February 2004

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I somehow missed the news that Angel has been canceled...

Filed under: Imported

My favorite show hit it's first truly noticable slump last Fall, when I got the feeling that the WB (or somebody) had pressured creator Joss Whedon to craft plots that fit more neatly into one-show/one-plot rhythms, without the long story arcs crossing over too many episodes. The series had peaked, for me, in April 2003, with just that kind of series about Jasmine, the creature named who instantly brainwashed anyone she came into contact with, including Angel and his evil-fighting team, into believing she was a benign and beautiful god. (I think this remains one of the most politically and theologically subversive and profound stories ever to air on TV. See the DVD when it comes out.) Then Angel did that one better, ending the season by handing our heros the reigns to a gigantic, powerful, and evil corporation--the very one they'd been fighting from the start. Shades of The Target Shoots First, here, and also of the pro-war Left: Is it possible to use an evil instrument for good?

The lull in writing that followed wasn't as bad as Law & Order became a few years ago, but I sure noticed, in the past month, when Angel  suddenly returned to form. In its 100th episode, they killed a major character, but in a way that threw everything that happened before in a new light. Then they turned Angel into a muppet (pictured above), and last week, killed another key character, again in a surprising way. That was when I heard the news, announced weeks before, that the WB had canceled the show (WB statement here). There's a lot of fan speculation about this, and a petition to keep it from happening, even rallies on March 12 (um, I'm all for activism, but shouldn't we be carrying placcards demanding elections in Iraq or something?). There are one, two, three sites devoted to saving the show. What all of them say, basically, is that it makes no sense to cancel a highly rated series this good. Sure it does, given the show's content. Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted this long...

Also in the not-so-news: Mel Gibson, fascist.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 28, 2004 4:48 PM

 

Rhymesayers photo

Filed under: Stories

Here's a larger version of the Rhymesayers photo from here, at ComplicatedFun.com, by Tony Nelson:

Eyedea, Felipe, Brother Ali, and Slug at the Dre Day Celebration, 2004.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 28, 2004 2:01 PM

 

Larger Rhymesayers photo

Filed under: Imported

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 28, 2004 1:53 PM

 

Eight Days a Week: Feb. 25-March 2

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Quick and dirty this week, no links, just a shorter version of the notes I make anyway for my own work and play in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Here's the stuff I'm most interested in after checking out the City Pages A-List, the indispensible Twin Cities Alternative Shows List, the D.U. Nation hip-hop scene page, and the Hip Hop Week schedule:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25

PICK Chuck D at Coffman Memorial Union, 7:00 p.m.

PICK George Harrison's 61st Birthday Party. Featuring Slim Dunlap, Shakespeare's Pipe, the Tyrds, Mark Knoll and Blue Matter, John Ewing. $5. 9:00 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Wonderful World of Music TURF CLUB 1601 University Ave W (at Snelling Ave), St. Paul, 651.647.0486

Jessy Greene, eith deVon Gray, Peter Leggett, Sean McPherson. $5 BAR LURCAT 1624 Harmon Pl, Mpls., Note: It's Jessy's Hieruspecs offshoot!

Danger Boy & the Road Vultures, Daisy's Compact Mice, Eufio, 7:00P.M. Triple Rock Social Club ALL-AGES (ALSO SATURDAY AT THE ENTRY.)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26

PICK Erykah Badu With Floetry. $45-$57.50. 7:00 p.m. State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave, Mpls., 612.339.7007.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27

PICK Urge Overkill. $10/$12. 6:00 p.m. Friday, February 27 FIRST AVENUE 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775

PICK Brother Ali, DoomTree, the Fresh Nest. With MC Truth Maze. $5. 6:30 p.m. WHOLE MUSIC CLUB Coffman Union, 300 Washington Ave SE (University of Minnesota), Mpls., 612.625.2272

Conjunto Atardecer. 18+. $25. 8:00 p.m. Son de Cali. 8:00 p.m. EL NUEVO RODEO 2709 E Lake St, Mpls., 612.728.0101

U.S. Maple, the Stunning, Clipped Beaks. $7. 8:00 p.m. 7TH ST. ENTRY 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775

