Cover Story
Putting Detroit in context
With its budget in crisis — and the possibility of an imposed emergency manager looming — Detroit might seem to be a unique case among American cities. Jarrett Murphy, editor in chief of City Limits, which focuses on the issues of New York and urban policy in general, begs to differ. "If there is a…
City Slang: Free Sex
One woman band Sex Police, aka Alexis Ford, is offering her Live @ WCBN mini album as a free download. The Ypsilanti noise merchant is drumming up (no pun intended) a huge buzz (again, no pun…) with a sound reminiscent of Grosse Pointe rocker Man Inc. Get that free download here. Click here to join…
City Slang: Detroit Land
I’m gonna keep this short because it’s Sunday and I haven’t slept in a week. But I have to advise all City Slang readers to read Richard Bak’s fantastic recent book, Detroit Land, out via Wayne State Press (who also published my own MC5 and Stooges books, if you’ll pardon the shameless self-reference. The book…
City Slang: Ferndale has the winter blues
The 11th annual Ferndale Metro Blues Festival started on Friday (sorry for the late post). Fear not, it runs until February 4, so there’s plenty of time to catch some great music. The festival has stretch its wings a little this year and, despite the name, includes venues in Royal Oak Township and Hazel Park.…
City Slang: Time to get dirty
Not strictly a music story, we know, but this feel appropriate to City Slang anyway. The 13th annual Dirty Show takes place at Bert’s Warehouse in Detroit between February 10-18th. Organized as ever by former Boners main man and Orbit Magazine editor Jerry Vile, the Dirty Show has evolved into something of an institution. .…
Albert Nobbs
Albert Nobbs C- Being true to character isn’t always the wisest course of action for an actor, especially if that character is as buttoned up and blank as Albert Nobbs. I understand why Glenn Close might savor the challenge of playing a woman who lived her life as a man in 19th century Ireland.…
This Weekend, Last Month, Next Month: Cass McCombs, Jet Rodriguez, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor
Cass McCombs got topical last week — putting out a song in solidarity with PFC Bradley Manning, the soon-to-be-court-martialed WikiLeaks whistleblower who allegedly smuggled numerous secret files out of a military intelligence center onto a thumb drive more than 18 months ago. His woozy warble, the reverb-heavy organ and vocals, the traipsing tempo and minimalist…
City Slang: Christian prog rock at the Ritz
Christian rockers Sweet Crystal play the Ritz in Warren on February 4, with Medisin Wheel and Quick Ritual. Doors are at 7. The band, which won the 2011 DMA for “Outstanding Gospel/Christian Act”, has a classic rock sound that can be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. While Christian rock gets roundly mocked thanks to…
The Grey
The Grey B Though it doesn’t do any favors for lupine public relations or arguments in favor of the Endangered Species Act, Joe Carnahan’s The Grey is the kind of film Werner Herzog would admire. Boldly rejecting religious faith as a prerequisite for survival, this men-lost-in-the-woods thriller would appeal to the celebrated documentarian’s view…
Man on a Ledge
Man on a Ledge C- Man on a Ledge is an alleged action thriller where the hero spends most of his time standing still, perched precariously between forward momentum and plot contrivance, with very little wiggle room. The man is question is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) a disgraced cop and escaped con, letting it…
City Slang: “Are You Green?” revisited
It has been nearly 12 bloody years now since the Sights, led by self-confessed anglophile Eddie Baranek, unleashed this debut album and caused a ripple, to their inevitable delight, over in Blighty. “Detroit” is a stamp of quality in England, like putting “Angus” on beef, so a Detroit band paying tribute to their own was…
Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador)
Mike Hadreas, who records as Perfume Genius, knows how to push buttons. His second album, Put Your Back N 2 It, includes songs about gay sex, suicide, prostitutes, and DIY porn, and an ad for the record was rejected by YouTube for being too gay, prompting supporters like Michael Stipe to rally behind him. Hadreas…
Food Stuff
DIY choco Yes, February is National Celebration of Chocolate Month. And, sure, Valentine’s Day is coming up. So there’s going to be some pressure to provide the sweets. But what if you could make them yourself, add a bit of personality, and save a bit of money? Craftsy.com instructor and chocolatier Gayle Harte (of Gayle’s…
Letters to the Editor
Trouble ahead If Detroit’s economic point of no return does occur in April as predicted, then the city’s collapse will nicely coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Nearer, my God to thee … indeed! —Robert del Valle, Royal Oak A costly failure The drug war is largely a war…
