Shea’s lounge! Dirty Bears and blind in football.
A take on the vengeful play of one, and maybe all, teams in the NFL playoffs. DIRTY BEARS City of the dislocated shoulders, Penalties protested, Concussion discussion dismissed And cheered over. The violent game, Our time in obsession, A full expression, Phony and routine; A head-to-head mindless meeting. And the blind don’t notice the obscene.
In the Flesh: Robert Plant show review
From MT intern Jeremy Winograd … Robert Plant & the Band of Joy Ann Arbor, MI- Hill Auditorium January 21, 2011 “It’s a wonderful thing, this Band of Joy,” announced a still lion-haired Robert Plant early in the band’s set. “Everyone is smiling all the time and no one’s had a drug in hours!” Yeah, the 62-year-old…
The Strokes are … back! And?
Can any other modern band equal the level of irrational emotion that greets the Strokes at every turn? Ten years ago, they were perhaps the country’s most relentlessly hyped band; that condition quickly dissipated and now this week, with the announcement of both a new album in March and a headlining spot at Coachella, blogs…
More Jack White/Third Man yakity-yak
There’s a very well-done Jack White/Third Man Records piece on the cover of this week’s Nashville Scene, that city’s alt weekly, in which White talks of Detroit, Nashville and the overall mindset and philosophy behind his Third Man Records. Ben’s Blackwell and Swank are quoted. There’s even subtext that suggests Third Man can save the…
No Strings Attached
No Strings Attached GRADE: C Think of your most sexually attractive friend. Now imagine meeting him or her at random hours for tawdry sex month after month, without developing jealousy, attachment or real feelings. Plausible? Nope, but such is the snag for a potentially enjoyable comedy, which the likable, talented cast struggles fiercely to sell.…
Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole GRADE: B- "Things aren’t nice anymore!" —Nicole Kidman as Becca in Rabbit Hole Grief is a messy, profoundly isolating emotion. It can explode in agonizing hysteria or quietly roil beneath the surface, eroding a person’s capacity for joy and interpersonal connection. John Cameron Mitchell’s carefully directed Rabbit Hole knows this, as it delicately…
Detroit Jazz Fest begins announcing Labor Day roster
No more the days when other jazz fests had their lineups long in advance of Detroit’s, when you’d pick up a national jazz mag’s festival roundup mid-spring and see Detroit listed as TBA. The Detroit fest announced a bit ago that drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts — the longtime timekeeper of choice for Wynton then Branford…
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” to play at DFT this season. Go watch it.
If you peruse the Detroit Film Theatre’s Winter Schedule, you’ll see slated for a few April-May showings the Thai import Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Yes, that’s a few months away—but that just gives more time to clear your schedule. The film’s maker, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, has provided the greatest leap forward for…
Local Filmmakers Take Note…
Hollywood editor Richard Chew will be speaking next Thursday night at the Detroit Film Theater about the magic of film editing. How big is he? We he co-edited a small arthouse flick called Star Wars a few years back. Maybe you’ve heard of it? For the small percentage of you who managed to catch the…
Jack White and Wanda Jackson do Dylan (video here) justice.
No matter how you view it Jack White made rock ‘n’ roll exciting again, without a hit song or much airplay. So how’d he do it? Well it wasn’t necessarily his irreproachable sense of aesthetics, and sexual tension for little girls. Nor was it that false hint of arrogance, and androgyny, or the way he stays at…
And Batman’s Next Foes Are…
Warner Brothers just announced the casting for Christopher Nolan’s next chapter in the batman films – The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale of course returns as Batman. Wouldn’t be awesome if he made Bruce Wayne kind of like Dicky Ward in The Fighter? Ann Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle (aka Cat Woman) and…
Pugh-eee
Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh laid a stinker last week when he linked the issue of council television broadcasts to his "no" vote on proposed funding that would have provided the Police Department with new headquarters. The vote concerned $100 million in low-interest bond funding. Nearly $65 million would be used to renovate the…
Crushes never stop
Q: I am a 23-year-old straight female. A year ago, I moved across the country after college to live with my boyfriend of four years. He is in graduate school and is the only person I really know here — I am working two part-time jobs, and my co-workers are either much older than me…
Gateway: The big picture
Dan Stamper emerged from an afternoon stay in jail last week full of defiance. Despite being found in contempt by a Wayne County Circuit Court Judge, the president of the Detroit International Bridge Co. came out swinging. For nearly a year, the company owned by billionaire trucking mogul Manuel "Matty" Moroun had ignored a court…
A second chance
Arthur Willis calls a customer into the workshop at the back of his store. "See this?" he says, pointing inside the gears of an old vacuum cleaner. He’s showing the man how to perform a minor repair himself for next time. "Tighten this down. There. Now put that belt on that roller." The lesson takes…
Cheat Code
Splatterhouse Namco PS3 (Review Copy), Xbox 360 An over-the-top rendition of the classic 1988 arcade hit Splatterhouse, Namco shows guts by toying with this legendary side-scrolling brawler. We’re in a generation where developing a quality game involves flashy gore mods and some rather vulgar language, so I had no idea what to expect from this…
Green Hornet: Built Detroit Tough!
