AltWeeklies Wire
Hip-Hop is Dead ... or Undead, Rathernew
Depraved hip-hop is the biggest thing to hit trailer-trash America since sliced meds -- and not just in redneck pockets, where rap music hardly reached before, but in suburban enclaves where acts like Twiztid and Tech N9ne sell out shows with ease.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
10-29-2009 |
Music
Tags: G.G. Allin, Horrorcore, Ricky Mortis, Stetsasonic, Zombie Death Squad, RZA, hip-hop, Tech N9ne, Scarface
Michael Jackson's Genius is Brought Closer and Clarified in 'This Is It'new
Behind the tabloid image, Jackson's seen thinking, devising, improvising -- and performing masterfully. At age 50, Jackson was still a prodigy; possessed of protean talent and when in the company of collaborators he is inspired.
New York Press |
Armond White |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Natural Seletion: A Field Guide to Portland's Legal Pharmacopeianew
While DIY mushroom hunters are pulling on rain gear and heading outdoors in search of forbidden fruit, others are staying high and dry by sampling a crop of legal psychoactive plants found right here in the city limits.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
10-29-2009 |
Drugs
Leave it to a Kid from the CD Generation to Make Tapes Cool Againnew
Whitworth University's Alex Davis runs Leftist Nautical Antiques, which releases limited-edition cassette tapes, from his dorm room.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
10-28-2009 |
Music
San Fran's Mayor Forces a Legal Stalemate While Hundreds of Kids Face Deportationnew
City Hall echoed with delighted whoops of Si se puede! last week, as a veto-proof majority of the Board of Supervisors voted to give juvenile immigrants their day in court before referring them to federal immigration authorities. But the battle over the civil rights of immigrant kids is far from over.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Sarah Phelan |
10-28-2009 |
Immigration
Killer-Nature Flick 'The Canyon' Inadvertently Advocates Staycationsnew
A first feature for director Richard Harrah and writer Steve Allrich, The Canyon falls firmly within that vacation-from-hell subgenre recently capped by the very clever, funny, and fairly freaky A Perfect Getaway. (None of which adjectives apply here, alas.)
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Richard Harrah, The Canyon
Jordanian Journalist Rana Husseini Talks About Honor Killingsnew
Husseini can never forget the way the uncles of a 16-year-old murder victim dispassionately described how their niece deserved to die. "It was as if they were speaking about a sheep," she writes in her new book, Murder in the Name of Honor.
Willamette Week |
Henry Stern |
10-28-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Are Hate Crimes on the Rise in Mass.? Who Can Tell with These Numbers?new
Community leaders, victim advocates -- and even government officials -- says underreporting by both victims and police means the stats released by the State Police Crime Reporting Unit are essentially guesswork, and the victims who are least likely to report crimes against them actually bear the brunt of the attacks.
Dig Boston |
Jeremy Fox |
10-28-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Violence Begets Violence and Terrific Performances in 'Five Minutes of Heaven'new
Oliver Hirschbiegel has created a small movie with an interesting premise, a film that wouldn't stand out at all were it not for the tremendous performances from its two leading actors, Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
Boston Howlers Converge Continue a Streak of Stunnersnew
On Axe To Fall, Jacob Bannon unearths noises no human should be able to make. Kurt Ballou rips his guitar like he's auditioning for America's Next Top Guitar Hero at all times, and Nate Newton and Ben Koller still make up one of the most bludgeoning rhythm sections ever. For the band, it is just business as usual.
Dig Boston |
Erik Ziedses Des Plantes |
10-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Axe To Fall, Converge
Illustrator Chris Lane Plays Off Our Pathogen Fears in His New Graphic Novelnew
Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection imagines a public health crisis in the year 2012 caused by a sickness that percolates through the air and gets under people's skin. By the end of the year, more than five billion people have succumbed. The idea is horrifying, but in a weirdly seductive way.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-28-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Politics are Crippling California's Services to the Disablednew
In addition to being a lifeline for needy disabled Californians, the state Department of Social Services' In-Home Supportive Services program is a cash cow for Democrats. The program's political status has made it a target for Republicans, who characterize it as a bastion of fraud and corruption, and thus ripe for $1.1 billion in cuts.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
10-28-2009 |
Commentary
Wal-Mart Lowers the Guillotine on Authors and Independent Bookstoresnew
The devaluation of work is a brutal injustice to the Kingsolvers and the Grishams and the Pattersons (though, for the record, the latter two aren't exactly wading in the same talent pool as Kingsolver). Even -- and I cannot believe I am going to say this -- even Dan Brown and his formulaic prose deserve better than $8.99 on new releases.
San Diego CityBeat |
Aaryn Belfer |
10-28-2009 |
Books
Why's the Increasingly Blue State of Virginia About to Elect a Republican Governor?new
The gap between Democrat Creigh Deeds and frontrunner Bob McDonnell could be as big as 19 points. Why? It has a little to do with the economy, a little to do with McDonnell -- and a lot to do with the limitations of candidate Deeds.
C-Ville Weekly |
Will Goldsmith |
10-28-2009 |
Politics
Is 'Amelia' Ready for Takeoff?new
Sticking to the period of the middle 1930s during which she became a celebrity, Mira Nair's film doesn't have much to add to the Earhart lore, but by necessity of movie convention does have much to subtract from the actual life.
C-Ville Weekly |
Jonathan Kiefer |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
