November 2007

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Five Songs About ... Snow

Filed under: 5 Songs About

Winter's first arctic emergence is expected tomorrow. It's time to settle in, brew some warm beverages and relax. For me, it's time to start thinking about some winter-flavored tunes rope into the ol' playlist. The guidelines: none other than songs about snow. No linking to Snow Patrol, though. That would be cheating.

Listen to these songs that celebrate the white stuff, and kindly leave your own choices in the comments.

5. The Pernice Brothers, “Pisshole in the Snow.”
Joe Pernice is a master of the pop song, both upbeat and gentle. The warm guitars in this one act as a bulwark against the cold outside. This tune is also, beyond any question, the most romantic song ever to include the word “Pisshole.” Hear the song streaming by clicking on the “Discover a Lovelier You” album cover here.

More songs with YouTube videos after the jump.

4. Death Cab for Cutie, “I Was a Kaleidoscope.”
“I put on my overcoat and walked into winter, my teeth chattered rhythms ... And I was a kaleidoscope/The snow on my lenses distorting the image of what was only one of you.” Ben Gibbard's angelic voice means he can pull this off.

3. Prince, “Sometimes it Snows in April.”
Yes, the snow in this one is a metaphor, even though the title is strictly accurate. No, we don't care about either fact. We care that this is a lovely gem from early Prince, and its somber tone fits in with the time of year. No, I don't know what's up with the video, and to the video's owner, I'm sorry for alerting Prince about this so he can sue you.

2. Clipse, “Keys Open Doors.”
If you're going to do lists like this, you've got to expand your interpretation at some point. In this case, that means slipping in a coke rap track. You were expecting maybe Bing Crosby's “White Christmas?” Some will say I should have picked something from Ghostface's “Fishscale” album, but I'm saving those cuts for “Five songs about fish.”

1. Dean Martin, “Let it Snow.”
After all these years, nothing touches this song. The Dean Martin version, in particular, stands up -- after hearing Dan The Automator's remix of Deano doing “Jingle Bells,” I recall thinking fondly of his timeless voice. Maybe because I had guzzled six hot toddies. But still. The first YouTube clip I'm linking to splices “Let it Snow” with “Winter Wonderland,” making it two classics for the price of one. The second is The Temptations' version of the same song. Pass the hot cocoa and don't skimp on the marshmallows, y'all.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 30, 2007 1:43 PM | Comments (1)

 

Madlib, P.B. Wolf and Friends Invade The Foundation: Review by Jordan Selbo

Filed under: Concert Review

Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf and friends
November 29, 2007
The Foundation
Review by Jordan Selbo

The Stones Throw circus came through like a breezy wind Thursday night, wafting its peculiar brand of indie Hip Hop over an appreciative crowd that ran the gamut from nerdy rap head to slightly-cooler-but-still-not-that-cool rap head. All the pieces were in place--smoked-out beats that thumped and nodded in thick clouds of J Dilla’s ghost; a colorful cadre of flashy but ultimately one-dimensional MCs that did what they did well, and then let the beats speak for themselves; and finally, a goofy ringleader in Peanut Butter Wolf, nonchalantly running things with his absurdly random sidekick the Arabian Prince (of NWA semi-fame) … all off a fancy laptop, no less (fans hoping for displays of turntable virtuoso were sorely disappointed, as in addition to the digital soundtrack, the advertised master DJ J Rocc was not in attendance). In the predictability of its fantastical nature, perhaps, lies the Stones Throws appeal.

The roster of the seminal left-coast label reads like a random sampling of rap styles, unmoored from time or place. They are a motley crew, united only by their incongruities and the rich sonic bed of beats done by Madlib and his cronies (including Oh No, who is an equally brilliant and even more madcap producer as big bro, and the late J Dilla, who was recalled several times during the night).

Yet that’s more than enough for me and a swarm of other die-hard Lib fans. So MED came out to spit some solid flow, followed by Guilty Simpson, with his hard street tales and gully static sounds. Then the old-ass CD-hawking Percee P stepped out to flow with machine-gun precision and one too many a capella rhymes. By the time Madlib came on, the vibe was sticky and palpable, floating in the air along with copious plumes of coughee smoke.

The music never stopped, the squares never quit bobbing, and although liquor sales might have been slow, the show must go on, and it did. Stones Throw--the very name echoing something local and accessible--showed up and pitched their colorful tent, bypassing exhortations and heart-rending confessionals, settling for a status quo of satisfaction through familiarity. It was a grand old party and everyone was invited; only problem was, the people that showed up would’ve rather studied lyric sheets under a bed table lamp than two-step their way into a fine girl’s life. Hey, we’re not lonely-- we have our music to cuddle with.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 30, 2007 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

 

Playing G.I. Joe With Vast Aire

Filed under: Concert Review

Vast Aire and Copywrite at Whiskey Junction
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007
Review and Photos by Jeff Shaw

It's a cold Tuesday night after midnight, and one of the most influential independent rappers of the past 10 years is waiting to go on stage. The weeknight crowd at the Whiskey Junction is thin -- a few dozen perhaps, much less than rooms he usually plays.

Vast Aire doesn't care. The Brooklyn-based legend is back on tour.

Whiskey Junction made some noise for Vast Aire and Copywrite Tuesday night. Click here for more photos.

It's been a waiting game. When Vast and Vordul Mega formed the duo Cannibal Ox and released groundbreaking LP The Cold Vein in 2001, the impact was felt throughout the underground hip-hop community. Here were two artists with different styles combining to paint bleak, intricate lyrical pictures. Then, Vast's 2004 solo release Look Mom ... No Hands showed a more playful side, highlighting his creative wordplay skills. Deceptively simple lyrics melded with keen observations and pop culture references to create a memorable first LP. With cameos from MF Doom, Blueprint, Aesop Rock and others, the record left fans wanting more.

Holding court before the show starts, Vast tells them that the wait is almost over. He talks affably to anyone who comes around about his forthcoming projects (a new solo album, Deuces Wild; a group effort with fellow Brooklyn rapper Karniege called Mighty Joseph, and another collaboration with New York MC Genesis).

His tour mate, the well-respected Ohio MC Copywrite, approaches. It's time to go on. They head to the front of the room.

And they tear the place down, performing with the same energy as if there were 1,000 people somehow packed into the Junction. Vast's laconic, smooth baritone contrasts well with Copywrite's fast-paced staccato flow. The crowd might be sparse, but it is dedicated and knowledgeable about the material, and if Vast is dismayed by the turnout, it never shows.

When it hits 2 a.m., show promoter Nick Oz practically has to force him from the stage. This is a man who lives and loves hip-hop, and whether there are 36 people in the building or 36,000, he's back.

Before he and Copywrite took the mic, Vast sat down with me for a few minutes. Here is the resulting Q&A, after the jump:

City Pages: What's the difference between Vast Aire the solo artist and the Vast Aire who works in collaborative projects like Cannibal Ox or Mighty Joseph?

Vast Aire: Truth is, there is no difference. What's the difference between Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac? Both are good music. Vordul and I, we don't like all the same things, so there might be something on my record that he wouldn't do, and there might be something on his record that I wouldn't do – but we're artists. We work together and just create.