Did you know the Green Hornet is a Detroit native? The pulp vigilante got his start right here in the D, all the way back in 1936, getting the crime-fighting jump on Batman by a full two years! The gang-busting Hornet, along with his faithful valet and fellow ass-kicker Kato, were created at WXYZ AM,…
Justice quest
A woman in prison for molesting her son, and who discovered new evidence supporting her innocence, should not have been granted a new trial, according to your state Supreme Court. That’s not exactly a point of view we saw in the justices’ campaign commercials, was it? Once you’re guilty, compelling evidence of your innocence is…
Conspiracy theories
It’s going to be hard to follow the brilliant and incisive work of Larry Gabriel ("When science goes to pot") in last week’s Higher Ground, but one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that when the government commissions a study into the adverse effects of marijuana and the answer comes back "none," the report…
Comedic rap attack
Hip-hop of today is increasingly becoming a parody of its former self. Any fans from the pre-hip pop years might agree that much of what’s common on the radio these days is almost, well, a joke. So it shouldn’t be surprising that a group of former college friends who met at Wesleyan University were sharp…
Client 9: The rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer
Client 9: The rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer GRADE: B+ How does the sad ballad of Eliot Spitzer go? The bad guys win. The good guy’s got feet of clay. And the rest of us get screwed. Again and again and again. But ain’t that always the case? There’s little doubt that the former…
Straight shooters
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Those are the actual words of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, held sacred by our nation’s gun nuts. They are powerful words indeed, regardless of…
Food Stuff
Double your pleasure — Two Ferndale-based companies have teamed up to create a new beverage. We’ve written about Brad Dahlhofer’s B. Nektar Meadery, and their popular honey wines; they joined up with Ferndale’s Chazzano Coffee Roasters to create a new mead made with local Michigan wildflower honey and fine Ethiopian Harrar coffee beans roasted at…
Crisis on the corner
The War on Drugs has been fought from corner to corner in black communities across the United States. Although African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the general population, 40 percent of drug offenders in federal prisons and 45 percent of offenders in state prisons are black. It’s not that blacks make up 40 or…
Taco truckin’
Jacques’ Tacos is the brainchild of Wes Holton, a skilled chef whose focus is now on selling tacos from his catering truck. The selection is limited to tacos filled with braised short ribs, grilled chicken, slow-roasted pork or marinated avocado, all a bargain at $2.50 each. There are also a few sides. The flavors are…
Smooth noodles
Thai Taste 5063 Livernois Rd., Troy 248-813-0900 Sniffing out a quality and authentic ethnic restaurant isn’t too difficult in the age of instant communication. Aside from traditional media that broadcast food-related reviews and stories into cyberspace, there are numerous online forums, aggregators and consumer review sites where one can spend hours sifting through the chaff…
Dawg days
A primetime shift to Wednesday and Thursday nights. Lowering the age limit of competitors to 15. Far fewer opportunities for singers to play instruments. (Hallelujah!) In-house mentoring from recording industry megamogul Jimmy Iovine. A whole new format for determining the semifinalists. Ellen — gone. That Kara woman with the unspellable last name — gone. A…
Letters to the Editor
Light at the end of the tunnel I’m an executive board member and a precinct delegate in the 14th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization and I read with great interest the article, "Snyder takes command," (Jan. 5) and I must say, with some cautious optimism, I believe Gov. Rick Snyder will be good for the…
Wanda Jackson – The Party Ain’t Over
Wanda Jackson – The Party Ain’t Over Third Man Records Whether it’s sexism or her conversion to Jesus and country, Wanda Jackson has long been the most underappreciated rockabilly pioneer. Singles such as the 1960 near-hit "Let’s Have a Party" have never been oldies radio staples, but when her voice is heard erupting and scattering…
Spun
Stars on Stars Local guitar hero pays tribute to Detroit soul sensation Steve Mancha Steve Mancha is the stage name for Clyde Wilson, one of the greatest soul singers and songwriters to emerge from Detroit in the 1960s. His may not be a household name, but in soul music circles, he is known as one…
Happy Birthday David Ruffin
Some suggest he had the best voice in all of Motown. If that’s not the case, he certainly had one of the most recognizable voices in all of soul music and Detroit was lucky to have him. Here’s to you David Ruffin. Even though you’ve been gone since 1991, happy birthday.
Throwback Tuesdays: Videos of Detroit Dance Show ‘The Scene’
Here are a couple of videos that I recently stumbled across from the often forgotten about Detroit dance show called The Scene from 1982. Most people of a certain age automatically think of the New Dance Show in terms of a classic Detroit television show to feature local dancers, but a lot of people aren’t…
