Love the Sin
Sin City: Recut, Extended, Unrated (Buena Vista) Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s near frame-for-frame adaptation of Miller’s bone-crunching comics finally gets a rewarding DVD treatment, following a shamefully sparse edition earlier this year. The theatrical cut boasts two commentary tracks (with Quentin Tarantino and Bruce Willis, among others), but there are also featurettes on the…
Not So Hotline
If you haven’t noticed, the loony right-wing “war on Christmas” continues unabated, with chicken-hawk media generals such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity even getting in the face of their beloved president . . . for the sin of mailing out a “Happy Holidays” card from the White House. Surely some low-level heads in the…
Conjunto Carnival
This is a little confusing, estudiantes de la música, but pay attention and we’ll come out OK. There are two different kinds of conjunto (both danceable). One is rurally rooted Texas-Mexico border music, usually featuring accordion. The other is Afro-Cuban-based and is both more urban and more urbane. This style interlaces varied Latin American rhythms…
The week’s best releases from the pop-culture universe.
DVD — The Simpsons: Season 7: The Springfield clan hit its stride during this period, settling into the groove that would make it one of TV’s all-time-best shows. This four-disc, 25-episode set includes deleted scenes, commentary by cast and crew, and such fan faves as “Radioactive Man,” “22 Short Films About Springfield,” and “Homerpalooza,” in…
Turn of the Scrooge
At some point in an adult’s life, it becomes obvious that everything in the world doesn’t work as well, on a consistent basis, as TiVo™ and NetFlix©. But there’s one local franchise that operates with such well-oiled precision and excellence that it deserves a register mark all its own. And that is A Christmas Carol…
The Music Makers
Mickey Krivosh sifts through a lot of demo tapes to fill the bill every week at Songwriters Unplugged. If a band sounds decent in a recording studio, the Around the Corner owner invites them to his bar to play live. “If they do well, we invite them back and pay them some money,” he says.…
Virtual Quagmire
No wonder Iraq is a mess. If the battlefield in America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier is an accurate picture of what it’s like in the Middle East, we should cut and run ASAP. The United States Army’s officially licensed shooter puts you smack in the middle of the action in an Iraq-like country bearing…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Black Nativity — Karamu’s annual presentation of Langston Hughes’ gospel extravaganza has less of a plot than other versions. But the combination of spectacular singing and emotional, energetic dancing makes the evening memorable on many counts. In two clearly differentiated acts — the first recounts the story of Jesus’ birth, and the second takes place…
Murder by the Case
Until a couple of weeks ago, Michael Selvaggi and Jeremy Cason had no clue that you could Kill the Keg at the Hi-Fi. The club has been tapping a 15.5-gallon keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon draft every Monday night and charging 50 cents per eight-ounce cup. But when the brew is gone, the deal is…
Our top DVD picks for the week of December 13
Bad News Bears (2005) (Paramount) The Beautiful Country (Sony) Death Race 2000: Special Edition (Buena Vista) F.I.S.T. (Columbia/Tristar) Gallipoli: Special Edition (Paramount) Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season (Warner Bros.) The Island (Universal) Kiss: Rock the Nation Live! (Image) The Last Day (Strand) Marvin Gaye: Behind the Legend (Red Dist.) Miami Vice: Season Two (MCA)…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions.
NEW Dimensional Drift — Unless outsider art is your thing, these crude paintings and sculptures by Clevelander John Arndt probably won’t keep your interest; the artist’s lack of formal training is evident to some degree in almost every piece. Foreshortening seems to be a concept of interest to Arndt, who experiments with it in a…
Beavis and Butt-head Do Government
Nine years ago, flushed with optimism, local housing authority officials hatched an ambitious plan to fix public housing in Ohio City. It involved hundreds of homes and millions of dollars. Unfortunately, it also involved two government agencies with a talent for wasting money. The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and…
Canyon Fodder
Blame it on too many Waltons reruns, but we prefer to deck the halls not with aluminum trees and holographic ornaments, but with pine boughs, teddy bears, and Santa on snowshoes. So a trip to Twinsburg’s Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern (8960 Wilcox Drive, 330-486-BLUE) melted our heart. The rustic lodge offers a year-round taste…
The Bravery
When the Bravery released its debut disc earlier this year, critics dismissed the band as a bunch of hacks who were cashing in on a hot sound. The group’s detractors were so vitriolic that sympathetic souls spoke out on its behalf, creating Bravery-backlash backlash. To give the band due process, we considered the charges against…
Selling Kabbalah
A few years ago, Rabbi Yakov Travis, an Orthodox rabbi with a Brillolike beard, was perusing the Judaism section at Borders when he came across the subsection on Kabbalah. The books were written mostly by members of the Kabbalah Center, the highly controversial place of learning where Madonna, Britney, and Demi study the ancient tradition…
Fly Guy
When it comes to sophisticated food scenes, no one expects Cleveland to compete with Vegas, Chicago, or even Philadelphia. But that doesn’t mean our kitchens aren’t burning with genuine talent — young men and women whose names may not yet be familiar, but whose cuisine can speak for itself. We stumbled across one of these…
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The also-ran vibe is palpable on the new (International) Noise Conspiracy CD, Armed Love. This is a bit irritating, considering that these Swedes were on the front line of the garage-rock invasion way back in ’98, when they splintered off from the Refused and came with a sexy, Farfisa-fueled charge. INC rocked many electronica-dazed hipsters…
Head of the Crass
He’d been coming to these things for years. It was the fall of 2002, and Angel Montanez, father of four, knew the Back-to-School-Night routine: Get the schedule, meet the teachers, check the grades. With any luck, he’d be home in time for a late dinner. But that night, when Montanez and his daughter walked into…
Road Warriors
They jammed with Joan Jett. They helped the Dwarves dodge the cops. They got drunk in condemned apartment buildings. They got jock itch. And so it went for the Vacancies as they crisscrossed America last month, logging close to 5,500 miles over two weeks. Hitting the road in support of their recently released sophomore LP,…
Zug Izland
In this holiday season, now more than ever, it’s important to remember that the best things in life are free. Like Zug Izland, which occupies the rock territories of the Juggalo Nation. Flexing cojones and wrecking guitars, the rock-rap crew has been sparking recent live shows with a toxic twist on Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick…
American Libido
If you’re a hot young thang thinking of applying at the new American Apparel store — opening on Coventry January 1 — you may want to reconsider. The company is best known for its benevolent labor practices. Its affordable line of casual wear is sweatshop-free and 100 percent U.S.-made. All its factory workers — based…
Takin’ Out the Trash
Until now, we thought the worst thing the Warner Music Group had ever done was to sign Trapt, a hard-rock band that sucks worse than the death of a loved one. But after being sued by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the mammoth music company acknowledged that it had bribed radio programmers with cash…
Illstyle Rockers’ Ninth Annual X-Mas Jam
Time for Christmas rappin’: For the ninth year, the Illstyle Rockers will break out all four elements of hip-hop for the crew’s Annual X-mas Jam. In addition to rhymes, beats, graffiti art, and breakin’, this year’s extravaganza doubles as a CD-release party for B-boy DJ Forrest Getemgumps’ The Best Part (Brooklyn Sole Edition), one hardcore…
Mensa Minds
Keep up the good work: As a member of Cleveland Area Mensa, I must respond to the First Punch item “Brainiacs for Nudity” in your December 7 edition. 1. Chaos theory is so passé. String theory is the latest rage. 2. My glasses are not taped (new prescription)! However, when I wear my contact lenses,…
Sound Advice
The Whiskey Daredevils specialize in liquored-up barnburners that veer from country to punk to good ol’ rock and roll — often in the same tune. Frontman Greg Miller shares his expertise on all things kickass. What have you been listening to lately? Bob Dylan’s No Direction Home, Alcohol Stunt Band’s demo, a Camper Van Beethoven…
Nous Non Plus
The septet Nous Non Plus scares up sumptuous cool on its self-titled debut, whipping elements borrowed from the Strokes, Stereolab, and the B-52’s into delectable French pastries. And so we get delights like “Lawnmower Boy,” in which the band makes like Guitar Wolf on a new-wave kick; the disco hip-shake quake of “Tant Pis Pour…
Ring in the New Year
Before You Go Out . . . Resolve to bling-bling in the new year with rhinestone combs, clips, or ponytail holders. Light up the evening with a fiber-optic hair barrette. Treat your mom or sister to a surprise dual beauty afternoon. Look your best for the new year. Carabel Beauty Salon and Store is your…
Money Where Your Mouth Is
Band: Mystery of Two (www.exitstencilrecordings.com) Hometown: Cleveland Sounds like: “Mission of Burma and the Talking Heads arguing about jazz while getting signed to SST.” Fun fact: “Lonn [Schubert] thinks in bass, and it’s his b-day on December 17. Nick Riley is an all-star, and he’s played drums with Lonn for years upon years. I play…
Various Artists
Phil Spector’s legendary “Wall of Sound” is the inspiration for this massive, engrossing collection of early ’60s girl groups. While Spector’s best-known sides are absent, it’s amazing to hear how creatively energizing his hits were during a brief period usually disparaged as a downtime in “rock’s maturity.” Among the standard swooning sob stories — birthed…
Cleveland’s Ultimate Mixtape
Planning a New Year’s Eve party? After more than 60 years of widespread refrigeration technology, everybody knows to stockpile more ice than you can imagine using. But we’re just a couple years into Generation i (i for “iPod”), and even with iTunes at your disposal, making the perfect party mix is still nearly as difficult…
Last Word
“The Backyard Babies from Sweden at Pirate’s Cove. They blew me away!” — Mike A., Sonic Swirl Records, Cleveland “The Black Keys at the Lime Spider in April, followed closely by the Legendary Shack Shakers at the Lime Spider, Kings of Leon at the Odeon, and the Lords of the Highway CD-release show at the…
Guided by Voices
Reviewers’ time-honored complaint about multidisc releases maintains that any given boxed set could have been shrunk to one great 12-song album. But at 100 tracks, this four-disc odds-and-ends collection from the defunct Guided by Voices is just too sprawling to properly condense into one LP. Suitcase 2 is a music library unto itself, one that…
Bought Your Stocking Stuffers?
Cleveland will always be a Pabst Blue Ribbon town. And while that’s not a bad thing — and it definitely makes for an affordable buzz — why not branch out a little for the new year? We asked some of our favorite barkeeps for a few upscale beverage choices to help us stock the bar…
Torche
Why must everything be termed “stoner metal” these days? Heavy-ass Florida quartet Torche has been harvesting comparisons to Queens of the Stone Age for its mix of big riffs and soaring vocals. But Josh Homme’s voice isn’t pushed through the voice-of-God filter the way Torche frontman Steve Brooks’ is (the production on this disc is…
Jamie Foxx
After Jamie Foxx’s career-defining performance as Ray Charles, the most predictable move he could have made was to resume a musical career that has been dormant for the last decade. It’s also not surprising that Foxx would recruit several heavy-hitting friends — Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, and Ludacris among them — to help get…
“Hey, Bartender!”
Tired of waiting at the bar while your friends have the time of their lives, but busy bartenders buzz past you, leaving a cloud of dust and cranberry juice? Maybe it’s something you’re doing. Or maybe it’s something you’re not doing. Mixologist Mark Slaughter has learned his trade at four bars, most recently at the…
Wolf In L.A.M.B. ‘s Clothing
Half Betty Boop, half Rosie the Riveter, Gwen Stefani shook her ass and her fists at the crowd. “I was thinking we could get to know the Cleveland boys a little better tonight,” she purred midway through her set at the Wolstein Center last Thursday, enjoining all the fellas in the house to sing along…
Cassetteboy
Cassetteboy’s virtuoso samplers and their juvenile schoolboy wit are back — and they’re coming for our president. The English duo’s debut, The Parker Tapes, turned their seven years’ labor in splicing tapes and sampling TV into a masterpiece that was equal parts aural collage, vicious political satire, and tits-and-ass jokes. The two promoted it on…
Hammering Your Hangover
Whether you go out or stay in, if you’re drinking, the carefree bliss of New Year’s Eve can quickly give way to the head-hammering cranial misery of New Year’s Day. By taking the proper steps, you can avoid starting 2006 with a twisted gut, bum belly, and hurtin’ head. For some advice on avoiding –…
Avant
Magic Johnson’s first music-biz signing, Avant enjoyed a platinum debut five years ago. But if his track record since those heady days has been more modest, it’s also offered something rare: the story of a talented soul singer steadily building a career away from the hype. Private Room, the third album from this Cleveland native…
Integrity
Integrity’s first official DVD release, Always Is Always Forever, compiles live footage filmed between 1988 and 2003, distilling the best of the controversial metalcore pioneers. Clocking in at nearly two hours, the disc comprises 13 single live songs and three extended segments, including an entire 40-minute late-period set. From Dwid’s ambitious lyrics to his morbid…
Monkey Business
The modernized, comic redo of King Kong that was released exactly 29 years ago has become less the “pop classic” Pauline Kael insisted it was than a dimly remembered punch line. It barely registers with modern-day moviegoers, who remember it as a campy, eco-aware update starring a shaggy Jeff Bridges, a screaming Jessica Lange, and…
Welcome to Sonic Swirl
One of the city’s promising new rock bands, Welcome to Bangkok, will issue its debut album on Sonic Swirl Records, a label with a modest international reputation for down-and-dirty punk. Mike “Swirl” Albertson, one of the label’s two partners, hopes that the band will help the label put a new emphasis on rock. “I love…
Hillbilly Idol
On its latest LP, Hillbilly Idol has patented a new strain of country music: self-help honky-tonk. “Every day is an opportunity to make our world better,” singer-guitarist-banjo player Paul Kovac writes in the liner notes, and the music reflects his sunny outlook: This is traditional country on Zoloft. Hell, even the sad songs don’t sound…
Oh, Joy
One cannot, in good conscience, describe the countless strands of plot and strains of characters skittering through The Family Stone without knowing that the description merits at least a snicker . . . Okay, all right, bellowing guffaws. The movie’s overstuffed by half with pointless people and plot lines that dangle like warning signs, begging…
The Prodigals
It’s understandable for music fans to cop an “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls” attitude when some band professes to love playing their city. But when the New York City-based Prodigals say that Cleveland is their favorite destination, you can take it to the banks of the River Liffey. The Prodigals have…