Flaccid Trip, Flying Luttenbachers, No Doctors, Ova!. $5. 9:00 p.m. (could combine next two if space is tight) BIG V'S 1567:00University Ave W, St. Paul, 651.645.8472

Hip Hop's House of Groove. Featuring SubZero, Manifesters, E-Brothers, Shades of Darkness. Free. 9:30 p.m. STEAK KNIFE 1327:004th St SE, Mpls., 612.378.4730

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28

PICK High Llamas, Azida, Lingua Franca. $10. 10:00 p.m. TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399 21+

PICK The Roots, Atmosphere $30. 7:00 p.m. Northrop Auditorium, 84 SE Church St, Mpls., 612.624.2345.

PICK Cannibal Corpse, Hypocrisy, Exhumed, Vile, 5 P.M. The Quest ALL-AGES $16/18

DAMF Benefit Show. Featuring Dillinger Four, Superhopper. All ages. $10. 5:00 p.m. FIRST AVENUE 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775

Mary Lou Lord, Gingersol, Haley Bonar. $12/$15. 8:00 p.m 400 BAR 400 Cedar Ave S (at Riverside Ave), Mpls., 612.332.2903

Dark Horse Review: George Harrison Tribute. Featuring members of Semisonic, Honeydogs, the Flops, the Cultivators, more. $8. 8:30 p.m. CABOOZE

Slim Dunlap, Martin Devaney. $4 TURF CLUB 1601 University Ave W (at Snelling Ave), St. Paul, 651.647.0486

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 29

PICK Elephant Man, The Quest in association with Third World Music Production will be hosting Elephant Man, The Platinum Band and friends in a dance hall extravaganza at The Quest on Feb. 29. The friends will include Round Head, Kiprich and others. Doors open at 8:00 PM and show time 10:00 PM. Tickets are $20 adv. & $25 day of show.

PICK "A BENEFIT FOR THE ARISE! JOURNAL AND CLAMOR MAGAZINE" with Superhopper, Bleeding Hickeys, Shotgun Monday, Lord Finch, Brendan, All ages, 5:00 PM, $6.00 Triple Rock Social Club.

John Hammond, Cedar Cultural Centre

Martin Zellar. With Ben Connelly. $10. 7:00 p.m. FINE LINE MUSIC CAFE 318:00 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.338.8100

Soul Position, Los Nativos, DJ Nikoless. $8. All ages at 5:00 p.m., 21+ at 9:00 p7TH ST. ENTRY 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775

MONDAY, MARCH 1

The Unseen, the Virus, A-Bomb Nation, Ripsnorter. All ages. $8. 5:00 p.m. TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399

TUESDAY, MARCH 2

Elefant. 18+. $8/$10. 7:00 p.m. THE QUEST ASCOT ROOM 110 5th St N, Mpls., 612.338.3383

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3

PICK DJ Jazzy Jeff As I wrote below: The Jimmy Fallon joke from SNL's Weekend Update in early 2002 went: "Will Smith is looking for an apartment to sublet in New York, and is willing to pay $80,000 a month for it. In a related story, DJ Jazzy Jeff wants to know if you're finished with that." But the less famous half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince released an album that year that reminded me why "Summertime" was his work of genius as much as the rapper's. "Rock Wit U," from The Magnificent (BBE), remains an elusively hypnotic classic of alternative soul. (This is the producer of Who Is Jill Scott?, another good reason he stayed in Philadelphia.) If there's irony in the fact that one of crossover rap's first household names is now considered uncommercial (Columbia wouldn't release his 1999 collaboration with Eminem, a collector's grail today), the joke is at our expense, not his. Escape Ultra Lounge in Minneapolis.

