Hastings Street breakdown
The history of Detroit blues from Black Bottom to Belle Isle.
I’m goin’ to Detroit, get myself a good job,
Tried to sta…
700 miles in a box
Why would detroit contemporary founder Aaron Timlin go to New York the hard way (by foot, in an oversized milk carton)? There are a few reasons … and raising money for his youth/art mentorship program is only one of them.
What Lies Beneath
Sum this up as Fatal Attraction meets Ghost. Despite Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford’s best efforts, director Robert Zemeckis’ effort leaves little wonder as to what lies beneath: A reworking of so many Alf
Who’s got the beat?
A comparison of the Chicago and Detroit blues scenes.
Down with the clowns
Witnessing the Gathering of the Juggalos — with Faygo’d feet stuck firmly to the ground.
Saltwater
Melodic rock with a brain, but not so high and mighty to forget some good old-fashioned oohs and ahhs. Right away, Traci Sericati’s vocals pull you in with the intensity and very slight twang of Kristin Hersh, but with a non-intimidating, comfortable pop attitude. The song craft is strong. So is the use of distortion,…
The prosecutor’s long arms
County prosecutors are part of the inner circle of most local governments, but in enforcing the law, critics say, the prosecutor’s office has expanded in troubling ways.
Green scene
Green Party locals are re-energized and reorganized.
The big sweep
Prosecutors are part of the inner-circle of most local governments.
Care repair
Michigan health care workers plead for higher wages.
What does she want?
Q: There is this young woman where I work who likes to run into me. Sometimes she will stand right behind me so that when I t…
Access denied
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners cut off from investigation info.
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Plato believed that besides eating, sleeping, breathing and mating, every creature has an instinct…
Picture imperfect
Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin gets his picture in the paper.
Hormonal pyrotechnics 101
Writer/director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High and her latest, Loser) on life, love and other high-school explosives.
The Exclusive Sessions: A journey into sound
Who is Traxx and what is it that Traxx does? Mel “Traxx” Oliphant is a passionate and enthusiastic DJ, a true soldier of the underground.
Pirates & protection
Are the big media moguls really worried about piracy, or do they just want to maintain their monopoly on who can make DVD players — and keep their profit every time one is sold?
A creamy rhapsody
Steve and Darlene Szatmari’s downriver Hungarian Rhapsody is filled with families who want to eat food that tastes like grandma used to cook. Everyone knows that these cuisines are on the heavy side — not exactly suitable for a weight-reducing diet, but very delicious. The Hungarian combination plate lets you sample chicken paprikas, cabbage stuffed…
Letters to the Editor
Winning play
Thank you for your interest in our baseball team ("Hard and fast," MT, Jul…
The open Cage
This addition to Cage’s discography is a welcome, if mixed, blessing. Recorded by the American Composers Orchestra under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies, The Seasons offers three important midcentury works and two versions of his final orchestral work. In the title piece (1947), Cage employs the resources of a full orchestra for the first…
E-mail-order bride and Cheap and uneasy and The religious write
Q: What are the chances of a relationship working out between two people who met on the Internet, live roughly 1,000 mile…
Give peace a chance
Since we already have enough nukes to destroy the planet several times over, it is hard to see why we need more, since … psst! the Cold War is over.
Lift off
Like the name suggests, Little Red Rocket is everything that today’s hot-to-trot, indie-rock jet-set is supposed to hate: a sound that’s slick, sleek and streamlined, radio-ready and ready to go-go. Throw in that this Athens, Ga., quartet was briefly signed to Geffen and we’ve got our shoo-in for this year’s Scenester Shutout. Like Veruca Salt…
Skinny on sound
For those low on space and big on music, Fisher offers its new Slim Stereo.
The King and glitterballs
Multiple Elvii sightings in Yspi … Bowling gothgrrls in ballgowns and bustiers … Bruised crowd-surfers and nipple-ring accidents … And how was your weekend?
Sven gets phunky
Like it or not, Detroit no longer owns techno. After unleashing the beats heard round the world, artistic communities in the most unlikely of places have picked up on techno, spinning it in new directions – far distant from what the music’s creators likely anticipated. One such guild of tweak artists arose in Stockholm around…
Shoppin’ options
Find the online warehouse for infomercial merchandise.
An eye for an eye
Last month, Frederick Finley was killed outside Fairlane Town Center by Dennis Richardson, a 29-year-old African-American security guard. Amid the flurry of questions surrounding the story, the only real thing to ask is – why?
Diving for gems
Crafting a classic poses a daunting, albeit thrilling, task for serious modern musicians. Incorporating blues, early rock, and country-western elements to songs with fresh pop sensibilities is a good start, however. And the collaborative entity of Scuba La Boobala is well on its way to memorable status amid our current throwaway culture. SLB is the…
Rubber sole
Nike continues to push the idea of individuality with its online custom footwear.
Techno on the brain
Will electronic music save Detroit’s soul? It’s a question being asked worldwide.
Join the club
It seems only fitting that, after a stunning half-century career, Omara Portuondo, known as Cuba’s Fiancee of Feeling, is showcased in the premier series of Latin music, Buena Vista Social Club. Her self-titled album is the latest Buena Vista offering in a collection of CDs that has truly revolutionized Cuban music. In a departure from…
Something fishy
One obnoxious fish just ain’t enough.
Detroit on the map
Reading the Village Voice’s glimpses of our city from the outside.
Queer cheers
When girlsightedness gets interpreted as lesbian tendencies, Megan Bloomfield (American Pie’s Natasha Lyonne) gets sent to a homosexual “rehabilitation” center. Despite a slightly sagging plot, director Jamie Babbit’s social-satire humor tacitly up
Lights out
Hands-free dayglo poster watching with a remote control black light.
Party under the bridge
Electronic music promoters join forces to put on an indoor-outdoor event.
Loser
As writer/director Amy Heckerling makes abundantly clear in this collegiate romantic comedy starring Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, being a loser is a rough and often lonely road, but not without its benefits. Despite some unexplained gaps and a plot whi
Juicy info
Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? Are you sure?
Hip hop over the top
Detroit celebrates its growing hip-hop status at Rap Blast 2000.
The In Crowd
Starring Adrien Williams and directed by Mary Lambert (Clubland), The In Crowd‘s typically absurd plot calls to mind a mixture of morning television talk shows and soap operas. The In Crowd’s deep, dark secret? It’s just a mediocre mo
