Email Author Bob Burtman

1996 Stories by Bob Burtman

• Blowing Smoke

  published December 26, 1996

  Item 54 on the City Council's agenda was enacted into law last week the way councilmembers routinely take care of most business before them --... More >>

• Sound Check

  published December 26, 1996

  Imagine for a moment what it would be like if the record industry's billion-dollar promotion budget was allocated on a musical, rather than a... More >>

• A Question of Rape

  published December 19, 1996

  On October 29, just before the beginning of her sixth period social studies class at Jersey Village Senior High School, 15-year-old Deirdre headed... More >>

• Les's Turn

  published December 12, 1996

  If Rockets owner Les Alexander's dispute with Aeros owner Chuck Watson were as simple as coming across with a few million bucks to break a lease,... More >>

• Swing Crazy

  published December 12, 1996

  More than half a century ago, when folks were kicking the gong around and asking if youse a viper, bands like the Squirrel Nut Zippers haunted... More >>

• Digging the Delta

  published December 5, 1996

  The Mississippi Delta, birthplace of the blues -- the trunk from which most worth-a-damn American popular music branched -- has been out of the... More >>

• A Fine and Funky Odor

  published November 14, 1996

  Exhaust fumes, soul food, freshly mowed hay, good sex and great music have a defining common denominator -- smell. Without their essential, earthy... More >>

• Just Say No (to Open Debate)

  published November 7, 1996

  To some of those fighting on the frontlines of the war on drugs, open discussion can be as dangerous as bad smack. Besieged by growing legions who... More >>

• DisUnion

  published October 31, 1996

  The International Brotherhood of Teamsters' takeover of Local 988 last November had that certain tabloid quality that has been associated with the... More >>

• Fanned

  published October 31, 1996

  Drayton McLane set his first deadline a year ago: Houston, he announced in dramatic fashion, had two weeks to prove it was worthy of a major... More >>

• The Usual Suspect(s)

  published October 24, 1996

  If you haven't seen Mayor Bob Lanier or Alvin resident Nolan Ryan proclaiming their support for a new ballpark for the Astros, or heard the... More >>

• Jerk Rock

  published October 17, 1996

  It's gotten to where Peter Steele is running out of people to piss off. The singer/bassist for Gothic sludgemongers Type O Negative has had... More >>

• You Gotta Have Hope

  published October 10, 1996

  Everyone in the Wedgewood Room at the Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel knew who Dan Patrick was. For good reason: every year, the KSEV-AM talk-show host... More >>

• Bonus Babies

  published October 3, 1996

  If voters approve a new downtown ballpark in next month's referendum, Enron chairman Ken Lay will likely take his place in Houston lore alongside... More >>

• Drayton Steals Home

  published September 26, 1996

  Back in ancient times (August, actually), County Judge Robert Eckels made an offer to Astros owner Drayton McLane: the county would build McLane a... More >>

• Good Girl, Bad Girl

  published September 26, 1996

  Back in 1980, lead Pretender Chrissie Hynde ruffled rock's moral double standard with songs of hard living and wild exploits -- S&M misadventures,... More >>

• Sound Check

  published September 26, 1996

  History says that it's been only five years since R.E.M. mined quadruple-platinum with Out of Time. Looking back, though, that mammoth stage in... More >>

• Field Day

  published September 12, 1996

  The clouds over Moody Park made the midday ceremony more bearable than the average outdoor summer function. Barely breaking a sweat, Mayor Bob... More >>

• Try a Sample

  published September 12, 1996

  Not so much as a hint of an English sense of order pervades Loop Guru's pieced-together vision of a world without boundaries. In fact, British... More >>

• Garbage In, Garbage Out

  published September 5, 1996

  To the average fired employee, fighting a legal battle with the likes of multinational garbage conglomerate Browning-Ferris Industries might seem... More >>

• Sound Check

  published August 29, 1996

  The record industry is littered with the carcasses of small independent labels that reflected the visions of their founders. Following their... More >>

• Original Rockabilly

  published August 22, 1996

  Rockabilly, a high-energy fusion of bluegrass and Western swing, is a style that rings truest in its most basic form, especially when performed by... More >>

• Break's Over

  published August 15, 1996

  I have this enduring image of Tracy Chapman. She's up on-stage, alone with her guitar in front of 60,000 people at a stop on an Amnesty... More >>

• Mom's the Word

  published July 25, 1996

  Chiropractor Don Huey Jr. was having trouble with the property he owns at 7725 Westview. Huey wanted to convert the nondescript ranch house from a... More >>

• The Fine This Time

  published July 11, 1996

  When you get caught with your pants down, sometimes it's best just to admit it, pull them up and move on. Or, if you're Exxon Company U.S.A.,... More >>