Hell, everybody wants free stuff. And, damn, you see a book called Free Stuff and you’re just absolutely, hyperventilatingly certain that you’re gonna flip that thing open and behold a step-by-step guide to skating by without dropping a penny. Jackpot! With the quarter found on the floor! But sensitive-man-about-town Fhyre Phoenix has got more depth […]
Music
Coverage of the music scene in Humboldt County with upcoming shows from locals and out-of-town acts, reviews, interviews and more.
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In Rainbows
By now, everyone knows what happened: Radiohead reemerged from nowhere on Oct. 1, announcing that they planned to release a new studio album in 10 days, and by the way even though they’re one of the biggest rock bands in the world they’d be releasing it themselves on the Internet, oh and also by the […]
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Take Something Old
A sticker on the new live CD byHillstomp describes them as a “bucket and slide duo,” a phrase that might be confusing, unless you’ve seen them play. Guitarist Henry Christian bars chords with a slide made from a metal tube. Drummer Johnny “Buckets” Johnson has a kit made mostly from plastic buckets, the kind you […]
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‘Homeland Security Behind the Redwood Curtain’ by Judy Boyd, essay review
(available on the web at www.hsaj.org ) Ever wondered what a high-ranking official from the Department of Homeland Security would make of Humboldt County? Wonder no more. Get right in there and read how a Beltway-bred stuffed shirt came to find a little piece of this great and troubled nation’s lost soul while on spiritual […]
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‘The American Discovery of Europe’ book review
*The AmericanDiscovery ofEuropeby Jack D. Forbes*Illinois University Press Did Columbus discover America, or did America discover Columbus? Did Columbus meet Native Americans for the first time in 1492 when he sailed the ocean blue — an event marked, earlier this week, by Columbus Day — or did he meet two American Indians 15 years earlier, […]
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Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby concert review
Ricky Skaggs andBruce Hornsby**Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007*HSU Van Duzer*Theater The last time I saw Ricky Skaggs was inside one of those megachurches in Southern Nevada. And he was a very different Skaggs from the man on stage Sunday night in the Van Duzer, where he and his band, Kentucky Thunder, played with Bruce Hornsby. Back […]
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All My Loving
directed by Tony Palmer Isolde Films Director Tony Palmer’s examination of the world of rock ’n’ roll in 1968 serves as a fascinating time capsule. Broadcast on the BBC 39 years ago, All My Loving , “a film of pop music,” was not shown in the U.S. and hasn’t been released on DVD until now. […]
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The Original Patriots: Northern California Indian Veterans of World War Two
by Chag Lowry Self-published In Ken Burns’ new documentary series about World War II, which began airing on PBS Sept. 23, only one Native American voice is included. When the series was first announced last spring, there were none at all. After public protest and a quick reedit, Burns added two Latinos and a token […]
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This Different Rhythm
He doesn’t lay claim to inventing reggae, but Frederick “Toots” Hibbert says he gave the Jamaican music style its name. Born in a town called May Ten in the hills far from Kingston, Toots headed for the lights of the city when he was still a teenager. As he tells the tale, “I’m from the […]
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Tokyo Year Zero
Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace Alfred A. Knopf There’s nothing like an occupying army to stir desperation into the chaos of defeat. Just ask Detective Minami, chief of one of the two murder-investigation units operating in Tokyo during “Year Zero” — the first year after Japan’s surrender to and occupation by the United States. […]
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Whatever It Is We Do
They’re back. The Redwood Jazz Alliance , that is. The collection of jazz educators and fans intent on bringing a wider range of improv music to Humboldt started with two concerts their first season. The RJA kicks off a more ambitious six show season Thursday, Sept. 27, with two shows at the Morris Graves Museum […]
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La Jetée/Sans Soleil
Once again the Criterion Collection has rescued the work of a masterful director from the annals of obscurity. Here they couple two key works by French director/photographer/activist Chris Marker, La Jetée and Sans Soleil , vastly different films that still clearly stem from the same artistic vision. Marker is a notoriously enigmatic figure. He’s never […]