These days, when much American independent film has devolved to formulaic low budget romantic comedies, adolescent Tarantino ripoffs and torture porn, it’s hard to believe the promise that a new wave of filmmakers heralded in the ’80s. More than 20 years after its original release, Criterion has just released a remastered version of director Jim […]
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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Elemental
For whatever reason, probably because I write about music, people tend to assume I am a musician. I’m not. Well, I did play in the marching band when I was younger, but gave that up when forced to parade in a Sgt. Pepper outfit during half-time at high school football games. For years people having […]
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At My Age
Pop’s renaissance man, Nick "the Basher" Lowe, is a notable singer/songwriter who has penned songs performed by Johnny Cash ("The Beast in Me") and Elvis Costello "(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding," among others. He’s an established producer, who produced most of the early Elvis Costello & the Attractions releases. He’s a co-bandleader […]
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Spook Country
William Gibson is best known for a series of sci-fi novels he wrote in the ’80s, beginning with the seminal cyberpunk work, Neuromancer , a labyrinthine examination of a future where hackers cruise through virtual towers of data ruled over by shadowy megacorporations. In many ways, the future he envisioned has come to pass. Maybe […]
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The Boys and Girls Guide To Getting Down: A Real Life Guide to Sex, Drugs, and Bad Behavior
Attention NorCal party people, or any partiers for that matter: Prepare yourself for an all-nighter. Put on your spiffiest gear, get your recreational substances lined up and call in your wing-people to get schooled on the carnal arts of getting wild. Set in Hollywood, the film follows various scenesters through their escapades on Cahuenga (a […]
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Long Live the King
It was around 60 years ago when young guitar player Riley B. King left his farm job in Indianola, Miss., for the bright lights of Memphis, Tenn. Living at first with his cousin, the bluesman Bukka White, he made an impression quickly and landed a spot on harmonica great Sonny Boy Williamson’s radio show. Later […]
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Blues, Rags & Hollers: The Koerner, Ray & Glover Story
"To me … folk music has always been the blues." — Dave "Snaker" Ray You need look no further than that quote from guitarist Dave "Snaker" Ray to identify the ethos that formed the foundation of seminal acoustic folk-blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover. The Minnesota-based threesome, rounded out by fellow 12-stringer "Spider" John Koerner […]
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Collected Poems
On a recent brief flight from Monterey to San Francisco, a woman who sat next to me noticed me reading Lynda Hull’s Collected Poems and asked what Hull’s poems were about. "Her poems are not really about anything in particular, yet they are about everything," I answered. "Her strength is her description and use of […]
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Natural
If this record was your first exposure to the Mekons, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were some obscure British folk combo, not one of the original punk bands of 1977, still plugging away after 30 years. The Mekons were contrarians from the start — their first single, "Never Been In a Riot" was a […]
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The Way Home — Zap Mama, Santana and can’t-miss folk at Muddy’s
Marie Daulne has come a long way since 1990, when she founded the all-woman a cappella quintet Zap Mama . And it’s not just that she’s been around the world several times. The Zap Mama sound has evolved from an amalgam of African and European vocal styles to incorporate touches of jazz, hip hop, funk, […]
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Words of Wisdom, plus a Parisian busker, Dr. John and the Lu’au
The first time I met Tevya "Wisdom" Jones, years ago, he was selling T-shirts along the road into Reggae. I bought one emblazoned with his logo — a red, green, gold and black pyramid/eye inside a flaming circle. The next year, stickers with the logo showed up on outhouses all over the concert grounds. A […]
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Down Home
College is almost back in session, the students are back in town and it’s time for another CenterArts season. The local concert juggernaut kicks off a stellar ’07-’08 season on Sunday, Aug. 19, with a show at the Van Duzer featuring what is likely the most successful old-timey band working today, Old Crow Medicine Show […]