AltWeeklies Wire
Woodstock Co-creator Michael Lang Shares His Memoriesnew
Four decades of nostalgia, hallucinogens, and box sets make us forget that the Woodstock Music & Art Fair didn't descend from a sky of positive vibes and land softly atop a field of dancing hippies. Michael Lang, co-creator of the festival, returns to the scene of the grime in his new book The Road to Woodstock.
Boston Phoenix |
Rob Turbovsky |
07-23-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Rethinking Liberal Arts in the Digital Agenew
They didn't teach genderfuck, iteration, or micropolitics when I was in college. But times have changed. And nowadays, they maybe should consider it. At least so says Tim Carmody, who, along with his co-proprietors of the blog Snarkmarket and a coterie of other Web-based deep thinkers, has put together a book called The New Liberal Arts.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
07-23-2009 |
Education
Skrunk Happens: We're Not Fans, But The Kids Seem to Like Itnew
The Warped Tour's 15th year sees a large number of acts that have embraced a combination of minimalist Southern hip-hop, Auto-Tune croons, techno breakdowns, barked vocals, and party-til-you-puke poetics. It's called scrunk, a bastardized combination of crunk and screamo, and it's the hottest thing since sliced bread joined Twitter.
Boston Phoenix |
Leor Galil |
07-15-2009 |
Music
The Search for 'America's Biggest Asshole'new
This week in Boston, Spike TV held auditions for its new sub-low-culture program, America's Biggest Asshole. You're right -- all reality show tryouts are essentially auditions for America's Biggest Asshole, but this one is transparently egregious, as if the NHL re-named hockey "Kill the Man with the Puck."
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
07-15-2009 |
TV
$arah, Inc.: Palin Enters the Burgeoning Right-Wing Marketplacenew

Thanks to the election of Barack Obama and a heavily Democratic Congress, the conservative industry is, despite the recession, experiencing boom times. Palin is poised to be the hottest brand to ever hit that market.
Boston Phoenix |
David Bernstein |
07-15-2009 |
Politics
Has Kathryn Bigelow Made the 'Apocalypse Now' of Iraq?new
Although everyone makes a point of director Kathryn Bigelow's gender and height and good looks, what's germane is that even if she were short and had bushy eyebrows like Martin Scorsese, she still would be directing action pictures like no one since Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. With her latest, The Hurt Locker, maybe she'll start getting the recognition she deserves.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
07-09-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Introducing Sir John Hargrave, Professional Pranksternew
Sir John Hargrave is no nobleman. He's a lifelong mischief maker who legally changed his name to punk the entire British royal family — and in the process got himself barred from the Queen's digs.
Boston Phoenix |
Ian Sands |
07-09-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Help Is On the Way For Student Borrowersnew
Each month, with miserable certitude, the snail-mailboxes of middle-class twenty- and thirtysomethings are stuffed with student-loan bills, from both federal and private lenders. The balance seems to remain stagnant, even as we mail in check after check. But a new federal program that went into effect on July 1 aims to help overburdened student borrowers.
Boston Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
07-09-2009 |
Education
Weed Picking Up Speed?new
Another step forward has been taken on the road towards decriminalization of marijuana.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
07-09-2009 |
Drugs
The Twelfth Annual 'Boston Phoenix' Muzzle Awardsnew
Every year around our nation's birthday, the Boston Phoenix honors the dishonorable — those people and institutions who did the most to trample free speech in New England.
Boston Phoenix |
Dan Kennedy |
07-09-2009 |
Civil Liberties
Reaction Jackson: How to Mourn a Messnew
Mourning Michael Jackson felt oddly overdue, as if the sudden death he'd suffered 24 hours earlier were nothing compared to the slow one he'd been undergoing for the previous 24 years.
Boston Phoenix |
Michael Brodeur |
07-01-2009 |
Music
50 Bands, 50 States: The Best New Bands in Americanew

To celebrate July 4th, the Phoenix declares the best new band from each state. Who won in your state?
Boston Phoenix |
Staff |
07-01-2009 |
Music
Giving Good Gimmick: Granta at 30new
To sustain a good literary magazine over decades it pays to have a gimmick. Thirty-year-old Granta's secret to success: themes, like this issue's "New Fiction Special."
Boston Phoenix |
William Corbett |
06-30-2009 |
Fiction
April Smith's Mystery/Thrillers Delve in Darknessnew
The former Cagney and Lace producer and author reveals the mystery behind her accidental heroine, Ana Grey, and the difference between writing TV scripts and books.
Boston Phoenix |
Clea Simon |
06-30-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Aerosmith's Joey Kramer Lets Loosenew

The drummer steps out from behind the kit to talk about his new book, Hit Hard.
Boston Phoenix |
The Sandbox |
06-24-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews