June 2005

« May 2005 | Main | July 2005 »

Free Beethoven

Filed under: Blogs/Web

No, that headline is not a political slogan--though I can't begin to tell you how many times I wish I'd picked up a "Free James Brown" T-shirt during that forgotten liberation movement. And it's not an appeal to fans of the titular St. Bernard from the well-regarded cinema quintuple feature, Beethoven, Beethoven's Second, Beethoven's Third, etc.

Rather, BBC Radio, in a typically beebish gesture, has made Beethoven's nine symphonies available for free download at this website. You already missed your crack at one through five, which is fine because who really needs more than four? If you don't want to be a jerkoff, you might consider waiting until my downloads are finished, as the files are dribbling in at 3kb a sec--a rate so slow that I could probably inner-tube across the North Atlantic and pick up a cassette, or have someone cable over a string of 1s and 0s by morse code.

The cheap man, as is so often the case in this world, is a frustrated man.

This post represents the first in what I imagine will become a series dedicated to the places where mp3s still roam free. I started with Beethoven mostly because I have a hunch his name hasn't appeared in City Pages this decade, and probably won't again. Unless Grodin is signed on for Beethoven's Sixth.

Posted by Michael Tortorello at June 30, 2005 1:57 PM

 

Only moments remain...

Filed under: Dance/Performance

"Brilliant uprising of musical mischief" to take place downtown

Received a letter today from someone called the "The Innominate Composer." It seems said composer has written a piece entitled "The Hobbled Hobbit," which he/she only describes as a "new and refreshing" piece of music. Mr. Innominate has distributed parts of the composed piece around the Cities, as well as clues to where the spontaneous one-time performance will take place (today at 2:00 at 100 S. Washington Ave.) The composer says that a calling card will be left at the location regarding the subsequent event/musical performance. Did I just get punked? Or is this the new flash mob?

Posted by at June 30, 2005 1:37 PM

 

If you're looking for a good book...

Filed under: Book Review

I finally started reading Norman Rush's early '90s novel Mating, and I'm loving it. Here's a little piece about it from Salon.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 30, 2005 11:03 AM | Comments (1)

 

Radio Gaga

Filed under: CD Review

Will Smith, "Switch"

I'd be totally cool with Will Smith if he weren't so bland and smug and humorless and if I were 11. True, I sure enjoyed "Parents Just Don't Understand," which made some super points about generational conflict, and Six Degrees of Separation, which made some instructive points about the pronunciation of "bottle of beer," but for the past decade or more I've held that Smith's only artistically defensible career move would be retirement. And then I heard "Switch," which is...not bad! That giant kick drum and the handclaps and the ooh-la-la-las and the Prince synth--straight up jiggy.

Most of the credit should go to Kwame, the former polka-dot-shirt wearing rapper (check out his 1989 debut, The Boy Genius) who's enjoying a healthy second career as a producer (Lloyd Banks's bluesy "On Fire," for instance, was his). Credit the star for picking the right friends. And for a while Smith sounds nothing like one of the vocal talents featured in A Shark?s Tale. Then he uses a verse to complain about celebrity and remind us, lest we question his cred, that he was a bona fide close-the-bar-down club rat way back when he was "amateur spittin'"--you know, before he had his first hit, in his late teens. --Dylan Hicks

Brad Paisley, "Alcohol"

Alcoholic poets are a dime a dozen, but poets of alcoholism, those are worth at least four bucks per six-pack. Country singer Brad Paisley had a hit last year with "Whiskey Lullaby," a duet with Alison Krauss in which a couple of hard-luck romantics slowly commit suicide by overboozing. In certain parts of Wisconsin, sources say, the song has become already become a wedding and prom-night standard. It wasn?t quite as haunting as it intended to be, but it wasn?t forgettable either. If "Whiskey Lullaby" was a drinking song for morticians sung from the vantage of a sympathetic observer, Paisley?s latest single, "Alcohol," is a drinking song for barkeeps sung by the sauce itself. "You had some of the best times you?ll never remember, with me, alcohol," sings Paisley, who notes common best-of-times results of dipsomania such as getting fired, unplanned excursions into amateur pornography, and the transformation of lampshades into hats. Surely no one but uninspired ironists ever does the lampshade-hat thing anymore, but then, uninspired ironists are a nickel a dozen.

"Helping white people dance" is another of the narrator/song?s noble missions, and Paisley and band?s amiable performance stands a good chance of starting some wobbly waltzes. But allow me to offer some sober complaints: Bringing in the obligatory "barroom chorus," a la Garth Brooks?s "Friends in Low Places," Toby Keith?s "I Love This Bar," and Gretchen Wilson?s "Redneck Woman," is a follower?s misstep; and the band--very good, mind you, especially the lead guitarist--might have done well to loosen up a bit before rolling tape. They sound like a bunch of professionals in a fancy air-conditioned recording studio at 3:00 p.m. playing music while drinking diet soda in moderation. Just a guess. Fun song, though. It should come fully into its own when plowed through during some cover band?s third set. --Dylan Hicks

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 30, 2005 9:57 AM

 

Baghdad boogie

Filed under: Local Music

Jack Knife & the Sharps are headed back to Iraq

The redoubtable local rockabilly outfit will be entertaining military personnel in Kuwait and Iraq from August 1st to the 15th. Owing to safety concerns they won't know their exact agenda until arriving overseas. "They don't tell us where we're going until we get there," says frontman Rick Hollister. "It's always been that way."

Jack Knife & The Sharps logged two military road trips last year, to the Balkans and then Iraq. (Here's a Q & A I did with Hollister last summer about the performances.) But this will be the band's longest journey yet. Hollister notes that, unlike military personnel, they don't get any time to acclimate to the heat upon arriving in Kuwait. They immediately have to push on to the first gig. "It's really a brutal hard thing to do," he says. "They just figure band people are made of steel."

