Cover Story
Soldier of Misfortune
Five years ago, after surviving one tour of duty in Iraq and another in Afghanistan, Cpl. Justin Pope left the Marine Corps to take a lucrative, high-prestige job with a private military contractor providing security at the American embassy in Erbil, Iraq. From the time he was a kid growing up in Riverview, Pope always…
New releases: The Tallest Man on Earth; Hot Chip
The Tallest Man on Earth There’s No Leaving Now (Dead Oceans) A new Tallest Man on Earth album is something akin to opening a box of trinkets you weren’t aware you had — his music can generate impossible nostalgia for sights and sounds unknown. Four years after the Swedish singer-songwriter’s excellent debut LP Shallow Grave,…
Attorney Bill Goodman still ticking, but ticked off
Noted Detroit attorney William Goodman had a distinctly Mark Twain moment when he learned that a front-page story in the Sunday edition of The Macomb Daily contained what could charitably be called a slight inaccuracy. Goodman and his firm are representing the estate of a Detroit teen who died after being Tasered in the chest…
ZMX 6.21.12
Passalacqua’s “Better (Re)-Made” Two years, two albums, two rappers. More revue than re-mix, this Detroit hip-hop duo proves just how many heads they’ve turned and hearts they’ve won thus far by dint of the impressive local contemporaries from a range of genres/styles that have lined up to flip, flare and fry up the batch of funky summertime jams…
City Slang: Carolyn Striho to perform for Angela Bowie
On Thursday, June 14, Carolyn Striho will perform at a signing for Angela Bowie, who has a new bok out, Lipstick Legends. The event takes place at the Lido Gallery in Birmingham from 7 p.m. According to Angela, “Lipstick Legends are people who pushed the envelope, and helped redefine sexual mores in the 1970s. Their…
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding Directed by Bruce Beresford. Written by Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski. Starring Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Olsen, Chace Crawford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyle MacLachlan. Running time: 96 minutes. Not rated. D There are precious few good roles for women of a certain age, but it’s still distressing to see…
City Slang: Jazz Festival lineup announced
The organizers of the 2012 Detroit Jazz Festival have announced that the lineup will feature the most celebrated names in jazz including: Sonny Rollins; Wynton Marsalis Quintet; Pat Metheny Unity Band featuring Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, and Ben Williams; Chick Corea and Gary Burton with the Harlem String Quartet; and the Wayne Shorter Quartet featuring…
Spin The Go-Rounds new 7″; Sub Sprawl’s Seattle signing
Kalamazoo conjurers of sweetly-psyche-shrouded Americana and a rock-rustled dream-pop, the Go-Rounds will release their 2nd proper full length out at the end of this month on Double Phelix. But before then, they’ve got a 7″ featuring said-LP’s titular track: Feathername -as well as a streaming single previewing another single from the album at their label’s…
City Slang: SRC back at the Bag
Classic ‘60s Detroit rockers the SRC return to the Magic Bag in Ferndale on June 29 a year after the band’s initial triumphant reunion show. The lineup of Scott Richardson, Steve Lyman, Glenn Quackenbush and Gary Quackenbush are a year older and wiser, and this show could well prove to even more special. A statement…
Solar Plexus Power of Babooshka
Sweet screams and jagged juts, Odd Hours swing through metallic milieus on spark sputtering electrical wires, dispelling the toe-tappers for the boot-stompers and exploring the possibilities of evil-ing up new-wave, griming up glam and Frankenstein-frying a disarmingly melody-keen post-punk slaloming to a no-wave penchant for healthy chaos. Mid-low female vocals capture a disarming sultriness in…
City Slang: Kem helps the homeless
Motown artist Kem is teaming up with BlackCelebrityGiving.com for a summer campaign called “Help Us, Help Them”, providing toiletries to homeless communities across the country. “Homelessness for me is a cause that touches my heart like no other,” said Jasmine Crowe, founder of BlackCelebrityGiving.com™. “I’ve had the chance to speak intimately with homeless individuals and…
The Sights Tour Diary No. 13: Nyah Boy
After Sasquatch we crawled back to Jerry Sprinter and began the first day of a two-day trek across northern America, on our way to Minneapolis. Shades and I had discussed wanting to see two places we’d been to on tours prior: the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT and the 10,000 Dollar Saloon. The Rock Creek…
Satanic Troubadours Audio Almanac.
