Most Popular
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How Progressive insurance lost what made it progressive
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An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry
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Joe Cimperman hopes to tear down his former hero, Dennis Kucinich
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Justice Maureen O’Connor says campaign money doesn’t affect her
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At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters
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How Progressive insurance lost what made it progressive (33)
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At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters (22)
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$100 Bounty on That Kid (19)
Copley-Fairlawn finds a way to keep the impostors out.
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Dennis Kucinich’s brave talk about working and fighting — from the safety of the officer’s tent (10)
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An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry (4)
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Years after he gave up on rock music, Bob Mould plugs back in
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Boozing through St. Patrick’s Day with Bono, Van, and the Pogues
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Beer, BBQ, industry schmoozing: Rounding up SXSW 2008’s local delegates
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Summery pop bands brave Cleveland’s harsh weather and reputation
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Avril Lavigne has had a bitch of a year, but she hopes a new tour will bring back the fun
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Get country with Lawless at Brooklyn's Hall of Fame tonight
02:01PM 03/26/08 -
Countdown to Opening Day: An alarmingly long interview with Tom Hamilton, voice of the Indians and guy we’re sorta obsessed with
01:32PM 03/26/08 -
WTF?: 20 years later, Sam Miller finally gets his wish
01:23PM 03/26/08 -
Rover explains Morning Glory's move to WMMS
12:08PM 03/26/08 -
R&B songstress Conya Doss to promote record on WVIZ’s Applause, at Borders and the Beachland
11:54AM 03/26/08
What we are writing about
- alt-country
- alt-rock
- Blame the (blank)!
- blues
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- country
- Dennis Kucinich
- great documentaries
- great video games
- hip-hop
- hot venues
- indie-rock
- indie pop
- indie rock
- jazz
- legal eagles
- metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- political clap-trap
- pop
- punk
- R&B
- read your music
- rock
- singer-songwriter
- sporting life
- Wii
Recent Articles By Michael D. Ayers
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Howlin Rain
Magnificent Fiend (American/Birdman)
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The Teenagers
Reality Check (XL)
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Goldfrapp
Seventh Tree (Mute)
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American Music Club
The Golden Age (Merge)
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The Lemonheads
With Racoon. Monday, December 17, at the Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights.
National Features
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Village Voice
A Long Way Wrong?
Another celebrated memoir threatens to blow into a million little pieces.
By Graham Rayman -
LA Weekly
Hoop Dawg
Billionaire Donald T. Sterling owns the L.A. Clippers and loves the ladies. And those are just two of his problems.
By Patrick Range McDonald -
The Pitch
Children of the Porn
Elvin Boone's sex-shop empire crumbles as his offspring feud.
By Justin Kendall -
Westword
The Good Soldier
When the Army tried to take down Andrew Pogany, they messed with the wrong coward.
By Joel Warner
Subject(s): Karen O, Be Your Own Pet, pop punk
Yes, Be Your Own Pet plays familiar-sounding pop-punk brat rock. And yes, frontwoman Jemina Pearl sounds a lot like Karen O. But just try resisting the band's pull in "Food Fight!" — a tasty tune about a cafeteria war, where "extra cheese is thrown in your face." It sounds dumb, and believe us, it is. And so is "Zombie Graveyard Party," where Pearl and crew feast on some brains at a shindig. Be Your Own Pet's four members are just getting out of high school, so they mean what they sing — especially in highlight "Becky," a bouncy ode to jealousy, betrayal, and friendship bracelets. It all culminates with our hero heading off to "juvie [for] teenage homicide" (Becky got what she deserved, apparently). It's also indicative of what Get Awkward and Be Your Own Pet are all about: riffing on the big fat void in the middle of a teenage wasteland.