CP: You're on the verge of releasing new full-length material for the first time in a while.

VA: My fans are hungry, man. I haven't dropped an album since 2005, and now I'm sitting on three albums. It's gonna be wild. Mighty Joseph is gonna be a crazy record. Murs is on it, Madlib, J-Zone – and a lot of people I came up with. It's a powerful record, and I'm glad we finally finished it.

CP: After the Mighty Joseph record comes out, you have a new solo disc out in spring, Deuces Wild. How have you progressed since Look Mom ... No Hands?

VA: Look Mom was like a crazy Frankenstein experiment of mine. I was bridging gaps between the Midwest, the East Coast and the West Coast, bringing everybody together. Deuces Wild is more personal. Also, I'm so much more focused on Deuces Wild. When I made Deuces, I sought to beat Look Mom. And I did, no ifs ands or buts. I don't mind saying it: it's the best thing I've ever done.

CP: Look Mom has one of the best dis records in indie rap history, “9 Lashes (When Michael Smacked Lucifer).”

VA: First, that beef is very old, and that beef is over. I want that on the record. Second, we have a lot of history with those kids [Boston-based 7L + Esoteric, the duo the record was aimed at], and I felt they were being disrespectful at that time. So I said what I had to say in that song, but bygones are bygones. I said what I had to say on that record, and that's over. That beef is way over. I'd like to say peace to them, and I hope they're doing well.

CP: Mr. Lif tells a story in the Revenge of the Robots DVD that I've always wanted to ask you about. Did you really detain your whole crew at a European border because you had written rhymes in your passport?

VA: I detained Company Flow, Mr. Lif and Can Ox for three hours just because I wrote in my passport. I thought of a short rhyme, about six to eight bars, and I wrote it down. So they delayed us because of that. But look, I get up in the morning at 3:30 just to write one line and go back to sleep. I don't give a fuck about getting detained. That line is on the Can Ox record somewhere, so it was worth it.

Vast Aire's solo album, Deuces Wild, comes out next spring. Mighty Joseph, his project with Karniege, has an album slated for a February release.

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
* Hear tracks from upcoming releases on on Vast Aire's MySpace page
* Copywrite on MySpace

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 28, 2007 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Other Side Project: The Video

Filed under: Comedy

Perhaps you read my review of local sketch comedy troupe The Other Side Project. Perhaps you were intrigued by my comment about how the video elements of the performance added to the show. Perhaps you were even considering attending their second (and last, for now) gig at the Bryant Lake Bowl tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Or perhaps not. Either way, I think you'll enjoy this video of their "So You Think You Can Impress a British Person" skit.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 28, 2007 1:33 PM | Comments (1)

 

Cody Nabs Award Nomination

Filed under: Film

Local girl made good Diablo Cody, a former City Pages contributor and current Hollywood hot property, has been nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award for her screenplay for Juno, which opens in the Twin Cities December 14. The Best New Screenplay nomination confirms some of the early buzz about the film and Cody, who is already the subject of Oscar speculation. Juno also received three other Independent Spirit nominations: Best Feature, Best Director (Jason Reitman), and Best Female Lead (Ellen Page). The awards ceremony honors independent films with budgets under $20 million. It will be televised February 23 on the Independent Film Channel and AMC.

Posted by Matt Smith at November 27, 2007 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

 

No reservations

Filed under: Food

Meant no chance to see Anthony Bourdain last night at the Triple Rock. He packed the joint and dozens more were turned away. But he's all over the local airwaves. Mary Lucia talked with him on The Current yesterday. Channel 9 had him in studio this morning. And Kerri Miller interviewed him on today's Midmorning show. (One stunning revelation from the Miller chat: he quit smoking!) Bourdain will also be signing books at MOA this afternoon.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 27, 2007 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

 

Reservations with Anthony Bourdain

Filed under: Food , Food , Food , Food

One only has to tune in to the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations to see that in the past two years the man has truly become a globetrotter. Hardly a regurgitation of the Zagat-approved restaurants of the cities, Bourdain dines on the street, with locals in hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and even occasionally at private residences. His show, much like his writing, can be hilarious, critical, and endearing—all in one segment.

Although he received a lot press for merging politics with food as war broke out in Lebanon, that special episode was hardly the first suggestion Bourdain has made that food and politics are intertwined. For example, recently while traveling through Texas and Mexico, Bourdain struggled with the concept of borders, citizenship, and the people who deal with these issues on a daily basis—all while dining in Texas on sushi prepared by a Mexican chef. Although he was traveling in Jamaica with a cold at the time of this interview, Anthony Bourdain managed to take a moment to chat with City Pages.

City Pages: How do you feel about the rise of the celebrity chef? Do you feel that it’s good for the industry? Is it detrimental in any way?

Anthony Bourdain: I think that on balance, it's a good thing. Even at its most annoying—if you're talking celebrity "chefs" and not including the industry created bobbleheads, the phenomenon has raised the hopes and expectations and prestige of working cooks. Kitchens have more pride and hope than when I started out—and that can only be a good thing. And almost anything that informs the public and raises their awareness and knowledge—aspirations and expectations for a meal is a good thing. The downside is the poor bastards who are taking out huge student loans to go to cooking school at age 35—without really knowing what they're getting into. Basically—if you're going to culinary school to be a "celebrity chef," you are in for a very hard—and likley very short ride in the restaurant biz. The industry will always shake out the unprepared, the uninformed, the weak, and the delusional. A lot of nice people are going to get shredded in the interim. Prestige may have grown for cooks—but the work itself is NOT glamorous.

CP: Has your cooking style changed since traveling extensively for your show?

AB: No. I cooked old school French bistro classics ‘til the end of my cooking days. Even I am not so arrogant as to think I could cook Thai food—or add anything to that glorious, centuries old tradition, after only a few weeks in Thailand.

CP:Have you ever been terrified of a meal (be it the situation or the actual food)? How did you get through the experience?

AB: Chicken McNuggets terrify me. That, and uncleaned warthog ass encrusted with sand, fur, crap, and redolent of undigested reflux. I won't be having that again. Oh yeah—I think those Cinnabon things are pretty scary. They're fucking huge. You see some Jabba-sized monster shoving one a those things into their face in an airport at six in the morning? That's the sort of thing that haunts your dreams.

CP:Do you have any theories as to why Americans are obsessed with food safety, yet continue to consume junk food?

AB: We're afraid of everything these days. We're quickly becoming a nanny state—and it's not just us. The EU is way ahead of us in building in and reinforcing the notion that the State owes you a guarantee that everything you could possibly shove in your mouth is "clean," "pure, " and without any risk. It has been decided that we are too stupid to make even the most basic of decisions about our lives—what to put in our mouths. We have essentially called for our own infantalization, and not without reason. One only need look at the current stats for expected cases of Type 2 diabetes, percentage of Americans currently considered "morbidly" obese, or unhealthily overweight, to see the point of view.

CP:If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

AB: Sushi. It's clean, it's light, it's delicious. I would, of course, want Masa Takayama preparing it for me.

CP:How do you feel about people that say they search for “authentic” food—people that expect to eat Thai food in Minnesota as if dining in Thailand, for example. Does the addition of the cream cheese wonton to a menu destroy any attempts at authenticity? Is authenticity important?

AB: Authentic first. I'm willing to try and occasionally enjoy improvs on the classics. But just as chefs should know and respect the classics before expanding their horizons, I think diners should know the "real thing" before they start eating cream cheese, crawdad, and avocado novelty hand rolls at Cajun Sushi Dome.

See Anthony Bourdain read, sign, and discusses his latest book, No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach at the Triple Rock tonight. The event is all ages, free, and starts at 7:00 p.m.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at November 26, 2007 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

 

I Have Seen The Other Side ...

Filed under: Theater

... and it is funny there.

They've individually performed in lots of venues as actors, stand-up comics and practitioners of the improvisational arts. Now, they've formed like Voltron into a collective entity bent on ruling the sketch comedy universe. Or maybe they just want to make you laugh. They're called The Other Side Project, and they debuted at the Bryant Lake Bowl last night.

Pass the Scooby Snacks, Fake Doctor Bob: Pilgrim Elvis is in the Mood to Party. Click here for more photos.

The ensemble, composed of eight actors and one video person, ran through an hour-long series of sketches with wild characters, meta-humor that punches right through the fourth wall, and even one nostalgic nod to a classic Looney Tunes bit.

To begin, we're introduced to a series of outlandish characters -- Fake Doctor Bob, Tom, The Guy With Claws For Hands and the inspired Pilgrim Elvis -- but the focus shifts from colorful figures to self-referential humor and back several times throughout the evening. Since I'm a language guy, it should come as no surprise that I think the show is at its best when at its wordiest. Benjamin Denson's long, well-crafted diatribes during a routine about a blind theater attendee are gems, as are several moments of a mock apology sketch.

That's not to say shorter, scatological dialog was absent. Let's face it, bodily functions are funny, and any joke where the punch line is a simple "... and fuck you" is all right by me -- especially when the line works in context. The show delivered on that score as well. One of the characters we're introduced to is "Menstrual Maggie," and yes, it is what you think.

The Other Side's video backdrop adds a lot, whether material is incorporated seamlessly into the show or used to present standalone routines during set changes. One or two of the night's most sneakily humorous moments were sight gags on the backdrop, and another highlight of the evening is a purely pre-recorded hunk of hilarity that lampoons reality programming in a fresh way (no, really).

As is the risk with any inaugural performance, there were some timing kinks to work out. At times, punchy lines got lost in the shuffle. But the show has energy, enthusiasm and a Thursday night slot to bring mirth back to uptown.

NEXT UP
The Other Side Project performs at the Bryant Lake Bowl again on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10.

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB

The Other Side Project on MySpace
The Bryant Lake Bowl

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 26, 2007 7:50 AM | Comments (1)

 

Katrina refugee: A Q&A with author Michael Tisserand

Filed under: Books

Michael Tisserand is the former editor of Gambit Weekly and author of The Kingdom of Zydeco. His new book is Sugarcane Academy: How a New Orleans Teacher and his Storm-Struck Students Created a School to Remember. It's an eloquent, moving chronicle of how Tisserand's family and friends struggled to piece their lives back together in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He'll be reading from the book at Magers & Quinn on Sunday. I spoke to him last week by phone from his new home in Evanston, Illinois.

City Pages: What are you doing in Evanston?

Michael Tisserand: I have been writing, to this point at least, only about New Orleans. I was the editor at Gambit. But that first week of Katrina I sort of became a writer again. At this point I haven't stopped doing that, writing about New Orleans. As odd as it seems I've been living in Evanston and writing about Louisiana

CP: Why Evanston?

MT: Tami, my wife, lost her job. That was our biggest personal impact from Katrina. We didn't lose our house. We didn't lose our neighborhood school. We didn't lose any family. But my wife lost her job. That was the thing that made us figure out our next move. She's a pediatrician. We didn’t know how many kids were going to be back in New Orleans. She found work up in this area. If we were going to live anywhere besides New Orleans it'd be back in the Midwest because we have family across the Midwest. My mom's in Minnesota. Tammy's family is in Wisconsin. My dad's in Indiana. So returning to family was part of it also.

CP: You write about the immediate aftermath of Katrina and the impact on your family and friends. The focus turns to getting this school up and running. Why did that become so important in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina?

MT: It was the first thing we could do to take something in our hands for ourselves at that moment, and for our kids. Which is every parents first concern. What are the kids going to do? Our lives were shattered at that point. But the kids weren't. They were dealing with what they were seeing and hearing, and absorbing the grief that their parents were feeling, and they were confused. But our kids could still be cushioned in some way, and we had evacuated together. Our kids kept together a splinter of their kid community, of our neighborhood. The only option, because Katrina hit the first week of school, would be to separate them, because we had evacuated to different small towns around rural Louisiana. So they would all be separated going into little small town schools. The thought of separating the kids, who had been getting together every day since the flood, was just unthinkable to us.

CP: When did you determine that there might be a book to be written about this experience and the experiences of other schools that were formed in the wake of Katrina? Was there a particular moment when it crystallized in your mind?

MT: Yes, when my editor said this should be a book. It really wasn't me. I wrote a book about zydeco music a few years back and the editor of that book and I became friends. It was said that after Katrina you found out who would show up at your funeral just by who sent you emails to see if you were okay. And he was one of the ones that did. We started talking and he asked what I was doing. I was starting to do some writing for the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, a series called "Submerged," which ran on a lot of alternative weekly web sites and in a few papers. And he said, "What are you doing about your kids?" I told him that we started this school and it was a one-room schoolhouse and the kids named it Sugarcane Academy, and we don't know what's going to happen to it or to us, but that's what we've got going on right now. And he said, "Stop, I think that's your book. I won't talk with you about it anymore. Have your agent call me."

CP: So at that point you hadn't written about that particular aspect of the storm at all?

MT: No. Actually the first thing I had done was a first person piece. The first day that we realized that the levies broke and the city was flooded, another person I spoke to was Richard Karpel, who's president of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. He said that a lot of weeklies wanted to hear from Gambit. He wanted to know if I would write something. So I sat down in the house where we were staying and just wrote like I'd never written before. Literally from start to finish. This became the first of the series. It was a very bleak piece. The first sentence was "New Orleans is gone." That's what it felt like. So I wrote about that. I wrote about my love of New Orleans. I wrote about not knowing where my friends were, especially Katy Reckdahl, Minnesota's own. One of our last phone calls was from Katy asking my wife if she thought it would be safe to go to the hospital. I just sort of poured it all out.

CP: You mentioned the zydeco book that you wrote. How was the writing process different for this book?

MT: I wouldn't even describe them as the same process at all. The zydeco book was writing about other people. This book was writing about myself. The zydeco book was a very exciting adventure. I lived around Lafayette, Louisiana. I spent a year doing nothing except roaming around interviewing accordion players and telling their stories. This book, whenever I had writer's block, I would actually think, what makes me cry the hardest? And that's what I wrote.

CP: At this point in time how would you characterize your optimism, or lack thereof, for the future of New Orleans?