Posted by Paul Demko at June 29, 2005 4:08 PM

 

Forget War of the Worlds

Filed under: Film

Seriously. Let's pretend it doesn't exist. Can we? Let's erase Tom Cruise's protruding jaw from our brain, and his big horse teeth and that little chunk of cheek that vibrates when he gets angry or confused or postures like he's not five-feet tall. Scientology? Never heard of it. I think my eigth-grade earth-science teacher was into it, though. It's how he explained kinetic energy and random velocities.

Now that that's done: Instead of spending the holiday weekend in a theater watching a movie that doesn't exist, check out Multiplex at the Soap Factory, a three-day festival of video, film, and sound projects from local and national artists. Monday night includes fireworks, a film by Cory McAbee, and the 10-Second Film Fest, featuring short films captured on cell phones, still digital cameras, and more.

Posted by at June 29, 2005 1:26 PM | Comments (2)

 

Rosie Hates Tommy

Filed under: Pop Culture

Former fans of The Rosie O'Donnell Show may recall that Ro openly worshipped one Tom Cruise. In fact, she referred to him exclusively as "My Tommy" and kept a soundbite from the Who's "Tommy" on her desktop control panel. T.C. fell just below Streisand and Drake's Cakes on O'Donnell's list of favorite things But now, as reported by PerezHilton.com, Cruise has even managed to alienate his biggest fan. Recently, O'Donnell subtly lambasted Cruise on her oft-inscrubtable blog. The backlash is now official.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 28, 2005 2:22 PM

 

Brother Ali: "It's a racist thing."

Filed under: Local Music

"Black hip-hop kids as the gatekeepers for what's hot has long been the state of affairs for mainstream and cutting-edge hip-hop?but that may be changing in some parts of the country like Minneapolis, for example, where white MCs and white audiences have it on lock." --from this week's Village Voice examination of why underground hip hop is so white. Refreshing to see them quoting Brother Ali and not bringing up his skin color. Read more at Complicated Fun.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 27, 2005 5:23 PM

 

Amelia: Fully Loaded! By Amelia Huff, Age 10 1/2

Filed under: Pop Culture

So this Saturday I finaly got to see Herbie: Fully Loaded, which should be called "The Greatast, Funnest Movie in the World" because it is. Lindsey Lohan is so beutiful. When I do grow boobs I hope they look exactly like hers. I hope I marry Fez from That 70s Show and we make a baby with our private parts. The baby will be called Maddison with two Ds. I made up that name isnt it original? Dont steal it!

Now Ive heard some things about Lindsay that are mean. That she takes Cocaine maybe, which isn't so bad because Bo Bice loves cocaine and Bo Bice is perfect. I also heard that she's not nice to people when she's making her movies and acts like a brat. That's NOT TRUE!!! They are LYERS. I read Teen People and they said she is nice and "Down to Earth" and sort of like the girl you want to be freinds with. I would love to be her freind. She could buy us matching pink dimond rings that say "BFF" ingraved on them and we would wear them forever because thats what BFF means. It means you are freinds forever (except for my former BFF Meghan who betraid me. She said she got her period and she didnt. She used marker.)

Anyway this weekend Lindsey Lohan was going to a party for some people that make dimonds. And these people called Protesters were outside saying "You shouldnt wear dimonds because people in Africa have to hunt for them and its really hard!" And they were yelling at Lindsey. But do you know what my girl did? She ignored them just like I ignore my teacher! Because she doesnt need their drama. And who cares if people in Africa have to hunt for dimonds? Thats their job. Thats what they pay them to do. That sounds like a very easy job if you ask me. My dad works at a big desk for the State of Wisconsin--THAT is a hard job. Hunting for beutiful diamonds in a warm place like Africa is not hard. Stop complaining, Protesters. You are just jealous of Lindsey because she's rich and wears a bra.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 27, 2005 4:27 PM

 

I figured "Bewitched" would be bad...

Filed under: Film Review

...but holy cats! What a total piece of crap! Burn Hollywood burn!

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 27, 2005 10:10 AM | Comments (6)

 

Why Pride is Still Necessary

Filed under: Overheard

Yesterday B96 was putting on some sort of contest in which a male listener was asked to decide whether to walk in drag in this weekend?s Pride march or be zapped by a police taser. Naturally, he chose the stun gun.

 

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 24, 2005 2:28 PM

 

Hit me with your best shot!

Filed under: Local Nightlife

Best Bitch Slap Contest at Jitters tonight, 9pm. Give a blow-up doll your best Alexis Carrington right hook and walk away with a Dynasty DVD. The contest is a part of a GLBT Singles Pride Party at Jitters, 205 E. Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 23, 2005 5:04 PM

 

Worst... week... ever...

Filed under: Pop Culture

Up next: Jim Belushi and Steve Harvey are kidnappers turned matchmakers

Sometimes "the charts" are a great barometer of American culture: They're the entertainment industry's crystal balls that give the clueless record/film/TV execs a clear view of what America wants, offering them a springboard to launch an endless stream of copycats chasing the tails of their crapulicious predecessors.  (Mama Hilton, don't you know it's gauche to piggyback on your daughter's vapid dreams?)

So what do this week's sales and Nielsen ratings predict about our future? Hitch was the best-selling DVD, taking in $10.8 million and making it one of the biggest video releases ever. The Backstreet Boys were at no. 3 on the Billboard chart, selling more than 300,000 copies of their latest CD filled with insipid love songs and faux-hard-boy anthems. And the most-watched show on television this week was the Katie Couric interview with the perpetually surprised "runaway bride." This could only mean more awful buddy flicks are in the works, boy band reunions are being planned, and millions of people are plotting their own fake kidnapping.

Posted by at June 23, 2005 11:58 AM

 

Tom & Katie: Will their love cover the spread?

Filed under: Pop Culture

British bookies don't like their chances. As this wire story attests, Ladbroke's has set 5 to 1 odds that they'll divorce by the end of 2006.

Posted by Steve Perry at June 23, 2005 8:01 AM

 

The movies as business

Filed under: Film

I always thought Edward Jay Epstein was a complete nut. Back in the '60s and '70s, he was a poster child for Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorizing--there was a second gunman, Oswald was a KGB agent, that sort of stuff. But for the past few months, he's been writing a swell column about the movie business at Slate. Did you know that box office receipts now account for less than 20 percent of the average movie's total revenues? That stars are almost always lying when they claim to have done all the stunt work in their movies? That Nicole Kidman's knee has been insured for as much as $54 million? If these sorts of details, or the broader financial chicanery of Hollywood accounting, interest you, check out Epstein's movie-writing archive here.  

Posted by Steve Perry at June 23, 2005 5:57 AM

 

Dumbest AFI list ever

Filed under: Film

The American Film Institute has released its list of the 100 all-time most memorable lines of movie dialogue. Along with the predictable ones from Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, and Casablanca--six entries!--it contains such unforgettable utterances as "Is it safe?", "My precious," and "Snap out of it!" Don't remember which movies these timeless classics are from? Shame on you.

Posted by Steve Perry at June 22, 2005 6:22 PM | Comments (2)

 

The Farm Bureau Summer Sheep Tour rocks MN in July

Filed under: Pop Culture

Grab your tie-dyes and incense, the Summer Sheep Tour is heading to Pipestone on July 9. Larry Goelz of the Pipestone Vet Clinic will discuss "Breeding Time Management and Scrapie Resistance," Rob Rule of Iowa Lamb will explain "What Kind of Lamb the Packer Wants/Needs," and Bob Koehler from the University of Minnesota Extension Service will cover "Preventing Pollution from Sheep Farms." So if you're into neck bells and dag wool, get yer baaaaad self to Pipestone this summer. And, yes, a lamb kabob lunch will be provided.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 22, 2005 8:54 AM

 

Soul Asylum - Statement on Karl Mueller

Filed under: Obituary

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 21, 2005 12:50 PM

 

Finally! A Potent Squirt for Mr. Cruise

Filed under: Pop Culture

The Independent's Andrew Gumbel offers a compelling reason why people are starting to hate Tom Cruise--we don't want to see the machinations behind our illusory celebrity romances. The public's general discomfort with the TomKat romance reached its comic apex on Sunday when Cruise got squirted in the face by a reporter's trick microphone. Surprisingly, Cruise seemed annoyed; these days one might expect him to bray with laughter, kiss the reporter, and fall to his knees in a gesture of lovestruck ecstasy.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 21, 2005 12:16 PM

 

The Best Novelty Record of the Year

Filed under: CD Review

And also just a plain good record, Parry Gripp's For Those About to Shop, We Salute You must be heard at least once. Fifty one fake jingles from the ex-leader of Nerf Herder, which wouldn't much entice me either, but I just slapped the CD* in [the CD player, in a state of] ignorance [about the nature of the project], and have been getting a large kick out of it ever since. You can hear some samples here.

*See comment. The text above in brackets reflects later modifications.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 20, 2005 6:28 PM | Comments (1)

 

Truly Outrageous

Filed under: Pop Culture

Better Misfit: Pizzazz or Danzig?

The bad news: you missed JemCon2005 and the "GORGEOUS, LIMITED fashion " made especially for your favorite Jerrica doll. [Update: JemCon2005 is July 16th! You still have time to dye your hair pink!] The good news: you're not too late for the My Little Pony Fair! Gear up for a weekend of silky hair, glittery skin, and feed bags by taking a crack at Porn Star or My Little Pony?

FYI, guys: Medina Entertainment Center has been known to hold the occasional Fat Albert Toy Show.

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at June 20, 2005 4:48 PM | Comments (2)

 

Family Man

Filed under: Obituary

 

Karl Mueller, 1963-2005

By Jim Walsh

 

A few years ago, Karl Mueller handed out pens stenciled with the words, "Your Friend, Karl Mueller." The gesture was inspired by Suicide Commandos founder Chris Osgood, who a few years earlier had passed out guitar picks inscribed with, "Your Pal, Chris Osgood."

Last Friday morning, Karl died in his wife Mary Beth's arms. That night, Osgood found himself at a cabin in the north woods with friends, several who consider Karl to be a dear friend. At dinner, Osgood lifted a glass of wine to his tribe, present and not, and talked about the gift of friendship and the preciousness of life. Then one of the diners, in an attempt to make sense of the day's events, grilled Osgood for two hours on the history of the Commandos.

 

"It started when [Commandos drummer] Dave Ahl and I were kids," began Osgood. "We were skateboard buddies." Which is how so many great bands start--friends first. And though it went unsaid, it was the kind of conversation that Karl would have loved, overflowing with names of long-lost musicians and clubs, and the kind of secret-code minutia (amps, gear, and guitars) that musicians use to talk about the passion, and which forge thicker-than-blood roots. 

A few weeks ago, I knew Karl wasn't doing very well. He was my neighbor, and he'd come out of the house to see my puppy and talk to me and my daughter and her friend through his newly installed voice box, the price of his yearlong battle with throat cancer. I asked Mary Beth, who sports an "(eye symbol) (heart symbol) K" tattoo on her right arm, if she wanted me to write anything.

 

She was optimistic. She said there was a good story about "band as family," which I presumed to mean how the Soul Asylum circle had risen to the occasion and helped care for their mate. But she may have also meant that once in a great while, a rock band becomes a really big family.

 

If you're reading this, if you were one of the girls who crushed out on him when he was a 14-year-old punk-rock bag boy at the Uptown Lunds, or the owner of Ron's Market down the street from his house who was devastated by the news of his passing, you were part of Karl's family. He wasn't that particular. There wasn't an insider-hipster bone in his body. He just loved rock, and he loved to rock. His dad died when he was young, so it was just Karl and his mom, Mary, and so when he became friends with Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy and unleashed Loud Fast Rules on the bars of the Twin Cities, his family grew. When Soul Asylum got bigger, his family got bigger.

 

In the fall, Karl drove with my family and me to the funeral for our friend Dave Ayers's father. Ayers was Soul Asylum's first manager. Karl sat next to me on a folding chair as Dave's wife Ambrosia sang "Amazing Grace." God knows what he was thinking at the time, but as we drove back from Shoreview to the cities, he told us much of his life story, but never once mentioned the chemo or radiation or the shitty cards he'd been dealt, probably because he didn't consider them all that shitty.

 

Up in the north woods last Friday, people talked about the first time they met Karl and the last time they saw him, and took silent comfort in the knowledge that similar spontaneous memorials were going on all over the world. A couple of hours after getting the news, Ayers told a few of us about Dan Corrigan's photo shoot for the cover of Clam Dip and Other Delights, the 1988 Twin/Tone EP that spoofed the cover art of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass's Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

 

"He was this silly, funny guy with such a heart. He was such a good sport," said Ayers. "That thing stunk so bad that day. It was a combination of sour cream, paint, and whipped cream, and then there was all this seafood. He sat there for hours. After a while, he got tired, and a little cranky, and just as he was about to climb out, someone put a dollop of the stuff on his head and put a chip in it. He sat back down, and that was the shot."

And that was Karl, who died on June 17, 2005 after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his family.

 

UPDATE: Soul Asylum statement on Karl Mueller

 

Pictures and memories from the fundraiser for Karl 

 

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 20, 2005 11:34 AM | Comments (1)

 

Karl Mueller R.I.P.

Filed under: Obituary

Karl Mueller, the bass player for Soul Asylum, died this morning of throat cancer. Look for more about Mueller either in this space or in next week's paper. Below are two columns written by Jim Walsh during Mueller's illness. -- Dylan Hicks

Let's Go Crazy

Ooh La La

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 17, 2005 4:50 PM

 

My main complaint with the CD reissue of ZZ Top's...

Filed under: CD Review

Tres Hombres is that it sucks. My vinyl copy of ZZ Top's finest album (Deguello is a close second) is very beat up and in fact produces very little sound at all--like I have to turn the volume knob way, way up just to get it to hear it. Of course ZZ Top should always be played at a decent volume, so this means I'm cranking the way up there, about where it needs to be to play my copy of the Grass Roots' greatest-hits album, my copy of which is also anemic. So I finally decided to replace Tres Hombres (translation: Three Men) on CD. Do not make my mistake. Whereas the original recording has a lean, dry sound, the remastered CD version is hypercompressed and saturated with outsized, '80s-style reverb. The stupid idea, I guess, was to get Hombres to sound as much like Eliminator as possible. A travesty, much like those fake-stereo versions of '50s and early '60s rock, R&B, and country records they used to put out in the mid to late '60s. Good to get that off my chest, though. Whew. I feel much better.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 17, 2005 4:34 PM

 

Duluth band Low gets premium positioning in new Kirsten Dunst movie

Filed under: Film

Screenwriter and director Cameron Crowe's latest movie, Elizabethtown, finds Orlando Bloom, failed shoe designer, returning to his hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, for his father's funeral. Along the way, he picks up flight attendant Kirsten Dunst, who helps him through his issues. Crowe, who brought his own life as a teenage rock critic to the screen in Almost Famous, and has made music an integral part of his movies Say Anything and Singles, gives the Duluth trio Low a pat on the back by showcasing their Chairkicker's Union t-shirt on the spindly frame of Ms. Dunst. Be the coolest 35-year-old on your block by picking up your own version at Low's online store.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 17, 2005 9:23 AM

 

Radio K announces FM Week

Filed under: Media

With St. Louis Park High School on summer break, Radio K is free to use its FM signal (106.5) 24 hours a day. Ignore the website's outdated signal map; the transmitter was moved a couple months ago, meaning you can now listen to the station's much improved sound just about anywhere in Minneapolis, parts of St. Paul, even into the first ring suburbs. The "K to the Second Power" celebration runs June 20-24 with special post-sunset programming, including midnight performances by Atmosphere and Bridge Club. Finally you can listen to "Skyway" in the skyways, "7th St. Queen" on 7th St., Uptown Jesus in Uptown!

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at June 16, 2005 3:41 PM

 

Something about Duluth for Friday

Filed under: Local Nightlife

 

http://eyesandhandsfestival.com/

http://www.mnlocalmusicfestival.com

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 16, 2005 12:55 PM

 

TC club gossip, the short version

Filed under: Gossip

The Clown Lounge is open again. Urban Wildlife's Rock Room is closed.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 16, 2005 5:10 AM

 

The Phallic Logo Awards

Filed under: Advertising

These logos are bananas!

If you spent hours snickering at Joe Camel's nose back when questionably-snouted cartoon characters were allowed to hawk smokes to kiddies, then you'll enjoy The Phallic Logo Awards. And remember, maturity is highly overrated.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 15, 2005 4:10 PM

 

All blowed up

Filed under: Media

What does a former Minneapolis rocker have in common with a burning mobile home?
We don't know why this video clip from a KARE-11 news story that aired a couple months back hasn't made its way around the internets to become the next big contagious-media hit. And we're not sure why the America-flag-wearin' guy featured in it doesn't have his own reality show yet, either. But this hilarious and endlessly watchable footage of a guy who still listens to eight-tracks giving us the play-by-play of what happened after a mobile home got "all blowed up" makes us sure of one thing: Suddenly, it all makes sense that Minnesota leads the nation in sales of Larry the Cable Guy CDs.

Speaking of getting "blowed up," what former frontman for one of our favorite local and now-defunct indie-rock bands can be seen on MTV? Ok, he's not exactly in a video. Give up? Check out the commercials for the Real World Austin. The guy strumming the guitar and caterwauling in the signature style that made the band so likable is none other than Steve Salett of Deformo, the group voted Best Local Rock band by CP in 1998.

Posted by at June 15, 2005 2:15 PM

 

Things You're Not Likely to Hear Ludacris Say

Filed under: Music

1. "You say you want me to do a guest spot on your new single? Ah, I'd love to, but I worry about becoming over-exposed."

2. "Lately I've been struggling with self-esteem issues."

3. "Gosh, that young woman over by the bar sure is pretty, but I wouldn't know what to say to her. A fella can dream, though."

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 14, 2005 4:06 PM | Comments (2)

 

Forget the King of Pop-- here comes the King of Kongs

Filed under: Film

The website for Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong is reporting that its trailer will open in theaters with War of the Worlds on June 29. (It may appear online before that.) The video game based on Jackson's version will hit stores around the same time, and screen-shots can be found here.

Still, the best news for fans of the big ape is a rumor involving the long-awaited DVD of the 1933 classic. Horror film expert Bill Warren posted to a discussion board that the DVD print will include a sequence in a spider-pit that was cut 72 years ago because it was considered too frightening. The footage was considered lost forever, so if true, this is indeed Kong-sized news.

Posted by Steve Monaco at June 14, 2005 4:33 AM

 

Our sophisticated taste

Filed under: Pop Culture

There is a curious statistic embedded in the text of a story in today's New York Times about the rising popularity of redneck comedians in "blue" states. Minneapolis-St. Paul, it turns out, leads the nation in sales of the new CD by Larry the Cable Guy.

I haven't caught Larry's act. But after visiting his website I find myself more than a little puzzled that he should have such a strong following in the Twin Cities. Sample joke: "I was in an Indian casino the other day and there was prostitute in there called Pork-A-Hontas!"

Yikes.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at June 13, 2005 5:58 PM

 

The Double Life of Veronica

Filed under: Art/Museums

Veronica Ochoa's self-portraits are as raw, mercurial and incongruously glamorous as the subject they depict. Slashes of acrylic paint in brilliant hues evoke streaks of viscera on the wood panel canvases--you can sense the spontanaeity in Ochoa's brushwork, but also an obsessive dedication to the theme at hand, whether it's religion, sex, or social injustice. It's a symbolic and graphic dissection of the artist, a self-described "recuperating Catholic" with a jones for devils, sacred hearts, and volcanic forces of nature. (Scroll down to the end of the review to see one of Ochoa's paintings.)

On Saturday evening, Ochoa held court at ArTrujillo Gallery. While live music, homemade sangria and a roast pig were festive diversions outside, many curious patrons found themselves lured back inside for second and third glimpses of the artist's provocative canvases. Ochoa's messages aren't timid or ambiguous; while some of the paintings have a quiet speculative mysticism, most of them employ a symbolic language familiar to mythology and pop culture alike: apples, phalluses, diamonds, fire. "I paint what I feel," Ochoa says, adding that she never uses a guide sketch or preconceives the finished image. "Nothing starts out the way it becomes."

Where's My Magic Lasso? effectively uses superhero kitsch to convey personal drama. The artist depicts herself as Wonder Woman, a distaff symbol of empowerment in golden cuffs. "Every woman that likes women likes Wonder Woman," Ochoa says. As a child in the '70s, Ochoa, who is of Mexican descent, was relieved to discover a curvaceous brunette role model in a culture saturated with Christie Brinkleys. "Wonder Woman was like the black horse," Ochoa says fondly. "Sometimes I feel like her." However, the triumph depicted in the painting is steeped in vulnerability; ghosts of past relationships literally simmer on the periphery. "The one thing I can't seem to get right is relationships," says Ochoa, a self-described "alpha female."

MN Family, Mom Where's My Kimchee? is an incendiary look at the growing popularity of transcultural adoptions in homogeneous suburban communities. The painting depicts blonde parents with crosses on their lapels serving a hot dog to a squalling Korean infant. "Whenever I see a Korean adoptee, they're with a super-white couple from Edina," Ochoa says. While she acknowledges the pain experienced by infertile couples, she speculates that foreign adoptees, if denied a cultural (and gustatory) education of their native country, will grow up feeling cheated and displaced.

The Dandy Warhols Made Me Do It!! is a florid and deeply personal depiction of a gnarly bike accident Ochoa suffered on her way home from a show at First Avenue. The five teeth she lost in the wipeout are shown ascending to heaven in a touch of Kahlo-esque magical realism; columns of flame stream from the handlebars of the seemingly possessed bicycle as apples of discord tumble in space. Ultimately, Ochoa says the accident was a humbling and pivotal moment in her life, one that illuminated the uncertain terrain of destiny. "It was a beautiful night until then," she says dryly. "But I had to ask myself, 'How much did I really grow from this?'"

Ochoa, now 30, says she routinely grapples with the "double life" referenced in the exhibit's title. Bilingual, bicultural, and a mother as well as a professional, she's embraced her innate duality to dazzling effect.

The Double Life of Veronica runs through June 18, 2005.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 13, 2005 4:37 PM

 

Vicious Vicious

Filed under: CD Review

The new Vicious Vicious album, Don't Look So Surprised, sounds real good, funny and blanket-like. Consider going to the release party this coming Friday.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 13, 2005 4:23 PM

 

Still More MN Faves

Filed under: Local Music

Daniel Peterson writes:

They never had a hit, but they sure were great: The Mutuals. They were the first punk/new-wave band I saw locally, in 1979 at some long-forgotten bar in Fridley (which they were kicked out of after the first night of a proposed two-night stand.) I went based on a review I had read (in the old Sweet Potato, I believe) that mentioned that they performed some covers by Jonathan Richman and Brian Eno. They had a Fripp-influenced fuzz-guitarist, a very minimalist stand-up drummer and not one but two females in the band. They didn't look or act like rock stars, and befitting their name, the dancers/listening audience were considered as much a part of The Mutuals as the band onstage. I followed them around town religiously for the next couple years, and remain firmly convinced that at least two of their shows were among the best I have seen by anyone, ever. My unenlightened Led Zep-loving friends thought they "needed to practice more," but I felt like I was experiencing a taste of what The Velvet Underground must have been like in their earliest, groundbreaking days: raw, psychedelic and primitively perfect. Their lone, 4-song seven-inch, "No Wasps," is one of my most prized possessions, especially the song "Heat."

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 13, 2005 3:01 PM

 

Playwrights' Center creates National Advisory Board

Filed under: Theater

The Playwrights' Center has announced the formation of a National Advisory Board with a mission including, but not limited to "opening doors for the Playwrights' Center and its emerging writers." A number of doors will assumedly be opening with a good deal of force, since a quick glance over the board's membership yields such luminaries as Edward Albee, August Wilson, Jon Jory, and the Guthrie's Joe Dowling. --Quinton Skinner

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 13, 2005 2:53 PM

 

Some more Minnesota favorites

Filed under: Local Music

Allison Gunderson writes:

Now, this just seemed so obvious to me. They may not have ever been my favorite band from Minnesota (and working in college radio, I tried to NOT like them), but Semisonic was so HUGE. Granted, Trip Shakespeare was in the top fifty, but that is not even the same. From the super hit "Closing Time" to the much better songs on the earlier Across the Great Divide... it just seems more important and hit list worthy than some of the artists on the list.

Paul Burnett writes:

I understand that this is a list of only the FIFTY Greatest Hits), I was surprised that neither The Underbeats (FootStompin) or The Accents (Why) made the cut. But as an old fart, I'm always sorry to see these and other great local bands of the 60s era left out of any lists.

Chad Nelson writes:

*Jeff Waryan/Figures- ?To Get Away? from S/T LP (Twin Tone 1983)
(Wonderful soaring piece of guitar rock?woefully underrated)

*Illiterate Beach-So She Knows 7? (Rollerland Records 1985)
(Great folk rock?Maria Menolasino?s voice is haunting?a fixture on mix tapes for years)

*Otto?s Chemical Lounge-Fire 7? EP (Reflex Records 1983)
(bass player?Tom Hazelmyer...who knew?)

*Five Easy Pieces-Let?s Go Down 7? (Crackpot Records 1992)
(Full Disclosure?I ?executive produced? this single (i.e. bought the beer), but I still think it?s a pretty good slice of Americana--Surowicz called ?em ?ragged but right?)

I know modesty precludes you, but both ?Catholic Bulletin? (Laughing Stock) and ?Governor of Fun? (Dylan Hicks) deserve mention, too.

Another reader suggests Marvin Rainwater:

 "I see that the list goes all the way back to the early 50's. I see that country & western is seriously underrepresented. MARVIN RAINWATER, still working his local fair, up in Aitkin County, at least last time i checked, should aughta get some recognition here, i opine."

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 13, 2005 12:37 PM

 

Bad Bestseller of the Week

Filed under: Book Review

Hidden Prey by John Sandford (Berkley, $7.99)

Russian spies running amok in Duluth? Lucas Davenport, independently wealthy homicide investigator, has his silliest crime-solving spree yet in this, the 16th Prey novel by local bestseller Sandford. Actually, it's wrong to suggest that he solves anything-- Lucas is like a hero in an old movie serial, who finally gets the bad guy after suffering 12 chapters of ass-kickings. He gets more and more terse as his failures accumulate, and his use of the adjective "fuckin'" (i.e., "Get me out of this fuckin' story") escalates until it becomes amusing. Other than the premise, it's the only funny thing about the book, since Sandford's dialogue is so drab it makes Ed McBain's forced conversations seem like Mamet.

Posted by Steve Monaco at June 12, 2005 3:34 AM

 

And another MN Fave

Filed under: Local Music

I was pleased that Dan Raustadt* wrote in to give a plug for the Elektras' "Dirty Old Man," which would probably be in my personal Minnesota Top 15, and is the song missing from our Top 50 that  I most wanted to find room for, but couldn't. We did, however, inculde a short item on Money Music, an out-of-print compilation that includes the song and other Minnesota garage, psych, and pop tunes. Here's Dan's note:

I believe there was an omission from this 50 greatest list, "Dirty Old Man," by the Electras. Date Records (Columbia Records subsidary) of New York purchased the rights to this song and signed the band - with new name, Twas Brillig, to an exclusive 5 year contract.

*Raustadt played lead guitar on "Dirty Old Man," and he played it very well.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 10, 2005 12:36 PM

 

Another MN fave

Filed under: Local Music

A reader writes in:

The name of the song is I-90 and is by Storyhill (a.k.a. Chris Cunningham and
John Hermanson (also of Alva Star and Olympic Hopefuls fame).  The song  was written by Chris Cunningham and at the end of the song does mention Minnesota in a line which goes:

"So let the full moon rise again
A Minnesota gal to be my friend.
I'll be back to play this song,
'cause a while on the road can make you stronger
Ever so slightly,
Soon I'll be hightailin' I-90".

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 10, 2005 12:28 PM

 

Was he lost in the blaze?

