Most Popular
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Barack Obama and Me
It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
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Mescaline on the Mexican Border
Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.
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A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita
For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
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Little Bitty Burger Barn
"It's okay to be little bitty in the big city" is an apt slogan for this new burger joint, where sliders rule
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Ghost Town CFS: Carriage House Cafe
Step back in time — to a spooky old carriage barn with a monster chicken-fried steak
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Barack Obama and Me (246)
It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
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Save Lobo: A Siberian Husky Mix is Sentenced to Die (28)
Why? Because he's big and intimidating and because one family complained about him over and over again
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A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita (13)
For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
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Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge? (6)
All This Useless Beauty
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Rotten to the Corps: A Question of Justice at Texas A&M (140)
Thanks to A& M and a district attorney, two cadets escape punishment for beating in a student's face
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Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge?
All This Useless Beauty
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Tired of the Hype, But That's All There Is
Next month, Houston gets to be a cool kid. But only for a week.
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The improbable redemption of Ashlee Simpson
"La La" Love You
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Rap's Rapidly Vanishing Female MC
The Why Chromosome
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A New Official State Song for Texas?
A case for a new — or different, anyway — state song
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Geraldo Rivera Is Stupid: A Review of His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.
06:06AM 03/09/08 -
Weekend Music: Help Save the Houston Music Scene
03:54PM 03/07/08 -
To Do: Hockey and Roller Derby
04:12PM 03/07/08 -
Sausage Fest: Bangers and Mash at Red Lion Pub
11:40AM 03/08/08
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Recent Articles By Ben Westhoff
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Interpol
Our Love to Admire
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Bishop Allen
The Broken String
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Vince Neil, Quiet Riot, Slaughter
Vince Neil, Quiet Riot and Slaughter perform Friday, July 27, at Sam Houston Race Park, 7575 N. Sam Houston Parkway West, 281-807-8700.
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Devin the Dude, Ludacris, Murs
My favorite rapper's favorite rapper
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The Ladybug Transistor
Can't Wait Another Day
National Features
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SF Weekly
The Candidate
Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.
By Matt Smith -
The Pitch
How Not To Be a Rap Star
First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.
By Nadia Pflaum -
Village Voice
Project Runaway
What becomes a gossip columnist most?
By Michael Musto
Wu-Tang Clan's fifth album, 8 Diagrams, comes at a time of group strife. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon have laid into Wu ringleader/beatmaker RZA for the album's creative direction. Calling Wu a sinking ship and RZA a "hip-hop hippie," Raekwon says the beats on 8 Diagrams are too cerebral. And yet, this tension leads to a great creative payoff on the album, which succeeds because its members are ornery and not afraid to alienate their fans. Though the minimalist production and movie samples evoke the Clan's landmark 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 8 Diagrams is not exactly bringing da muthafucking ruckus. It doesn't kick into high gear until the fourth track, "Rushing Elephants," which has a safari-movie feel; other highlights include "Unpredictable" and "Take It Back." Throughout, the usual Wu-Tang samurai and chess metaphors are mixed with pop-culture references and bizarre narrative interludes (Ghostface raps about getting into a shootout at Pathmark). Almost everyone is in fine form, especially Method Man, Inspectah Deck and Ghost, although he's notably absent on the appropriately beautiful/chaotic ODB tribute, "Life Changes." Holding the whole thing together are RZA's beats — understated, anchored by guitar and piano and, yes, cerebral, they ensure 8 Diagrams will age well.