"The Radio K Party!" with Cloudcult, Cowboy Curtis, and So Fox. Free with Radio K Music Lovers Card All ages, 6:00 PM, $6.00

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 25, 2004 9:51 AM

 

worst album cover

Filed under: Imported

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 23, 2004 11:56 AM

 

Ego Trip on VH1, DJ Jazzy Jeff at Escape, me on Mardi Gras

Filed under: Imported

 I'm taking a couple hours off of work tomorrow night to play Mardi Gras CDs in public from 9:00 p.m. to about 11:00 p.m. (sorry, not to 2:00 a.m., as previously posted) at the Speakeasy, behind 3 Muses Restaurant at 2817 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612.870.0339. This is part of Mandy Cox's excellent series of Tuesdays, featuring DJs and live music. Tuesday night's performance will be by Rob Skoro (here's Kate Silver's personal tribute) and starts around 11:00 p.m.. I'll be on at 9:00 p.m. playing New Orleans music, Jamaican R&B, hip hop, and other Mardi Gras goodies, so come on down and bring friends. CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF MARDI GRAS EVENTS, POSTED BELOW.

 I taped TV's Illest Minority Moments, Presented by Ego Trip last night--sorry I didn't post about it, been busy. It airs again today at 5:00 p.m. Central Time if you're near a VCR or know somebody who is, and should reappear if there's any pop-culture justice in this world (that's the kind of justice that you don't actually fight for so much as complain about).

It really deserves to be a series. The idea of having various commentators (the Wu-Tang Clan's Rza, "Boondocks" artist Aaron McGruder, Fat Joe, Kelis, Anthony Anderson, and a few of the hip-hop writers from the now-defunct zine Ego Trip) talk about vintage TV clips and apply the I Love the '80s formula to racism is pure subversive genius. (I always thought Tubbs was saying "cracker" rather than "Crocket" on Miami Vice.)

This kind of breezy treatment holds you even when it loses you--when the commentators claim that white people on Springer "talk black," they sound less like blacks commenting on whites than city folk commenting on the rest of the country. I still gotta buy Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism, though I was less than floored by the recent Walker Ar Center talk by its authors. When one said the VH1 special would air after Sex and the City, he added, "So all you ladies will be curled up with your chocolates in front of the TV," Melissa leaned over to me and said, "How about The Big Book of Sexism?"

 Speaking of pop-culture justice, the Jimmy Fallon joke from SNL's Weekend Update in early 2002 went: "Will Smith is looking for an apartment to sublet in New York, and is willing to pay $80,000 a month for it. In a related story, DJ Jazzy Jeff wants to know if you're finished with that."

But the less famous half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince released an album that year that reminded me why "Summertime" was his work of genius as much as the rapper's. "Rock Wit U," from The Magnificent (BBE), remains an elusively hypnotic classic of alternative soul, a collab with Eric Roberson so sneaky that remembering the words never seems to occur to the brain. (I called KMOJ maybe three or four times trying to figure out who this single was, singing the chorus into the phone, before somebody told me it was a Jeff track. This is the producer, it's worth remembering, of Who Is Jill Scott?, another good reason he stayed in Philadelphia.)

If there's irony in the fact that one of crossover rap's first household names is now considered uncommercial (Columbia wouldn't release his 1999 collaboration with Eminem, a collector's grail today), the joke is at our expense, not his. In any case, according to the DU Nation scene page, DJ Jazzy Jeff is playing Escape Ultra Lounge in Minneapolis on Wednesday, March 3, and it should be a good time.

The Ten Worst Album Covers 

(Thanks, Steve Perry!)

  And here's Mark Desrosiers on John Kerry's "shitty New Hampshire prep-school surf-garage band," a.k.a.:

  And here's Chuck Olson's typically straight-from-the-heart response to Kucinich's Minneapolis appearances, with video footage!

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 23, 2004 9:18 AM

 

Deez Maerz!

Filed under: Imported

Melissa poses for the album cover of The Chronic during Wednesday's Dr. Dre birthday party ("Dre Day," hosted by Lifesucksdie at the Triple Rock, with the Rhymesayers and Heiruspecs). For her forthcoming column about it, Tony Nelson took this photo of Rhymesayers MCs Eyedea, Felipe, Brother Ali, and Slug, sharing the stage in one big freestyle for the first time since, like, 1998:

CLICK HERE FOR A LARGER VERSION OF THIS PHOTO.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 20, 2004 2:49 PM

 

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Filed under: Imported

 

         Professor Longhair, eccentric

                

"Every major carnival is precariously poised between an affirmation of the established order and its rejection," writes Abner Cohen in Masquerade Politics. I came away from 1998's Mardi Gras in New Orleans feeling like pretty much nothing had shaken the established order since I lived there three years earlier.

