Ike Turner, 1931-2007
So the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Ike Turner has died. To me, every day he’s been walking among us on the planet since, oh, about 1973, seemed like a miracle. That dude, at least to hear Andre Williams tell it, made Keith Richards seem like Neddy Flanders. Here’s…
Mitchell Report on Steroids in Baseball To Be Released Tomorrow
The word on the street is that the Mitchell Report into steroid usage in baseball will be out on Thursday. It’s already being reported that Major League Baseball is reviewing a draft of the report, and that the names of between 60 to 80 current and former major league ballplayers…
Rick Perry Hangs Out with Heathens, Plays with Fire
We were curious why no one seems to have any pictures from Gov. Rick Perry’s Hannukah celebration with a group of Orthodox rabbis Tuesday, but then we remembered something he told the Dallas Morning News last year. Since non-Christians risk spending eternity in the ol’ lake of fire, Perry probably…
Web Extra: The TSU Toronadoes
To accompany this week’s feature on the TSU Toronadoes and the twisted history of “Tighten Up,” we’ve loaded up some audio over at Houstoned Rocks. You can check out a YouTube video of “Tighten Up” below. But be warned: Once that guitar riff gets in your head, it almost has…
Web Extra: The TSU Toronadoes
To accompany this week’s feature on the TSU Toronadoes and the twisted history of “Tighten Up,” we present these clips from the Toronadoes’ album A Flight Too Many. And while we’re at it, here’s a link to several YouTube offerings of “Tighten Up.”…
Charlie Wilson’s War, Now with Less 9/11
Charlie Wilson’s War comes out next week. As often happens in Hollywood, it’s been toned down from its original version. What happens less often is that a Houston socialite’s responsible. The film tells the extraordinary story of how, along with her then-man, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, Houston’s own Joanne Herring…
Don’t Sue, But We Think Stacy Johnson-Klein Is Pretty (Hot)
I have a friend at work, let’s call him Frank, because, well, that’s his name. But I have this friend at work named Frank who’s been sending me this story since last week, in hopes I will write a post about it, primarily because he thinks the woman involved in…
Astros Get Miguel Tejada in Return for Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and Michael Costanzo
Well, as was speculated on last week, Miguel Tejada is now a member of the Houston Astros. To acquire Tejada, the Astros parted with Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and Michael Costanzo. This is an interesting deal in several ways…
Big Money, No Whammies: Scott Boras Strikes Again
I missed this the other day, but apparently Scott Boras was able to get Eric Gagne a one-year, $10-million contract to be the new closer for the Milwaukee Brewers. Amazingly, Boras got Gagne this deal even after Gagne failed in his end-of-year stint with the Boston Red Sox. Arriving in…
Bobby Petrino Heads Back to College
Now he’ll have plenty of chances to hit on hottie English profs File this in the “least surprising sports event of 2007” category: It looks like Atlanta Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino is ready to take his ball and go home. Less than one year after accepting the Atlanta gig,…
$13 at Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill
Where: Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill, 4738 Beechnut, 713-666-4644 (and 8383 Westheimer, 713-532-0666) What $13 gets you: Lots of good-for-you Mediterranean food, including a healthy number of vegetarian choices. During our lunchtime visit I went with the spinach pie ($2.99), three sides (Greek salad, stuffed grape leaves and cucumber salad) ($5.99) and…
A Message from Miss Pop Rocks to All of You Baby Boomers: Suck It
So Tom Brokaw has some new book out about the 1960s called Boom! And a whacked out Dennis Hopper is doing retirement ads for Ameriprise Financial about how baby boomers can’t really retire because they’re the generation with dreams and dreams don’t retire (or whatever). And when the first baby…
Salty Sourcing from the Chron
According to journalism.org, the first principal of journalism is an obligation to the truth. “Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built–context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens encounter an ever…
Master P Makes the KKK Say “Ugh!”
