BENEFITING THE ANN ARBOR THEATERS
When the economy goes to hell and America heads into a recession or, worse, a depression (and I hope everyone in Michigan who votes Republican remembers from now until the day they die just what political party it was that killed that Big 3 deal — in other words, in GOP ideology, unions = BAD;…
YOST WAS A DETROITER
You may or may not have heard that Dennis Yost, the lead singer of Classics IV, died earlier this week in a Cincinatti hospital. He’d been in a nursing home since sustaining a brain injury following a fall in 2005. And depending on your age, you may or may not care. Whatever the case, the…
‘TIS THE SEASON…
…for music-based benefits to help those less fortunate. Here are a few coming up in the very near future: In observance of World AIDS Day (WAD) 2008, which took place, as it does every year, on December 1st , the Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization, NextAid, is uniting North American dance music communities from coast to…
Bridge too far
More on the Ambassador Bridge’s land grab
Rising up
Dig this: Detroit producer Nick Speed has crafted beats for such superstars as 50 Cent and Talib Kweli. And, considering his family background, no one should be surprised. “I didn’t understand the importance to these things till I got older,” Speed says of his past. “At the time, it was just what pops did.” See,…
Measuring the Rouge
On an overcast morning last month, as I followed Mapquest to a bridge on Military Street spanning the Lower Rouge River in Dearborn, I did a very un-Mapquest thing — hopped my car over a curb, stowing it on a sidewalk. Then I popped the trunk, pulled on hip waders and tromped across the bridge.…
Let’s be Frank
No foolin’, I’ve never run into more people worried about being one severance check away from selling apples and pencils on the street. I’ve even got a right-brained friend who’s convinced caramel apples on a pencil could be the impulse item this Christmas. Take that, Billy Bass and Peppermint Twist Santa Doll! When you’re Francis…
Food Stuff
Full plates for local foodies.
Couch Trip
Glenn Beck’s an asshole, Suvari shines, and Mizoguchi’s discourses on the female condition rule Glenn Beck: Unelectable Arts Alliance America Being Bill Maher’s hard. Not only must you sport razor-sharp comedic wit but you also have to, like, know stuff about politics and culture. I know Bill Maher, and, Glenn Beck: You, sir, ain’t no…
Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout
This week Jeffrey Morgan jumps the Media Blackout #199! Animo — Blood in the Water (self released) :: Juvenile generic angst in their red-stained underpants. Why can’t you ever find a great white shark when you really need one? Mike Gordon — The Green Sparrow (Rounder) :: There’s a lot here to like, such as…
Lit up
Tomorrow by Graham Swift Knopf; $23.95, 255 pp. If you enjoy rambling, outsized ruminations of a self-centered, somewhat paranoid, middle-aged woman, then seek out Brit author Graham Swift’s Tomorrow. The novel revolves around the early morning hours of “tomorrow,” in which the main character, Paula Hook, is lying in bed over-thinking the seemingly life-shattering revelation…
Comics
The Boiling Point – by Mikhaela Reid
Short Order
Beans & Cornbread 29508 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield; 248-208-1680: A busy, colorful dining spot which features bright artwork and a bustling open kitchen. Open since 1997, this 72-seat restaurant is the place for upscale versions of traditional soul food fare, including excellent meat loaf, barbecue-style chicken and a dreamy sweet potato cheesecake. But it’s more health-conscious…
Uptown spinoff
The hype is true: Toast serves great food and wine “with humor in a fun, casual environment.” There’s a lounge called the Blue Room that’s full of candles and sports a stark white deer’s head over the fireplace. The menu is a mix of such firm favorites as burgers and mac & cheese (with Gruyere,…
Face time
Savage on harnessing a lover’s kink
Dig Out Your Soul
No longer the Angry Young Men of Brit-pop, Oasis has coasted into middle age with band head Noel Gallagher perched upon the “grumpy old man” mantle, at least in UK press. This year alone, he’s insulted Jay-Z, Radiohead, the Kaiser Chiefs … and ’08 ain’t yet over. Musically, Gallagher’s band has coasted on the reputation…
Ring-a-ding-ding!
How can one not at least appreciate a show that kicks off with the disembodied voice of late comedian Buddy Hackett (whose son co-produced this production) playing God and ordering the legendary Rat Pack — the quartet consisting of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop that ruled the Vegas strip in…
Fasciinatiion
The faint has always been a band seeking a higher-consciousness while wading around in the shallow waters of synth-pop. Riding a wave of ’80s nostalgia, they’ve used danceable electronic beats as a subterfuge for their potent and topical lyrics. The same strategy is employed on Fasciinatiion, their first CD since leaving Saddle Creek Records for…
One man’s junk …
There is a modest-sized but exhilarating exhibition of Richard Stankiewicz’s sculpture at the David Klein Gallery. It’s a study in an artist’s evolution, and it’s all made of rusty steel. There is a tradition going back to the beginning of the last century of making art out of junk, out of the detritus or derelict…
The Punisher: War Zone
This film jumps right in with special forces-trained avenger Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson), who’s on a one-man takedown of the vicious Rusotti crime family. After painting a warehouse red with splattered mobster guts, Frank gets inventive and tosses cocksure boss Billy “the Beaut” Russotti (Dominic West) into a spinning glass bottle recycler that turns his…
Motor City Cribs
Inside the sun-splashed Midtown studio of painter Tom Thewes
Hoochie Coochie Men
Based on the story of Chicago’s legendary Chess Records label, which gave rise to such monumental musical figures as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry and Etta James, and, despite a host of errors that will irritate the rock and blues historian, it still manages to capture the essence of the story it’s trying to…
Night and Day
THURSDAY • 11 SIRENS OF CHROME OPENING RECEPTION VA VA VROOM Margery Krevsky’s Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models chronicles the history of auto show models, from eye-candy spending-enticers to power-suited “product specialists.” (Hey, could they have helped in those bailout excursions to Congress?) As the co-founder of Productions Plus, an…
Blaming the workers
UAW not behind Big Three’s woes
A jingle bell rock
It hasn’t been the greatest year for Christmas albums, which can account for some of the very best and very worst releases of any given year. Nevertheless, there are still a few holiday releases this season that might rock your world — or at least get you in the spirit. The Fleshtones’ Stocking Stuffer (Yep…
Letters to the Editor
Petty sniping I am amused by Jack Lessenberry’s recent sniping at Detroit Free Press reporter M.L. Elrick. Lessenberry’s latest lob was calling Elrick a “management bulldog” for the Detroit Free Press (“Getting to work,” Dec. 3). In these economic times, is someone who lobbies for their livelihood a company stooge? Is UAW President Ron Gettelfinger…
Paperless newspapers?
Will Detroit’s dailies ditch newsprint editions?
Bench change
Virgil C. Smith Jr. to replace Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge William Giovan
NEIL AND THE MICHIGAN AUTO CONNECTION
Anyone catch Neil Young at the Palace Sunday night? We didn’t this time — but from reading the setlists posted online during the tour thus far, we’re betting that he was as great as ever (though he’ll never top premiering the Rust Never Sleeps show at Pine Knob during the late ’70s, shocking the hell…
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER FOR HIRE…
Last week, in a post looking back at our recent Detroit music “powerbrokers” list, we mentioned that our friend Doug Coombe — who should’ve been on that list — not only shoots great photos of every local band that’s played this city over the last several decades but that he’s one helluva wedding photographer as…