MT: Every small step that people take in New Orleans is incredibly inspiring. Last weekend I went to this production of Waiting for Godot, which a theater company from Harlem staged in the Lower Ninth Ward, right near the levee break. Hundreds of people turned out and hundreds of people had to be turned away from the production. Everybody there has a connection to a play like Waiting for Godot now. Everybody knows what it's like to wait for something that never seems to show up, whether it's a trailer or old friends who moved away or promised money to help rebuild a house. Today I just found out that the merry-go-round in City Park is back up and running again, and they've taken the first test drive of the streetcar. These are symbolic and they pale in comparison to the still thousands of families living in desperate straits in FEMA trailers or apartments, still trying to get back on their feet again. Nonetheless you get comfort and inspiration from these moments, because there's still a cloud of anxiety that hangs over the city.

Everyone knows that the levees have been rebuilt maybe to failure level at best, to where they were when they failed during Katrina. Which everyone in New Orleans knows wasn't a category-five storm, but a fast-moving category-three storm, the kind of storm that the levees were supposed to protect the city against. So stacked against those big issues we have to be excited about the streetcars and merry-go-round and individual successes and neighborhood successes. You have to take some comfort and inspiration from those moments because that's what we've got.

CP: Do you think the media two years out has done an adequate job in following up and documenting the aftermath of Katrina?

MT: The short answer is no because [Michael] Chertoff still has his job. If the media had done it's job Chertoff would no longer have his job. The role of the federal government has been cast as something that should be diminished. Conservatives have successfully taken control of that conversation and so the federal government is a bad thing. This is an example of what happens when you don't consider a strong federal government to be necessary to protect the lives of American citizens in times of need. When you allow an agency like FEMA to become a political game for a presidential administration, when you don't raise an uproar over the appointment of incompetent hacks to head vital agencies. In that sense I think that these kinds of long range, serious discussions, both about what is needed to protect New Orleans and what is needed to rebuild a government capable of responding to this kind of disaster, I don’t think those kinds of conversations have been had in the media. So in that sense I think the media has still failed us.

There has been a lot of good reporting and there's been a lot of alternative sources of reporting as well. You can go to youtube and see a lot of great citizen journalism. This guy Josh Neufeld has this online graphic novel that's lovely. It's called "After the Deluge." It's a series. It's up to chapter seven now, just showing people coping with the flood coming in. There's a group called the Neighborhood Story Project that worked with a social aid and pleasure club in New Orleans to document how they came back to the city. It's an amazing first-person account of the kind of spirit New Orleanians have exhibited to get themselves back on their feet and to reclaim their communities. So I consider that part of the media as well.

CP: Do you ever see yourself living in New Orleans again?

MT: Everyday I see myself living in New Orleans again.

CP: Realistically do you think that will happen?

MT: Yes. I don't know how yet, and I don't know when. I've been back about once every month or two. I was there last weekend. The family hasn't missed a Mardi Gras yet. I brought the kids there for a month this last summer. They went to an arts camp and we checked in with our friends. A lot of people who left, myself included, without a doubt feel a degree of guilt for leaving, because our friends are trying to rebuild a shattered community. We pulled our little piece out of that. By keeping in touch and going back and doing my work I feel like I’m paying off a little bit of my debt to the city which has given me so much—or at least that's my attempt.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 21, 2007 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

 

Five Songs About ... Thanksgiving

Filed under: 5 Songs About

Compared with other holidays, Thanksgiving hasn't inspired bards overmuch. There are no traditional hymns, no instantly identifiable music associated with the day save possibly various football broadcast bumpers.

Nevertheless, here and there we find certain songs that -- in lyric or in spirit -- fit the theme of the day. For the first installment of a new, recurring blog feature, we hunted down five such songs for your Thanksgiving listening pleasure.

We plan to do a similarly-themed post once a month or so, with songs about different themes and events during the year. Use the comments to talk about the songs, or to suggest your own potential additions to the list.

5. Adam Sandler -- The Thanksgiving Song
Before Adam Sandler's magnum opus about Hannukah, there was his fractured effort about Turkey Day. Performed on Saturday Night Live with a brief assist from Kevin Nealon, Sandler's silly song may be the first holiday hymn to mention both Mike Tyson and venereal disease -- though hopefully not the last. (Due to NBC's video fascism, you can't see the original version, but this live version has the same feel. Note to the Peacock: Information wants to be free, tough guy.)

4. William Burroughs -- A Thanksgiving Prayer
Feeling thankful? Got a warm sensation of fellowship with other human beings? Smiling after watching the Sandler video? William S. Burroughs can take care of that for you. Okay, it's a spoken-word piece and not a song. If Kurt Cobain had lived longer, I'm sure he'd have performed musical accompaniment to this the way he did Burroughs' "The Priest They Called Him." Sadly, Cobain killed himself, possibly after listening to this concentrated burst of depressing.

3. Spencer the Gardener -- The Gobble Song
From scathing social commentary to sweet and endearing testaments to food, this catchy tune from indie roots group Spencer the Gardener is a non-ironic celebration of Thankgiving's central component: the meal. The down-home feel of the song makes it possibly the only tune on this list indisputably suitable for mixed company. Warning: earworm potential.

2. The Dead Milkmen -- The Best Thanksgiving Ever (live)
Available on the band's 1992 "If I Had a Gun" EP, this live introduction to the band's classic "Bitchin' Camaro" is the story of young Timmy and, as the title suggests, his Best Thanksgiving Ever. But as you'd expect from the Milkmen, this tale is twisted, and Timmy is not actually the hero. The hero is invisible to the human eye. To say more would be unseemly, and unfortunately there are no video or audio representations of this song available on the Internets so far as I am aware. Seek it out. It's worth it. Until then, read the lyrics here.

1. Arlo Guthrie -- Alice's Restaurant
Guthrie's Vietnam-era chestnut is rambling, surreal narrative that is simultaneously folk art, political criticism, and communal performance project. It found its way onto the entire 'A' side of a record, into a film, and into our collective culture. And it all began two Thanksgivings ago (or was it 40?). Watch a live performance here. The lyrics are here.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 21, 2007 12:15 PM | Comments (3)

 

M.I.A. Comes Back With Power: Review by Sarah Askari

Filed under: Concert Review

M.I.A. at First Avenue
Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007
Review by Sarah Askari
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

M.I.A. mixed music with imagery at First Ave. on Tuesday.

Last week, a survey of NYU students revealed that two-thirds of 'em would give up their right to vote in the next election in exchange for a year's tuition. Democracy received a similar beating during the intro to M.I.A.'s show at First Ave. A sold-out crowd cheered along to videos of a Pacific Rim talking head recommending violent regime change: "Voting is of no use! The majority will trample on the rights on the minority!"

M.I.A. is a film school grad who hit the indie rock jackpot by combining the aesthetics of armed revolution and Dance Dance Revolution. I'm more of a Ghandi/MLK person myself, but Maya's machine-gun samples and guerilla warfare drum cadences are too playfully joyous to protest against.

She took the stage, tiny face hidden behind sunglasses and hair, little legs covered in hideous, garishly-printed leggings, and launched into "Bamboo Banga." Her records--2005's Arular and this year's Kala, are a gigantic explosion of sound, crazy samples blowing up like fireworks with her own voice howling above them. The last time I saw her, her stage presence wasn't big enough to replicate the energy of the recorded tracks. This time, a humongous screen played M.I.A. art videos behind her, letting her dominate the room vicariously. Even though she's a more charismatic performer now, she's still not a spotlight-on-me type of girl. She's more of a "let-a-fog-machine-fill-the-room-and-the-next-time-you-see-me-I'll-be-bodysurfing-over-the-crowd" type of girl.

Girls rule at M.I.A. shows, by the way. In Technicolor tights and keffiyehs, they danced up on the stage, back by the merch table, and in circles around their rigid boyfriends. And not just pale Scandisota hipster chicks, either. M.I.A. speaks to the world's displaced peoples, the looked-over and pushed-out. Granted, most Hmong and Somali girls are not rocking out to Piracy Funds Terrorism. But when they pulled up the people to dance on stage, the mix was surprisingly multi-culti.

The hits from the new record- "Bird Flu," "Boyz," "Jimmy," "Paper Planes," didn't disappoint, but the chorus on Arular's "Sunshowers" kind of sucked--it's sung rather than rapped, and no one on stage had the chops for it. For me, the most exhilarating number was "Galang," when the entire crowd shouted those "Ya Ya Heeeeey"s over and over again, hypnotized, ecstatic, ready to follow M.I.A. into -- well, not battle, exactly, but perhaps even the most menacing of dance-offs.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 21, 2007 11:38 AM | Comments (4)

 

Jeune Lune's "Deception" extended

Filed under: Theater

My earlier post about Theatre de la Jeune Lune's production of "The Deception" covers the solid word-of-mouth about the show. I won't belabor that point; I'll just inform you that the production has been
extended, with four more shows added, and the production now finishes Dec. 2.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 20, 2007 9:24 AM | Comments (0)

 

Sharon Jones Wears Out Minneapolis: Review by Geoff Cannon

Filed under: Concert Review

Sharon Jones at First Avenue
Nov. 16, 2007
Review by Geoff Cannon
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

When a touring band comes to town, they've got to make it special. We've all seen a million performers say something like, "Oh man, we always love coming to Minneapolis." Everybody does this; it's a great pretense. The trick is making it seem real.

Sharon Jones has no trouble making things real. "I've been all over Europe and America touring," she announced in her sonorous Georgia voice. But apparently this was the first show she brought to capacity -- First Avenue was certainly packed, with an eager multigenerational and multiracial crowd. "So the next time I give an interview, and they ask 'How's the tour going,' I'll say 'I sold Minneapolis out!'" Another honor for the Twin Cities: "I'm wearing the same dress I wore at the Apollo," (it was a nice little black number with some fringe, very girl-group) "...so I'm gonna strut my frills, okay?"

When you're doing what you love, you can go on forever, and Jones, 51(!), has boundless energy and knows how to cook a room. Dancing, belting, turning her band on a dime, bringing people up on stage, cooling the crowd down, holding songs up, rushing them forward, "Lemme take that verse again, okay?" It's hard to pick out highlights from the marathon set, but the 6/8 detour inserted into "100 Days, 100 Nights" and the fearless cover of "It's A Man's World" stuck to me the hardest.

It's not 1962 or '66 or '72. Yhe rules for how to have a dynamite soul-funk act are very much written -- the ghost of James Brown hung heavy over every note and every move -- but the Dap-Kings do it right. A crew of 20- and 30-something dudes, very dapper, obviously drilled with military precision, looked like the happiest guys on earth (in a very professional manner). They don't just rely on a few crowd-pleasing retro cliches, they perfectly inhabit a parallel Brownian universe. There wasn't a bum note or an uncreased trouser seam in the whole night.

I often leave a show thinking, man, wish that band tried a little harder, but not tonight. At the end of two solid and I mean solid hours of music, the capacity crowd had noticeably thinned: Sharon Jones had worn Minneapolis out.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 19, 2007 1:10 AM | Comments (0)

 

Friends of the Block E Haters

Filed under: Art/Museums

The art & design blog Cool Hunting recently posted a nice little documentary on architecture in Minneapolis. It's funny, anytime anybody talks about all the good architectural calls this city has made in recent years, all I can think about is Block E. How the hell did that happen? I moved away from the city when Block E was still a parking lot and an empty theater - so don't blame me.

In his sharp new survey of Twin Cities architecture, Lost Twin Cities author Larry Millett provides this nugget review of Block E:

"A cartoon of a development that presents architecture as a kind of entertainment for the same masses who crowd into Disney World or roam the Las Vegas strip. It's easy to dislike everything about this complex...but it's much harder to dismiss the reality of what it represents. Commercial architecture of all kinds is growing ever lighter, showier, and more disposable, and Block E in its own crummy but calculated way perfectly expresses these trends."

I digress...here's the Cool Hunting video:

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at November 15, 2007 3:44 PM | Comments (0)

 

Katz in the Cradle (of the Richfield Borders)

Filed under: Cartoons/Comics

Jonathan Katz, the comedian behind the Dr. Katz series on Comedy Central, has a not-too-publicized reading
tomorrow at the Richfield Borders. If you're a fan of the Emmy and Peabody award-winning show, this is a great event to check out.

The details: Borders' Richfield location is at 800 W 78th St. The event is tomorrow, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. Call (612) 869-6245 for more info.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 15, 2007 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

 

Jeune for the Jeune: a Deal on "Deception"

Filed under: Theater

I'm not in the habit of recommending shows that I haven't seen. But a couple of people I respect have told me that Theatre de la Jeune Lune's production of "The Deception" is something I must check out. So I'm going to see one of the last performances of this production, which runs until Nov. 25, and I'm passing along a few tidbits about it to you as well.

Besides the glowing word-of-mouth reviews, two other factors compel me to pass on this third-party pseudo-recommendation: first, including tonight's show, there are a mere seven performances left, so it's a time-sensitive issue; plus, there is a pretty incredible ticket deal for the under-25 set that I think is worth talking about.

City Pages' theater critic, Quinton Skinner, first tipped me off to the show. He says it's visually stunning, an assertion this video trailer supports:

There are photos on the Jeune Lune site that also give you an idea of what the set looks like. From Quinton's review, you can learn more about this darkly humorous tale of deceit and love.

What about this ticket deal, then? Jeune Leune offers "Anytime Rush" tickets for people under-25 that are just $9 with ID. Here's how they explain it:

In an aggressive policy shift to help develop a next wave of theatre lovers, Jeune Lune has instituted “Under-25” prices of $9 for all shows this season. Under this new program, anyone under the age of 25 — student or not — can buy tickets in advance or at the door for about the price of a movie. The hope is that this kind of pricing will encourage younger audiences to more often include theater-going in their ever-expanding entertainment menu.