The opposing team stretches before the big game Master P, the former Phi Slama Jama benchwarmer recently in the news when his son Lil Romeo was offered a full basketball scholarship to USC, hit the blogosphere like the proverbial freight train this morning with his new video, “Gutta Time,” which…
This Just In: Proletariat’s Days Are Numbered
Proletariat owner Denise Ramos emailed the Press this morning with a statement that she is closing the popular local venue in February due to Metro’s plans to build a light-rail line on Richmond Avenue, which the local transportation agency has said will be completed by 2012. “I truly feel that…
Better Than Tarzan and Jane: The Grove Restaurant in Discovery Green
Mayor Bill White and Lonnie Schiller It’s downtown Houston and I’m standing in a treehouse, high off the ground right in the middle of the upper levels of huge oak trees. Last night, The Grove restaurant opened its doors and its treehouse (actually the roof deck) at 1611 Lamar for…
Drenched in Blog: “Dear Jet Magazine”
This post should serve as notice to inform you that I will in fact not be subscribing to your magazine this year. It’s not because I don’t enjoy in-depth articles on noted civil-rights leader Andrew Young, or the seasonal hair-care tips that help me keep my ‘do manageable during winter…
Slideshow: Taco Porn
2007 was a big year for taco-truck journalism here at the Houston Press. We covered Houston’s top taco trucks online with the Taco Truck Gourmet series and in print with “Las Fabulosas Taco Trucks.” Press food critic Robb Walsh also wrote a taco truck article, “As the Taco Turns,” that…
We Luv Earl Campbell
John McClain had a good article in yesterday’s Chron (yes, I’m being serious) on the Luv Ya Blue Oilers, who had a reunion at the half of Sunday’s Texans game. Quarterback Dan Pastorini spoke of the thrill of being reunited with teammates he hadn’t seen in years. Coach Bum Phillips…
Undertaker Update for Pimp C and Rory Miggins
As everyone knows by now, the Grim Reaper feasted on the local music scene last week, first claiming Grammy-nominated rapper Pimp C Tuesday, then beloved Local Charm owner Rory Miggins Friday. Funeral arrangements for both have now been set. The Beaumont Enterprise reported today that Pimp C’s funeral will be…
Drenched in Blog Extra: Foxboro Hot Tubs
When Drenched came to after Saturday night’s Houston Press holiday party, we needed something to lift our deflated, dehydrated spirits. You see, open bars and rock writers mix just as well as peanut butter and anti-freeze. This is Foxboro Hot Tubs, one in the long line of Green Day side-projects…
Jamaal Tinsley’s Car Gets Shot Up in Indy
After the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas went all gangsta – with strippers and shootings – Houston’s very own T-Mac expressed concerns about playing the 2008 game in New Orleans because he didn’t feel it would be safe enough. I don’t know about New Orleans, T-Mac, but perhaps you…
Drenched in Blog: The Song Remains Lame
Are you guys serious? At this moment, people are lining up for tonight’s Led Zeppelin reunion at London’s O2 Arena? What’s the big deal? Jesus, you would think Herman’s Hermits are getting back together or something. Look, the band with the guy from the Honeydrippers, one-half of Coverdale/Page and some…
Aeros Win Two on Road from Manitoba Moose
The Aeros, who going into last week were 2-6-1-0 on the road, found themselves starting a long month in which most of their games would be on the road. So how did the Aeros handle the start of their trip? How about with two victories over the Manitoba Moose? The…
Michael Vick Gets 23 Months. Too Bad He Didn’t Kill a Human.
Twenty-three months in prison. That’s the final result for Michael Vick. Twenty-three months in prison. Admittedly, Vick’s actions were despicable. But really, come on. How come killing dogs gets a person more jail time than does an involvement with the death of a human being?…
Over the Weekend: Texas Hip-Hop, Drinking, Billy Joel and Sage Rosenfels
It’s Monday, definitely not to be confused with Funday. This past weekend, on the other hand… Texas Hip-Hop at Fitzgerald’s Shea Serrano headed up to Fitz on Saturday night for Heroes, SuperROOT, H.I.S.D and Lower Life Form. He brought back tales of sloppy hipsters, wacky homeless people and top-notch hip-hop…
Introducing Troggie: The Burninator Riffs on Texans and Rockets
Click here for a slideshow from Sunday’s game. So I have this friend. HUGE Houston sports fan. Loves the Rockets, Texans and Astros more than life itself. Great guy, but more than a little unstable. You know the type: when his teams win, he’s busy knitting personalized championship banners. When…
Last Night: Heroes, SuperROOT, H.I.S.D. and Lower Life Form at Fitzgerald’s
We Got the Jazz: A Special Night of Texas Hip-Hop Beats and Rhymes Fitzgerald’s December 8, 2007 Better than: The end of The Last Dragon when Bruce Leroy realizes he is the master and then whoops Sho Nuff. Download: “BPM” (Heroes), “Quarters” (SuperROOT), “3 Story House” (H.I.S.D.) and “The Business”…
Sailing with Captain Jack
Denial is one of my favorite, as dictionary.com puts it, “unconscious defense mechanisms” – just ask my credit-card company – but it will only take you so far. Nothing suits me more than a big, steaming cup of denial, but I’m also going to be 33 in a few weeks,…
Radio Houstoned: Café Tacuba
for Olivia Flores Alvarez’s interview (en español) with Joselo Rangel of Café Tacuba. Café Tacuba perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 9, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483…
Weekend Music: Get Your Free On
Happy holidays from My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (and Satan). Save your money for a cab ride home from your holiday party, because you won’t need it tonight: Houston’s favorite youthful indie-rockers the Dimes juice a free 7 p.m. show at Sound Exchange with the buzzworthy solo Casio-tones…
RIP, Rory Miggins
Another day, another terrible blow to the Houston music community. We just received word that Rory Miggins, the long-time owner of East End bar Local Charm and grand man about town, has passed away at 50 of melanoma. The Irish (and northern English and Scots too) have a word for…
Drenched in Blog: Pearland Represent!
Earlier this week, the guys from venerable Pearland New Wavers the Judy’s released a series of remastered reissues of their catalog. YouTube is awash in clips from their heyday, including a short documentary film. P.S. I’m pretty sure my Mom made out with one of these dudes back in the…
Reinventing Hanukkah with Jones Soda
Feeling appropriately guilt-ridden from my last attempt at Hanukkah, I looked to the Internet in search of something to get me back in the good graces of my people. I soon found that quirky Seattle-based soda company Jones Soda had come out with a line of Hanukkah flavors (with a…
Anna Benson Is Hot. Oh, and Her Husband Is a Decent Pitcher.
Just a couple of baseball-related matters that I want to bring up to finish out the week. 1. The talk is hot and heavy that the Astros are once again trying to get Miguel Tejada. The main problem appears to be that the Astros are the only team in the…
Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week 14: Turning into T-Rex (the Dinosaur, Not the Tolkien-Loving Glam-Rock Band)
I believe Madden Football is the greatest video game ever made. No, it’s not perfect. Not even close. Even though the game has been around for nearly 20 years, each new version still contains dozens of flaws that leave you scratching your head. (Screen passes, a fundamental part of any…
The Mystery of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Demolition, Solved
According to the Chron, HPD is now certain there was no one inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel during its implosion last month. This is definitely good news, although we’re a little disappointed it didn’t turn out to be a cardboard version of Ted Danson in a tux. — Keith Plocek…
Download: Pimp C, 1973-2007
A quick note: This isn’t by any means a definitive Pimp C playlist. Over on the XXL blogs, Noz is doing an amazing job unearthing all manner of Pimp-related rarities, and you owe it to yourself to dig a little deeper and check it out. 1. Solomon Burke: “Got to…
Stuck with a Fork: Baseball Writers, Awards, Bonuses and Curt Schilling
Have you ever had one of those days? Well, I had one of those nights. I’d just spent several hours working on a post making fun of Jose de Jesus Ortiz for pushing a rule that would prohibit the writers from giving an MVP or Cy Young vote to a…
Back in the High Life: Michael Pollack and the VCR Bikini Hottie
“Htownr” posted this link as a comment at the end of my most recent Sole of Houston post, and it totally deserves a blog of its own. Those of you who were sentient beings with TVs in Houston in the mid ’80s will remember Michael Pollack, the TV pitchman for…
Minor Development: Tim Purpura Scores a New Job
Some people say miracles never happen. Well, I have a miracle for you. Tim Purpura’s got a new job. And not only is that job in baseball, it’s in minor league baseball…
Damage Control: Pimp C Tribute
Matt Sonzala came out of retirement on Wednesday night to help broadcast this Pimp C tribute. The file is huge, so we’d suggest you right-click (or whatever it is you Mac people do) and save the mp3 on your hard drive. (And don’t get distracted by the Tejano music and…
Miss Pop Rocks: Kellie Pickler is Dumb But So Haaaawt, Y’all
Oh my gawd, y’all. Miss Pop Rocks feels so conflicted about watching this recently circulated clip of “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler totally dumbing out on an episode of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” In the clip, Kellie is asked what European country has a capital called Budapest…
Get Lit: The Cult of Reveille
Living in Texas, you can’t avoid “marooned out” folks. There’s always been something a little creepy about them too. After flipping through Jady Regard’s Born to Be an Aggie, it’s finally clear why. The Aggies are a cult! And the kid’s book tells the tale of one boy entering the…
John Royal’s NFL Picks, Week 14: Longest. Season. Ever.
