Socially funny
Progressive comedian brings real life to the stage….
State prisons on ‘Geraldo’
An upcoming television program investigating sexual abuse of female prisoners in the United States will focus heavily on what goes on inside Michigan’s prisons. The Engler administration’s refusal to allow Geraldo Rivera inside two state prisons didn’t stop the NBC newsman from focusing about 40 percent of the hourlong program on Michigan. The program, "Women…
No sweat on campus
The most energetic student movement of the ’90s, the protest against exploitative foreign sweatshops, is poised to return to campuses this fall with more vigor, enthusiasm and resources than ever before. At issue is the widespread practice of universities profiting from the sale of clothing and accessories produced in sweatshops overseas. This movement took on…
Dream displays
Eyefuls of phantasmagorical art for the cooler season….
Reprazent WHAT?
No bones about it – Bonz Malone is the real thing. His "Tuph Street" column is one of Vibe magazine’s most popular. He co-wrote Slam, played a bit part in Life and now appears in Marc Levin’s Whiteboys. His life has taken a 180-degree turn from the gangbanging and hanging he used to do. Without…
Colorful stages
Metro Detroit’s theater scene is bursting with fall goodness….
Fall Guide 1999
WELCOME TO THE METRO TIMES FALL GUIDE ’99 We share our annual harvest of Autumnal events: a theater schedule bursting with fall goodness… a bounty of new films and TV shows… a healthy crop of local music… and a ripe, juicy list of things to do throughout the coming cooler months. ART Dream displays Metro…
Things ain’t what they used to be
From Center Galleries, a breath of dysfunctional air….
Half ‘n’ half
What’s a poorrecord-buyer to do? Half the tracks on this CD are disposable and a handful are sublime. The highlight of the CD is the concluding crescendo of two previously released tracks, "At Les" and "Bug in the Bassbin," further adding to the buyers’ dilemma. This release has been much anticipated, mostly on the expectation…
Still flying high
British Invasion legends the Pretty Things continue taking maximum R&B to sonic new heights.
Better Than Chocolate
The unabashed romanticism that used to be a staple of Hollywood films has all but disappeared, replaced by the neurotic couplings of self-absorbed yuppies. But the thrill of love at first sight, along with the exquisite torture of unrequited love, lives on in gay and lesbian romantic comedies. Better Than Chocolate shares the same serious…
Fall-out
Metro Detroit’s local music scene gets unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Be ready… listening is your only defense.
Labor and otherwise dazed
Back when labor unions were winning the great organizing battles of the 1930s and 1940s, a large part of their successes was, naturally, due to public relations. Strategy, timing and tactics helped too. But image was important. The bruises Walter Reuther sustained at the Battle of the Overpass were, in the end, far more sweet…
School cool
No matter how long it’s been since you walked through the graffiti-marred doors of your alma mater, there’s a feeling of anticipation in the air at the beginning of September. It’s a fresh start, almost as big as New Year’s Day, only without the hangover, the Y2K bug and the need for pointless resolutions. "Did…
Returns and departures
Hear ye, hear ye! The back page court of public opinion, spurious rumors, titillating innuendo, ear-bending gossip, specious logic, glittering nightlife reporting, unrepentant name-dropping, gratuitous compatriot plugging and all-around bile-induced bon temps is now in session. Yea, after a well-nigh nine-month sabbatical, I have rejoined the cozy confines of this back page hemisphere, and all…
Adamany’s history lesson
When you ask some union and academic leaders at Wayne State University whether they are surprised Detroit Public School teachers went on strike last week, they will say, "absolutely not." And when you ask them why not, they will give one answer: "Dr. David Adamany." "He had a history of not being able to settle…
As the marsh churns
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week halted a developer’s attempt to build homes and a golf course at Humbug Marsh along the Detroit River, but the controversy concerning the property is far from over. In refusing Made In Detroit a permit to develop 409 acres in Gibraltar and Trenton, the Corps agreed with…
Cabaret Balkan
The bleakest of black comedies, the explosive Cabaret Balkan captures the contained desperation of life during wartime. The film’s original title, The Powder Keg, better describes the precise tone established by co-writer/director Goran Paskaljevic, where a flicker of anger can ignite a firestorm. Adapted from Dejan Dukovski’s play, Cabaret Balkan is an episodic tale which…
FlipBook 2000
It was bound to happen. Web animation got good. Thanks in part to a clever computer program called Flash, Net animation trickery is no longer confined to the blinking buttons and banners of bad Web design hell. Instead, today’s new breed of stop-motion wizards are crafting their work into online cartoons, creating entertaining pieces that…