Filed under: Local Music

City Pages cover model's band seeks drummer. Must know "Hot in Herre" and "Brick House." Bounce perform tonight at the Breakaway Bar and Grill in Robbinsdale.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 10, 2005 1:19 AM

 

Naked Ain't Sacred

Filed under: Blogs/Web

In the grand scatalogical tradition of Dysfunctional Family Circus, presenting Rejected 'Love Is' Comics from blogger Bachem Macuno. Who knew that adorable naked couple was so drug-addled?

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 9, 2005 2:03 PM

 

Anthony Hamilton's "Soullife"

Filed under: Local Music

Fans of R&B singer Anthony Hamilton's excellent 2003 album, Comin' From Where I'm From, should note that Rhino Records is putting out Hamilton's shelved album Soulife, which the singer started recording in '99 for L.A.'s Soulife Records. When the label folded, the record went down with it. The record comes out June 28. So far it sounds potatoes.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 9, 2005 12:36 PM

 

It's Potatoes

Filed under: Pop Culture

"Bananas," as in slang for "really cool," went from underground to overground in quite a hurry, thanks in large part to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," which I like. So assuming that "bananas" is played, and since we're from the just-the-basics Midwest, how do y'all feel about using "potatoes" to mean "really cool"? Great, let's do it!

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 9, 2005 12:22 PM | Comments (5)

 

Correction, and a letter from Rusty Jones

Filed under: Local Music

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 9, 2005 10:44 AM | Comments (2)

 

Letter from Rusty Jones

Filed under: Local Music

Dear Mr Hicks,
            This is Rusty Jones, founding member of NNB, and bassist on the
now classic (thank you) single, "Slack", and currently found toiling away in
the Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs (w/ old friend Jim Tollefsrud, also an
NNB alumnus, as you know), Safety Last (there's Jim again!), and the Rockin'
Pinecones. Should I mention my occasional jobs w/ Curtiss A? Anyway, I
certainly don't blame you for getting the history and line-up of NNB wrong,
as Mark Freeman always did try to shroud the band in a mystery that would
belie our suburban roots. And I'm always happy to see credit given to the
second, third, and fourth bassists of NNB - my friends Dave Blessing and
Wayne Hasti, and, lastly, Chuck Hultquist, who I believe served the longest
tenure in the band, and can be seen in the M-80 movie that played at the
Sound Unseen Festival a year or so back.
            But here's a bit more history for you...Dick Champ, Jimmy T and
I were Edina grads, class of '73, and found each other through Ziggy
Stardust...really! Early on we all went to the Lou Reed show in St. Paul,
Dec of '72,  where we met a mutual fanatic, a Mr. Peter Jesperson, who we
befriended and we began to journey out to his Minnetonka house on a regular
basis to be treated to a "tour" of his incredible record collection. Our
tiny circle began to expand into the mysterious Minneapolis music
underworld. Then at some point during our college daze, Dick Jim, and I came
to a crossroads - were we going to go wholly into record collecting? Or
start playing the music we loved to obsession? Within a short while we had
formed our first band, the Regenerates, but had also had scored jobs at the
Wax Museum record stores, though Dick had already had a gig being a clerk at
Oarfolkjokeopus, in the era of Andy Schwartz and the legendary Barry
Margolis. Andy was really *the* instrumental guy in town that a scene formed
around. He was always organizing, or supporting some event or band that had
grabbed his interest. It really is hard to describe the unity of the scene
that began developing in the mid 70's, but I'll just say, we had our club,
and we were there all the time, no matter who was playing, all in the belief
that we knew better, dammit, and this was really, honestly, truly, fucking
rock 'n' roll, and it was right here in Minneapolis! From Thumbs Up and
Prodigy, to Spitfire and the Boys, and on to the Commandos (oh, how we
laughed!), the Suburbs, Fingerprints and the Pistons, it was quite a fine
run for our little burg.
            Some time in '77, Dick, Jim and I met Mark Freeman. Mark was
also a clerk at the Wax, and he had a vision of a band beyond anything we'd
been messing around with, and so we decided to join forces to form NNB. Soon
after, Twin/Tone Records had formed, and their first three EPs hit the
stores. So cool!!  And then there was us, lowly NNB, with not even a gig
under our belt, though we'd logged hundreds of hours of rehearsal time. How
were we ever gonna get noticed? Well hell, we thought, let's just make our
own record. And so we did. And we're still noticed - thank you!
            As per your request, I want to nominate two records that fall
between the Soma and Twin/Tone eras that were, in my mind, among the best
from Minneapolis during a pretty bleak era. First there's the 1972 single
"The Butler Did It" b/w "I Won't Be Pushed Away" by Skogie, who was led by
Rick Moore and another classmate of mine, the legendary lost boy, Mark
Goldstein. Double A side, a real pop smash, you can listen to it here:
<http://www.demophonic.com/audioarchive/TheButlerDidItNew.html>

Secondly, there's "Lindy Hop Bop" by Bob Ivers and Ice Stars, the band that
later developed into Fingerprints. A dandy little number that still sets my
toes tapping, it was a real shining light in those days.
            Well, I hope that gives you a bit of background to those times
30+ years ago. I'd be happy to give you anymore info Dylan. Thanks for all
the good music writing, esp as you deal with the most important thing, the
local stuff!

Best Regards,
Rusty Jones

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 9, 2005 10:42 AM

 

Simpsons movie in, Watchmen movie out

Filed under: Film

Along with old TV series, comic book characters remain the hottest commodity in Hollywood, with Batman Begins already garnering raves (it opens on the 15th), and there are upcoming big-screen projects featuring Superman, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, and The Hulk. One superhero team that remains unfilmed, however, is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, from their classic 1987 mini-series (available as a 12-chapter graphic novel). Even though their official website is still up, Paramount just cancelled the film. (Universal had it before, and it, too, pulled the plug.)