If you're less than a quarter century, that's enticing. I'm not, but I certainly support efforts like this to get more people out to enjoy shows. I plan to head out and enjoy this myself next week, and maybe I'll see a host of folks -- over 25 and under -- there as well.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 14, 2007 9:54 PM | Comments (0)

 

Minnesota Storytellers Have a Tale for You

This past Saturday I was privileged to hear and record three fantastic storytellers weaving words on the basement stage of Java Jack's Coffee Cafe in South Minneapolis. The monthly events, hosted by the Northstar Storytelling League, feature local and visiting tellers in the first hour, then open the mic to audience members for the second. Look below for downloadable recordings of each teller's performance, appearing in the order in which they told.

Joan Calof is a writer, playwright, traveler, and storyteller who performs all around town. She's a perennial Fringe Fest artist and has a CD of stories with two other tellers, Nancy Cox and Agnes Smuda, called Songstories. She told a traveling tale about her experiences in Vietnam.

Download the .mp3

Loren Niemi, the host of this month's event, is a teacher, organizer, author, and advocate who's been telling stories and organizing storytellers longer than I've been alive. His book with Elizabeth Ellis, Inviting the Wolf In, helps storytellers overcome the problems associated with telling difficult stories. His story for the evening occurs during his time traveling as ringmaster for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre's Circle of Water Circus.

Download the .mp3

Faye Hanson is a Minnesota-born teller visiting from Arkansas whose story revolves around her experiences becoming a "real Southerner" and the culture shock unique to various regions of the South.

Download the .mp3

Posted by Ward Rubrecht at November 13, 2007 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

 

Funeral Music

Filed under: Film

Twin Cities cinephiles should be well acquainted with the work of Heddy Honigmann. The documentary filmmaker's work has often been showcased at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and five years ago the Walker Art Center put together a retrospective of her films. Peter S. Scholtes wrote a swell appreciation of the Peruvian-born, Dutch-based director here.

Her latest film, Forever, is currently screening at Oak Street Cinema. The subject is Paris's Pere-Lachaise cemetery, the eternal home of such luminaries as Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Frederic Chopin and (perhaps most notoriously) Jim Morrison. Honigmann's approach seems to consist of simply hanging out by the tombstones and seeing who drops by. But what she uncovers is often remarkably moving.

A widower recounts atrocities witnessed during Franco's rule of Spain to explain her lack of faith in God. An Iranian ex-pat summarizes a story by Persian writer Sadegh Hedayat to explain why he left his native country. An embalmer reverently discusses the portraits of Modigliani and how they influence his own line of work. Honigmann elicits these tales from her subjects with gently probing questions.

The various threads are stitched together with the story of a Japanese classical pianist whose father died young. They shared a love of Chopin and she has moved to Paris to study the composer's work. As the young pianist deftly performs one of Chopin's pieces, Honigmann focuses tightly on her intense face to pungent affect.

The film is showing for just three more nights at Oak Street.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 13, 2007 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

All the Way Live: Brother Ali, Rakim, and Ghostface Killah review by Jordan Selbo

Filed under: Concert Review

Hip Hop Live
November 11, 2007
First Avenue
Review by Jordan Selbo
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

Better Than: Looking silly at the club trying to learn the latest
incarnation of that Soulja Boy dance.

The Legend and the Heir Apparent: Rakim and Brother Ali.

In no other genre of music is patricide more prevalent than it is in hip
hop. Showing some wrinkles (and perhaps manifesting its most serious
mid-life crisis--why else have we suddenly become enamored with teeny
bopper rap muzak?), rap needs an antidote to the business-driven,
calculating, and computerized sound output now becoming the norm.
Enter Hip Hop Live, an intergenerational celebration of classic artists
and their art.

Performers included Brother Ali, our devoted hometown
hero and one of the premier artists of the future; Ghostface Killah, who
is fast solidifying his place as one of the most consistent and engaging
rappers of all time; and Rakim, a known legend who still rocks a crowd
with the effortless swagger of a god MC, all backed by the ten piece
funk/jam/Latin band Rhythm Roots All Stars.

As First Ave slowly filled to sardine status and the band opened with a
passionate infusion of energy and cohesion, the concert quickly became
one big party, a celebration of the first time we heard Paid in
Full or "Proteck Ya Neck." And though nostalgic (the crowd was
decidedly older than normal, with plenty of dusted off Kangols and grey
hair), the live format did what it was supposed to, effectively
reinterpreting our favorite records, rather than just being a pale
facsimile of them. Indeed, all three lyricists seemed infused by the
energy of frequent change-ups in tempo and style, giving the
appreciative crowd not only the standards, but also frequent personal
asides, history lessons, and thanks for being so live.

Of course Ali tore it down, garnering an encore as fans both old and
older gave it up while his seven-year-old son stood bobbing his head
stage right. Ghostface brought his Theodore Unit on stage (nine deep),
but fortunately the visual clutter didn't interfere with his
performance, as he rolled through over a decade's worth of classics. The
live band, with its horns and bongos, encouraged the Killah's soulful
side, which--despite him being tone deaf and unable to hit any high
notes--was still a treat to witness.

Finally, the living legend came through as he always does, with the
charisma and energy of an MC half his age. The only man onstage with a
mic, his laidback vibe was intimate and warm, leaving the job of
finishing indelible lines to the Rakim fanatics liberally sprinkled
throughout the venue. In sum, the key tonight was the human contact and
interaction that can only come with real instruments and vocalists,
nearly forgotten in an age of club hits and DATs. I guess you don't have
to be under the legal drinking age to rock the crowd after all.

Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: I was one of the aforementioned fanatics finishing every rhyme for Rakim and singing my off-key ass off to each of Ghost's tortured wails.

Random Detail: After being nearly kicked out for sleeping in the corner before the music began (official policy), I have to ask: is the concern for patron safety, or that everyone will follow suit and steal a few winks on the dance floor?

By the way: The phrase "real hip hop" was bandied about all night, an indefinable trait which I agree is an adequate descriptor for the show. Although the ironies of describing a live band-formatted show as such, in an art form conceived using records, only to be later exploited by record labels that cut DJs in favor of cheaper in-house bands, before once again becoming sample-based, is nonetheless palpable.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 12, 2007 3:35 PM | Comments (1)

 

Neil Young, Still Searching: Review by Rick Mason

Filed under: Concert Review

Neil Young
Northrop Auditorium
November 8, 2007
Review by Rick Mason
Slideshow with photos by Daniel Corrigan

Almost inconspicuously, Neil Young slipped onto the Northrop Auditorium stage alone Thursday night, sat down inside a circle of acoustic guitars, adjusted his harmonica, and launched into "From Hank To Hendrix," a decade-and-a-half old song that looks wistfully at the past while trying to find hope for the future.

It set the tone for the next two hours, during which Young--in a solo acoustic set followed by an electric one with his band--essentially rustled through his back pages, rambling through a curious assortment of obscurities from his lengthy career, plus a handful of new tunes, and peppered by a slim assortment of indelible nuggets. For the
ever-unconventional Young, a few days short of his 62nd birthday, this was about as far as he could get from a greatest-hits performance. But it should have been fascinating to even casual fans, witnessing an artist survey his life's work via the dust motes in the attic and use those wisps to fire up his imagination.