Well, it’s Thursday again. Which means it’s time for the football picks. And yes, I still stink at this. I went 7-9 last week, which was better than the week before. And that puts me at 80-112 on the season. Will this season ever end? Let’s get on with it…
Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week 14: Da Bears
I’m not well. Every morning for the last ten days, I’ve awoken with an overwhelming feeling of nausea. As the day unfolds, that queasy feeling eventually subsides, only to be replaced by a moodiness which transforms me into a pricklier version of Hilary Clinton (hard to fathom, I know). At…
Radio Houstoned: El Mero Cocinero and The Cooking Show
Click the button below for an interview with El Mero Cocinero and Night & Day Editor Olivia Flores Alvarez. Robert Karimi puts together comedy, food, politics and culture to serve up the off-Broadway comedy The Cooking Show. “The show is about a progressive chef that wants to change the world,…
Long Snaps with Bryan Pittman: Dealing with Disappointment
Houston Texans’ long-snapper Bryan Pittman returns for more thoughts on life both on and off the gridiron. JCF: So I’ve gotta ask: How are you feeling now that pretty much any hope for the playoffs is gone? BP: It’s a downer. I mean, the reason you play the game is…
Slideshow: Howl at the Moon
In this week’s Nightfly, Shea Serrano takes you to Howl at the Moon, a former auto shop turned dueling piano bar. We sent photog Bill Olive out last weekend to grab some pics, and from the looks of it, he wandered into a mythical land of bachelorettes. – Keith Plocek…
Show Me the Money: Scott Boras Is My New Agent
First, I think we should all thank Stuart and Margaret for the wonderful job they do with the Houston Press. Let’s hear some applause, people. And isn’t this new version wonderful? The staples. The pages not falling out all over the place. The nice photos. I like it. Now, on…
Stop the Insanity!!!
What insanity? Why, Jose de Jesus Ortiz writing again, that insanity. The Chron has sent Ortiz to Nashville to cover the baseball winter meetings. And he’s been feeding breathless info about possible Astro trades that the magician Ed Wade is close to pulling off, including a possible two-team trade that…
Rockets vs. Grizzlies: Just a Little Patience…
Patience may be a virtue, but it sure as hell isn’t fun. In fact, about the only time patience is palatable is when it comes in Guns N’ Roses form, and even then the pleasure only lasts so long before being replaced by anger at Axl and his antics which…
Upping the Ante: Houston Press Gets Staples, Better Colors
If you’ve seen our latest issue on the racks, you’ve probably noticed some format changes. For one thing: The paper’s staying together better, with no loose parts falling to the floor thanks to the staples holding everything together in the middle. We’ve also switched to newer presses than we had…
Lights in the Heights and 45th Annual Candlelight Tour — The Sights and Sounds of the Holidays
The best Christmas party is probably the one you don’t have to clean up after, so this holiday season head out to Lights in the Heights or the 45th Annual Candlelight Tour — The Sights and Sounds of the Holidays. Both are open house-type festivals where guests can stroll the…
Babel Fishh
You can listen to song after song by Houston hip-hopper Babel Fishh without realizing there’s something missing: rhymes. That’s because even without them, this emcee can flow as smoothly as any other rhymesayer. Babel Fishh’s words are backed by abstract beats sampling everything from loud banging sounds to creepy organs…
2007 Jingle Bell Run & Walk
That dull roar of pounding hooves downtown won’t be coming from eight tiny reindeer, but from the hundreds of human beings participating in the 2007 Jingle Bell Run & Walk. Benefiting the downtown YMCA, the annual Christmas calorie-reducer features a Kids Fun Run, a five-mile run, and a three-mile Single…
Lights in the Heights and 45th Annual Candlelight Tour — The Sights and Sounds of the Holidays
The best Christmas party is probably the one you don’t have to clean up after, so this holiday season head out to Lights in the Heights or the 45th Annual Candlelight Tour — The Sights and Sounds of the Holidays. Both are open house-type festivals where guests can stroll the…
Altar Boyz at Stages
Are you ready for some Jesus jokes? Well, Altar Boyz has got them. There’s also lots of really great hair and cool dance moves. A fictional boy band on the “Raise the Praise” tour, the Altar Boyz hope to save some souls (while putting on a good show, of course)…
Christmas Revels
The dictionary definition of “revel” is “to engage in lively and noisy festivities, especially those which involve drinking and dancing.” Well, except for the drinking part, this definition exactly captures what Christmas Revels achieves — which also is a lot more cultured than the Oxford American Dictionary would lead you…
Julie Zarate: “Twentieth Century Fox”
Don’t be surprised if some of the women in Julie Zarate’s “Twentieth Century Fox” exhibit look a lot like Julie Zarate. That’s what she meant to do. Zarate, who’s been painting since 1999, says, “I think most artists tend to do self-portraits without knowing it. They become familiar with their…
“MY COOKIE”
If the title “MY COOKIE” doesn’t induce some lip smacking, then Sharon Engelstein’s sculptures will. The artist’s clay works look like clumsy, double-layered cakes with colored icings poured over them. Each looks good enough to eat, but actually, they’re cookie jars. If it weren’t for the name of the show,…
The Arts of Korea Gallery
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has pulled off another coup — through an agreement with the National Museum of Korea, the MFAH is showing “Arts of Korea,” an exhibit of rare art and objects spanning 5,000 years. Highlights include a rare gold crown from the Silla Kingdom; ceramics, including…
BBAP Xmas Tree Project
For the holiday season, Buffalo Bayou Art Park will provide an alternative to the sparkly lights and Christmas carols blaring in our public spaces. The seventh annual BBAP Xmas Tree Project features local artists’ re-creations of the ubiquitous Christmas tree. This year’s offerings include a spinning pole that Troy Stanley…
Mike Epps
Since the early ‘90s, Michael Jackson has been God’s gift to comedians (both good and bad ones).While everyone had a joke when Jackson was acquitted on his second child molestation charge in 2005, Mike Epps may have had the best: “I’m glad they didn’t get him, goddamn it. But them…
The Irish Tenors’ Christmas Special
Standing on the musical middle ground between artsy (they practice a classical format) and popsy (they are approachable to Celtic music novices), the Irish Tenors have created a place for themselves on the world music charts, wowing audiences who enjoy a good jig or old emerald folk song. Since their…
Houston Cinema
Ever wonder what it was like to see a movie at the Alabama Theater instead of buying a book there? Cinema Houston, by local author David Welling, has the answer. Welling takes us from Houston’s old vaudeville and nickelodeon houses, to the majestic and plush movie palaces of the 1920s,…
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
Move over Morgan Spurlock, Eric Schlosser and China, Lloyd Kaufman has the best reason to avoid fast food: chicken zombies. Kaufman, who has influenced notables such as Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson and Trey Parker, is the co-creator of Troma Entertainment, a studio dedicated to using B-movie gore and comedy to…
A Tuna Christmas
Tuna is not exactly Christmas fare, unless you’re Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. The pair of cross-dressing, fun-loving knuckleheads, who play every role in the much-loved Tuna series, have brought their crazy antics to Galveston with A Tuna Christmas. This December installment about the ridiculous denizens of Tuna, Texas, the…
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Sing-alongs, while generally anathema to the general adult public, are one of the greatest things ever to happen to little kids. And, yes, there will be sing-alongs during today’s musical retelling of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “‘Twas the Night before Christmas.” The program features the Houston Symphony, accompanied by the…
Memoirs of the Sistahood at DiverseWorks
Try saying this six times fast: Beth, Becky, Babette, Bonnie, Bitsy and Barbara Beaullieu. Now you may have a vague inkling of how complicated it must have been to grow up in these girls’ house in the 1950s. Memoirs of the Sistahood, a collaborative work from two of the sisters,…
Found Magazine’s There Goes the Neighborhood Tour
Found Magazine’s There Goes the Neighborhood Tour is in support of Found #5: The Crime Issue. “We’re not being too exclusive,” says Peter Rothbart. “We’re giving a broad interpretation of crime, for example, crimes of the heart or just general mischief.” Peter Rothbart’s brother Davy Rothbart started Found, a magazine…
A Gulf Coast Christmas at the Orange Show
When evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita began pouring into Houston, the meshing of cultures into a sort of sociological gumbo was inevitable. That gumbo will be celebrated this year at The Orange Show’s A Gulf Coast Christmas. The event features music from the New Orleans-born/now Houston-based Soul Rebels Brass…
Nights on the Bayou: City Soundscapes, DeKam vs. Nalepa
We asked video artist John DeKam to explain his upcoming show, DeKam vs. Nalepa, the last of this year’s Bayou City Soundscapes series. “It’s improvised. It’s kinda abstract, architectural, geometric, textural.” Okay, abstract video, textural music, we got it. “The thing that’s special about this show is the projection and…
Elana James
Between her touring with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and running her own record label, it’s a wonder fiddler/singer Elana James has found the time to swing through Houston. James’s repertoire includes laid-back jazz, including the classic “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)”, perfect for a little cheek-to-cheek…
“Lawndale Has Many Friends”
Brian Piana says his installation “Lawndale Has Many Friends” isn’t the only reason Lawndale Art Center’s MySpace friend count has increased, but it must have helped a little. “When I made the proposal they had 509 friends,” Piana says. “When I started actual production…on May 5, they had 571, and…
The Cooking Show at Talento Bilingüe Houston
Robert Karimi puts together comedy, food, politics and culture to serve up the off-Broadway comedy The Cooking Show. “The show is about a progressive chef that wants to change the world, one recipe at a time,” Karimi says. The chef, a.k.a. Mero Cocinero, “went to the Paolo Freire Culinary Institute;…
The Rape of Europa
As philistines go, Hitler was unprecedented. Not only did he commit crimes against humanity, he plundered museums throughout Europe. The 2006 documentary The Rape of Europa tells the epic story of the 12-year-long, systematic theft and destruction of European art by the Nazis, and how historians and museum officials have…
Invincible Czars’ Unorthodox Rendition of the Nutcracker Suite
There’s nothing like strapping on a Stratocaster and rockin’ out to the sounds of Tchaikovsky, right? (Sit down, Trans-Siberian Orchestra – this is much cooler.) The Invincible Czars’ Unorthodox Rendition of the Nutcracker Suite combines all the beauty of the Tchaikovsky’s original opus and turns it up to 11. The…
Mass Effect
For a game that’s considered Microsoft’s premier 360 title this holiday season, it’s amazing how sloppy Mass Effect is. Graphical glitches distract from otherwise fascinating character designs and alien vistas, constant stops and stutters lengthen load times, and the inventory system must be the worst in history. And just as…
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
Punk died, the Silver Jews sang, the first time a kid shouted, “Punk’s not dead!” The words are never uttered in Julien Temple’s Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and maybe that’s why you come away from this epic doc feeling hopeful about the health of punk’s lingering ideals. Piecing…
Turkeys Talk Back
The Turks Ruffled feathers: You seem to know us very well, but you have us at a disadvantage as we don’t know you at all [“Turkeys of the Year,” by Rich Connelly, November 22]. I guess you are so familiar with our silly work because you invested three minutes listening…
Karina Nistal and Rebel Crew Rap for the Troops
On the picture-perfect fall afternoon of Thursday, October 11, Karina Nistal has a busy 24 hours ahead of her. The Houston rapper and singer, Best Local Rap/Hip-Hop winner at this year’s Houston Press Music Awards on the strength of 2006 LP Nistyle, and her band Rebel Crew are about to…
Mexican White Cheese, American Yellow Cheese and Brown Lawyers
Dear Mexican, I was born in beautiful El Paso, and my parents are from Juaritos. I always wondered why Mexican restaurants en los Estados Unidos use queso amarillo — which I associate with los Estados Unidos — on their food instead of queso asadero or queso Oaxaca, which taste so…
Café Tacuba
Sometimes referred to as the Mexican Radiohead, the seasoned veterans of Mexico City’s Café Tacuba have stuck together for nearly two decades thanks to an uncompromising vision that’s consistently incorporating new influences, from hip-hop to New Wave to Mexican folk. Onstage, vocalist Rubén Albarrán comes out with his trademark oversize…
The Stag’s Head Pub’s Coffee Shooter
Desperately needing to escape the Thanksgiving culinary mayhem at my crib, I enlisted brother-in-law Bruce and nephew Matthew to join me for a cocktail. Neil Young blaring, the mayhem continued as we shouted suggestions, made wrong turns and finally ended up at The Stag’s Head Pub (2128 Portsmouth, 712-533-1199). We…
Peter Case, Jon Dee Graham
