A Girl and Her Garbage
Two years back, when Shirley Manson found herself being nudged toward a Madison, Wisconsin recording studio to “try out” for some unnamed mystery project, she decided, why not? The Scottish singer had heard that a guy named Butch Vig really wanted to give a listen to what she could do…
Graphic Ideas
In 1942, Peggy Guggenheim opened a Manhattan gallery to exhibit the new “isms” that Americans were increasingly curious about: surrealism, cubism, futurism and so on. The gallery, called Art of This Century, was a popular spectacle, if not exactly a commercial success. Its unusual design — sculptures were displayed on…
Life in Motion
The choreography performed by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company was stirring up debate long before dance critic Arlene Croce denounced the troupe’s most recent work. “I have not seen Bill T. Jones’ Still/Here and have no plans to review it,” Croce stated in the opening salvo of a…
City Hall Confusion
City Hall is a frustrating near-miss movie. On the plus side, it’s got John Cusack in a lead role, sharp and intriguing character interplay and exciting depictions of political life. On the minus side, the story doesn’t have the strength and conviction a political drama needs. And as the plot…
Ready for Takeoff
At a time when it seems as though half the new young filmmakers want to be Quentin Tarantino, while the other half want to be Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson’s debut feature, Bottle Rocket, comes as a refreshing surprise. In tone, style and content, this quirky little movie recalls the low-key…
Wasted Days, Wasted Lives (Part I)
In the lobby of Sugar Hill Studios are two sets of display cases that until recently held various testimonials to Huey P. Meaux’s improbable success in the music industry. Prominently exhibited was the platinum record commemorating the million sales of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” the Meaux-produced smash that revived…
The Insider
The Billy Burge Fan Club Meets Here As Bob Lanier’s handpicked Metro board chairman, office tower broker Billy Burge is Hizzoner’s chief engineer in charge of reprogramming transit dollars from buses and trains to city road projects. The process is vital to Lanier’s funding of beefed-up law enforcement and the…
Letters
Lurking at Grade Thanks for the exposure of our neighborhood’s fight with the Texas Department of Transportation [“Make It Ugly, By All Means,” by Michael Berryhill, February 1]. I can tell from your story that you lurked in our “dark, sinister spaces” — a perfect description of Graustark under Highway…
Press Picks
thursday february 22 Camp de Thiaroye Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, who has been called the grand old man of African cinema, will attend a screening and discussion of his film Camp de Thiaroye. Sembene began his career in the arts as a writer; living in France during the ’50s, he…
Soup to Fish
Hearty and Not So Hot: Our recent snap of cold weather reinstated visions in my head of Cafe Express’ Hearty New Potato Soup which, last time I tried it, was entirely too hearty: I was only able to polish off about half of what I was served. But not long…
Stolen Moments
There must be a hundred different ways to write a song. Bukka White and his followers just sat there, willing conduits for the “sky songs” they claimed arrived fully formed out of the clear blue yonder. Peter Gabriel, on the other hand, has a craftsman’s knack for turning his current…
Static
Fifth Ward truce… It looks like the core members of the Geto Boys, Houston’s seminal gangsta rap act, have reconciled — long enough, at least, to see through the completion of a reunion release. Scarface, Bushwick Bill and Willie D are as famous around town for their often explosive infighting…
Rotation
Jolene Hell’s Half Acre Ardent Jolene, the self-titled debut EP from this North Carolina quintet, was one of 1995’s more pleasant surprises. Its potent lyrical turns, uncanny sense of dynamics and irrepressible whole-grain melodies hinted at even better things to come. Well, a full-length CD is now here, and while…
Wasted Days, Wasted Lives (Part II)
After his release from prison in 1969, Meaux seemed to be a changed man. According to associates at the time, it wasn’t a change for the better. “Huey came out of prison with a lot of new friends,” recalls promoter Steve Gladson. “It was very intimidating for a lot of…
Factory Approved
Following my first visit to the new Cheesecake Factory, I came away musing that here was a case where hype outweighed performance. I’d heard all the buzz about the loyal patrons of this California-based chain who were willing to wait epic lengths of time for a table at their city’s…
Scenes from a Marriage
It was about five hours into his father’s trial when the question of what a sobbing Jeffrey Moon had told Missouri City police dispatcher Kelly Fantach was raised again. This time, it wasn’t the substance of what the seven-year-old boy had said that was before the court. Rusty Hardin, the…
Folk Rocks
Greg Trooper’s infrequent but welcome visits to Houston have a tendency to transform the normally sedate environs of McGonigel’s Mucky Duck into a rowdy, crowded dance hall. But even on the unusual occasion when the Duck truly rocks, it’s still a club for songwriters — and that’s a fraternity in…