 

"New Orleans has so much passion," my friend Deej said before I moved away, after I told him I'd decided to go back to Minneapolis after getting attacked twice in front of my apartment. Deej had been mugged himself outside a crackhouse, albeit on his way from buying crack.

 

"Once this city figures out how to channel that passion, this will be one of the greatest places in the world."

 

I still agree with that. Even if New Orleans comes up in national conversation only when Ray Davies gets shot in the leg or Mystikal gets sentenced for sexual battery, even if the local news page reads like a rundown of daily murders. "Down here, a band member is looked at as better than an athlete," says Gerard L. Howard, who runs the Marching Sport Experience. (He's quoted by former City Pages scribe Katy Reckdahl in a piece for the Gambit weekly about the odd New Orleans cult of the drum major.) Imagine if more kids were looked up to like that, and lavished with the attendant funding and encouragement.

 

Carnival literally means "farewell to the flesh," and implies a going away party thrown for earthly pleasure before grace. But pleasure carries moral value: As the Situationists used to say, anything boring is wrong. I think New Orleans could use a little less nihilism in its attitude toward these things, but then maybe so could everyone...

 

If you do hop a train down to Southern Louisiana and New Orleans for Carnival (currently in full swing through Tuesday), check this rundown of parades in Gambit, the Mardi Gras page at Satchmo.com, and the listings in Offbeat. Take Professor Longhair's advice and go see the Zulu King.

 

But if you stay home, classic New Orleans music is available anywhere, streaming live on WWOZ out of Congo Square...

 

 

Mardi Gras in Port-au-Prince

 

"Forget politics. The real thing that could cause this government to fall? Not allowing us to celebrate Carnival." 

            -- Haitian musician quoted Sunday

 

                            

                                          photo by Leah Gordon

 

On the brink of civil war, Haiti pauses to rock&roll: Kathie Klarreich reports in the Christian Science Monitor, that "at dusk on Sunday, thousands of people, many of whom may well have been fighting each other hours earlier, were drinking and dancing to the Mardi Gras bands. Most Haitians say they just want to live in peace. Celebrating Carnival this weekend is as important to most Haitians as it is for Catholics to attend Mass on Christmas Eve."

 

Now that the U.S. has rebuffed requests for intervention, Haitians for and against autocratic president Jean-Bertrand Aristide seem increasingly helpless against thugs on either side, and Carnival chaos is giving way to old-fashioned violence. I sympathize with the Haiti Support Group and Boukman Eksperyans, the band in exile whose music once helped Aristide to power, and who now record protest singles against him. But a coup d'etat would be infinitely worse. As the Nation puts it, the U.S. should "support Aristide's continuation at the helm: not because he is good but because he is president."

 

At the very least, our abandoned intervention in Haiti, the world's oldest black republic at 200, shows what will happen if we keep putting off elections in Iraq, and keep defunding its reconstruction.

 

 

Mardi Gras in Minneapolis and St. Paul

 

 

Okay, we aren't exactly known for running naked in the streets and setting cars on fire in the days leading up to the fasting season of Lent. But there are plenty of Mardi Gras and Carnival events in the Twin Cities to choose from, so here's a complete list (send more if you have 'em):

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20

 

PICK In the Twin Cities, tune-in to Louisiana Rhythms on KFAI-FM (90.3 Minneapolis/106.7 St. Paul) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., for a handy guide to musical events. The show's calendar (now linked at the right) pointed me to many of the ones listed below.

 

PICK  In North St. Paul, the Everett Smithson Band plays Neumann's Bar (more information here), 2531 N. 7th East, St. Paul, 651.770.6020

 

In Northfield, Jumbo Ya Ya plays the Grand Event Center, at 8:30 p.m. A $10 cover gets you jamabalaya, Mardi Gras beads, and dancing in a ballroom setting, 316 Washington Street 507.663.1773

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21

 

PICK In Victoria, the Everett Smithson Band hosts a Mardi Gras Party with Cajun food at Floyd's Bar, 1758 Arboretum Blvd. (Hwy 5 and Cty Rd 11), 952.443.9944. Starts at 8:00 p.m. $5

 

In North St. Paul, Bayou Hazard plays Neumann's Bar (more information here), 2531 N. 7th East, St. Paul, 651.770.6020. 8:00 p.m.