Behold: The Guitar This is the -psychedelic- we often talk about fleetingly conjured to categorize anything with enough pedal stomped freak-fury that its wobbly-loudness might inspire googly-eyed spooky-zazz, but from the first track on the Rue Moor Counts 2nd album, it’s clear they ain’t fucking around, with grooves struck so deep those guitar-heads like shovel blades…
City Slang: Niagara puts on War Paint
Former Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival siren Niagara will present her first solo exhibit in more than eight years at the Re:View Contemporary Gallery. The opening reception is on July 14 from 7pm. Here’s the info. “War Paint is her first solo exhibit in her hometown in over 8 years, and it is arguably…
Prometheus
Prometheus B Let’s start with the visuals, because, no matter what your reaction to Ridley Scott’s prequel to the Alien franchise, the imagery — particularly in 3-D — is truly astonishing. Like Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Prometheus demonstrates the impact and majesty that can be achieved when a master craftsman employs the latest cinematic technologies. Here,…
Wildlife Pop
“Forcing is different than trying / We can smell each other lying ” Stepdad’s honest pop Debut LP Wildlife Pop comes out June 12th (Black Bell Records) At the risk of over-intellectualizing dance-pop, heh, and, submitting that maybe I’ll never be quite-IN-on the joke of how swiftly the hipster cliché (ironic-on-purpose-with-our-dayglo and sweater-vested smirks) implodes…
Dig Detroit CYDI / Jamaican Queens’ first jubilee / The Blueflowers lunar larceny
Whaddya call that? ~ Doc Illingsworth knows he and his two rap allies in Detroit CYDI get labeled because of their quirky canon of cuts: Maybe it’s as the ringtone rappers, the enthusiastic youtube-utilizers, the satirical 8-bit-bumping sardonic-sweeteners. What-have-you… “We’re people,” Doc said of he and CYDI (Sean Uppercut, Rufio Jones), “and we’re gonna make…
Concert Gallery: Roger Waters Brings The Wall To Joe Louis
Roger Waters again brought his reincarnation of the Pink Floyd classic The Wall to life in Detroit, this year at Joe Louis Arena. There were a few minor changes this time around, Waters added a sing-a-long with his 1980s self on “Mother” along with ramping up on the socio-political messages inherent in the wall.…
D.C. group details Moroun’s ‘pay-to-play scandal’
Anyone interested in a concise summary of the lengths Manuel “Matty” Moroun and the Detroit International Bridge Co. have gone to in order to prevent a publicly owned bridge from being constructed downriver should read Troubled Crossing, a report just issued by the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The report…
City Slang: Concert of Colors Lineup features George Clinton
George Clinton &Parliament Funkadelic will perform at the 2012 Concert of Colors on Sunday, July 15, paying tribute to the legendary Detroit jazz/avant garde innovator Faruq Z. Bey, who passed away last week. “On Thu., July 12 the main festival kicks into gear at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History with family-friendly hip-hop maestro Mike-E and his…
An icon passes: Faruq Z. Bey
A Detroit cultural icon since the 1970s, Faruq Z. Bey leaves behind an enormous void. He was found dead at his Detroit home on Saturday, June 2, apparently of natural causes. And as the word circulated, those he touched talked about how his music had knocked them down, opened them up, raised their intellect, inspired…
Arabian peninsula
$=$5-$10; $$=$10-$25; $$$=$25-$50; $$$$=$50+ Al-Ajami 14633 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-846-9330; $: Al-Ajami is less expensive than many other contenders, serving a competent menu that even includes 15 seafood dishes. Also good are the lemon chicken, which combines grilled chicken and pilaf with vegetables doused in lemon butter, a terrific chicken rice soup, and…
Sigur Rós – Valtari (XL)
The thrill isn’t exactly gone with Sigur Rós, but a dozen years after their breakthrough U.S. LP, Ágætis Byrjun, the breathtaking elegance of their music has sorta worn off. The celestial Icelandic band — best known for sculpting dreamy aural landscapes and occasionally making up its own language — is still one of the world’s…
An icon passes: Faruq Z. Bey
Those he touched wanted to share in his wake, to talk about the way his music had knocked them down or opened them up or raised their intellects — or touched them spiritually as well as musically. How he personified a creative essence or sound or a scene or an era — or even a…
Awards and a big convention!