After a low-key, amiable opening set of country-rock tunes from wife Pegi, Young offered a first set that was strikingly intimate, thanks to a precise sound system that picked up every syllable, from his heartfelt vocals and unhurried shuffling to the piano or among his guitars between tunes.

Plus he genuinely seemed to be searching for something in songs that, as a whole, were full of uncertainty, loss, and grim tidings, from the 1970s-vintage unreleased tunes "Sad Movies" and "Love Art Blues" to the Young staples "A Man Needs A Maid" and "After The Gold Rush," the latter's tale of environmental cataclysm long ago updated to the 21st century. Young's deeply reflective mood started to lighten at the end of the set with the more upbeat "Love Is A Rose" and "Heart of Gold."

Switching to electric, and backed by longtime associates Ralph Molina (drums), Rick Rosas (bass), and Ben Keith (guitar, pedal steel), Young came out blazing in the second set with a blistering version of "The Loner, " followed by a slightly more ambling "Everybody Know This Is Nowhere." Next were two of only four new songs all night from the new Chrome Dreams II album: "Dirty Old Man," which was big on the visceral pleasures of pounding rock 'n' roll, and "Spirit Road," a minor Young epic that was gloriously ragged. After a more languid stretch that included the obscure "Bad Fog of Loneliness" and desolate cover of Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me," the band cranked it up again for an expansive run through Chrome's "No Hidden Path," Young venturing into one of his trademark maelstroms. Wringing squalling notes laden with angst and expiation from his guitar while gathered in a tight circle with Rosas and Keith, Young seemed to be trying to crack some fundamental code to universal truths, but uncharacteristically failed to find a satisfactory resolution, ending a bit tepidly.

But there was no such problem with the great, raging encore: "Cinnamon Girl" and "Like A Hurricane," both classic Young forays to the fiery edge of the abyss, left the packed house gasping for more.

If there was a sub-theme to the show it was stark loneliness--both specific and existential--complicated by the spiritual quest at the heart of Chrome Dreams. Neil Young didn't provide any easy answers Thursday, but in that miraculous slathering of guitar ecstasy at the end, he found a way to make the search a lot more palatable.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 12, 2007 2:00 PM | Comments (1)

 

Artists speak out on homelessness

Filed under: Readings/Lectures

If language is indeed a loaded weapon, as Jean-Paul Sartre put it, then local spoken word performers are armed and dangerous -- not to other people, but to complacency, fear, and in this case, homelessness.

Sunday marked the third in a series of four performances where artists presented statements, personal and political, about being forced from home. A diverse array of voices took the mic. The rapid-fire stylings of Verse gave way to the jazzy feel of e.g. bailey's band-backed poetics. The incendiary lyrics of El Guante found their counterpoint in the charms of a traditional African story told by "Auntie Beverly" Cottman. All had been touched in some way by homelessness, seen it affect family or friends; some had experienced indigence firsthand.

"Auntie Beverly" Cottman finishes her story to applause. See the photo gallery from the event.

Kate Searls, one of the event's organizers, said the project's goals are "to increase community awareness, empower the young people and their families, and promote a community-wide re-assessment of the options currently experienced by the more than 40,000 young Minnesotans who each year must live away from home."

By casting a wide net for different types of performance talent -- hip-hip aficionados, dancers, poets, storytellers, interested community members with a narrative to share -- the event's organizers moved squarely toward that goal. One performer, Truthmaze, used statistics spoken over jazz and reggae beats to get the point across. Others, such as Paris and Amy Salloway, used more personal material drawn from their own lives.

The three works brief, intense works recited by El Guante spoke more broadly about how art impacts the human condition and how communities respond to crisis. Curator Sha Cage, one of the co-founders of the Minnesota Spoken Word Association, appropriated a line from his last offering as an impromptu mantra for the evening. "Give me a bridge," she implored the audience of dozens to repeat, "and I'll build." The response Cage wanted came quickly.

The exhibit counterpart to the performance runs Oct. 6-Dec. 29 at the Minneapolis Central Library, and includes visual and narrative art. The final performance event is Dec. 13, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Download eight tracks from four different artists -- and find links to more information -- after the jump.

MP3 DOWNLOADS
e.g. bailey, "Descended From Drum," 6:23
e.g. bailey, "America," 5:51

El Guante, "Ink," 3:53
El Guante, "Small Talk," 3:49
El Guante, "Bridges," 1:51

Truthmaze's meditation on homelessness, 3:55

Verse, "Africa," 3:08
Verse, "Lesson One," 1:52

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
Tru Ruts, a multidisciplinary arts organization featuring Sha Cage, e.g. bailey, Truthmaze and others

El Guante's homepage, blog and MySpace

e.g. bailey's homepage and MySpace

Sha Cage's homepage and MySpace

Amy Salloway's MNartists page

Truthmaze on MySpace

Sponsoring organizations:
The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest

The Minneapolis Central Library

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 12, 2007 8:15 AM | Comments (1)

 

Audio slideshow from RetroRama now available

Filed under: Fashion

I've just posted an audio slideshow from RetroRama to go along with the photo gallery. The sounds are from atmospheric saxophone music, Dave Salmela and the Velvet Lounge Band's rendition of "Makin' Whoopie," play-by-play from the 1950s fashion show and an excerpt from Electric Arc Radio. Check it out! The sound helps give you a feel for the event.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 9, 2007 1:51 PM | Comments (0)

 

Brother Ali Interview

Filed under: Local Music

Brother Ali opens for Rakim and Ghostface Killah on the "Hip-Hop Live" tour on Sunday at First Ave. The Aspen Times just published an interview with him, so check that out if you're going to the show Sunday (which promises to be epic).

I'd like the interview a lot more if the Times had spelled either "Melle Mel" or "Whodini" right, though. Kool Moe Dee would be rolling over in his grave, but fortunately for all of us, he isn't dead.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 9, 2007 9:44 AM | Comments (0)

 

"War With the Newts" Slideshow

Filed under: Theater

Quinton Skinner's review of "War With the Newts" includes descriptions like this one:

Sandbox Theatre's hauntingly original, ensemble-created piece adapts Karel Capek's 1936 novel, in which an enterprising sea captain comes across a race of semi-intelligent amphibians who prove adept first at harvesting pearls, then at producing armaments and explosives, which eventually leads to the ruination of humanity and the submergence of the earth's surface under water.

You want to know more. Of course you do. Fortunately, Sandbox's website has a brief slideshow where you can see some of the surreal, haunting imagery than Skinner describes.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 8, 2007 1:21 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Owls (Expanded Web Content)

Filed under: Local Music

To go with Peter S. Scholtes' feature on local band The Owls, here are three songs from the band's new release, "Daughters and Suns." Also, check out our slideshow gallery with photos by Nick Vlcek. The group's CD release party is Thursday night at the Cedar Cultural Center.

