Cover Story
Beat Angel
The Deal >> Since 2000, I have built a significant rep within the State Department’s Cultural Affairs Division for conducting cultural and education programs abroad with students in middle school, high school, teachers colleges and universities. I’ve gone to places like Israel, the West Bank, Russia, Germany, England, Macao and, now, Afghanistan. I usually spend…
City Slang: Mayer Hawthorne with new vid
A new Mayer Hawthorne video can be found here. “Director, Eric Coleman captured some special moments from this secret LA release party, as Mayer talks about this special event and collabo, and culminating in a performance of his hit single “The Walk” from his recently released album “How Do You Do” via Universal Republic.” Click…
Yes, there really is a Double Phelix
I want you to hear some of this -and watch some of this… And it’s gotta be here, on this ol’ blahg, since I’m dubious that I could ever needle this narrative into the print pages of MT – it’s just folks ’round town here, (at least between Outer Dr. and Southfield Fwy) might not…
City Slang: Joel Peterson looks to come out of exile
On June 11, Joe McPhee and the Thing will play a show at the Tangent Gallery with the hopes of bringing Joel Peterson’s experimental vision, formerly at the Bohemian National Home, out of exile. “For a few years, Joel Peterson booked some of Detroit’s most adventurous music at the Bohemian National Home on Detroit’s west…
Detroit jazz and avant scenes lose icon in passing of Faruq Z. Bey
Faruq Z. Bey, local legend and icon of avant garde music in Detroit, has died after years of emphysema and other ailments. A friend who spoke to Bey regularly last heard from him Thursday and was unable to reach him on Friday. Her concerns lead to other friends entering his residence with police on Saturday…
City Slang: Summer Rocks at the Detroit School of Rock and Pop
This summer, the Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music is heading off to New York for its annual camp. Find all of the info here. Click here to join the City Slang Turntable community!!! Follow @City_Slang
Supremes give Detroit pot vote a green light
Pro-marijuana activists won a great victory in the Michigan Supreme Court today when the high court ruled that Detroit voters should be allowed to decide whether they want to liberalize the city’s marijuana law. It is been a long fight. Two years ago the Coalition for a Safer Detroit gathered enough signatures to place on…
City Slang: For the benefit of Scott Morgan
There will be a benefit for Rationals man Scott Morgan on Wednesday, June 20 at the Necto in Ann Arbor. The event, dubbed R.E.S.P.E.C.T., will kick off at 8 p.m., and there will be a required minimum donation of $10 on the door. On the bill are the Vibratons, George Bedard & the Kingpins, and…
The Sights Tour Diary No. 11: Skip’s Sasquatch Heroics, Baranek’s ‘Goodfellas’ Vision and Outsider Musings. Also, Feist Girls, John C. Reilly Country and Jack Black Sweetness
There’s a scene in Goodfellas that comes close to what I saw Memorial Day morning. I have tremendous respect for drummer Skip because after Portland he drove us all through the night (and the mountains) to the huge, 4-day outdoor fest that’s lovingly christened Sasquatch. It’s a vast open space called Gorge Amphitheater or “the…
Headline envy: ‘The GOP Sees Dead People’
A couple weeks ago, Curt Guyette’s News Hits column took aim at the widely discussed and totally bogus crisis of voter fraud — and the less-discussed but all too real crisis of looming voter suppression. “Mess of suppression: Why voter ID laws are solutions to a problem that doesn’t exist” was our headline.” Today the…
Hairshirt Still Fits (ReunionS) – 6.23.12
I hold in my hands a SPIN magazine from 1996 (donated to the Ferndale Library recently) … In all its edgy ’90s glory, its cover touts: “The World’s Most Dangerous Band” (…that being: Rage Against The Machine) and Inside: “The Electronica Revolution” It’s surreal (maybe even upsetting on a small-ish if-barely contemplative level), to see…
City Slang: Jack White Ain’t No Sexist
A piece published on Slate.com by Lauren O’Neal defends Jack White from allegations made by Jessica Misener in the Atlantic that White’s lyrics on Blunderbuss suggest that he doesn’t like women that he can’t control. O’Neal even goes as far as to suggest that White is a feminist, saying that “ultimately, who cares if his…
The Sights Tour Diary No. 10: Bed Bugs, Band-Aids and Badminton; Plus, Getting Recognized Outside Truck Stop Urinals
See My Friends As I type this, Kyle’s asleep a few feet away in a bed. We were bed buddies for the evening, and I must say, he is a good one (since he is the next smallest guy in the van besides me). Having a small bed buddy is important, ‘cos you don’t want…
Justin Walker’s new buzzing’s and the Thornbills fly again
Justin Walker, (known to me back when we first met and for a long time preceding as “Justin Audio,”) would drop two names in our first musical conversation… (really, our first and almost every preceding conversations have been: musical)…but anyway: Gang of Four, he said. And Bo Diddley, he said. Somewhere between those two comparably…
City Slang: New House Shoes video
Detroit rapper House Shoes has a new video online, which can be viewed here. “Starting from Detroit and currently residing in Los Angeles, House Shoes has been the ambassador for all things Detroit for 15+ years. His debut producers album “Let It Go” drops on June 19th via Tres Records and features vocal appearances from…
Letters to the Editor
In response to Jack Lessenberry Re: In response to Jack Lessenberry’s essay on the 14th Congressional District election, there are three reasons why Hansen Clarke will win the 14th District Congressional race this year: he has the roots, the record, and the vision. Unlike his primary opponent in this race, Clarke grew up in the…
Lying down to stand up
While the state’s movers and shakers are enjoying the high life up at the annual policy conference held on ritzy Mackinac Island this week, a state legislator from southwest Detroit and some of her constituents will be laying their concerns on the line. Actually, it’s their bodies that will be laid down, and the lines…
Go green
$=$5-$10; $$=$10-$25; $$$=$25-$50; $$$$=$50+ Al-Ameer 12710 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn, 313-582-8185; 27346 Ford Rd., Dearborn Heights; 313-565-9600; alameerrestaurant.com: This Lebanese fare isn’t Americanized factory food. Instead, Al-Ameer stays true to the Lebanese table, offering fresh bread, serving no pork or liquor, and preparing food that’s made to order, and not overwhelmed by spices and herbs.…
Why they hate Obama
Earlier this month I received a shiny red, white and blue flyer from something called the Save America Foundation, otherwise known as "Patriots in Action!" They want to save the country, which sounds like a pretty good idea to me, owning a house and all. And they think they know just how to do it:…
Patti Smith: Camera Solo
Patti Smith: Camera Solo What: An exhibition of photographs taken by the legendary musician, poet and artist. Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900; dia.org. When: Opens Friday, June 1 and displays through Sept. 2. From her early experiments with visual art in the ’60s and ’70s to her music…
How would city vote?
Would Detroiters vote to, practically speaking, legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults on private property? That choice may be on the November ballot if the Committee for a Safer Detroit (CSD) gets a favorable ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court. CSD’s case against the Detroit Election Commission stems from a 2010…
Chris Collins’ Detroit pride
Pinning jazz saxophonist Chris Collins down for a sit-down or telephone interview these days is almost impossible, given all the projects he’s involved with. At Wayne State University, Collins runs the Jazz Studies program. Twice a month, during the school year, he oversees a student oriented jam session twice a month at Cliff Bell’s. He’s…
Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White and the Huntsman C What is it about Kristen Stewart that resists interesting and proactive heroines? While not nearly as mopey and passive as the insufferably indecisive Bella Swan, her revisionist Snow White is two hours of yet more earnest blandness and pained grimaces. To quote a far better film, "Why so serious?"…
Food Stuff
Fair weather fare Just in time for the warm, summertime breeze that comes off the water in June, St. Clair Shores will host its second annual Nautical Mile Restaurant Week. The mile, if you don’t know, is situated near the shores of Lake St. Clair, on Jefferson between 9 and 10-1/2 Mile roads. This year,…
The Crooks are alright
The Crooks play PJ’s Lager House Saturday, June 2, with Hit Society, Factory Girls and Bad Mics; 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-961-4668. "Hope I die before I get old," Roger Daltrey sang before, y’know, getting really really old and continuing to sing that same song, a half-deaf Townshend by his side, in enormo-domes around the…
Gavel-rousing
For a while now, thanks to the nonprofit Michigan League of Conservation Voters, folks have been able to go to the Web and see how state legislators and even the governor rate when it comes to addressing issues of environmental concern. But the same wasn’t true of another group of elected officials: state Supreme Court…
The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron
The Last Holiday: A Memoir Gil Scott-Heron $25; 318 pp. Grove Press The last time I saw Gil Scott-Heron in concert was 1984 in Bremen, West Germany. At the time, I was a Fulbright professor, teaching American literature, writing peace poetry in two languages and collaborating with jazz musicians. Ironically, the historical moment was similar…
Cacao Tree Café
Cacao Tree Café 204 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-336-9043 www.cacaotreecafe.com Handicap accessible Smoothies $8.49, wraps $9-$11, salads $10-$12 Open 9-9 Monday-Saturday You don’t have to like the taste of grass to enjoy the "detox cuisine" at Cacao Tree Café, though some do. I saw aficionados swirling a hit of electric-green wheatgrass juice in…
Irrepressible, irreplaceable
Nothing can replace the electric heart of our Detroit. It is the electronic roots of this city that keep our collective pulse strong and beating. So it is that 107,000 true fans and curious sparkle-seekers (the most since the event went ticketed in 2005) gathered in Hart Plaza Saturday through Monday. Magic filled the air,…
Midnight cowboy blues
Q: I’m a straight male from Southern California and I really want to be a straight male escort. The problem is the industry is shrouded with deceptive "agencies" that take advantage of the situation. Also, it’s not like there’s a Male Escort 101 course that I can take to learn how to avoid these traps.…
Earth to Nolan
Usually Detroit News editorial page honcho and columnist Nolan Finley just irritates us with his Neanderthal mentality. But a column last week, decrying the way the liberal press has been beating up on the lovable Mitt "Mittens" Romney, had us wondering exactly what alternate universe the Nol-man is inhabiting these days. What really grabbed our…
Letters to the Editor
In response to Jack Lessenberry Re: In response to Jack Lessenberry’s essay on the 14th Congressional District election, there are three reasons why Hansen Clarke will win the 14th District Congressional race this year: he has the roots, the record, and the vision. Unlike his primary opponent in this race, Clarke grew up in the…
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…