Much better news is that the long-promised feature-film debut of The Simpsons is finally about to happen. A spokesperson for the show said, "We always wanted the show to end first but it just keeps going."

In related comics-to-movie news, silver screen star Harvey Pekar has a new graphic novel coming out in the fall from DC/Vertigo. It's called The Quitter and is being touted as Harvey's best work to date.

Posted by Steve Monaco at June 9, 2005 3:05 AM

 

Minnesota's Greatest Hits 51 through 87

Filed under: Local Music

Besides our Top 50 choices for greatest Minnesota hits, and accompanying runners up...

 

 

...there are already one, two, three emails from readers below suggesting alternate choices. Meanwhile, City Pages blogger Corey Anderson lists his own picks for numbers 51-54 at American Idle, and I rattle off 30 additional local R&B and hip-hop hits at Complicated Fun, while our blogging friends Jessica Hopper and Kate Silver react from afar.

 

UPDATE: The first rumblings of response at ILM, MNSpeak, MusicScene.org, Hookers on Stilts, Threewaynews, TCPunk, and DUNation.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 8, 2005 6:58 PM

 

Ken Burns brings World War II to Luverne, MN

Filed under: Television

Luverne, Minnesota, will join Sacramento (CA), Mobile (AL), and Waterbury (CT), in the next Ken Burns documentary entitled "The War," about life during World War II. In looking for a small, Midwestern town, producer Lynn Novick said they came across Clinton Aanenson, a Luverne native who served as a fighter pilot in Europe during the war. "He has an extraordinary story to tell, and he tells it very well," Novick said. The series is slated to air in 2007.

Read more here (scroll down to third story)

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 8, 2005 4:45 PM

 

More MN faves

Filed under: Local Music

Heather Tarnowski writes: 

That this story made no mention of Doug Maynard is deplorable. There was a locally produced album in the 1980's entitled "Bar Wars" with two absolutly killer songs by the Doug Maynard Band -- "Money" and "Fun Time". If you can find a copy, give it a listen and then let me borrow it, as my roommate took it with her when she moved out in 1986.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 8, 2005 3:03 PM

 

Another MN fave

Filed under: Local Music

Jim Scott writes: The Jessehoneys: "Pajama Face" off of "Persona Non Grata". It's not really a single, what with never being on an official album, but it's still my favorite Mark Herr-drummed song ever (no offense*). If that doesn't count, "(Don't Go) Chelsea" from National Dynamite's "Give it Up For..."

*ED: None taken. (Mark Herr was also the drummer for various Dylan Hicks bands.)

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 8, 2005 11:05 AM

 

More Minnesota favorites

Filed under: Local Music

In response to "Minnesota's 50 Greatest Hits," Judi Gronseth writes:

 

"You guys included a lot of my favorite songs in your list. One that I would add is 'Chains' by The Wad (Big Hits of Mid-America Volume 3). It?s a pretty simple song, structurally, but captured all of my young adult, girl angst. It expressed a female perspective that you didn?t hear often from similar bands at the time. I still come home and crank it up after a long, frustrating day!"

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 8, 2005 9:58 AM

 

The new Batman movie gives all the others a spanking

Filed under: Film Review

It's too loud and the music sucks, but this is the first of the movies that seems to have any idea why people love this myth in the first place. See the revived Complicated Fun for more commentary.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 7, 2005 7:49 PM

 

I Wish My Pants Could Travel! By Amelia Huff, Age 10 1/2

Filed under: Pop Culture

I just saw the best movie that was ever made. It is called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I lauhed. I cryed. I made some lady mad because i talked to loud in the theatar. (My 2 cousins were there and we always like to talk during movies. Too bad MEAN OLD PEPOLE dont understand that its fun to talk and play games on our cell phones when a movie is on!) That lady was really a B Word! Also, the lady had a fat mom butt. She is jelous of how pretty my cousins and me looked in our new Old Navy tunics and bermuda shorts.

Shorts! Im gonna wear em forever! Old Navy! Bermuda!

NEway, go see Traveling Pants. The girl from The Gilmore Girls is in it and she is cute. I wish my mom was like the mom on The Gilmore Girls. We could be freinds. She would stop being a Mennapausel (sp?) crab like my dad says. We could buy an inn together and make pancakes. Instead my mom is mean.Just last night she yelled at me because we got our final report cards and mine said "Amelia needs to learn impulse control. she says inappropriate things at times." BUT I DONT! I wish Ms. Havers would die! Id dance on her grave.

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 7, 2005 3:33 PM

 

Batman spanking

Filed under: General Archive

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 7, 2005 2:07 PM

 

A few quick notes on last night's Hold Steady show at First Avenue:

Filed under: Local Nightlife

1. It's really fun to hear a non-corny new band with a Jimmy Page-style lead guitarist, and Tad "the Koob" Kubler is a very good Jimmy Page-style lead guitarist. The whole band sounded huge.
2. Craig Finn was pretty drunk but it didn't seem to matter much, except that his between-song banter was mostly dumb in typical drunk-guy fashion. At one point he started talking about how he came up in the punk scene, where the rule was not to play much longer than 30 minutes. Then he denounced that aesthetic and promised that the band would "play all night." Man, if you're going to deliver the biggest stage-blather cliche in the book, don't belabor it or try to present it like it's a fresh idea. And people, don't applaud when a musician promises to play all night. You know they're lying and in all likelihood you don't want them to play all night.
3. They did play a long time, though. I was having a great time for the first 50 minutes or so, started to lose a bit steam for the next 50, and was burned out by the very end.
4. Great stage moves and general mustachioed theatricality from the keyboardist.
5. I'm pretty sure I heard a guy in the crowd yell, "I wanna be you." I definitely heard a woman yell, "I love you."

P