Imperial Teen – Feel the Sound (Merge)
Ever since the group’s 1996 debut, Imperial Teen has stuck to a schedule that seems more catered to what members have going on in their personal lives than to a desire to make music with any sort of regularity. The fifth album — and first since 2007’s The Hair, the TV, the Baby, and the…
Relative issues
Your conservative in-laws are over for dinner and, as usual, your bigmouth brother-in-law has an opinion about everything and doesn’t mind letting you know all about it. Then he spies a copy of the petition to legalize marijuana in Michigan sitting on a table. And, of course, he has to let you know what he…
Outrage
Outrage B- Written and directed by Takeshi Kitano. Starring Beat Takeshi, Kippei Shina, Ryo Kase, Tomokazu Miura and Jun Kunimura. Rated R. Running time: 109 minutes. Takeshi Kitano is a weird cultural figure, even for Japan; a beloved comedic actor and goofy talk show fixture by day, and an intense, art-house film director by night.…
Jackie Gleason – The NOW Sound … For Today’s Lovers
Back when grown-ups still looked down their snoothole at rock music, dentist chair easy-listening sounds like this were self-consciously formatted for radio as "beautiful music." The Great One had a whole slew of these "makeout" albums that must’ve been like Viagra for men of a different age — Music to Remember Her By, Music to…
Touch me, babe
I hear it from some imitation intellectual once a week; and I have grown sick of the refrain: "There’s never anything to watch on television: I’d rather read a book." Granted, not every series is PBS’s Golden Globes winner Downton Abbey. And I certainly agree that four shows about hoarding, four more about filthy storage…
Canvassing the hood
What: A new exhibition featuring a variety of works by several Finnish artists. Where: Elaine L. Jacob Gallery, 480 W. Hancock St., Detroit; 313-993-7813. When: Artists’ lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26; opening reception 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27. The exhibit displays through March 16. Scandinavian printmaking takes center stage in Silent…
Oakland’s bounty!
Andiamo Bloomfield Township 6676 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfield Twp.; 248-865-9300: The sunflower-yellow-and-purple color scheme and huge tilted mirrors that allow patrons to glimpse those sitting behind them have given the space a slickly contemporary look. The food is in contrast: it’s the solid Italian fare of old master Aldo Ottaviani interpreted by a crew of young…
Frank Pahl – Music for Architecture & Little Bang Theory
One of the darker pieces from Little Bang’s disc was playing somewhat distantly in the background at work and a colleague’s ears perked up. Hmm? Is that something new from Tom Waits? And a little later, someone walked into my office, where Pahl’s solo disc was playing, and asked if this was a record of…
Blond ambition
Forget Dusty Springfield, forget Sammy Hagar, and certainly forget Faith Hill. There are two versions of the Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns-composed "Piece of my Heart" classic that are worth giving a shit about. One is the original, by hometown girl (and sister of Aretha) Erma Franklin, and the other is by the Janis Joplin-led…
Want to stop the emergency manager?
Yes, you read that right. Last week hundreds of people marched in Ann Arbor to protest the emergency manager law — and the man behind it, Gov. Rick Snyder. They got as close as they could to the governor’s home in a ritzy gated community. They chanted "We are the People’s Army," and "This is…
A question for Callista
Q: Congrats, Dan. It looks like you’ve got your first high-profile "monogamish" public figure: Newt Gingrich. You must be so proud. —Savage Can’t Understand Monogamy A: For anyone who spent last week under a rock: Newt Gingrich, brave defender of traditional marriage, was still married to his second wife — and still fucking the…
Seva’s new location in Detroit helps fill a veggie void
Seva 66 E. Forest Ave., Detroit 313-974-6661 sevarestaurant.com Handicap accessible Prices: $8-$15 More than most major cities, perhaps, Detroit has long lacked a core of restaurants with robust vegetarian and vegan menus. It’s thus unsurprising that news of Seva, the decades-old Ann Arbor stalwart, setting up shop in Midtown generated a great deal of fervor…
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…
Broadway tragedy averted
Chris Jaszczak has been on this little stretch off Broadway near Grand Circus Park forever. Like, living in the building’s spacious second-floor loft since 1985. As in running his art and performance space on the ground level, 1515 Broadway, since 1987. In fact, he’s lived on that block since December of 1979. "When I came…
