Restore the horror?
George W. Bush wants to spend about $1 trillion on a revised Star Wars missile system that probably won’t work (and is also illegal). Does America really need a return to such nuclear madness?
Queen Bee
Look beyond the obvious popularity of Eminem, Kid Rock and their entourages and you’ll find subtle yet more meaningful evidence that Detroit has become a big-time player in the hip-hop world. Bahamadia, with her comeback EP, BB Queen, isn’t the only highly respected veteran ditching the hometown and original crew in favor of the D…
Hair aces
One of metro Detroit’s few salons that offers alternative beauty services, London Calling opens doors to the past and future of coiffure.
Napster no more
With 20 million users (and counting), it’s a bona fide social phenomena. So even if the courts eventually do brand Napster illegal – why is it so damn popular?
Singing in the shower
The lucid essence of stripped-down, seductive, natural sound is captured in this a cappella compilation, where each contributor was chosen because of his or her characteristic voice.
Sweet arts
They’re not cake decorators anymore. Sugar artists, if you don’t mind. Their medium is cake and frosting, and it’s gone way past roses piped on wedding cakes.
Girlee talk and correct beer
The talented bunch o’ babes from Girlee Detroit Collective put on a first-rate fashion show … Edgy Ann Arbor art from Gallery 212 … Politically correct beer at Leopold Brothers … & more.
Ich bin turned on
First things you should know, in case you don’t already: The band Einstürzende Neubauten originated in Berlin. The name means “collapsing buildings” in German. Alongside artists such as Faust, Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire, Neubauten is part of the first wave of avant-garde industrial music. Its most lasting contribution is a dedicated exploration of sound,…
A man and his metaphors
Q: I’d lived with my boyfriend for a year when he broke up with me. He was very firm that we would never, ever be together ag…
Trash aesthetic
Evolving out of the DIY-punk-noise-techno scenes, several noted Garbagetronica acts bring a taste of the “savant-garde” to the detroit contemporary … plus, Carl Craig’s classic remixes collected on CD.
Every which way
Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa’s second film is based on a gimmick, but quickly moves beyond the obvious (each character defined by one of the senses) to create a lovely autumnal tale of unexpected second chances.
Free will astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re a mutant. I swear to God. Up till now you may have been able to hide the truth from everyon…
Silly in Philly
Unconventional scenes from the GOP shindig, live from the Eff You Center … earnest slogans, goat-headed protestors, “Real American” speakers and a motherfucker of a balloon drop.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
During the halcyon days of cathode Christianity, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were a unique presence. But the story of this strange little woman with too much mascara offers no insight into what makes her tick, since Tammy, who speaks for herself, is clueles
Guy size, girl size
Q: I and my dear wife have a good sex life. But I want to be a little bigger in order to give her more pleasure. I’m a little…
Cash counts
Does the candidate who raises the most money usually win?
Hollow Man
Director Paul Verhoeven illustrates the process of becoming invisible by virtuoso special effects sequences, but for all its technological innovations and philosophical underpinnings, in its heart of hearts, Hollow Man is a big-budget B-movie whose
Waxing poetic
Waxing poetic about smooth bikini lines.
Put on a smiley face
Secret Society of Happy People wants you to focus on just good news.
Space Cowboys
There are few surprises in this comfortably familiar entertainment directed by Clint Eastwood. With plenty of quips about senior citizens in space, it’s a decidedly different summer movie: a kinder, gentler Armageddon for the AARP crowd.
Buzzed on skin care
Buzzing about wholesome skin care products.
Abusing the abusers of abuse
Has corporate money spawned a nationwide network of quasigrassroots groups?
Rev
Rev makes rock look easy. The sound is as clean and professional as anything you’d hear on prime-time radio countdowns, but with more heart. Kind of like if Cheap Trick were to play AC/DC covers with Black Sabbath. From Sponge comes drummer Charlie Grover and from Plain comes Todd Price (vocals, guitar) and Mike Dolant…
All aglow
Raving about black light makeup.
The body politic and brain damage
If Bush wins, Gerald Ford won’t be the only one who’s sick.
East-West
French director Régis Wargnier (Indochine) once again indulges his taste for set-upon heroines and historical upheavals, this time in Joseph Stalin’s post-WW II Russia. Still, for all its narrative flabbiness, the film is well acted — with S
War paint
Loving those maniacal hair colors.
Gaping news hole
A Detroit News editor’s memo accuses his crew of failing to appropriately cover their beats.
Getting the kinks out
Leather and mesh, PVC and rubber, dog collars studded with spikes … Detroit’s fetish scene is whipping up the mainstream.
Cruise or lose
Annual Detroit river boat tour highlights environmental issues.
The EMS mess
Detroit ambulances run life-and-death races. Paramedics say they lose too often, but they’re at odds with the city and firefighters over how to speed up the service.
A poet passes
Pioneer Detroit poet Dudley Randall passes.
Kid care
Detroit-area paramedics work to give kids the care they deserve.
The beat goes on
Aurora Harris and other southeast Asian writers tilt the continent.
This ain’t no party
I can’t figure out if the conventions are just big company picnics or four-day infomercials. Most likely they’re company picnics where in lieu of playing softball, they produce a four-day company infomercial. But you can’t produce an infomercial without a cast party. And these people know how to party. Especially when its on someone else’s…
Cool cultural crux
The lofty open space on two floors can accommodate intimate or large groups, cater to veggies and non-veggies, they also have a varied beer and wine list. In this minimalist art deco environment, friends gather to enjoy a pleasant “non-vibe” — one that is earmarking Detroit as a vibrant city and a great place to…
Letters to the Editor
On the Beat Thanks to Sarah Klein for the good review of the Amelia Atwater-Rhodes book In the Forests of the Night (MT, July 12-18) and the mention of the autograph session at our bookstore. Teenagers (fans and writers) came out for the event. She gave advice and encouragement to the young writers. This was…
Dishing spice
As media-savvy pop culture junkies, Chicks on Speed know exactly how to bait the press. Having learned a trick or two from the Spice Girls’ watered-down feminist sloganeering and prepackaged niche personalities, this transcontinental trio of art school dropouts has merged readymade for fame: Handmade paper dresses! Face paint! Artsy-fartsy manifestos! Strategically, their hyperfascination with…
The truth shall make us ill
Shocking, graphic photographs depicting lynchings in America – they may be difficult to stomach, but may also be necessary to prove that such brutality really existed.
Heroes retread!
In 1999, 12 years after “Watchmen,” a po-mo deconstruction of the superhero genre that cast the cape-and-tights crowd as middle-aged has-beens and fascistic sociopaths, Alan Moore again turned his attention to revisionist superhero themes with a host of titles under the America’s Best Comics imprint. “Tom Strong,” whose first adventures are collected now in a…
