Cover Story: Rotten to the Corps
Click here for photos of Zach Corcoran’s injuries Zach Corcoran loved Texas A&M University. His father, John, had graduated from the school and instilled an Aggie pride in his son. Zach grew up attending A&M football games, and by the time his older brother enrolled at the university, the family…
Last Night: Foo Fighters at Toyota Center
Foo Fighters Toyota Center January 22, 2008Better Than: Having a Heath Ledger sad-a-thon by watching A Knight’s Tale in your dank apartmentDownload: Last year’s expanded The Colour and the Shape reissue, plus the acoustic disc from 2005’s In Your Honor Just hours ago, I saw Dave Grohl turn into Good…
Playing Pretend: Local Sports Media Figures as Political Pundits
I was flipping around the cable stations the other day when I saw Stephen A. Smith yapping away. Now, there’s nothing shocking in this. ESPN replays SportsCenter about 13 to15 times a day, and he’s always on there shouting about something. And with his role on ESPN’s NBA coverage, you…
So Long, Heath Ledger
I was going to blog about the Oscar nods and snubs today, but I’m feeling too bummed out by the death of Heath Ledger. Unless you’ve managed to pull off that whole living under a rock thing, you know by now that the actor’s body was found in a Manhattan…
Drenched in Blog: Coachella Lineup Announced
Holy nerd erection, blogman… I’m really hating having a “real” job right about now. – Craig Hlavaty…
Slideshow: 999 Eyes Authentic Freakshow
Staff photog Daniel Kramer went behind the scenes with the performers of 999 Eyes Authentic Freakshow on Saturday night and brought back some pics. Click here to get your P.T. Barnum on. And for those of you just getting back from a long weekend, here’s what else you missed. –…
Double Standard: How Come Few People Bitch About Cheating in Football?
As we spend the next two weeks waiting for the Super Bowl, keep this in mind: the Patriots were nailed cheating, and a key player was caught with HGH. I remind of you this because probably no one else will. As the great Deadspin blog pointed out yesterday, the storylines…
Miss Pop Rocks Has the Flu
Miss Pop Rocks is sick. The whole basket of fun, including: 102 degree fever, hacking up mucus, uncontrollable sneezing, and so on. But this unfortunate situation has enabled her to conduct a little experiment, entitled “How Many Episodes of America’s Next Top Model Can Someone Watch in a Row?” (The…
Sex and Death: Oyster Knives and Shucking Gloves
I use the largest size oyster knife, which is known as a “Galveston knife.” It has a very sturdy four-inch blade. Dexter/Russell makes a version with a white plastic handle which is available in any Houston restaurant supply store for ten bucks or so. Or you can order one online…
Friday Night: Six Organs of Admittance at Walter’s
Six Organs of Admittance Walter’s on Washington January 18, 2007 Better than: Five organs of admittance, for sure Download: “Black Wall” from Six Organs’ MySpace page Last Friday was no night to go out: cold, rainy and generally miserable. But the 70 or so brave souls who abandoned the comforts…
Supersonics vs. Rockets: Post-Game Talk with Rick Adelman, Yao Ming, Rafer Alston, Shane Battier and Tracy McGrady
Click here for Jason Friedman’s live blog from the press box First things first: A game befitting the late, great MLK it wasn’t. The Rockets 96-89 victory over the woebegone Supersonics inspired neither hope nor confidence. That’s the bad news. Fortunately, the Rockets aren’t picky these days so they’ll happily…
Houstoned Exclusive: Montagu Hotel Goes Back Up
By now you’ve probably seen images of the Montagu Hotel getting demolished. Turns out the owner changed his mind and decided to put the ol’ fleabag back up. Click the arrow below for exclusive video from Daniel Kramer of the reconstruction. – Keith Plocek…
Drenched in Blog: Oates Watch 2008!
John Oates, legendary half of power duo Hall and Oates, recently told journalists that a cartoon is being developed about his moustache. He claims that it has “superpowers.” I’m hoping this is some wacked-out druggie Adult Swim stuff. It will make my Sunday nights that more THC-drenched. But dude better…
Supersonics vs. Rockets: Live-blogging with Jason Friedman
Our sports columnist sends up-to-the-minute dispatches from the Toyota Center. 12:28 PM Welcome to our first live Rockets blog of the year… I’ve settled in to my usual spot along press row of the Toyota Center, right next to the venerable Andy Yao, and a few others from the Texas…
Sex and Death: Gulf Coast Oyster Roundup
The cheapest place to eat oysters is in your backyard. Don’t forget the Meyer lemons! Thanks to the cold weather, the local oysters are putting on an extra coat of fat and they are sweeter than ever. So where’s the best place to eat them? Unfortunately, the oyster happy hour…
Roger Clemens and Steroids: George Mitchell, Rusty Hardin, Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski, Jim Murray, Andy Pettitte…Damn, This Shit Is Like a Soap Opera
As some of you may recall, I haven’t exactly been thrilled by Rusty Hardin’s legal maneuverings in this whole Roger Clemens matter. I was especially disgusted by the playing of the McNamee-Clemens phone conversation tape. Reasons for this anger were that the tape proved nothing, I thought it was a…
Lost Weekend: Aeros Lose to Marlies and Bulldogs
“It wasn’t a good weekend for us,” Houston Aeros center Steve Kelly said after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs before 6,373 Toyota Center fans. “We just didn’t have that extra bit of hardness.” Saying that it wasn’t a good weekend is a mild way to describe the Aeros’…
Rockets-Sonics Live Blog: Today at 1 p.m.
What better way to honor the memory of the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. than to spend the day talking Rockets basketball? Surely the King himself would be proud. So with that in mind, I’ll be blogging live from the Toyota Center during this afternoon’s tilt against rookie phenom…
Over the Weekend: Bad Boy Bill, Montagu Hotel Implosion and Pigskin Playoffs
Happy MLK Day, y’all. Here’s some music to get you moving. We just had ourselves a witch’s tit weekend, but it wasn’t without hot spells. Bad Boy Bill at Rich’s Glowsticks are back. Or something. Anyway, we hit up Rich’s at 2 a.m. on Friday night as part of our…
Five Songs for MLK Day
On the Dreamer’s day, we offer up five divergent songs about Martin Luther King and the holiday that bears his name. They are upbeat and somber, they are angry and hopeful, they are old and new. They are after the jump…..
Random Thoughts for a World Where Eli Manning Is Better Than Brett Favre
It (and he) might not have been pretty, but Coughlin’s Giants got the job done • I just got finished watching season one of the deliciously dark and twisted “Dexter” (best TV show I’ve seen in ages, by the way) yet I swear not even the most gruesome episode displayed…
Slideshow: Bad Boy Bill at Rich’s
We’ve just loaded up some snaps from Friday night’s set by Bad Boy Bill at Rich’s. Rather than focusing on the dude on the decks, our photog went for the crowd. It’s part of our ongoing project to document specific slivers of time at different bars around town. Past offerings…
Slideshow: Montagu Hotel Demolition
Originally constructed in 1911, the Montagu, née Montague, née Hotel Cotton, was imploded this morning. We’re gonna miss the gigantic roaches, but we got tons of pics of the blast for our scrapbook. — Keith Plocek…
Get Lit: Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame, by Brian Howell
Brian Howell’s Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame is a great coffee table book. I know, because it’s been sitting on mine for a week, and every visitor I’ve had has been unable to resist flipping through the entire thing. The cover grabs you straight off –…
Radio Houstoned: Altar Boyz
It’s your last chance to catch the musical Altar Boyz at Stages Repertory Theatre this weekend. The story of a Christian boy band, Altar Boyz is a bit of fluff, but fun fluff nonetheless. You can read what our reviewer Lee Williams had to say about the show here, and…
Weekend Music: Carry On, Wayward Sons
Besides the shows we told you about in this week’s issue, this weekend’s best bet is obviously those wheat-slinging warriors Kansas at Stafford Center tomorrow night. This clip should tell you everything you need to know. You’re my boy, blue! Todd V. Wolfson Anyway. Let’s deal with tonight first, shall…
Deceased Inmate’s Mother Files Suit Against Harris County and Taser International
Two years after Daryl Kelley died after being Tasered by Harris County Sheriff’s deputies, his mother has filed a suit against the county, Taser International, and un-named deputies. On January 13, 2006, deputies Tasered Kelley, 29, multiple times while he was being held in Harris County Jail. Kelley, who was…
Mike Huckabee Will Rock You
Even if you’re not a Mike Huckabee supporter, you might be compelled to make a donation to his campaign this weekend. That’s because the Republican presidential hopeful’s classic rock cover band (yep, you read that correctly) will be playing a fundraiser up near Navasota. The band, called Capitol Offense, will…
Drenched in Blog Extra: Tony-B Machine 4 EVR
Say goodbye to hygiene, regular sexual relations and sunlight. This thing will make your days and nights all that more trashy and dancey. I dare you to not shake your ass. This will make any cubicle feel like a sweaty club in South Beach. – Craig Hlavaty…
Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks: Looking for the Lambeau Laxative, Not Expecting Lightning to Strike Twice
I’m bitter. Instead of anxiously anticipating yet another uber-compelling Colts-Patriots grudge match this weekend, I’m stuck with Chargers-Pats instead. Nothing against San Diego, but that match-up sucks. Don’t get me wrong, the Bolts earned their shot at New England. They overcame a rowdy crowd, devastating injuries, and a slew of…
Drenched in Blog: That’s Mr. Manson To You…
Man, remember when Marilyn Manson was the scourge of parents everywhere? Or when wearing one of his shirts made you “goth,” and girls carved his initials in their ankles during Social Studies? Here’s Mr. Warner picking up his daughter, I mean fiancee, at the airport. Judging by these pics, the…
John Royal’s NFL Picks: Channeling Madden and Picking the Giants Anyway
Well, the football season is almost over and there are only two games for me to screw up this weekend. So let’s see if I can apply my curse to one of the teams. 1. The Patriots are favored by 13.5 points over the Chargers. Look, I think I’ve made…
Steroids and Roger Clemens: Lanny Breuer’s On Deck
This is just pathetic. Rusty Hardin’s defense of Roger Clemens is so damn crappy that Hardin is now trumpeting the fact that he found a process server who was so incompetent that he couldn’t serve lawsuit papers on Brian McNamee. Rusty, I know you mainly handle drunks and spousal abusers…
Steroids and Baseball: Is Jose de Jesus Ortiz on Drugs?
Believe it, or not, some of my colleagues here at the Press think that I’ve been a bit tough on the Chron’s Jose de Jesus Ortiz. The opinion of one changed yesterday, however, and just as with the Clay Aiken matter, the change of opinion came via anguished e-mail. An…
Aeros Face Off Against Marlies and Bulldogs This Weekend
The Houston Aeros are in town this weekend, taking on the Toronto Marlies tonight and the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. The Marlies are one of the best teams in the AHL. And as Aeros general manager Tom Lynn said last week, the Aeros are “playing the right way. Now…
Miss Pop Rocks Hearts Project Rungay
Pardon Miss Pop Rocks for getting all meta on you for a moment, but do you think it’s possible to write about a pop culture blog within a pop culture blog? Because I’m going to try. I’m talking, of course, about Project Rungay: “Project Runway” from a VERY Gay Perspective…
MySpaced Out: Fortress Europe
The dø It never fails that when WWILFing (What Was I Looking For?) MySpace I always end up being blown away by some European band I’ve never heard. A few cool things from this week’s WWILFing: The Mouflettes (Lille, France): Even if you don’t speak French, it doesn’t take much…
Houstonian Kady Malloy = Early American Idol Front-runner
Dallas may have hosted the American Idol auditions’ most recent Texas stop back in August, but it looks like a Houstonian stole the show. On last night’s episode, notoriously curt Idol judge Simon Cowell practically flipped his wig over effervescent Katy Taylor alum and Jessica Alba lookalike Kady Malloy. “I…
Bavu Blakes, So Great
Click the buttons below for “Honey Fleaux” (feat. Rochelle Terrell) and “Intoxicating Fleaux,” two tracks from Austin rapper Bavu Blakes. Bavu plans on releasing a new flow each week, for what he’s calling the ’08 So Great series. Stay tuned for more. — Keith Plocek…
Drenched in Blog: Dolly Parton at SXSW
Dolly Parton has just been added to March’s SXSW lineup. Over her four-decade career, Parton has defined the role that women play in country music (big boobs), won a few Grammys (big boobs), written timeless love songs (big boobs) and even found time to open her own theme park (big…
“Chantal Akerman: Moving Through Time and Space”
Renowned filmmaker and video artist Chantal Akerman gets her first solo exhibition in a U.S. museum with “Chantal Akerman: Moving Through Time and Space.” The multi-media installations making up the exhibit are D’Est (From the East), Sud (South), De l’autre côté (From the Other Side), Là-Bas (Down There) and an…
Grown-Up Storytime
For the latest installment of its Grown-Up Storytime series, local underground theater troupe Boo Town took submissions from Houston writers. Unfortunately, the group’s love of the last minute means that as of press time, they still hadn’t officially selected any winners, but hell, Boo Town’s procrastination adds to its charm,…
The Locust
The Locust could give you a seizure. The San Diego outfit’s experimental punk/metal ditties sound more like musical fits, thanks to insane time signatures and high-pitched, sporadically shouted vocals, all care of a quartet sporting matching military-meets-insect attire. Prepare to get your spaz on. Poison the Well, Dance Gavin Dance…
The MLK Day Parade
Each year, two long-warring factions compete to produce Houston’s “real” MLK celebration (such a great way to honor a man of peace, don’t you think?). The Black Heritage Society won dibs this year by virtue of a December coin toss in the foyer of City Hall, so they’ll have the…
Auction Exhibit Opening
Proving that art isn’t just something you look at in galleries, but something you can touch, own and take home with you, the HCP is putting 80 prints up for sale at its 2008 auction. The sale itself isn’t doesn’t happen until February 15, but the Center’s “2008 Print Action…
Tristar Collectors Show
Looking for that rare Larry Bird rookie card or a football thrown by Brett Favre? How about an authentic, unopened Reggie Bar? (Mmm…decades-old chocolate!) You could track down these and much more sacred sports memorabilia at the Tristar Collectors Show. Close to 60 dealers will be offering items to both…
Margaret Cho
Opinionated and sometimes bawdy, comedian Margaret Cho isn’t afraid to reinvent herself. After a meteoric rise to fame in the early ‘90s, she landed her own sitcom on ABC called All American Girl. The road got a little rough at that point. The show was ostensibly the first on network…
“Dreaming Cows”
Just in case you were wondering — yes, cows do dream. In fact, they dream in color, at least according to artist Betty LaDuke. LaDuke’s “Dreaming Cows” exhibit, with visions of those dreams, is making its world premiere at the Children’s Museum of Houston this week. Using bright, bold colors…
Jeanine Walker
If you see Jeanine Walker swerving on the road, she hasn’t been drinking — she’s been thinking. “Poet on board: careful,” she says, laughing (hey, that would make a great bumper sticker). The local poet, who’s about to earn her doctorate from the University of Houston’s creative writing program, says…
999 Eyes Freakshow and Dirty Comedy Show
We’re guessing the 999 Eyes Freakshow and Dirty Comedy Show is a dream come true for comic Danny Rios. The local joke slinger, who won the 2006 Laff Stop Houston’s Funniest Person contest, riffs on hookers, the mentally disabled, midgets, sex and combinations of each. And in case you missed…
Vikram Chandra and Mayra Montero
Inprint looks well beyond the Bayou City today as it welcomes Vikram Chandra and Mayra Montero to read as part of the Brown Reading Series. The Indian-born Chandra is actually no stranger to the area — he studied in the University of Houston’s creative writing program. In his widely acclaimed…
Pomegranate Film Festival
The Pomegranate Film Festival might have a funny name, but its 15 or so participating filmmakers are serious about their craft. “It’s films that are produced and directed by, and starring, Houston-area teenagers,” says Jason Kishell, coordinator for the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s Teen Council. “You have the whole gamut…
Les écailles de la Mémoire (The Scales of Memory)
The African Diaspora reconnects with the motherland in both body and spirit today, when the Brooklyn-based company Urban Bush Women and the Senegalese men’s troupe Compagnie JANT-BI take the stage in Les écailles de la Mémoire (“The Scales of Memory”). The women, known for celebrating their African roots through adventurous…
The Mathletes
The Mathletes are starting out the year by calling it quits. We’re disappointed to hear the news about the quirky local rockers, who combine the genius of They Might Be Giants and Atom and His Package. “There will probably be other Mathlete-type things, but I think this is going to…
Love, Janis
Texas might be known for its big-haired, bottle-blonde beauty queens, but it was an altogether different sort of woman who captured the wild spirit of the Lone Star State when Port Arthur’s own mega-talented Janis Joplin hit the music scene. Joplin belted out the pain and power of Southern Blues…
Virgil Grotfeldt, “Paintings”
Unfamiliarity is a hallmark of Virgil Grotfeldt’s otherworldly paintings, and you can see why in his latest exhibit at the Wade Wilson Art Gallery, “Paintings.” The Houston-based artist uses unconventional materials, like coal dust mixed with acrylic, to create what Wade Wilson Art calls “biomorphic abstractions.” While the color-parched imagery…
The Abduction from the Seraglio
You know when you feel like you haven’t accomplished that much, but then you think, “Hey, I’m still so young, I’ve got time”? Don’t kid yourself: Mozart composed his opera The Abduction from the Seraglio at age 25 — and it wasn’t even his first one. The 1782 “singspiel” opera,…
Cooper-Moore Trio
After rising to popularity in the late-’70s American underground jazz scene, -Cooper-Moore returned home from a European tour and set his piano on fire one day in 1981. “I invited this guy from Cameroon over, a guitar player, and we pushed the piano through the living room, through the kitchen,…
The Cellar Door
You’ll take an extra look around to make sure some creepy guy hasn’t followed you home after watching Matt Zettell’s The Cellar Door. In the psychological horror flick, super-creepy Herman finds Rudy, the perfect girl he’s been searching for. But instead of asking for her phone number, Herman kidnaps Rudy…
Anne Winters
Poets love to make readers dig for meaning — of a title, a phrase, a symbol. Anne Winters does exactly that with The Displaced of Capital. (Fans of Winters’s first book, The Key to the City, have waited 18 years for Displaced.) The “displaced” in the title refers to New…
Iranian Film Festival
Despite being persona non grata in international circles, the nation of Iran continues to have a flourishing film industry Like few other countries in the global crosshairs, Iran is a bastion of distinctly modern culture. The Islamic republic’s film industry is more akin to that of artsy France or Italy…
Rushmore
Rushmore was directed by Houston native Wes Anderson, using his alma mater St. John’s School and neighboring Lamar High School as settings. Is there anyone out there who’s not aware of that? Good, now that the local connection has been addressed, let’s talk about what’s made Rushmore an endlessly admired…
Vintage Radio Roadshow
Attention Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea! Remember yesteryear, when the iPod wasn’t how most people listened to music and when the radio adventures of The Shadow, Charlie Chan, and Amos ‘n Andy put the exploits of Brangelina and Britney to shame? Yes? Then maybe you…
Rusty Hardin, Super Lawyer
I hope you have perused the Rusty Hardin client chart devised by Richard Connelly. If anything gives you a little idea about the career of Rusty Hardin and the type of law he handles, this chart is a good primer. Note that I said good. But not great. And it’s…
Lame Stunt: Clay Aiken in Spamalot
Cart Driver: Bring out your dead. [a man puts a body on the cart] Large Man: Here’s one. Cart Driver: That’ll be ninepence. Body: I’m not dead. ****************** Body: I’m getting better. Large Man: No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment. Cart Driver: Well, I can’t take…
Cupcake Contest: Sugarbaby’s vs. the Cookie Jar
As you may have gathered from that Sex and the City marathon you caught over Christmas, it has recently become socially acceptable – even trendy – for grownups to eat cupcakes. Although the nationwide trend seems to have died down somewhat (I’m pretty sure having a wedding cake made entirely…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Caroline, or Change, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Sugar Bean Sisters
Caroline, or Change Somewhere in between tonal poetry and contemporary opera lies Tony Kushner’s admirably somber musical Caroline, or Change, a complex, emotionally cool collage of characters and music that slowly comes together to capture the rich nuances of a difficult moment in American history. It’s 1963 — the year…
Simposio
Vitello tonnato — thin slices of chilled veal covered with creamy tuna, anchovy and mayonnaise sauce — may sound bizarre, but it tastes wonderful. And the version at the new Simposio on Westheimer is one of the best I’ve sampled. I mopped up the tuna sauce with some crusty Italian…
Chick Flick, Two Ways
If Diane Keaton were a comer in 2007, she’d likely be stuck in romantic comedies cooked up in movie studio test kitchens. No Godfather for her. No Annie Hall, no Shoot the Moon, no Reds. Filmmakers who now use Katherine Heigl as their go-to girl would be flummoxed by the…
Zoe’s Kitchen
Feta fetish: At Zoe’s Kitchen (3701 S. Shepherd, 713-522-7447), feta lovers can satisfy their yearnings with the grilled feta sandwich ($7.45), served with chips and one side. The recommended side is the marinated slaw. Why? Because it consists of shredded cabbage, scallions and — wait for it — crumbled feta…
The Toasters
For many people, ska died in the late ’90s, around the time it graced the opening credits of the Daisy Fuentes-hosted incarnation of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Fortunately, not everybody got the message. Arguably responsible for popularizing Two-Tone ska in the U.S., third-wave originators The Toasters have been plying their…
Chuck Rosenthal, Nan Goldin and Soulja Boy
Chuck Amok Appoint the AG: Consciously or not, every elected District Attorney must consider the impact of every decision on the next election [“On a Dead Run,” by Chris Vogel, January 3]. Imagine the “soft on crime” distortion in the attack ads that a future opposing candidate would level at…
Secret Saturday Shows at The Shady Tavern
If it seems that Racket, whether penned by Chris Gray or me, has all too often been a depressing read, that’s because lately there has been a mess of bad news to report. Last week’s closure of the Proletariat was just the wilted cherry on top of a rancid sundae…
MGMT, Yeasayer
If LCD Soundsystem is the Sound of Silver, then MGMT strikes solid gold. Essentially the duo of former art students Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, MGMT’s disco-glam combines the Bee Gees’ Saturday Night Fever with David Bowie’s futuristic vision and lyricism, creating stylized indie-rock for a new generation of movers…
Scarface, M.A.D.E.
“I write in tears and pray till it hurts,” Houston rapper emeritus Scarface offers on the excellent “Who Do You Believe In” on the grim, mournful M.A.D.E., an album that’s as much Old Testament as old school. Paranoia is pervasive, vengeance sweet and Face has little love for “faggots” and…
Drunk Mexicans and Specious Etymologies
Dear Mexican, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 60 percent of all automobile-related fatalities for Mexican-Americans are caused by drunk driving, the highest proportion of any ethnic group, and substantially higher than any other Latino group (for Caucasians, the number’s at 40 percent). I apologize that this question…
“Perspectives 159: Superconscious, Automatisms Now”
Superconscious” deftly describes the entertaining show currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s Zilkha Gallery. While the word is generally used to describe a spiritual plane or a realm of altruistic joy, here it accurately captures the feeling of heightened awareness the exhibit exudes. “Perspectives 159: Superconscious, Automatisms…
The Art of Noise
Music writers tend to be pack rats, accumulating all sorts of memorabilia over the years: gig posters, flyers and handbills; promotional trinkets and T-shirts; autographed album covers. Pete Gershon is no different, except next week the editor and publisher of quarterly, Houston-based improvised/experimental music journal Signal to Noise will put…
Persepolis
Persepolis is a small landmark in feature animation. Not because of technical innovation — though it moves fluidly enough, and its drawings have a handcrafted charm forgotten in the era of the cross-promoted-to-saturation CGI-‘toon juggernauts — but because it translates a sensitive, introspective, true-to-life, “adult” comic story into moving pictures…
Six Organs of Admittance
Of all the artists associated with the freak-folk movement, Six Organs of Admittance’s Ben Chasny sounds most like a “normal” folk musician, largely because he’s a much better guitar player than most of his peers; he’s more Jimmy Page than John Fahey, though. Like Led Zeppelin’s acoustic work, Six Organs’…
Unreal Tournament III
Unreal Tournament III is ideal for overcaffeinated teenage boys with PlayStation 3’s, broadband Internet connections, extensive online friend lists, hours and hours of time to blow and — just for good measure — a deep appreciation of the steroid-addled dystopian sci-fi aesthetic. (You know, the one where men are 450…
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters have been many things to many people over their 14-year career. Everyone knows their history: beginning as Dave Grohl’s studio project (1995’s Foo Fighters), becoming modern rock’s last bastion of hope (1997’s The Colour and the Shape) and slowly growing into a profoundly influential, if increasingly workmanlike, power-pop…
Toll Booth Violators, Randy Female Teachers, Fark, Whitney Casey and Rusty Hardin
The Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road (Other potential names: the Fort Bend Street Avenue and the Fort Bend Boulevard Highway), which connects Highway 6 and Beltway 8, has been open a little less than four years. During that time, drivers have had the choice of either paying via an E-Z…
Chuck Prophet
Lately, former Green on Red guitar hero Chuck Prophet has been getting as many props for his producing talents as his own music. That’s both good and bad. Prophet, lately working on a new album with Alejandro Escovedo, produced Kelly Willis’s Translated from Love, a departure for her that made…
Kobain Lounge
You should have to be at least six feet tall and weigh 195 pounds to be allowed to drive a Ford F-150. Having some facial hair wouldn’t hurt either. That’s the basis of a somewhat off-kilter but entertaining argument being waged by Louis Wilcott and Tom Suarez in the dining…
Miles Davis
Hoping to capture the imaginations of young African-Americans who were breaking sweats to James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone, Miles Davis intended 1972’s On the Corner to be his commercial breakthrough. How odd, then, that it turned out to be one of the most rhythmically innovative, atmospherically menacing…
Turtle Island Quartet
San Francisco’s Turtle Island Quartet looks like any other well-scrubbed chamber ensemble, with one crucial difference: Onstage, the group can improvise like seasoned Blue Note veterans. Since forming in 1985, TIQ — violinist/founder David Balakrishnan, violinist Mads Tolling, cellist Mark Summer and violist Jeremy Kittle — have cross-pollinated the classical…
MySpaced Out
Almost from the first chords of the American garage-rock scene, the vodka-fueled Nordic countries have been fertile ground for rocking female bands. Restless girls from the north country — Finland’s Cimmats (1963), the Dandy Girls (Norway, 1964), the Butterflies (Denmark 1965), the Nursery Rhymes (Sweden, 1964) and the Angeliques (Sweden,…
THE REMINGTON BAR’S SEDUCTIVE RED MARTINI
I’m an Obama fan, and, understandably, I’ve been all pumped up after the recent caucuses. I know it’s still too early in the game, but a girl’s gotta have dreams. Feeling on the left side of feisty, I really wanted to pick a fight with a Republican, so I headed…
Marah
Fans of this Philadelphia six-piece will undoubtedly hail Angels of Destruction! as its best album; it’s certainly Marah’s most accessible and expansive record to date. There’s always been an honest theatricality and a colorful, imaginative flair running through Marah’s musical stories, but Angels takes them to a new level entirely…
Future Shock: the iTaser
“Nobody wants to get their ass beat to a sound track” — Dave Chappelle There’s nothing more annoying than, after sending a potentially life-threatening bolt of electricity through someone, realizing you didn’t have your radio tuned to something more appropriate, like the old-school Schoolhouse Rock hit “Electricity” or Curtis Mayfield’s…
The-Dream
You may not know The-Dream’s name, but you’ve heard his work. The former Terius Youngdell Nash, along with production partner Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, penned a number of 2007 smashes, including Rihanna’s monster hit “Umbrella,” Mary J. Blige’s jubilee-filled single “Just Fine” and J. Holiday’s R&B anthem “Bed.” Dream’s own first…
Local Motion
Vinal Edge Records 13171 Veterans Memorial Dr., 281-537-2575 Radiohead, In Rainbows (CD/LP) Helstar, Sins of the Past (CD) Faust/Nurse With Wound, Disconnected (CD) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, American X: Baby 81 Sessions (CD) Einsturzende Neubauten, Alles Wieder Offen (CD) Basalt Fingers, s/t (LP) Om, Pilgrimage (CD/LP) Mount Eerie, “Parts 6…
Frozen
The “Arctic frozen sea” of a pedophile’s mind lies at the chilly center of Bryony Lavery’s smart, mesmerizing Frozen. This is a gritty story full of a dreadfulness that’s impossible to look away from. The play about a child killer and his victim’s raging mother was so affecting when it…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week
Alex Haley’s Queen (Warner Bros.) Amazing Planet Earth (Questar) The Attic (Allumination) Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros.) Breaker Morant (Image) Extras: The Complete Series (HBO) Dora the Explorer: Undercover Dora (Paramount) DragonLance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight (Paramount) Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate) In the Heat of the Night:…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Contemporary Conversations: Robert Ryman, 1976,” “Nan Goldin: Stories Retold,” “Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection,” “Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-Century Rome”
“Contemporary Conversations: Robert Ryman, 1976” It’s difficult to look at a Robert Ryman painting without an initial feeling of being cheated. The artist has limited himself almost entirely to the color white as a way of boiling down the essence of painting to a reduced process, the very act of…
Bayousphere
“Buy a new telephone pole? Does it look like we’re made of money? A little police tape and everything’s good as new.” Two dubious bystanders take bets on how long the Cheapskate Dad method of home repair will last near this Houston intersection recently. To view image larger, click here…
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest, When Harry Met Sally . . .: Collector’s Edition, Oswald’s Ghost, He Was a Quiet Man
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest (Fox) As someone with no use for Seth MacFarlane’s potty-mouthed Simpsons rip, I’ll admit to choking out a few giggles during his Star Wars send-up — though, truth be told, it’s slightly less daring than Spaceballs and, sure, Porn Wars. Stunningly faithful to the 30-year-old…
Back from Iraq with Plenty of Problems
The patient came to Brentwood Hospital in handcuffs, escorted by Nacogdoches police. Paul Miles, 22. Something about making bombs and threatening to kill kids. He tested negative for drugs at Nacogdoches Memorial, and his parents had asked if he could be brought here to Brentwood in Shreveport. During intake, he…