AltWeeklies Wire
Spanish Fry: Learning to Make Paella on the Grillnew
Once you have your supplies in place, actual execution is pretty easy, and what you get in return is a real crowd stunner -- a paella that glistens with a deep, ruddy burnish, dark, slightly burnt flavors from the socarrat and smoky complexity from adding aromatics to the coals at the last minute.
Baltimore City Paper |
Henry Hong |
09-01-2009 |
Food+Drink
Thomas Pynchon's 'Inherent Vice' is an Endlessly Entertaining Variation on the Detective Yarnnew
Unlike any previous Pynchon work, Vice fully embraces genre. And in doing so it's difficult to tell if the genre is merely pliable enough to accommodate all of Pynchon's literary whims or if the now 72-year-old author has basically been riffing on this form his entire career.
Baltimore City Paper |
Bret McCabe |
08-25-2009 |
Fiction
NYC Trio Naam Puts a Fine Finish on Sludgenew
It's refreshing to hear a prog-rock element in a band that isn't a sit-down proposition, such as Tortoise. "I wanted to make [prog-influenced music] in a much more loud, droning, drug-induced sense," Naam bassist John Bundy says.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michaelangelo Matos |
08-25-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Kingdom EP, Naam
'Adam' is Pretty Schmaltzynew
The movie's trajectory is more that of a made-for-TV special than a feature, and its subplot concerning Beth's fraudulent father is completely extraneous.
Baltimore City Paper |
Jeff Niesel |
08-25-2009 |
Reviews
In 'Hound Dog,' Songwriting Duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Remember Redefining Postwar Pop Musicnew
Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography is a delightful read. Both men are terrific storytellers, witty and succinct, with a sharp eye for the telling detail.
Baltimore City Paper |
Geoffrey Himes |
08-18-2009 |
Nonfiction
Brutal Truth: Interviewing Grindcore Bassist Dan Lilkernew
Brutal Truth, founded in 1990 by ex-Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker, has bookended the last decade by breaking up, reforming, and releasing arguably its finest record this year. In this Q&A Lilker discusses the band's recent history and metal's subgenres.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michael Byrne |
08-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Guys Wide Shut: 'Humpday' Calls Bromance's Bluffnew
Lynn Shelton's winning indie comedy is about two thirtysomething men contemplating taking their friendship to the alternative lifestyle edge to win an amateur porn competition, and what is revealed as they go under the microscope ... err, video camera.
Baltimore City Paper |
Bret McCabe |
08-04-2009 |
Reviews
Something in the Water: Inside Baltimore Harbornew
A look under the water and along the edges of the Inner Harbor reveals layers of history, environmental issues and soft black mud. To some it is a crisis, and to others cathartic. One thing it definitely is: fascinating.
Baltimore City Paper |
Chris Landers |
08-04-2009 |
Environment
Louis Maistros Weaves a Luring Tale from New Orleans in 'The Sound of Building Coffins'new
To risk stating the obvious, the Big Easy has a long and complicated relationship with water, both its redemptive and destructive qualities. The two go hand-in-hand, to judge from reading the gritty and sometimes surreal second novel from Louis Maistros.
Baltimore City Paper |
Joab Jackson |
07-28-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Toxic Gases Seep from the Ground in One Baltimore Neighborhoodnew
According to recent federal court documents, the Chemical Metals Industries site continues to pose a cancer risk to long-term residents of nearby homes subjected to "vapor intrusion" of chemical-laden air rising through the soil from contaminated groundwater below.
Baltimore City Paper |
Van Smith |
07-28-2009 |
Environment
Robert Kenner Talks Cloned Meats, Big Agribusiness and 'Food, Inc.'new
Kenner is no stranger to controversial subjects. He won an Emmy for his 2005 "Two Days in October," which examined the domestic response to the Vietnam War during the turbulent fall of 1967. Kenner runs into a even more volatile subject with his new documentary, Food, Inc., an investigate peek into America's big agribusinesses and meat and poultry industries.
Baltimore City Paper |
Bret McCabe |
07-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The More Tom Waits Creates 'Tom Waits,' the Less Anyone Knows About Himnew
Outside of his showman's persona, Waits is intensely private, banking perhaps on the presumption that his fans possess a happy lack of curiosity about what fuels his greatness. Barney Hoskyns confirmed this trait the hard way while working on Lowside of the Road.
Baltimore City Paper |
Van Smith |
07-07-2009 |
Nonfiction
Parasite City: A Gnawing Bed Bug Problem Grows in Southeast Baltimorenew
People whose homes have been infested say they have noticed a pattern: Spanish-speaking immigrants rent a rowhouse, and soon it becomes overcrowded. Mattresses are discarded on the street, leaning against fences or in areaways. Then neighboring homes are infested with bed bugs.
Baltimore City Paper |
Edward Ericson Jr. |
07-07-2009 |
Science
The New 'Pelham': Just Another Mindless Tony Scott Productnew
Like almost every single one of Scott's movies since 1998's Enemy of the State, though, Pelham's inevitable critical drubbing probably won't stop it from making pretty good money.
Baltimore City Paper |
Bret McCabe |
06-16-2009 |
Reviews
The Filmmaking Robinson Brothers Debut Their First Feature, 'China White'new
While Jonathan, now 28, and Rick, now 24, had always loved watching movies and even fooled around with video cameras, the idea of becoming professional filmmakers seemed too daunting for two guys who grew up in East Baltimore. But here they are, prepping for the world premiere of their debut feature.
Baltimore City Paper |
Lee Gardner |
06-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