 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22

 

PICK In Minneapolis, La Bodega's restaurant/lounge/tapas bar hosts a free Carnival celebration featuring the venue's Brazilian dance band Xibaba, plus dance lessons with Jackie Duport, 3001-3005 Lyndale Ave. S., 612.823.2661, 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. FREE

 

In St. Paul, swamp rockers the Faux Playboys play at the Halftime Rec (Lexington and Front St.) from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (thanks for the heads up from Bayou Dancer, though there are no lessons on this night--gone to Louisiana!).

 

FAT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

 

In St. Paul, big New Orleans-style R&B band Beau Koo Jacks play Neumann's Bar, (more information here) 2531 E. 7th Avenue, 651.770.6020, 6:00 p.m.

 

Also in St. Paul, local accordion-rockers J.J.'s Zydeco Paydirt throw a party at Dixie's on Grand, complete with southern Louisiana buffet for $19.95. (food lasts from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., music goes until 11:00 p.m., bar open to 1:00 a.m.)

 

In Minneapolis, the Rebirth-style Jack Brass Band (pictured above) play Copeland's of New Orleans, in the former City Center, at 7:00 p.m. (Speaking of Rebirth, I must have been out of town when the question of whether to cover their show at the Cabooze in December came up. Damn!!)

 

PICK Also in Minneapolis, yours sexily will spins New Orleans records, Jamaican rocksteady, hip hop, and other Mardi Gras goodies at the Speakeasy from 9:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. in the back of the 3 Muses restaurant on Lyndale, during Mandy Cox's excellent series of Tuesdays. Come on down and bring friends! (Professor Longhair is still god; you should hear him for yourself--Can you tell this sentence is an excuse to link more Longhair? Actually, this is the only link you need.) Speakeasy Bar, 2817 Lyndale Ave S., 612.870.0339.

 

Then on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 (the weeked after many locals return from New Orleans), they'll be a late Mardi Gras Celebration hosted by the Krewe de Walleye (an invaluable source for local Lousiana music events) at the Medina Entertainment Center, with the Faux Playboys, Cajun musicians the New Riverside Ramblers, and J.J.'s Zydeco Paydirt.

 

 

Eight Days a Week, Mardi Gras: Feb. 18-25

 

 

 

Here's a complete list of what I'm interested in around the Twin Cities this week, from Kucinich to the Suicide Girls to my own Mardi Gras DJ gig at the Speakeasy. As always, I'm indebted to a slew of invaluable sources, including The Twin Cities Alternative Shows List, the City Pages A-List and database, and the Louisiana Rhythms calendar.

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18

 

Opeth, Moonspell, 5:30 p.m. The Quest ALL AGES $17/19

 

MARDI GRAS/CARNIVAL The Rockin' Pinecones 6:30 pm. Wed Feb 18, Viking Bar 1829 Riverside Ave, Mpls.; 612.332.4259

 

PICK Dre Day: A Celebration of Dr. Dre's Birthday complete with a $20 Sack Pyramid, hosted by Lifesucksdie, and featuring various Rhymesayers MCs, the Heiruspecs, DJ Bird, DJ Nioless, Aaron Money, 21+ 9:00 p.m. $8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

 

2nd Annual Spark Festival at the West Bank Arts Quarter (I gotta check this place out) at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Festival features a mix of the latest in electronic and electroacoustic music, video, powered installation art, theater/dance, and other interdisciplinary shit. Free and open to the public. Featuring David Means with Steve Goldstein, Low Orbit, and Greg Davis. InFlux Space, Regis Art Center
405 21st Avenue S.

 

Doomtree (featuring P.O.S.) at the Dinkytowner, Minneapolis, with Crescent Moon, 21+ 9:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.

 

The Plastic Constellations, Bridge Club, Circle of Willis. $6. 9:00 p.m. TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20

 

PICK Halloween, Alaska, Poor Line Condition, 8 P.M. Cedar Cultural Center ALL AGES $8/10

 

PICK Black Eyed Snakes, Fairweather Friend, Words to a Film Score. $6. 9:00 p.m. Triple Rock Social Club.

