pre-fight comment, either about the characters chosen for battle, or the…
Growth of the soil
Tom Milano is the head of Vedic Village, an example of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), located in Whitmore Lake. A CSA farm provides people with boxes or baskets of fresh food for the "shares" of the farm they purchase. The farmer receives a lump sum of money in the beginning of the growing season and…
Blackwater muck
It sounds like fodder for a Hollywood thriller: A shadowy company in the business of supplying mercenaries starts knocking off witnesses who were attempting to implicate fanatical, avaricious corporate honchos they claimed were involved in all sorts of nefarious deeds. But instead of being found in a screenplay, this potboiler of a plot unfolds in…
Schoolyard verse
I SPEAK I speak Arabic, From the heart of the east Feared by outsiders Arabie with a little New York flavor I speak The new tongue of young Arabics A new language Created to unite Our Arabie and American sides I wear A style all its own, Cultural yet modern I rock A hijab with…
R.I.P. Baatin
Editor’s note: The Detroit and international hip-hop family suffered a huge loss on Saturday, Aug. 1, with the passing of Titus "Baatin" Glover, co-founder of the legendary Slum Village rap supergroup, who was found dead on the 14000 block of Anglin Street in Detroit. The cause of his death was still undetermined at press time.…
Couch Trip
The Window Film Movement The first scene is introduced at dawn, and it fades into view like an old Polaroid, slowly and magically taking shape. Shots that follow feel like paintings, and the minimal story has the epic intimacy of a great novel, suggesting depths of emotion bubbling beneath the threadbare screenplay. The Window demands…
Gaspin’ for air
The answer is: U-S-A! U-S-A! The question up for discussion today is, which cable channel is best? And choosing between the pool of possible candidates is as subjective as deciding which act dominated last night’s America’s Got Talent. Those who read this idiot-box-watcher’s opinions may have discerned that I have an affection for the offerings…
High Polish
If you’re looking for good, hearty and affordable food in a charming atmosphere, you can’t do much better than Polonia. The menu is full of traditional Polish food, heavy on the meat and potatoes, but without gargantuan serving sizes. The decor is a hodgepodge of wooden curios and colorful plates beneath the warm pink glow…
Garden-variety politics
I was watering my garden the other day when I heard some rustling behind the homemade trellis where my green beans grow. I immediately aimed my spray of water to the area expecting to chase out a cat or squirrel. "Hey, man, stop that," said a high-pitched voice. Out stepped a dripping Mulenga Harangua, my…
Shrinkin’ Tinsletown
Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a shrink to the stars and famous himself as the author of inspirational tomes, an irony since he can barely muster up enough will to get off the couch. About the only thing that interests him anymore is “self-medication”; he goes through more weed than Willie Nelson’s tour bus, and…
Night and Day
THURSDAY AUGUST 13 Fucked-Up Movie Night SILVER SCREEN STIMULI Once a month, the cinephiles behind Fucked-Up Movie Night screen cinematic obscurities for just $2, featuring everything from underground foreign masterpieces and campy sci-fi to overlooked comedies and low-budget, made-for-TV melodramas. This week’s offerings include This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, the second film in Brazilian…
Julie and Julia
Never a particularly strong filmmaker, celebrated screenwriter Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle, Heartburn) focuses on the growing successes of her two characters, Julia Child and blogger-turned-Internet-sensation Julie Powell, rather than the challenging meals they create, or why they create them. Tragically, their culinary enthusiasm becomes little more than a means to an impersonal end, one…
Comics
The Boiling Point – by Mikhaela Reid
A Perfect Getaway
This off-kilter thriller sees honeymooners Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Mila Jovovich) on the road, bound for a remote Hawaiian oasis, accessible only by an isolated mountain trail. Though they neglect to give a lift to a pair tattooed, scruffy hitchhikers, the lovebirds somehow decide to join another couple en route, even though there’s news…
Fuckin’ A
Anthony Morrow joined the team at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre complex earlier this year, following more than two years at the helm of Detour, a local music and pop culture website. Morrow’s official title at the Majestic is "talent buyer," although he handles both booking and promotions/marketing — something that should come fairly naturally to him…
We can be heroes
The riveting central figure here is pioneering dolphin trainer Richard O’Barry, a guy who spent more than a decade building up the commercial aquarium trade, but in the many years since has devoted his all his energy and body to ripping it down. O’Barry was helped train dolphins for the beloved 1960s TV show Flipper,…
Food Stuff
Fancy flights — Vino-lovers often rave about the Loire Valley in the heart of France, renowned for the exceptional quality, variety and affordability of its wines. This Thursday, Aug. 13, Ann Arbor’s Vinology will offer an outdoor tasting of the valley’s famed wines. Tasting includes 6-8 wines with three plated appetizer pairings; $35 per person…