SAMPLE MP3 FILES
"The Way On" (3:01)

Download MP3

"Peppermint Patty" (3:12)

Download MP3

"All Those In Favor" (2:23)

Download MP3

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB

* The Owls' home page and MySpace

* Magic Marker Records, the band's label

* A previous City Pages profile on The Owls

* MPR profile on The Owls

* The Hang Ups' home page and MySpace

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 6, 2007 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Tori Amos: Pantheons and Pianos

Filed under: Music

Cleveland Scene:Of the American Doll Posse characters, which
is least like you?
Tori Amos:"Well, it depends which day you catch me on. The least
like me, the way I've known me all these years, would be Santa. That one
was difficult, just because they're all patterned after ancient female
archetypes. She was patterned after Aphrodite. I use the Greek pantheon,
as opposed to another one, because I thought people would be more
familiar with it. Having to open myself up for Aphrodite's myth and
story, I had to do a lot of homework. And my impressions were not right:
I thought she was a tart. After really immersing myself in her story, I
began to see how she would use her sexuality, and how she was really
comfortable with her body. She didn't live a life of guilt where men
decided how she felt about her physicality."

CS:Was The Beekeeper [2005] more a character or concept?
TA:"I didn't see it as a character. It was more about the
structure of the garden, and I like the idea that songs were coming from
an expression in nature. And we developed each song coming from a
specific garden. And I liked that, especially since our Biblical story
starts in a garden. And that's why the tour was the original Sinsuality
tour. And so this was a different take on the whole almost parallel
plane from where we've come from. As a minister's daughter, I don't
accept that their read of history is the accurate read. So The
Beekeeper was really about another viewpoint of the feminine coming
from the garden."

CS:And Scarlet's Walk [2002] was more of an overt alter-ego?
TA:"Scarlet was personified thread, the blood of the land. And it
was a journey through America, post 9/11, trying to go back and cross
the country. But not from a map you would pick up in a local store. But
more following it through trying to find ancient sacred sites as a
Native American, the spiritual vortexes that they have held secret and
sacred. And this was inspired because when I was touring Strange
Little Girls: A medicine woman came to see me, and she talked to me
about another invasion that had happened that America didn't want to
look at, which is when our forefathers and foremothers came over and
took the land of the Native Americans. And so Scarlet is a woman, but
she is a thread that is weaving across the country, trying to remember
the story of the real keepers of this land, who had been practically
erased from our history."

CS:In the cover-songs album Strange Little Girls [2001],
each song was a character-driven narrative. Did you feel particularly
close to any of them?
TA:"They called were the name of the song, because they were the
anima. The idea here was the men were the mother-creators of the song -
all of the songs were composed by men. I chose to look at them from the
point of view of the anima of the song itself. And that way, as a woman,
I could give a viewpoint.

CS:Did you relate to any in particular?
TA:"Sure. All of them, or I wouldn't have [recorded] them. Some of
them were... It's not that I related to some of them more than others. I
think some were starkly powerful. I think the [Eminem's] ''97 Bonnie and
Clyde' read was powerful, because the song itself -you have a woman
murdered in the back, I took the point of view that she wasn't quite yet
dead. And all men have to remember: When their wives aren't quite yet
dead, that's the most dangerous five minutes. And so the song is from a
woman that' s not quite yet dead, hearing what he is saying to her
daughter, and that's the last thing she hears before she dies."

CS:To Venus and Back [1999] had some abstract lyrics, but
was it pretty much Tori?
TA:"Yeah. You had a double album of the live show and a collection
of songs that had accumulated for many years for the live side of the
disc, and then you had the future as we were approaching the millennium.
It seem to me that the Earth, as it was approaching the millennium,
needed a girlfriend. And so Venus seemed to me a friend for her to
have."

CS:From the Choirgirl Hotel [1998] had some very obviously
personal songs like "Spark," but did "Playboy Mommy" or "Jackie's
Strength" represent a character?
TA:"In a way, as you're composing, the songs are their own
entities. And they don't have arms and legs, but they do have
consciousness. They approach me, even in a two-bar phrase. I have to
somehow have had some kind of experience in order to translate them -
but they're their own being. And there are moments, like in 'Spark,'
that I can feel with every cell, and I'm actually in the place where
that song is expressing itself, so I might be living the experience in
that moment. And others, I may have lived the experience before, and as
I translate the song, I'm able to go back in time. Or I'm able, as a
composer, to contain the song and write it and translate it. Because you
shape-shift. I make it as a half-decent playwright: Characters can
embody you. They come and they visit."

CS:Boys for Pele [1996] was based on some of your
experiences beyond the average every-day world. Where were you for that
album?
TA:"That album, I was stepping into, in a big way, the
confrontational side of the psyche. And having spent some time in Hawaii
with Pele herself, I was in a place where I began to question the
authority of the male [or] the male-god authority, in such a way that it
wasn't just musings; it was direct confrontations. And the abuse of
power. So, in a way, I think there was a bit of Boudica, the great
warrior woman that stepped up."

CS:Under the Pink [1994] was departure form very direct,
very literal Little Earthquakes. Did you see songs like "Past the
Mission" as more of a creative narrative?
TA:"I was spending some time in New Mexico, and I was studying the
history of the Spanish and the conquistadors came in and set up the
missions, and subjugated the native people to Christianity, because
their beliefs were thought of as something of the devil, blasphemous.
And, of course, that justified all [the Conquistadors'] killing,
slavery, and abuse. So I guess as a minister's daughter, I'm made up of
many characters - we all are. Any good writer, I think, maybe just
allows themselves a little more freedom to let different aspects out."

CS:Was Little Earthquakes [1992], as it seems, straight-up
you?
TA:"It's a diary form, I would say - a journal. But you really can
only write your journal once, in my opinion. I think you can maybe write
it twice. But you need to have a lot of time lapse before you write the
second one."

CS:When you look back at Y Kant Tori Read [1988], can you
relate to that girl, all these years later?
TA:"What I understand about that is: When you get rejected as a
composer for so many years that, if you are a capable composer, you can
pretty much compose anything. And my natural inclination as a writer was
not going to be thwarted by the record companies, and I couldn't sing in
another bar for much longer; I'd done it for 11 years. So everybody has
a different breaking point. I guess mine was seven years. And I
realized: Unless I would write something that they felt they would sign,
I was never gonna get out. So, of course, I chose to give them what I
thought was a contemporary sound at the time, a pop-rock record. And I
guess when you shop at Retail Slut one too many times, that's what
that's what it's going to look like."

Tori Amos performs Wednesday November 7 at Northrop Auditorium. - D.X.
Ferris

Posted by Jeff Shaw at November 6, 2007 3:34 PM | Comments (0)

 

Minneapolis Cable Access: We're Not Worthy?

Filed under: Local Music

Having already cut $50,000 from this year's operating budget of the Minneapolis Television Network (MTN 16, 17, 75), Mayor Rybak now proposes an additional $100,000 cut from the 2008 budget in order to redirect the funds to a new wireless portals project. The announcement sparked heated discussion recently at a televised hearing held by the MTN Study Commission, which brought Rybak face to face with hosts and crew of Somali programs, Drinking With Ian, and other shows.

"There's a real budget crisis in city hall," says MTN executive director Pam Colby. "But I think we're a vital community resource, and [this cut] would just devastate the organization. We were given no warning that we should prepare for a $100,000 hit."

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at November 5, 2007 6:42 PM | Comments (0)

 

Irish Chorus Brings Haunting, Eclectic Sound to Orchestra Hall