Peter Case has come a long way since he and his band The Plimsouls rocked the club for Nicolas Cage and his crowd in 1983’s Valley Girl, a clip that is, naturally, now available on YouTube. Actually, by the time fame arrived, Case had already shown the rock world the…
Crushing on Avril Lavigne
I’ll just come out and say it: I have a full-on girl crush on Avril Lavigne. There. Now it’s in the open. I own all the DVD-enhanced versions of her CDs. I know all the lyrics. I have karaoked to “Losing Grip.” In public. Also in public, I have hoped…
Team Sleep
As its name implies, Chino Moreno’s Team Sleep is essentially the Deftones on downers, expanding the more atmospheric moments of songs like “Passenger” and “Knife Party” into lucid, dreamlike trances. The outfit evolved in late 2003, following the release of the Deftones’ White Pony, one of the finer albums in…
Toxic Town: Cancer and Birth Defects in Somerville
Dennis Davis thought maybe his family was cursed. In early 1998, his uncle Don developed an aggressive skin cancer that devoured his face. Several months later, his brother Dale died suddenly at age 46 from stomach cancer. A few weeks after that, his granddaughter Makayla was born with severe birth…
The Knitters, Dead Rock West
While some musicians’ side projects are one-off wanderings, others just take a little time to come around again. That would be the case with the Knitters, the country/Americana offshoot group with John Doe, Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake, all of punk legends X, and ex-Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin. The band’s…
Brasserie Max & Julie
A slice of France: Can a simple slice of a pâté maison ($6.95) instantly transport you to your favorite spot in France? The answer is yes, especially if you eat it in the right ambience. At Brasserie Max & Julie (4315 Montrose, 713-524-0070), which really feels like a French brasserie, the…
Ode Hazelwood
Ode Hazelwood is out to create a new American Music. Well, that’s not entirely true — Ode Hazelwood is out to re-create old American Music for the modern listener. Not content to follow in the same well-worn wagon ruts as the rest of the Americana flock, the Nashville duo of…
Victoria Osteen, Continental Airlines and Unmanned Drones
The Trial of the Century, set to begin next week, has been delayed until early next year. We speak, of course, of the epic courtroom tilt between a Continental Airlines flight attendant and Victoria Osteen, wife of big-bucks, big-smile, God-loves-money preacher Joel Osteen. Is there any other lawsuit out there…
“Lessons from Below: Otabenga Jones & Associates”
It feels like a classroom when you walk into “Lessons from Below,” Otabenga Jones & Associates’ installation at the Menil Collection. Chairs surround rows of rectangular tables. De rigueur fake plants flank a lectern at the front of the room. A quote from W.E.B. DuBois, “THE NEGRO IS PRIMARILY AN…
Lamb of God
With last year’s Sacrament, Lamb of God continued its decade-long evolution into a more nuanced metal monster. Having ditched the shock-value moniker Burn the Priest in 2000, the Virginia-based band has found subtler ways to incorporate religious iconography, such as the communion wafers scattered on Sacrament’s cover. After several albums…
Howl at the Moon
Dean Laber is playing his guitar with his crotch. Yes, that crotch. “I’ve never seen a guy play a guitar with his cock before,” says Richard Weeks, an IT consultant and venerable Howl at the Moon (612 Hadley) mainstay. Laber, Howl at the Moon’s entertainment director/tongue-in-cheek rock star, has mounted…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Devendra Banhart: Some Drawings,” “Kirsten Hassenfeld: Dans la Lune,” “Perspectives 158: Kelly Nipper,” “Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-Century Rome,” “Ryan Geiger: Secret Garden”
“Devendra Banhart: Some Drawings” Better known as a leading figure in independent music, Devendra Banhart is as much of an enigmatic storyteller on paper as he is in song. Ancient in language but contemporary in execution, “Some Drawings” reveals a surprising loneliness in its methodical intensity and repetitive themes. In…
Sayonara , Matt Sonzala
Matt Sonzala, HoustonSoReal blogger, sometime Press contributor, longtime cohost of KPFT’s Damage Control and one of the local rap scene’s biggest promoters both here and abroad, is no longer a Houstonian — if he can ever get his house sold. “We actually had a contract fall through, which kind of…
Local Motion
Sound Exchange 1846 Richmond 713-666-5555 1. Six Organs of Admittance, Shelter From The Ash 2. Insect Warfare, World Extermination 3. Faust, s/t (reissue) 4. Bobb Trimble, Harvest Of Dreams 5. Ptolemaic Terrascope, issue No. 36 6. Velvet Underground, Velvet Underground & Nico 7. Striborg/Scurshahor, split 7″ 8. Linus Pauling Quartet,…
The Conduct of Life
The Conduct of Life isn’t easy to like. More polemic than play, its brutal depiction of man’s inhumanity shocks rather than illuminates. Playwright María Irene Fornés, a leading figure in American fringe theater since the ’60s, eschews traditional dramatic form for a highly poetic avant-garde style. Symbolism runs amok, dramatic…
The Girl Next Door, Ford at Fox, Saturday Night Live: The Complete Second Season, The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season
The Girl Next Door (Anchor Bay) If the horror of Saw were a poblano pepper, this here is the habanero. Derived sometimes word-for-word from Jack Ketchum’s infamous novel — itself based on a true story — Girl Next Door is a sort of Hostel meets Stand By Me: A group…
Amy Winehouse, Frank
Are you starting to wonder if Amy Winehouse’s days are numbered too? It appears the British chanteuse’s life is spiraling out of control even before she’s gotten a chance to become the international pop star so many of us hoped she would be — or, at least, we hoped she…
Toxic Town: Sick and Dying in Somerville
In a town of just 1,700 people, Somerville has seen more than its share of babies with birth defects and adults with cancers both disfiguring and deadly. Clearly, the problems are not restricted to any one age, ethnicity or gender. Here are just some of their faces; those edged in…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Universal) The Best of Crank Yankers (Paramount) Bob Hope: MGM Movie Legends Collection (MGM) Erik the Viking: The Director’s Cut (MGM) Exiled (Magnolia) The Flash Gordon Collection (Passport) Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume One (Lionsgate) Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks (Criterion) Lady Chatterley (Kino) Law & Order:…
The Golden Compass
Casting Nicole Kidman as The Golden Compass’s glacial, intractably smooth megalomaniac Mrs. Coulter is no less inspired for being obvious. Indeed, she was the first and only choice for director Chris Weitz, who adapted this first installment of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Despite the book’s description of the…
Bayousphere
You get all dressed up, get taken downtown and then learn that this thing called The Nutcracker does not include ANY SpongeBob SquarePants. What can you do except fall to the floor in an apparently futile gesture? It’s not a grand jeté; maybe it’s a grand ennui. To view image…
Balkan Grill & Market
Balkanska plata mala, the “Balkan mixed plate” for two at the Balkan Grill, was a heaping platter of grilled chicken, burger patties, kebabs, sausages and French fries served with cut-up pieces of the thick pita-like Bosnian bread called somun in a basket on the side. I was disappointed that the mixed…
5 Wines That Will Blow Your Mind
Christopher’s in the River Oaks Shopping Center is the place to shop for rare labels from Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and the West Coast. We asked owner Christopher Massie for a little insight into what’s hot and what’s not in wine land and to recommend “5 Wines That Will Blow…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Mr. Pim Passes By, Over the River and Through the Woods, Sister’s Christmas Catechism, The Twelve Ways of Christmas
Mr. Pim Passes By Winnie the Pooh’s dapper creator A. A. Milne wrote for grown-ups, too. His 1919 featherweight farce Mr. Pim Passes By is now skipping lightly over the boards at Main Street Theater. Love, marriage and the rules we live by all get a moment of amusing contemplation…
Toxic Town: Birth Defects
Paula Baade was two months pregnant when doctors learned during a prenatal ultrasound that her baby would be severely deformed and advised her to abort the fetus. On June 4, 1986, Jessica Baade was born at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital with her liver, spleen and large and small intestines all…
Toxic Town: Suffer the Children
“I find myself in a very uncomfortable position,” says baby-faced 38-year-old Somerville Independent School District Superintendent Charles Camarillo, clutching his elbows one recent morning while seated at a conference table inside his office. When the San Antonio native accepted his first-ever job as a district superintendent two years ago, he…
Atonement
Rereading Ian McEwan’s Atonement last weekend, my first thought was: I hope to God that Joe Wright — whose broadly grinning Pride & Prejudice made a mess of Jane Austen two years ago — doesn’t screw up this wonderful novel about lust, love, loss and what art can do to…