AltWeeklies Wire
Katie Crouch Creates a Real-Feeling Novelnew
Her debut novel, Girls in Trucks, tells the story of a dissipate former debutante, Sarah Walters, who must adjust her South Carolina dreams to the harsh realities of life in New York.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
04-09-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Yeasayer Breaks Throughnew
On All Hour Cymbals, the band mashed sounds that shouldn't have ever been dumped into the same pot. But it worked, as the band received bundles of press all along the blogosphere and invites to various festivals around the globe.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
04-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer
Mark David Chapman Falls Victim to Character Assassinationnew
J.P. Schaefer's direction is ultimately a prime example of how cinema has been degraded since the glory days of Scorsese.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-09-2008 |
Reviews
Head of Femur: In Plain Sightnew
The Chicago band went through a bit of a reinvention a couple years ago when the band decided to strip down the elements it was most known for -- the endless barrage of instruments on stage, horns to strings to whatever else -- and go with the bare essentials.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
04-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Great Plains, Head of Femur
Matt Mccormick's Bright Futurenew
Portland's next great director was out on the road somewhere between here and Las Vegas, doing what he does best -- filming clouds and abandoned motor lodges -- when he realized he was alone.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
FotoFest Explores the Ironies & Intricacies of Chinanew

The biennial Houston extravaganza that ranks among the world's best photography festivals has always been something of a cultural agenda-setter, so when it was announced that this year's festival would focus on China, the choice felt predictable.
The Texas Observer |
David Theis |
04-09-2008 |
Art
England Gets The Gossipnew
Beth Ditto's queer/weight activism should be applauded, but one worries that the singer's sudden celebrity rather ignores her day job.
Willamette Week |
Jay Horton |
04-09-2008 |
Reviews
Jim Wallis Reimagines a Christian Take on Controversial Political Issuesnew
If progressives can see past their justified mistrust of politicking pastors, they may find in the evangelical pastor Wallis not just an ally but a visionary, beckoning from the vanguard of social justice.
The Texas Observer |
Emily DePrang |
04-09-2008 |
Nonfiction
Emily Katz: Like Cat Power Before the Molenew
Katz -- named after Simon & Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" -- fronts local folk ensemble Love Menu, a group built around her lyrical songwriting and stunningly rich voice.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
04-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
American History Xnew
The L.A. icons mark the spot when punk broke in Southern California.
San Diego CityBeat |
Jim Ruland |
04-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Shelley Short Quietly Saves Country Musicnew
Rather than waxing naively cute, a la Jenny Lewis, or idiotic, Short encapsulates much of what makes old-school Nashville country great: a showman's charisma, credible melancholy and close geographical ties.
Willamette Week |
Amy McCullough |
04-09-2008 |
Reviews
Making Wine Out of Wormsnew
Ray Reigstad makes his wine from worms -- more specifically, army worms, maybe better known to y'all as forest tent caterpillars. He considers this a white wine and makes it at a place he calls the RNR Estate Winery, but he can't legally sell his beverage.
San Diego CityBeat |
Martin Jones Westlin |
04-09-2008 |
Food+Drink
Rev. Michael Dowd on Evolutionnew
This reverend claims to have solved the debate between creation and evolution. Somebody give the man a fish.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
04-09-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Portland's Not a Sports Town, but it is a Sports Bar Townnew
We may not have sports teams, but we know how to cheer 'em on.
Willamette Week |
AP Kryza |
04-09-2008 |
Recreation
Do SEIU Leaders Have It In for Dissenter Sal Rosselli?new
Operatives of the union's president Andy Stern are using their money and organizing clout in a hard-hitting campaign -- not to force an employer to the table or to toss out an anti-union politician, but to discredit another labor leader.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
J.B. Powell |
04-09-2008 |
Business & Labor