Metro Times is mighty proud to host this year’s annual convention for the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN), which runs Thursday, June 7, through Saturday, June 9, at downtown Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. There’ll be guest speakers at the many workshops and exhibits, including Wayne Kramer and Grace Lee Boggs alongside vet journalists and…
Joey Ramone – … Ya Know? (BMG)
Like many artists who’ve died, Joey Ramone left behind a bunch of songs and demos — some finished, some half-finished — when he went to that great gig in the sky in 2001. The best of them ended up on his 2002 solo debut Don’t Worry About Me. Most of the others are collected on…
Letters to the Editor
The War on Drugs: A war against people of color Re: Larry Gabriel’s May 30 Higher Ground column entitled "How would city vote?" — marijuana law reform is no longer a third rail issue. In the 2008 elections, more Massachusetts residents voted in favor of a ballot initiative decriminalizing marijuana than voted for candidate Barack…
Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls (ATC)
The radical stuff erupts out of "Hold On" with such anguish that I’m amazed that singer Brittany Howard’s vocal chords are still intact. In fact, I’m amazed so many people have heard it. When "Hold" dropped as the first single, nobody ever heard of Alabama Shakes, and three months later, the CD is available at…
Green underground
I was out for a bike ride through Palmer Park on a sunny afternoon. I thought I’d take a look at the apple orchard that some folks are complaining about potentially attracting rats and causing their property values to plunge. I spotted Mulenga Harangua pedaling along on Pontchartrain Drive. He was on an old balloon-tired…
BJ and the bear
Q: Could you tell my boy to calm the heck down? Can’t seem to get him to get the difference between bestiality, necrophilia and screwin’ a bearskin rug. Emphasizing my usual sexual interests — which involve rope bondage, floggin’ and an e-stim unit — hasn’t worked. Logic isn’t helpin’ out at all. Maybe you can…
Food Stuff
Jazzin’ on local fare If the music doesn’t lure you onto East Jefferson Avenue for the ninth annual Jazzin’ on Jefferson festival, then perhaps the food will. And there’s a big change this year at the June 15-16 festival on Detroit’s far east side. Carnival food is out — FoodLab Detroit’s fresh local fare is…
Poisoned Apples
Poisoned Apples What: A group art exhibition featuring works inspired by the story of Snow White. Where: Funhouse Gallery inside the Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay St., Bldg. 2, Fl. 3, Detroit; funhousedetroit.com. When: Opening reception 7 p.m. until midnight on Saturday, June 9. Displays Thursdays through Saturdays and by appointment through June 23. This…
Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones – Polka Thriller (Bel Aire)
Holy schmolka! With the dance world still recovering from the disco one-two knock out of Disco Queen Donna Summer and the end of Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, the Reaper goes ahead and claims another terpsichorean royalty club member, Eddie Blazonczyk, King of the Polka. Millions are squeezing their concertinas a little tighter tonight knowing that…
Savaged
Savage Grace and Jagged Edge play the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-544-3030, on Friday, June 8. Think Grande Ballroom, and the MC5, the Stooges, the Rationals, the Amboy Dukes and Alice Cooper spring to mind. Perhaps the SRC, Frost and Mitch Ryder’s Detroit too. Those who were there will recall shows by…
Tale of two Michigans
MACKINAC ISLAND — Don’t know about you, but I livened up my life last week by going to the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce’s official tribal gathering of the rich and powerful. Every year, at the end of May, our political and business leaders get together for three days on Mackinac Island, our state’s favorite…
Justin Walker – J. Walker &the Crossing Guards (Beehive)
J. Walker’s sensibilities for gnarly soul, fuzzed-out funk and punk gets kicked up here by the brass and bass of a cookin’ Beehive-built band. These three songs augment Walker’s awareness of guys like Lou Reed, Danny Kroha, Sly and Mick Collins. Or something. Walker’s taste, though probably best tagged between the funk and the punk,…
Exurban renewal
Silver Spoon 6830 N. Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills 248-652-4500 silverspoonristorante.com Handicap accessible Prices: $20-$50 4:30-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4:30-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4:30-9 p.m. Sundays Finding a great restaurant in the northern reaches of Macomb and Oakland counties can be a challenge. In the case of the superb Italian eatery Silver Spoon, that’s quite literally true: Tucked…
Surprise party
It was supposed to be big, but nobody expected it to be this fun. The plan was to throw a down-home, Memorial Day barbecue in Cass Park for the poor and the homeless, where they often gather. The event, organized by several local charities, had a rambler of a name: "Feed the People: Detroit’s Red…
Sonic manhood
Childhood, Boyhood, Sonic Youth opens Saturday, June 9th at the Re:View Gallery, 444 W. Willis, Detroit; 313-833-9000, and runs through Saturday, July 7. In the early 1990s, Matthew Zacharias was one-third of the arts collective known as AWOL, a Detroit collaborative arts collective of three visual artists, Zacharias, Greg Fadell and Pete Wardowski. AWOL…
The Sights Tour Diary No. 12: Scenes from the War Room
Shades here. The Sights completed the first leg of the Tenacious D tour Sunday night. Eddie’s gonna be back here with some diary entries which will get you up to date. In the meantime, enjoy these pics from the War Room at Sights HQ as we plot the details of the second leg. PREVIOUSLY… Photos…
Newly discovered Griot Galaxy footage from 1978, 1984
Although there is a good deal of video documenting the last decade of Faruq Z. Bey’s music-making with various groups, there’s a dearth of material from the 1970s and 1980s showing Griot Galaxy, the evolving Faruq-led collective that made such an enormous impression on the local community. But two clips have come to light. There’s…
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…
Recommended recent spins: The Walkmen; Willis Earl Beal
The Walkmen Heaven (Fat Possum) The Walkmen are fearless. Ten years after appearing on the indie stage with an almost reluctant prettiness, they’ve come to celebrate the inherent romanticism in their spacious, warmly direct sound. But even by the unabashedly lovesick standards of You and Me and Lisbon, Heaven is something of a shock. The…
Danny Brown in the Best Two Minutes You’ll See All Year! No Shit.
We love Danny Brown so much he made our cover twice in one year. He was our 2011 Artist of the Year, and he co-headlined our Blowout fest back in March. It’s all ’cause we know the emcee is immensely gifted, absolutely fearless and funnier than you could ever hope to be. Brown is indeed…