Pitch’d
Back to School Special Another school year is upon us. Moms, be sure to prepare your kids for this weekend’s parties – that’s where the real schoolin’ is going on. Make sure your kids don’t get pants with 69-inch pant legs, as 40 inches is the maximum allowed by state law. And stock the minivan…
Food stuff
LIONS ON ICE Perhaps you’ve heard about the new flavor of Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Blitz. Perhaps you know that it’s a tribute flavor to the Detroit Lions. (First there’s tribute statues, then tribute songs, now tribute flavors? Whatever …) And perhaps you’re also aware that it’s a limited edition flavor and there’s…
Whiteboys
If you’ve ever laughed at something you thought was a joke, only to be horrified midchuckle at some tragic, serious element you had missed, then you’re prepared for Whiteboys. It stuns with the starkness of its confessions, shocks with the pure gall of its subjectivity, horrifies and entertains with its depictions of complete ignorance. But…
Been and done
Looking like something between a postapocalyptic episode of "Scooby-Doo" and a multiethnic teen version of the party mural from "Good Times," MTV’s "Downtown" has a distinct visual quality that captures the essence of its urban labyrinth of themes. Its clean lines are filled in with flat colors reminiscent of things one might find inside a…
Change to spare
If you’re looking for signs of the apocalypse, consider this: David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) has made a G-rated movie for Disney. It’s true. The Straight Story (Oct. 15) takes place in the 260-mile stretch between Laurens, Iowa, and Mt. Zion, Wis. That’s the road Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth, The Grey Fox) traverses on his…
Old, but spiced
Just when you get sick and tired of a hot summer’s worth of reruns, the temperature drops and the networks tote out their new, overhauled and surviving TV series. But will this fall’s lot of nighttime network fare make it worth missing the autumn colors? That depends. The coming TV season promises a bit of…
Bigger or better
Jumbo. Super-size. Extra. Gigantic. Huge. The Lizard of Fun is writing a list of adjectives in the dust on my car window. We’re sitting in the parking lot of Costco, debating whether to renew our warehouse store membership for the continued privilege of shopping for megapacks of brand-name snack foods. "We’ll have more Goldfish crackers…
Chocolate teacups
If you don’t mind eating with a plastic fork, you’ll find some exceptional and unusual Lebanese dishes at this deli and bakery (the bakery offers over 30 kinds of sweets). Co-owner Hussain Siblini says that’s because he employs old ladies who make traditional, really old, old handmade dishes. However traditional it may be, you’ll always…
Dr. Akagi
Imagine a conventional ’40s Hollywood biopic such as Madame Curie or The Story of Dr. Wassell as written and directed by a subtle surrealist with a strong nihilistic streak and you’ll have some idea of the temper and tone of Shohei Imamura’s Dr. Akagi. Imamura, now 72, has been making cracked and corrosive films about…
The Emperor’s Shadow
The emperor in question is China’s first, Ying Sheng (Jiang Wen), who conquered and united the country’s various provinces around 200 B.C. His shadow is Gao Jianli (Ge You), his boyhood friend and a musical prodigy who grows up to be a famous musician and a royal pain in the royal rear. Though there’s a…
True Blue
Take a look at the institution responsible for putting this recording together. That should tell you most of what you need to know about where this work fits in with other blues recordings. Blues Routes is both educational and a great collection of various blues stylings. The performances, all of which were recorded live at…
Hip-hopped
Tricky’s gift is that he cares about hip hop enough to trash it. Like Johnny Rotten’s version of "Johnny B. Goode," Tricky’s version of Public Enemy’s "Black Steel" on his debut, Maxinquaye, favored destroying the song in order to preserve its essential power and terror. With his vocalist cohort on "Black Steel," Martina – Lauryn…
Opera Cameos
The title of this maddeningly uneven collection of French arias – most of them coloratura showpieces – translates to "The Jewels," but despite some spectacular singing, not everything sparkles like gems. Jo, the South Korean soprano who lit up the Detroit Opera House stage as Gilda in Rigoletto and as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor,…
Malian-delta flights
"I don’t play ‘African Blues,’" explains Ali Farka Toure. "Those guys along the Mississippi Delta play ‘Malian-American music." Still, if Toure had a twin brother across the Atlantic, separated at birth, it would probably be John Lee Hooker. Africa’s pre-eminent bluesman … oops, rather master of Malian folk music, is back with his first album…
Playing with children
Supernatural hung out in the CD player for two weeks prior to my penning this review. It just rode with me, rather nonchalantly. One day, the ol’ ball ’n’ chain (permission granted for use of this term) rode shotgun. As Mr. Santana worked his magic in the deck, wifey began to take notice. "Brilliant," she…
