When I find myself in times of trouble, dear reader, Mother Mary sometimes comes to me and speaking words of wisdom, and says, “Hey Collin, quit lying about like a jackass and go do something you enjoy.” This advice usually goes quite a distance and during normal years I would always go out and do […]
review
Posted inNews
HSU Independent Review of UPD ‘Uncovered Organizational Issues’ Within the Department
The Office of Independent Review group completed its independent review of the University Police Department and allegations against then Chief of Police Donn Peterson and Lt. Melissa Hansen and found “there were broader problems within the department that need to be addressed,” including communication and leadership at all levels, internal division, and organizational dysfunction.” Last October, […]
Posted inArts + Scene
And Everything is Going Fine
I last talked with Spalding Gray at Wildberries Marketplace on the afternoon of his last Center Arts performance. I’d had dinner with him in Pittsburgh (along with six or eight others) several years before, where the general conversation was high-spirited — at least until he quietly observed that he couldn’t laugh anymore. He didn’t know […]
Posted inMusic
Massive Conspiracy Against All Life
CD by Leviathan. Moribund Records. Leviathan, aka Wrest, is a one-man black metal project from the Bay Area that has played a crucial role in the development of American black metal, bringing a sense of legitimacy to a scene that for years was perceived to be inferior to its Scandinavian counterpart. Massive Conspiracy Against All […]
Posted inMusic
Sea Lion
CD by The Ruby Suns Sub Pop FellowJournal reviewer Spencer Doran remarked on the "Beach Boys-in-an-airplane-hangar vocals" and sampler loops on Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox’s 2007 album, Person Pitch. Sea Lion, the new release from the Ruby Suns, an ever-changing New Zealand group fronted by multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Ryan McPhun, could be an extension of that […]
Posted inMusic
Vs. (Definitive Edition)
CD by Mission of Burma Matador "We hope you remember us as basically a wimpy band with nothing to say," Mission of Burma guitarist Roger Miller disclaims moments before the band bashes their way through the closing number of their last hometown show, included as a bonus DVD to this deluxe reissue of their lone […]
Posted inMusic
The Real Dirt on Farmer John
DVD, directed by Taggart Siegel Good Times Video John Peterson was a toddler in the 1950s when his mother bought a movie camera. And while she succeeded in documenting the comings and goings on their beloved Illinois farm, she may not have realized that she was also kicking off a five-decade-long project that culminated in […]
Posted inMusic
Magnificent Fiend
CD by Howlin Rain American/Birdman As Howlin Rain prepares for an intense year of touring in support of Magnificent Fiend, one cannot help but cheer the developing story of a small-town boy who has gone out into the world and done good for himself. From his days as an English major to his years with […]
Posted inMusic
Jesus Of Cool
CD by Nick Lowe Yep Roc reissue When I first saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions, blasting through a set at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in 1979 during their notorious Armed Forces tour, "Music For Money," the first song off of Nick Lowe’s then-new record, Jesus of Cool, played on the overhead speakers at […]
Posted inMusic
Lust, Caution
DVD, directed by Ang Lee Universal Lust, Cautionis Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s second movie with a comma in the title (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It’s also his second film about two people cautious to engage in what is ultimately destructive love (think Brokeback Mountain). In Lust, Caution Lee combines the acrobatics of the first film […]
Posted inMusic
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Book by Oliver Sacks. Published by Knopf. Music, this weird and wonderful do-re-mi, welling up from the same ineffable place as our most basic expressions of instinct and desire — where does this stuff come from? Neurologist Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat) doesn’t know, but he offers some […]
Posted inMusic
Greg Brown
In concert March 8, 2008, at the Van Duzer For some people in the crowd last Saturday night at the Van Duzer, the first half hour of the Greg Brown show was fraught with doubt, confusion, even a little disappointment. Who was that masked man up there on stage? He was good, but he sounded […]