Ugly Casanova
When asked in an interview a couple of years ago whether he was the fabled Ugly Casanova, Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock immediately went all prickly. “Aw, man,” he groaned. “You’ve got to let some things stay a mystery.” Then he set the screen of his hotel window on…
Med Check
Sitting at a table in his bright, sunny new apartment, John Termine invites a visitor to check out his pills. He does this as casually as if he were asking if anyone wanted a beer. They’re in the kitchen, he says. In the breadbox. Inside the white plastic box, there…
Chris Isaak, Natalie Merchant
Chris Isaak and Natalie Merchant are, for all intents and purposes, king and queen of the postpunk prom. After all, both seem to have shucked off any native spark of fuck-you energy, each of them eagerly trotting off to more easily digested pastures. When Merchant used her shimmering voice as…
Getting Ugly
Although funding for resistance testing is up for debate, almost all doctors who work with indigent patients can agree on one thing: Texas’s program that pays for the HIV drugs of uninsured people is in a financial crisis. ADAP, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, is a federal program funded primarily…
The Doobie Brothers; Michael McDonald with the Houston Symphony
For years, fans of the boogie-based California band (often in a haze of its namesake) have debated the group’s eternal question: Which was better — the Tom Johnston/ Patrick Simmons-fronted biker band era (“Listen to the Music,” “Black Water,” “China Grove”) or the blue-eyed soul of the Simmons/Michael McDonald years…
Innocence Lost
The Innocence Network at the University of Houston law school may be the last hope for wrongfully convicted defendants, but it’s not winning a lot of love from the district attorney. David Dow, the project’s director, says Chuck Rosenthal’s office makes it clear to law students that if they want…
Barry Manilow
You know it’s true. You love Barry. I love Barry. Everybody loves Barry. Sure, hipsters roll their eyes at the dramatics of “I Made It Through the Rain,” the bouncy bop of “Daybreak” and that tragic Brazilian love triangle of Lola, Rico and Tony in “Copacabana.” But legions will be…
Banner Banter
The bright orange protest poster outside a Bellaire home continues to bring a banner year for the legal business. On a recent Friday afternoon, Mary and Keith Cohn received a not-so-neighborly letter from next door. They were threatened with a lawsuit if they didn’t immediately remove the sign that hangs…
Yolanda Adams
Don’t ever say this gal has gotten too high and mighty to come back to her hometown and perform for her local brethren. Sure, you could say that, but it would be the devil talking. The truth is — even as she’s become the first lady of gospel (excuse me,…
Getting Lonely at the Top
The administration of Mayor Lee P. Brown has never been renowned for its smooth operations or operators, but the ride is really getting bumpy as the clock runs down on the mayor’s third and final term. Nothing indicates that so much as its recent foibles in the realm of high…
Celebrate the Funk
Damn, whoever came up with the lineup of old-school R&B performers for this musically malodorous show must be seriously in need of some good funk. Just take a look at the bill: the S.O.S. Band, Heatwave, Rose Royce, the Dazz Band and the Bar-Kays. This isn’t just a funk show,…
A Model Journalist
Potential Houston-area home buyers likely peruse the Houston Chronicle’s Sunday Homes section; for the rest of us, the advertiser-written supplement is just another of the many parts of the Sunday paper that hit the discard pile without a glance. Those who paid close attention, though, might have noticed something unusual…
Bet on Black
Like a jawbreaker that changes color every few seconds that you suck it, MIIB: Men in Black II delivers a quick buzz, lots of stuff to look at, and a totally non-nutritious joy that can only be attained with the aid of artificial flavorings and Yellow No. 5. In a…
The Tao of Tea
I arrive on time at the designated location, the corner of Yale and Washington. It’s 9:30 on a Thursday night, and a line of hiply dressed twentysomethings has already formed outside The Social. They’re ready to start their night of drinking. But I’m headed toward the quiet little gallery behind…
Kicking Lasses
In her recent book, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, journalist Rachel Simmons hits a very topical nail squarely on its very sore head. Coining the term “relational aggression,” she employs several case studies to buttress the obvious but significant theory that modern girls are extremely…
Raking the Coals
The problem with doing a sidebar on a book by one of your colleagues is that there are certain questions you can’t ask for the sake of office civility. While sitting down with Houston Press food writer Robb Walsh, for example, I wisely steered clear of questions about his criminal…
Rock Me, Again
Ah, jealousy. Scourge of the spirit and seed of countless wicked plots, the green-eyed beast guarantees gripping drama. Celebrated British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer (Equus) seems to have grasped this concept in reorchestrating the intertwined lives of 18th-century composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Adapting his hit London and…
Focacciaboutit
The focaccia sandwiches at Dolce & Freddo (5515 Kirby, 713-521-3260; 7595 San Felipe, 713-789-0219) are unexpected because they are neither sweet nor cold. They are, however, stunning. Focaccia is an Italian yeast bread similar to pizza dough. The vegetarian focaccia sandwich ($5.75) uses a six-inch split focaccia square, each side…
Ice Ice Maybe
They stream in and out, all day and all night, one after the other: band members, producers, business associates, friends, family, strangers, hangers-on who stare at the familiar face made infamous long ago. The tour bus, this parked sanctuary where he can roll his joints and drink his bottled Starbucks…
Bauble Boys
Summers in Dallas are always hot. But to Todd Lewis, the summer of 2001 was downright hellish. He had reluctantly broken up his band, cult faves the Toadies, after a dozen years of lineup woes, record company stifling and personal difficulties (see “Farewell, Fair Toadies,” by Zac Crain and Robert…
Life Lines
Even for those of us who enjoy looking at art, painting and drawing can seem like strange activities. Covering a blank surface with marks and colors, lines and blotches, whether attempting to represent objects in the world or shapes from one’s imagination, is an odd way to spend time. Yet…
Mystic Pizza
The future of music is invariably difficult to see. Mere replication doesn’t do the trick; nothing works as well the second time around. But at the same time, the “experts” — the managers, the booking agents, the promoters and the label folks — put forth enormous effort trying to mold…
Building a Case
Building a Case Warning shot: Your story about the Cohns’ battle with Casa Builders [“Buyers’ Remorse,” by Wendy Grossman, June 20] is a classic example of a company that cares more about profits than about giving customers their money’s worth. In my opinion, such shoddy construction is a major reason…
Damming the Streams
It’s the end of Internet radio as we know it. Librarian of Congress James Billington, the man charged with administering copyright laws for music, decided on June 20 that webcasters must pay seven cents per song/listener to performers and record companies for broadcasting songs online. It doesn’t sound like much;…
Gooooaaaal!
I’m staring at my plate in anticipation. There’s a short tower of rice, a stack of shredded collard greens, a mound of toasted crumbs, and all the piles are separated by deep-fried bananas. It’s a lot of food, yet the big white dish looks naked. Finally, the waiter reappears with…
Get on the Bus!
Okay, by now you know the drill: Downtown’s a nightmare. Blah, blah, blah. Nowhere to park. Yada, yada, yada. Construction everywhere. Blah, blah, blah. Big fake titties. Whatever. But let’s talk about one of the more positive developments in downtown nightlife. A new organization is making sure that its customers…
Near-Perfect
It’s Saturday evening at the elegant Lancaster Hotel (701 Texas Ave., 713-228-9500), and the dining room is all set for the theater crowd. With diamonds of sunlight filtering through the venetian blinds and each table a still-life of flowers and silverware, the setting is positively magnificent. “The stars love it…
Eminem
Like a man who makes a stinky-drunk, raving fool out of himself at a party and returns the next day to make amends, Eminem comes back with his head held high after dislodging it from his ass. With the release of The Eminem Show, the John Wayne Gacy of MCs,…
Strangelight
About a year ago, this prog Brit rock band arrived in the States seemingly fully formed. They already had a little Lite-Brite-looking sign they took with them to gigs, which they would set on a table near the sign-up sheet for their mailing list and a bowl of complimentary Strangelight…