 

B.B. King $29.95-$39.95. 8:00 pm. Feb 20-21
Grand Casino Mille Lacs 777 Grand Ave (Hwy 169 West Shore), Onamia; 800.626.5825

 

MARDI GRAS/CARNIVAL In the Twin Cities, tune-in to Louisiana Rhythms on KFAI-FM (90.3 Minneapolis/106.7 St. Paul) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., for a handy guide to musical events. The show's calendar (now linked at the right) pointed me to many of the ones listed below.

 

Bill Haley's Comets $27-$37. 7:00 pm. Fri Feb 20
Northrop Auditorium 84 SE Church St, Mpls.; 612.624.2345

 

MARDI GRAS/CARNIVAL In North St. Paul, the Everett Smithson Band plays Neumann's Bar (more information here), 2531 N. 7th East, St. Paul, 651.770.6020

 

2nd Annual Spark Festival at the West Bank Arts Quarter (I gotta check this place out) at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Festival features a mix of the latest in electronic and electroacoustic music, video, powered installation art, theater/dance, and other interdisciplinary shit. Free and open to the public. Featuring David Means with Steve Goldstein, Low Orbit, and Greg Davis. InFlux Space, Regis Art Center
405 21st Avenue S.

 

Heiruspecs, 9 P.M. LoVEuGLY Cabaret

 

Leroy Smokes (CD release), Pleasure Pause, Traditional Methods, 8 P.M. Fine Line $6

 

MARDI GRAS/CARNIVAL In Northfield, Jumbo Ya Ya plays the Grand Event Center, at 8:30 p.m. A $10 cover gets you jamabalaya, Mardi Gras beads, and dancing in a ballroom setting, 316 Washington Street 507.663.1773

 

Bright Eyes, Jim James, M. Ward, Pantages Theater ALL AGES  Note: Apparently, all these guys will collaborate, which makes this more interesting.

 

St. Paul Celtic Connection, O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, all-ages

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at February 18, 2004 4:33 PM

 

The 20th Anniversary of 1984

Filed under: Imported

 

VH1 calls it "arguably the greatest pop culture year of the decade, and maybe ever!" (on I Love the '80s: 1984, airing March 12, 9:00 p.m. Central Time). I was 14 at the time,  an obvious bias, but 1984 was the year of Purple Rain, "Erotic City," the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime, Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles, the timeless "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," Husker Du's Zen Arcade and "Eight Miles High," The Terminator, "Karma Chameleon," the Replacements' Let It Be, Repo Man, Madonna fashions and videos, This Is Spinal Tap, Born in the U.S.A. (album, song, video, tour), "What's Love Got to Do With It?," the Go-Go's "Turn to You," Meat Puppets II, Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown's "Unity," Chaka Khan's "I feel for You," the Dead Kennedys' Plastic Surgury Disasters, "Institutionalized," "99 Luftballons," A Nightmare on Elm Street, Naked Raygun live, Van Halen's best album, the Appliances-SFB, The Crucifucks, Stop Making Sense, MDC's Multi-Death Corporations single, breakdancing competitions, Breakin' (as well as Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo), "Uptown Girl," hair mousse, The Unforgettable Fire, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and though I didn't hear them until later: Run-DMC, The Smiths, and Ride the Lightening.

 

I'm going to be putting together a giant Complicatedfun.com tribute to 1984 in coming months, soliciting rants and essays from my friends about, hopefully, all of the above. Stay tuned for that, and send me your own favorites from that year. (Here's my oral history of First Avenue, and my look back at hardcore, to give you some ideas.) In the meantime...

 

Prince and Wendy on TV... Chuck links the vid.

 

According to the Wendy & Lisa website, Wendy and Prince have taped an acoustic song together for a public TV appearance, on the Tavis Smiley show, scheduled to air on PBS this Thursday, February 19, and are broadly hinting at a reunion of the Revolution. The show itself doesn't air on Twin Cities Public Television, in Prince's hometown, but a phone operator at the station tells me they're trying to figure out a way to work the program into the current schedule and Chuck's Blogumentary links the video tape. See Jay Smooth's blog  for details of how this reunion came about: