AltWeeklies Wire
Catching an Elusive Icon's Drift As He Sings About Pasolini and Mussolininew
Time stood still yesterday in the music Scott Walker made, and it stands still today when 30 Century Man languishes in the songs from Walker's quartet of self-titled Philips solo albums from 1967 through 1970.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Johnny Ray Huston |
01-21-2009 |
Reviews
New Stimulus Plan Falls Short on Housing Moneynew
Homelessness is on the rise across urban America. And in nearly every big city, public housing projects are crumbling, suffering from years of federal neglect. But you wouldn't know that to look at the latest stimulus package coming out of Washington, DC.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Rebecca Bowe |
01-21-2009 |
Housing & Development
How Progressives Can Change San Francisco and the Worldnew
Now that we have all this energy, where should we direct it? How, on an individual level, can we support the Obama administration in making real change? We'd like to add to the discussion by highlighting some local groups, causes, and nonprofits who could use year-round help.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Molly Freedenberg |
01-21-2009 |
Commentary
Profiles Of Change: President Obama's Call for Citizen Action Is Already Resonatingnew
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America," President Barack Obama told US citizens on his Inauguration Day. That rang in the ears of people who changed their lives in response to his call.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
01-21-2009 |
Politics
2008's Off-Guard Awardsnew

Presenting the annual awards for the worst, the lamest, and the most insane and idiotic moments of a year that seemed like it would never end.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Tim Redmond |
01-07-2009 |
Commentary
Can a New Generation of Visionaries Revive the Watchdog Press?new

As the traditional media contracts and struggles for survival, new approaches like Huffington Post, Spot.us, and the Public Press are trying to reinvent journalism.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Tim Redmond |
01-05-2009 |
Media
Will San Francisco Be the First U.S. City to Implement Congestion Pricing?new
The city could raise $35 million to $65 million for public transit improvements annually by charging drivers $3 to cross specific downtown zones during peak travel hours, according to a San Francisco County Transportation Authority study. But the plan requires approval from both local officials as well and the state legislature.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Sarah Phelan |
12-04-2008 |
Transportation
'Dexter' is Killing Us Softly with Slaughternew
You know a show has gotten under your skin when it begins to trigger nightmares. That's the case with Showtime's Dexter, now winding up its third season after building, with frustrating slowness, its intertwined partnership narratives revolving around serial killer-turned-crime fighter Dexter Morgan.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Kimberly Chun |
12-04-2008 |
TV
'Barf Manifesto' is So Great You'll Wanna Pukenew
Not a rant so much as a pair of roiling bursts of text, Bellamy's book has feminist intent, but ultimately it presents an artistic credo, in the manner of Andre Breton's paeans to Surrealism.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Johnny Ray Huston |
12-04-2008 |
Nonfiction
Ghosts is a Powerful and Realistic Look at Illegal Chinese Immigrantsnew
Made before his terrific 2007 Iraq War docudrama, Battle for Haditha, but only released here now, Ghosts (2006) isn't quite that film's equal. But it's still powerful and realistic.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
11-19-2008 |
Reviews
The Children of the President Should Go to Public Schoolsnew
Is anyone else appalled that the Obamas are not even considering sending their kids to public schools? Seriously. This may not seem like the most important issue on the president's agenda, but I think it's a big deal.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Tim Redmond |
11-19-2008 |
Commentary
'Milk': The Politics Behind the Picturenew
The new Harvey Milk movie, which opens later this month, begins as a love story, but after that, the movie gets political -- in fact, by Hollywood standards, it's remarkably political. The movie raises a lot of issues that are alive and part of San Francisco politics today.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Tim Redmond |
11-19-2008 |
Movies
Gus Van Sant Gives Harvey Milk His Close-Upnew
Van Sant's first brush with Milk came in 1978 while he was driving across the country and heard on the radio that the supervisor was shot. Though he later saw the 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, it never occurred to him to make a film about the politician.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Kimberly Chun |
11-19-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Scoping Out the Wild World of Blog Darlings Vivian Girlsnew
Since their self-titled debut sold out its original 500-copy run on Mauled by Tigers in just 10 days earlier this year -- it has since been reissued by In the Red -- the attention has snowballed around their rather meek undertaking to, as Kickball Katy said, "sound like the Wipers."
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Michael Harkin |
11-19-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Vivian Girls
This is Marnie Stern -- Long May She Shrednew
The electric feminist explosion that is This Is It masks deep personal anxieties, something she describes as a "combination of zen and extreme loneliness." It's why she lyrically reaches for zen bliss. It's the musical equivalent of making lemonade from lemons.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Mosi Reeves |
11-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews