Q&A with Daryl Morey: Sounding Off on Rockets Hot Start
Houston Press: So I know it’s early, but you’ve got to be thrilled with the developments of this past week: five games — four against playoff teams (including the world champs) — and you guys emerge from that pressure cooker with a 4-1 record. Not a bad way to begin…
Save the Dome, Dynamite Reliant
I can’t help noticing that Bob McNair has weighed in on the whole Astrodome survival question, and he’s not exactly in favor: “We’d like to see something happen that doesn’t undermine our operation,” McNair told the Chron. “We were asked to look at it (redevelopment plan that includes a hotel),…
One Small Step for Billboard, One Giant Debut for the Eagles
Eagles: Not taking it easy on Britney. Not that it hasn’t been doing so since enough people began buying and selling music for the trade to merit the term “industry,” but lately it’s become clearer than ever that the music industry is just making up the rules as it lurches…
Cover Story: Did CPS Reform Create Even More Problems?
Rafael Sierra and his girlfriend Maria Martinez knew about hard times. They had met in Seguin after fleeing Houston and Hurricane Rita. When they returned to the city, there were nights they slept in Rafael’s car when they couldn’t find a friend or relative to crash with. Nearly two years…
Rockets-Spurs from Press Row: Now with 75 Percent Less Jumping to Conclusions!
“The great thing about this league is the gross generalizations made after a big win or a big loss.” – Shane Battier, immediately following the Rockets 89-81 win over San Antonio Battier’s quote pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? Just one night after sports writers and fans (you know…
Miss Pop Rocks: Lloyd Dobler, How Could You?
Let me say right up front that on a conscious level Miss Pop Rocks fully understands that John Cusack is not, in fact, Lloyd Dobler, star of the great 80s film Say Anything. Miss Pop Rocks knows that Lloyd Dobler is a fictional character, and that there is really probably…
Wax On: Maker’s Mark Owner Stops by Spec’s for a Dip
Like Maker’s Mark? Think that red wax on top of the bottles is cool? You can double your pleasure tomorrow at the downtown Spec’s, where from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Maker’s Mark owner Bill Samuels, Jr. will be signing and dipping bottles. Fun facts: The name Maker’s Mark refers…
Does Baseball Need the Instant Replay?
The World Series might have ended, and the season may be over, but that does not mean baseball is out of the news. The MLB general managers voted yesterday to recommend the use of instant replay. The vote was 25-5. One of the five no votes was Mr. Ed Wade…
Three Revolutionaries: Prince, Radiohead and Stryper
Man, the apocalypse is upon us. First there’s Prince giving his CD away with a concert ticket in England. Then there’s Radiohead going to the honor system for their new record. And now, there’s this, from Stryper frontman Michael Sweet: “I recently joined forces with a company that will soon…
You’ve Got a Friend in Drenched
My editors, Keith and Chris, said that if I don’t dramatically increase my friend count on the Drenched In Blog MySpace profile that certain actions will be taken. Like I can’t use words like “bitchin” or “badass” in my daily blogs here. Also, I may only be restricted to one…
The Return of the Arena Theater
Within a week of Cactus, another Houston music institution returns from the grave. This Friday, Tejano group Intocable will be the first act to grace the new stage at the Arena Theater. El Tri – “the Rolling Stones of Mexico” – and norteño behemoths Los Tigres del Norte are also…
Get Lit: Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips, by National Geographic
Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips, by National Geographic, is a husky 400-page to-do list that includes 400-color photographs and sells for $40. The first word that comes to mind when opening the spine of this baby is stately. All Geographic books are that. For the…
Astros Raise Ticket Prices. Again.
Yesterday, I congratulated Drayton on raising ticket prices for games with the Red Sox and Yankees. I should have read more. It seems that good old Drayton is raising all of the ticket prices. Again. Oh, don’t worry. It’s just a slight raise. Only about two dollars – except for…
Art Briles for Aggie Coach
So it’s now all but official – Dennis Franchione is said to be negotiating the terms of his buy-out up in Aggieland. Talk has turned to possible successors – the list of those rumored to be under consideration includes Cal’s Jeff Tedford, Butch Davis of North Carolina and West Virginia’s…
The College Football Review, Week Ten: Rice Is Officially Better than Notre Dame
It was a so-so weekend in college football. Ohio State struggled but eventually defeated Wisconsin to remain undefeated and No. 1 in the AP and BCS rankings with just two games left this season. Boston College was upset by Florida State, and probably fell out of contention for the national…
Day of the Dead at the Graves of Southeast Texas Music Legends
As some of you may remember, I wrote about visiting the graves of southeast Texas music legends on Day of the Dead. Last Friday, Press music listings editor Brett Koshkin and I did just that. Or tried to, at least. The plan was to head up to Navasota’s Oakland /…
A-Rod Would Be Good for the Astros. Not as Good as Starting Over, But Good.
I haven’t written much on the baseball beat lately. That’s primarily because I needed a break from the Astros, and I thought all of you probably needed a break from the Astros. But things have been happening, so… First, nice work Drayton. When your team’s coming off a dreadful season…
First Rodeo Performers Announced: Houston Just Can’t Get Enough Hannah
How many times did you see this costume this Halloween? Everyone fretting because you couldn’t get tickets to Sunday’s big Hannah Montana screamfest at Toyota Center, or hesitating to lay out $300 or more to someone on Craigslist, chill. RodeoHouston announced today that Hannah and her real-life alter ego, Miley…
Drenched In Blog: Seeking Help! from the Beatles
You wanna know what I’m doing tomorrow night? Other than attending my various narcotics and mopery* support group meetings? Watching the new release of the Beatles Help! on DVD. Yeah, Apple, Inc. (not the iPhone people, mind you) is releasing this new deluxe edition of J-Len and the boys’ 1965…
The Carnicería Connoisseur: Tierra Caliente Meat Market & Taqueria
Barbacoa tacos and al pastor quesadillas at Tierra Caliente on North Shepherd. The barbacoa at Tierra Caliente Meat Market & Taqueria was excellent the last time I dropped by for a couple of tacos. They were quite a deal at $1.29 apiece. I also got some tangy marinated pork and…
Aeros Take Two from Lake Erie Monsters
Aeros coach Kevin Constantine has stressed many times this season what the Aeros need to do win. The team needs good play from the goaltenders. The team needs to avoid stupid penalties. The team needs to keep a positive attitude. The team needs to execute. The expansion Lake Erie Monsters…
(Texans vs. Raiders) + (Pats vs. Colts) = Pass the Prozac Please
A confession: Sunday afternoon, I made my way to a downtown sports bar fully intending to equally divide my attention between the Texans-Raiders and Pats-Colts games. For about two-and-a-half minutes, that plan worked. And then the New England-Indy game began. I’m sorry, there’s just no way I could properly pay…
Ashley Olsen and Lance Armstong XOXOXO?…Puuuuuke
Is Lance Armstrong doin’ Michelle Tanner? Ohmigawd. According to People, the answer is yes, and I just don’t think I can handle that! I know Lance is, like, a cancer hero and everything, and he won that French bike thing a whole billion times. But please. He is 36. Ashley…
Ring in the Holidays at Charles Brown Blues Fest
Earlier this week, a radio station in Kansas City caused all kinds of red flags to go up by switching to all Christmas music before it was even Halloween. Now two stations in Chicago have followed suit, and if Sunny 99.1 waits all the way until Thanksgiving to make the…
Donny the Downloader: ASCAP Is Down with the Kids
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, ASCAP for short, has apparently decided the best way to get those darn teens to, you know, pay for their music is by creating a complete douche-bag cartoon character named “Donny the Downloader.” “Donny is a 14-year-old who’s tech-savvy, but unaware of…
Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week Nine: Tony Romo and Britney Spears? Lance Armstrong and Ashley Olsen? Vince Young and David Carr? What’s the Deal with All These Mismatches?
What a bizarre year so far in the football world. It’s almost as if the college and pro ranks decided to switch personalities for one season. On one hand, you have the NCAA, which has taken a page from the NFL’s playbook by bathing itself with the lukewarm waters of…
Last Night: Spoon and New Pornographers at Warehouse Live
The New Pornographers Spoon, New Pornographers Warehouse Live November 1, 2007 Better Than: Listening to either band’s new album at home, lamenting the fact that I didn’t have my shit together enough to actually get into the show. Download: Emma Pollock’s driving piano vamp “Adrenaline” and New Pornographers’ slow-burning “My…
John Royal’s NFL Picks, Week Nine: Getting Rid of the Hired Help, Going with the Raiders
Okay, so I had another bad week. That’s what I get for trying to get a monkey’s help. But I’m not giving up. I’m going to get to the .500 mark at some point this football season. I was 6-7 last week, and I’m 47-69 for the season. 1. The…
Drenched In Blog: Amy Winehouse Presents WTF Friday
Dis izza Friday blehhh vidyo……pahzzzzz….(blurgh)…..gaph!!…
Fun with Google Trends
Okay, so it’s Friday, and we’re feeling a bit brain-dead and slap-happy. But we’ve found the perfect way to entertain – and inform – ourselves on this beautiful afternoon. Google Trends! You enter a term, and this amazing tool will list the top ten cities that have searched for it…
The College Football Preview, Week Ten: Reality TV Bites
Well, can you believe it? The writers are about to go on strike. No, not those of us at the Press. Those who write your TV shows and your movies. Do you know what that means? More reality TV. As if this TV season couldn’t get any worse. What does…
The Astrodome Speaks…
When we heard the latest plan to redevelop the Astrodome fell through, we decided to go straight to the source and talk to the Dome himself. (We’re old friends.) The Dome shared his thoughts on the Texans, the Oilers, the Rodeo and, of course, his domeys (that’s a dome homey,…
The Houston Aeros Face Off Against the Lake Erie Monsters
The 2-5-1-0 Houston Aeros will be taking on the expansion Lake Erie Monsters twice this weekend. The first game will be tonight, at the Toyota Center, with game time set for 7:35. The second game is set for Sunday afternoon at the Toyota Center for a 4:05 game time. The…
Long Snaps with Bryan Pittman: Saving a Sinking Ship and Stealing Candy
www.houstontexans.com Houston Texans’ long-snapper Bryan Pittman returns for more thoughts on life both on and off the gridiron. This week, while going one-on-one with Ballz columnist Jason Friedman, Pittman discusses the reeling Texans and his favorite Halloweens of yesteryear. JCF: So I guess I’ll start out the interview the same…
Miss Pop Rocks: Surprise, Surprise, The Hills Is as Fake as Heidi’s Breasts
Does anyone have any idea how I could make myself stop watching MTV’s twentysomething reality show, The Hills? Watching it only makes me feel older, fatter, and poorer than I probably have a right to feel, and now we come to discover it’s fake. So now I feel stupider, too…
The Dome Is Dead. Long Live the Dome.
The Houston Texans and the Houston Rodeo appear to have finally killed the Astrodome. Citing fears of lost revenue, and because the county granted them the right of veto over use of the Dome property, the organizations killed the latest redevelopment plan for the former Eighth Wonder of the World…
$13 at Kim Son on Jefferson
Where: Kim Son Restaurant, 2001 Jefferson, 713-222-2461 (and 12750 Southwest Freeway, Stafford, 281-242-3500) What $13 gets you: Well, that depends…are you sharing or eating alone? For sharing, try the beef rolls appetizer ($5.95). Plus two iced teas, that brings you right to $10, so you have something left for tax…
Get Lit: 501 Movie Stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow
It may be shameful, but I use a portion of my brain to store such information as: Gwyneth Paltrow dated Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck, is now married to Chris Martin, and has two children named Apple and Moses. She is a vegan living in London (or, as 501 Movie…
Rick Perry Talks Cancer at the Texas Life Science Conference
Gov. Rick Perry appeared today before 250+ national venture capitalists, researchers and business executives at the annual Texas Life Science Conference. During his talk, the governor called for a renewed commitment by the public and private sector to fight cancer. “Cancer is not a new fight for Texas,” he said…
Lance Bass’s Gay Odyssey
Out of Sync, the new memoir from former ‘N Sync member, failed cosmonaut and gay American Lance Bass, came out last week. (It’s surprisingly good.) Over the phone from New York, where he’s living while starring as Corny Collins in the Broadway musical Hairspray, speaking in a slight Southern twang,…
(Not) Breaking the Gender Barrier
I read the news today, oh boy, and what I read was really rather sad. As some of you may recall, back in March I wrote a post about my friend Ria Cortesio. Ria was a woman umpire who worked a spring training game between the Cubs and D-Backs; the…
Last Night at Boondocks
Oh, did people dress up? Yeah. And we took pictures. At last, a healthy looking Ms. Winehouse. Rarrrr!…
The Record Ranch Looks at the Dead, While Cactus Music and Video Comes Back from It
Looking for something to do with your Day of the Dead evening tomorrow night? Come on out to new art gallery The Record Ranch – 2110 Portsmouth in Shepherd Plaza – and feast your eyes on portraits of dead rock stars by Flamin’ Hellcats drummer Carlos Hernandez. And while you’re…
The Carnicería Connoisseur in Monterrey, the Paris of Mexican Meat Markets
A stack of chicharonnes hot out of the fryer MONTERREY – It’s Saturday afternoon and there is a big crowd at the counter of Carnes Ramos, a gleaming meat emporium in the wealthy suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia in Monterrey, Mexico. One of the butchers reaches across the counter…
Does Texas Have Too Many Reports?
The New York Times reports that a new report shows that Texas state agencies issue too many reports. The State Library and Archives Commission came to this conclusion after an 18-month study. Why does this whole thing conjure an image of a snake eating its own tail? The commission did…
Outtakes: Daryl Morey Could’ve Been a Contender…in Baseball
When you do five weeks of research and interviews for one story, a lot of good material ends up on the cutting room floor. What follows are some of the more interesting tidbits from Daryl Morey, Billy Beane and Carroll Dawson that I couldn’t quite squeeze into this week’s feature…
Polish Film Festival
It doesn’t matter what language you speak — everyone has trouble in love. And you can expect a litany of love problems at the Polish Film Festival. Tomasz Konecki’s Testosterone, which stars a cast of notable Polish actors, is the story of a prominent scientist and his marriage to a…
Ballunar Liftoff Festival
For three days, the skies over NASA’s Johnson Space Center will be filled with more than 100 fantastical flying contraptions during the Ballunar Liftoff Festival. Visitors will take in balloon demonstrations and competitions, mass glows (where balloons illuminate the night like giant Chinese lanterns), group sky dives (16 divers will…
A Woman in Charge author Carl Bernstein
Hillary Clinton is a busy woman. But that’s not what kept her from being interviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein (as in, Watergate’s Woodward and Bernstein). Clinton is the focus of Bernstein’s latest biography, A Woman in Charge, which follows the life of the former first lady turned New…
Punkhouse: Anarchist Interiors
Screeching Weasel summed up punk houses perfectly in the aptly titled song “Punk House”: “Don’t mind all the filth and grime and muck…Young and dirt poor and having fun / And we’re never growing up.” The tune is an ode to the types of places Abby Banks traveled to for…
Nelson Pereira dos Santos Film Series
Brazil’s carnival is long past, and next year’s festivities are still months away, but if you need a samba fix, try Tenda dos Milagres (“Tent of Miracles”). The first of four films by Brazilian master Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Tent of Miracles is dos Santos’s cinema novo triumph. A strong…
Bee Movie
After making a mint off a series about nothing, Jerry Seinfeld apparently decided his first feature film ought to be about something — in the case of Bee Movie, the enslavement and torture of bees for the pleasure and profit of humans, which is, like, hilarious. It’s rather tempting to…
35th Annual Jewish Book & Arts Fair
Dozens of writers, filmmakers, artists and musicians are converging at the 35th Annual Jewish Book & Arts Fair. Among the festival’s highlights is a concert by the Crossroads Ensemble, a group founded by Juancho Herrera of Caracas and Mattan Klein of Jerusalem. The two fuse Latin, Jewish, Brazilian, jazz, funk…
International Quilt Festival
The International Quilt Festival is the South by Southwest of its industry. It may not lead to drunken parties that end at 5 a.m., but it is the converging ground for quilters. Booths will be set up with all kinds of supplies and needlework crafts. Classes and seminars for both…
Framing Dance
Modern dance is notoriously confusing, even for seasoned fans. Some dancers revel in the mystery, but others, like Travesty Dance Group director Karen Stokes, want to help to make their art more accessible. To that end, Travesty presents tonight’s Framing Dance and Beyond, An Interactive Dance Event, a collection of…
Blades, Don Cabellero, Animal
Blades could be mistaken for a post-hardcore band like Braid or Drive Like Jehu, or maybe the more recent math rockers Minus the Bear — that is, if they had a singer. The group eschews vocals. But don’t worry, Blades’s lyric-free songs are still entertaining. Each moves with a steady,…
“Marking Time: Victoria, Texas”
Victoria, Texas, made the news in 2003 as the site where 19 undocumented immigrants met a grisly death while trapped in the back of a truck bound for Houston. The tragedy prompted artists Michele Grinstead and Nancy O’Connor to spend time documenting the infamous site. The resulting “Marking Time: Victoria,…
Cop Warmth
Cop Warmth’s sound is packed with so much angst, you’d have to sit on it to zip it shut. The local threesome goes full out in their one-to-two-minute tunes, with dirty guitars and vocals shouted at a pace just fast enough to get the lyrics out before the singers run…
Low B
After he’s done turning the tables for M.I.A. today, DJ Low B will be showcasing his solo talents at Deco Lounge at the official after party. Low B rose to popularity in the Philadelphia club scene in the ‘90s before becoming half of the celebrated DJ duo Hollertronix with partner…
