Cover Story
Girl Groups: The Grit, the Glamour, the Glory
Amid all the Motown stars, the sound of the unsung Andantes lit up countless records despite its enduring legacy, we can still forget just how rich Motown’s musical history actually is. After all, we’ve been peeling back the layers for more than 50 years now, gradually recognizing the people behind the stars. Largely unknown at…
City Slang: Weekly music review roundup
Remember – if you send it, it will get reviewed. That’s the City Slang promise. It doesn’t matter what genre the music is – as long as it has a Metro Detroit connection, it’ll get in. Preferably, we’d like to concentrate on new releases but, while we’re getting warmed up here, feel free to send…
City Slang: George Clinton on Cleveland Show
So did anyone catch the Cleveland Show this evening? I have to be honest, it’s my least favorite of the Sunday evening animation treats nowadays (I’m a Bob’s Burgers man), but this was a good one. After years of abuse, Cleveland’s mom Cookie left her husband after being invited onstage at a George Clinton show…
City Slang: Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr on Record Store Day
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr will play at the Majestic Theater on Record Store Day, April 20, with Tunde Olaniran and Stepdad. A statement reads, “We’re excited to announce that Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr will be kicking off touring this year with a show in Detroit on Record Store Day (4/20) at The Majestic Theater. Tunde…
City Slang: Battlecross enters studio
Metal-heads Battlecross are preparing to enter the studio to record their second album. The band is currently on the “Another Year, Another Tour” tour across America with In Flames, Demon Hunter, and All Shall Perish. The new album will be recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Florida with Mark Lewis, who has worked with fellow Detroit…
City Slang: Motor City Rock Night
I’m going to toot my horn a little bit here. On Tuesday, February 26, yours truly will be the featured guest at the “Good Reds Good Reads – Motor City Rock Night”, hosted by Wayne State University Press and MotorCity Wine. I’ll be talking about my books, MC5: Sonically Speaking and The Stooges: Head On,…
Review: A Good Day to Die Hard
Actually, June 27, 2007 — the release date for Live Free or Die Hard — would have been a good day to lay this action franchise to rest. At that point, the Die Hard sequels had outlived their ability to entertain, serving up a tired and wit-free John McClane (Bruce Willis) in uninspired off-the-shelf vehicle…
Review: Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures C+ There is exactly one fascinating line of dialogue in writer-director Richard LaGravenese’s faux gothic Beautiful Creatures. It is spoken by the insubstantial yet wicked witch Sarafine Duchannes (Emma Thompson), who hopes to convince her daughter Lena (Alice Englert) to embrace dark magic and rule over all humankind. “Love,” she explains, “is a…
City Slang: Happy Valentine’s Day
Maybe you think it’s nothing more than a Hallmark holiday, maybe you enjoy the celebration of love. Either way, Valentine’s Day exists (it’s still way cooler than Sweetest Day), and it’s not going anywhere. To celebrate, and appropriately enough, Amy Gore & Her Valentines will play the Loving Touch on Friday night with Patrick Davy…
This Week
h2 {font-weight: bold; margin: 20px 0 5px 0; padding: 0; line-height: 26px; font-size: 25px;float:left;} ul.daysEvents {margin:0;padding:0;float:left;width:100%;} ul.daysEvents li {list-style:none;margin:5px 0;padding-bottom:5px;clear:both;float:left;} ul.daysEvents h3 {margin:5px 0;} ul.daysEvents div {float:left;clear:none;margin:0 10px 5px 0;} ul.daysEvents p {float:left;margin:0;} Wednesday 5th Detroit Trivia Night at the Hard Rock Cafe Detroit The public is welcome to team up and vie for the…
Food Stuff
A good thing just got better — Mudgie’s Deli just marked five years on the block, and it has held on because of quality food with an emphasis on local vendors, as well as the loving care owner Greg Mudge bestows on the meats that go into the joint’s sandwiches. How do you improve on…
The Ragbirds love this damned planet, and they really mean it.
You know how you’ll be talking to somebody who is much too self-congratulatory — about how they recycle their recyclable garbage and they get paper bags at the grocery store rather than plastic? The same people who saw the Grateful Dead on one of the reunion tours before Garcia’s death, and have been wearing tie-dye…
Time to support Snyder
Yes, you read that headline correctly. That Gov. Rick Snyder, the one who rammed right-to-work through the Legislature in a single day, after telling the citizens it was not on his agenda. The governor who cut education to give businesses big tax breaks. The governor who taxed pensions, and went along with a mean-spirited scheme…
The Producers
Meet Chris Koltay and Zach Shipps — and decode who passes through their studios using our handy chart!
Father figures
Q: I’m a 37-year-old single father with a 14-year-old son. I’ve raised him on my own basically since birth, with help from some good friends and nearby family. Overall he’s a good kid: gets decent grades, rarely gets in trouble. Our relationship isn’t perfect — I work a lot and he’s a teenager, but no…
Letters to the Editor
Crowning achievement The long, thoughtful interview with UAW chief Bob King (“King speaks,” Jan. 30), like your coverage of transportation politics, is the kind of thing that makes the Metro Times the most significant newspaper in the state. Your entertainment coverage should be balanced with the serious stuff of life in Michigan, and is. King’s…
Film Review: Safe Haven
Safe Haven | D Nicholas Sparks’ adaptations are so incredibly formulaic that they offer comfort in their uniformity, much in the same way everything on the Taco Bell menu is essentially a remix of the same eight ingredients. These are the things you can expect in anything with Sparks’ name on it: canoe rides, sunsets,…
State of Michigan vs. McQueen
The Michigan Supreme Court dropped a bomb last Friday that still has a lot of medical marijuana patients, caregivers and people who run so-called dispensaries disoriented as to how to continue operating under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. In the case State of Michigan vs. McQueen, the high court, in a 4-1 ruling, determined that…
Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub
Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub 612 Woodward Ave., Detroit 313-961-3043 grandtrunkpub.com Restrooms handicap inaccessible Entreés: $7-$11.50 Burgers, sandwiches: $8 People seldom choose a place to eat for its architecture or the decor, much less its history. A view, on the other hand, can be high on the list of attractions. (Think of Coach Insignia, Iridescence,…
A fair chance ahead
The people running the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority had a decision to make. A big decision involving 157 acres of state-owned property located at a prime location — the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Eight Mile Road in Detroit, the site of what used to be the Michigan State Fair. In 2009, with…
City Slang: Jack White to release rare Bricks recording
Jack White’s Third Man Records is said to be digging deep into White’s past to unearth and release recordings by his band Jack White & the Bricks from 1999. The record will be called Jack White and the Bricks: Live on the Garden Bowl Lanes, obviously due to the fact that the show took place…
