AltWeeklies Wire
How Berkeley's Mayer Laboratories Won the Battle of the Thin Condomsnew
Kimono condoms has gone against the grain, marketing its condoms as being so thin and silky that they're practically not there. By doing so, the company appeals not only to women, but also to a different side of male vanity.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
11-19-2008 |
Business & Labor
'President' is Easily Murs' Best Release to Datenew
Released a year behind schedule but at a timely moment nonetheless, Murs for President retains the qualities of backpacker hip-hop, despite its new Warner Bros. patina.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
11-19-2008 |
Reviews
Los Rakas Puts a New Spin on Barrio Hip-Hopnew
The group's forthcoming mixtape, La Tanda del Bus, takes its name from the "Diablo Rojo" buses in Panama, which are known for their splashy paintjobs and for the dancehall mixes that bump on their stereos. A follow-up to 2006's Panabay Twist, it's a distinctly Latino spin on the "yellow bus" motif that's been ubiquitous in Bay Area hip-hop.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
11-19-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Nate Powell on His Descent into Madnessnew
Powell has long used mental illness as an artistic muse. His new graphic novel Swallow Me Whole has a story line that's entirely inside the main character's head, with no explanation of what she is thinking.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-29-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Sarah Palin, in Songnew
The Sarah Palin songwriting competition that we launched four weeks ago drew in seventeen submissions, ranging from pop tune rewrites to fully choreographed videos.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan, Kathleen Richards and Nate Seltenrich |
10-29-2008 |
Music
Bucky Sinister Explores Self-Help's Sinister Undersidenew
Get Up: A 12-Step Guide for Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos shows how compelling the self-help format can be.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-22-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
How a Failed Journalist Became the Margaret Mead of White Peoplenew
"Stuff White People Like" isn't just a cathartic spoof; it's Lander's entry into a convoluted and thorny discourse on race in America. Like most people, Lander was always fascinated by race, but he found it difficult to partake in the dialogue without sounding either like an apologist, or a total asshole.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-15-2008 |
Culture
Patron Saints of East Bay Graffiti Finally Get Their Propsnew
A graffiti battle's inclusion in a literary festival says something about the current status of the medium. Now that hip-hop is the domain of pointy-headed intellectuals, it's not surprising to see graffiti follow suit.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-08-2008 |
Art
The Third Annual Mr. Hyphen Festival Subverts Popular Stereotypesnew
The concept for Mr. Hyphen had its genesis at a staff meeting about a year after Hyphen magazine's 2003 founding, though it didn't come together until 2006.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-01-2008 |
Culture
Start-up Unseen.tv Hopes to 'Demystify' Part of the Internet Porn Industrynew
Founder Igor Urisman hopes to democratize the cyberporn industry ... and make it more respectable.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
09-17-2008 |
Tech
Inaugural Outside Lands Festival Lives up to Its Potentialnew
For the most part, the first-ever Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival did live up to expectations; at times there were simply stunning moments and the venue itself was quite a scene to behold.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich, Rachel Swan and Kathleen Richards |
08-27-2008 |
Music
Now a Free Agent, Bilal Has More Love for Salenew
He shot Interscope to the left when the label shelved his 2006 sophomore album, Love for Sale. And now that he's independent, and resolutely so, he's composing most of his new material on Garage Band. Bilal likes it that way.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-20-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Shawn Taylor Explains the Philosophy Behind 'Big Black Penis'new
The title came first. But you knew that already, didn't you? But pretty soon, Big Black Penis was more than just a provocative title; it was a move to bring authenticity into the discourse around black male sexuality.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-07-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Erk tha Jerk Makes Bay Area Hip-Hop a Whole Lot Smarternew
Erk tha Jerk is a slender guy with horn-rimmed glasses and a gallows humor. He isn't afraid to clown someone using insults that could potentially go over that person's head. And his most famous song, "I'm So Dumb (the Hyphy Diss Song)," might have been the most petulant thing to air on KMEL this year.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
After Ten Years in Berkeley, Eric Drooker Still Dreams of New Yorknew
His drawings have a very specific time and place (Brooklyn or Manhattan, usually in the 1970s, almost always the same view), but they employ metaphors that anyone could pick up and understand. His mass-produced poster art, some of which is collected in the new postcard book, Slingshot, operates in much the same way.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-24-2008 |
Art
