Freaks, Geeks and Refugees
With the release of the childhood drama I Am David, fans of writer-director Paul Feig might be scratching their heads, wondering what a self-proclaimed geek from Mount Clemens has in common with a boy who escapes a Bulgarian labor camp. “Well, they’re both stories of persecution,” Feig says in a phone interview. “You could look…
Paper Street Saints
Paper Street Saints unites former Bliss 66er Cheyenne Goff with drummer Charlie Grover (ex-Sponge). They’ve obviously built on their previous adventures in the modern rock funhouse — Paper Street Saints features a manicured post-grunge sound that capably channels both the brashness of vintage Stone Temple Pilots and the slick hooks and rich dynamics of 21st…
When not thinking is fundamental
A little more than 20 years ago when I was living on Chicago’s South Side, I became deeply involved with a fundamentalist Christian church. I’ll admit up front that the only reason I even bothered visiting in the first place was because of a woman I was dating at the time. Actually she was kind…
I Want it Loud
In 2002, 25 Suaves’ 1938 handed out headaches like roses, and imagined a world ruled by hard rock and shuddering treble. The new I Want it Loud — obviously — is no different, but guitarist/shouter (and Bulb Records mastermind) Pete Larson and his furiously drumming wife Fumi Kawasaki (aka DJ Party Girl) have added ex-Melvins…
Art Bar
Give art, not junk — that’s the advice Detroit Artists Market is doling out this holiday season. The gallery’s annual Holiday Show is a calm, unique and refreshing alternative to the frenzied chaos and meaningless carbon-copy trinkets offered by the dreaded malls. More than 40 local artists have their wares on sale, including jewelry, paintings,…
Why Don’t We Talk About Something Else E.P.
Sitting through an entire album by Outrageous Cherry can be a bit daunting. OC devotees may revel in their sonic masterpieces, but for most of us, too often the neo-psychedelia runs on like a broken tap. But if you can’t sit through this five-track teaser for the group’s 2005 full-length, you ain’t a fan of…
Poetry in motion
Considering the richness of Detroit’s arts scene, it’s a fascinating peculiarity that Motown’s literary community is a bit on the thin side. Sure, we’ve got a fair claim on industry, techno, garage rock, white rap and junk art, but the chasm that separates the literati from the glitterati in this town runs deep. In a…
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
For rock fans, loss of faith is inevitable. Heroes simply can’t remain heroic 24-7, much less for a decade at a time. My U2 loss-of-faith occurred sometime around Rattle & Hum: As editor for one of the early U2 fanzines in America, I’d become disenchanted with both the band (for summarily jettisoning the mystery and…
Mugg shots
Scientific evidence would have us believe that the Earth is continuously spinning on its axis, turning the days into nights, making the months and the years go by like clockwork. But for many of us, there are those instances when the Earth seems to stand still, when the unexpected rears its ugly head and —…
Star power
The 2001 remake of the Rat Pack’s 1960 heist flick *Ocean’s Eleven* was actually quite entertaining. But Hollywood can’t leave well enough alone, so of course a sequel was made to cash in. But surprisingly, it’s not half bad. Sure, there’s enormous plot holes and a few terribly hokey conventions, but director Steven Soderbergh and…
N&DCenter
Friday • 17 Rock the Catwalk FASHION/MUSIC Isn’t there a call for an old-fashioned runway show every now and then — especially when a charity is involved? Join stars from the scatologically brilliant American Pie movies (including Mena Suvari and Seann William Scott) as they “Rock the Catwalk” to the sounds of local entertainers Shipwreck…
Overnight
This documentary tells the story of the almost-rise and sharp descent of Troy Duffy, whose film The Boondock Saints became a cult sensation. Duffy was at one point considered film’s next golden boy, but he blew it, with no other justification than being a jerk. It’s his overwhelming cluelessness that makes Duffy such a fascinating…
Rap pioneer
Step back, all ye wannabe rappers, and check out one of the originals who made hip hop possible. Before Africa Bambaata was throwing parties in the Bronx — before Prince Whipper Whip was rocking with the Fantastic 5 — and before the Rock Steady Crew ever attempted their first windmills, Umar Bin Hassan and the…
Testosterone
Testosterone, the movie, is a painfully limp and lackluster effort, very loosely based on the gritty noir novel of the same name by controversial author James Robert Baker. The director presumably aimed to make a black comedy — only somebody forgot to make it funny. By far, the most entertaining points of the film are…
The city and the suburbs — again
“What Detroit needs to do is become more responsive to the population that lives here, so that we can believe in our city again. If we believe in our city, others will too, believe it, and we won’t have to beg you to come to it.” —Raymond T. Jackson Two weeks ago I wrote…
Champ’s town
It’s a Tuesday night at Bev’s Backstreet topless bar, a dim, living-room-warm East Side den. The handful of house girls are bored, sitting at the bar chatting up a few middle-age gents nursing sour marriages or holiday cheerlessness — the kind accustomed to walking out of places like this alone, down a C-note and smelling…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1874, a fire broke out in an underground coalfield in western China. It burned nonstop until 2004, when firefighters finally squelched it. In the intervening 130 years, 200 million tons of fuel went to waste, spewing out copious amounts of polluting gases. I nominate the denouement of this long-running drama…
Head cheese
Thornetta Davis is a Motor City siren song. People have been overheard cooing things like “religious experience” after her shows. Back in 1996, the big-voiced soul-blues matriarch signed with alt-rock sacred cow Sub Pop and issued the terminally underrated Sunday Morning Music. Sure, she’s gigged with bigwigs — from the VH1 Fashion Awards to the…
Is there a doctor in the house?
Q: My girlfriend and I have been together for two years, and while it’s the best relationship I’ve ever been in, we are not sexually compatible. Her ideal amount of sex would be twice a month. For me the number is closer to once a day. We’ve reached a compromise that usually comes out to…
Punch drunk
Like a fighter who keeps getting pummeled but refuses to throw in the towel, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick last week lost another legal round to a pair of police officers suing him and the city for alleged violations of the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act. The civil suits are being brought by Officer Harold Nelthrope, a…
Beyond hip hop
Detroit artist Senghor Reid just might be the embodiment of the ’60s Nina Simone song “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black.” Just 28 years old, Reid has been something of an urban arts sensation since landing a 2001 Emerging Artist award from ArtServe Michigan. Praised by his contemporaries, Reid has displayed his work at several…
Letters to the Editor
Tired of the crap Good for you, Jack Lessenberry. I can’t remember anytime I’ve read anyone who writes disapprovingly about the dead. But I agree, if you’re an S.O.B. in life, when you leave it you’re just a dead S.O.B. Nevertheless, maybe you should duck, as you may have more guts than sense. In this…
Big box scores
’Tis the season to appease the sound hounds on your lists with large servings of music. We suggest four collections with music from two centuries. His Name Is Alive The Cloud Box timestereo Not long ago, the Livonia-based ensemble His Name Is Alive was unceremoniously let go by 4AD, the British label that had…
Comics
This Modern World Red Meat Comix
Future schlock
The first thing you notice when you meet him is that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a lot shorter than you imagined. Even with stiletto heels under his drab gray robes, he’s still about only 5 feet 7 inches above the ground. “It’s amazing what you can do with a little fog…
Dumping on Detroit
It can be said without any fear of contradiction that metro Detroit, and especially the city itself, is a comfort zone for pigs. A few days ago, during one of the snow dustings we’ve had so far, I overheard someone say they loved a good snowfall, not because it’s time to break out the skis,…
Fruit from the wild side
They nest, usually in an obscure spot in grocery produce sections, looking like the Addams family of fruits — a little creepy, in no way cuddly, some covered in what looks like coarse hair, others badly wizened, and still others all punky-like with spikes. If the sight of them just brushes the corner of your…
Nicotina
You’ve seen this movie way too many times. The caper- gone-terribly-wrong movie with lots of eye-popping cinematic gimmicks like freeze frame and fast zooms. The formula is now set in stone, thanks to guys like Tarantino and that dude that married Madonna. Mexican director Hugo Rodriguez does a decent homage in this passably entertaining trifle,…
Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout
’Tis the season to be MB13! • Marc Bolan & T. Rex — Christmas Bop (T. Rex Wax Company) :: “Summer’s gone and snow’s fallen down. But cold’s bold and there’s nothing wrong.” Amen. • Band Aid — Whaddya Mean They Still Don’t Know It’s Christmas? (Shell Out For UNICEF) :: Start saving your pennies…
When we were bits
All I remember about the Atari 2600 video game Journey Escape is that, for some reason, in a game about slipping the band members of Journey past hordes of love-crazed groupies, there was a benevolent character who looked like the Kool-Aid man. Then again, I’m not Todd Rogers, who owns the Journey Escape record for…