The Italian Stallion
In 1970, before he was Rocky, before he was Rambo, Sylvester Stallone made an adult movie called The Party at Kitty and Stud’s. He got paid about $200 for the whole shebang (pun intended). The Party at Kitty and Stud’s didn’t really make waves at first. It wasn’t until 1978…
Talento Bilingüe’s Día de los Muertos Celebration
Talento Bilingüe’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibit captures both the celebration and the sorrow of the Mexican holiday. First is the art exhibit “Día de los Muertos Houston” by photographer Sergio Santos. A documentation of how our city celebrates the holiday, “Día de los Muertos Houston”…
Bocca Tango
Dancer Julio Bocca made his reputation by consistently turning in groundbreaking performances. (His brilliant “The Man in the Red Tie” left the audience breathless the last time he was in town.) His newest production with Ballet Argentino, Bocca Tango, will undoubtedly be another bold, brave performance. As a dancer, Bocca…
Manos Magicas’s “Día de los Muertos”
Despite all reports to the contrary, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is not a Mexican version of Halloween. (Like we couldn’t come up with our own holidays or something, sheesh.) No, Día de los Muertos is exactly that, a day for the dead, a celebration in which…
“La Belle Époque”
French artists, musicians and writers from Paris’s Beautiful Era inspired tonight’s Da Camera performance, “La Belle Époque.” Recalling the all-too-brief but lovely time at the turn of the century when everyone in Europe was actually getting along, French baritone François Le Roux and pianist Sarah Rothenberg deliver the audience to…
The Woman in Black
Stephen Mallatratt’s The Woman in Black is famously terrifying. Based on Susan Hill’s novel, the gloomy tale features spooky places like the Eel Marsh House and the Nine Lives Causeway. And, of course, there’s a ghost, whose ghastly purpose is too terrible to reveal. But suffice to say, the story…
“Mary Heilman: To Be Someone”
Mary Heilmann was painting little squiggly figures on canvas back when abstract expressionism was an angry and depressed boy’s club. “Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone,” the new retrospective of her work, takes viewers beyond the artist’s best-known techniques and subject matter. It includes work created before she made her 1972…
Major League Soccer Western Conference Semi-Finals
The Astros are nowhere near the World Series and the Texans are shaping up to be as disappointing as last year, but Houston can still rally behind a championship team. No, not the Rockets. The Houston Dynamo’s 0-1 loss against FC Dallas last Saturday means they’ll have to win by…
Gossip, Lies & Secrets
The Hobby Center’s Sarofim Hall will host a sister session when Gossip, Lies & Secrets settles in for a weeklong run. The urban-genre “musical stage play” by Angela -Barrow-Dunlap follows three female friends, a novelist, an R&B diva and a TV soap star who are successful but find the stress…
Rinaldo at Rice University
Handel must have been in a bad mood the day he wrote Rinaldo. The opera’s demanding and difficult score includes the tour-de-force aria “Cara Sposa,” what singer David Daniels once called “the countertenor’s national anthem” because it is so strenuous. And that’s just the first act! While Rinaldo’s singers are…
Diane Schuur
Dizzy Gillespie thinks she’s divine. B.B. King thinks she’s brilliant. Find out for yourself when Diane Schuur takes the stage backed by the University of Houston jazz orchestra today. Blessed with a three-and-a-half octave range, the Grammy Award winner has performed with musical greats Stan Getz, Maynard Ferguson and Quincy…
Willie D’s Birthday Party
The world now views Houston as a hip-hop hotbed, and rightly so as UGK, Devin the Dude, Chamillionaire, Trae, Paul Wall and numerous others dominate album sales and radio waves here and abroad. None of them would be anywhere, as they all freely admit, if Scarface, Bushwick Bill and Willie…
Pearland ISD, the Inspector of Hides and Animals, and Joel Osteen’s New Book
Suzy Roberts, a retired nurse, won a low-key race this year for a spot on the Pearland school board. She beat an incumbent, but did little more than some block-walking and appearances at candidate forums. Nothing controversial came up in the campaign. Christ, have things changed. Board members, district officials…
Trevisio
When you first set eyes on the di mare pizza ($16) at Trevisio (6550 Bertner, 713-749-0400), you may think something’s missing. It’s a pizza bianca, or white pizza; instead of tomato sauce, it’s layered with a thick, creamy cheese sauce similar to an Alfredo sauce. “Di mare” means “of the…
Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers’ melding of bluegrass, country and punk defies boundaries as much as expectations. The North Carolina trio made up of brothers Scott and Seth Avett (banjo and guitar, respectively) and upright bassist Bob Crawford stomps a raucous fury of high-octane strings and shouts offset by poignant ballads of…
Shane Battier by the Numbers
The Rockets are pouring a large amount of money into statistical analysis. Whether or not you think it’s a wise investment probably depends upon your opinion of Shane Battier. Battier enjoyed a wildly successful college career at Duke University, where he led the Blue Devils to one national championship and…
Valentino’s Seafood
Last fall, while I was playing a golf course in League City, I met a golfer named Dave who lived nearby. Dave could hit the ball 300 yards, and he was also an expert on the local food scene. Thanks to his long drives, he took a couple of bucks…
Art Capsule Reviews: “Amy Sillman: Suitors and Strangers,” “Ken Little: Heavy Metal, Glow, Bucks & Dough” and “Perspectives 158: Kelly Nipper”
“Amy Sillman: Suitors and Strangers” Amy Sillman paints like she’s reincarnated from some squirrelly, third-tier 1950s abstractionist. But I mean that in a good way. Sillman’s colors — the turquoise blues, the deep oranges, the bright greens — all allude to fave color palettes from half a century ago and give…
Stage Capsule Reviews: Arsenic and Old Lace, Black Pearl Sings, The Daughter of the Regiment, Fools and Rumors
Arsenic and Old Lace It may be old, but it’s certainly not weary — Joseph Kesselring’s murderous comedy premiered on Broadway in 1941, and you’d think the story about two old-maid killers would feel a little bit tired at this point. But director Gregory Boyd proves that old dogs can…
American Gangster
American Gangster is a movie with obvious gravitas and a familiar argument: Organized crime is outsider capitalism. As archetypal as its title, Ridley Scott’s would-be epic aspires to enshrine Harlem dope king Frank Lucas in Hollywood heaven, heir to Scarface and the Godfather. Or, as suggested by the Mark Jacobson…
Carol Fran Benefit
Houston pianist Carol Fran, who recently suffered a stroke, has been a fixture on the Gulf Coast blues scene for more than 50 years. Not only did she record regional hits of her own, she worked with legends like Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester and Lee Dorsey and toured extensively with…
Outside the Box
If you’re still judging teams and players by what you see in a box score, chances are a large part of what you think you know is wrong. You might as well crack open a 19th-century textbook and proclaim that you’ve got this whole science thing figured out. If you…
Jeffrey Klem
Online readers respond to “Sleepovers with Uncle Jeff,” by Craig Malisow, October 18. That’s religion: I’m not surprised at this story at all. He’s a doctor — no one will prosecute him on the word of children, even those now almost grown. He has too much influence, too much money…
Here, Baby, Here
I hope people ask me, ‘Where did you find that local actress?'” Ben Affleck told Amy Ryan when he cast her as a wreck of a single mother in his directing debut, Gone Baby Gone. When Ryan showed up on the Boston set in ratty hair, muddy makeup, and a…
Martian Child
John Cusack, who more or less began his career sneaking a peek at Molly Ringwald’s panties in Sixteen Candles, has finally become an onscreen daddy — only took, what, 23 years? Except, he’s not exactly the most fortunate family man on film: First, in Martian Child he plays a widower…
Avenue Q
Calling all Gen-X, Y and Zers. Many Muppets have grown up and moved off of Sesame Street. They now reside in Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty’s Avenue Q, the 2004 Tony Award-winning, hysterically funny musical about a young college graduate trying to find himself in the big city…
Control
Rock films come in two forms. The first is the concert/documentary variety, the best of which dynamically pinpoint a band’s musical moment within the context of its era: the Maysles Brothers and Charlotte Zwerin chronicling the Stones in Gimme Shelter, Martin Scorsese celebrating the Band in The Last Waltz. Then…
No End in Sight, Twin Peaks, The Other Side of the Mirror and Talk to Me
No End in Sight (Magnolia) Charles Ferguson’s debut doc, easily the most important in a year full of notable fact-gathering films, assembles some of the key players behind the invasion and occupation of Iraq and seems to ask them but one question: “What went wrong?” In short: Everything. But Ferguson’s…
Mercury Meltdown Revolution
It must’ve been a scorching summer day when the game developer stared at his thermometer and realized, “Sweet sassy molassey, this would make a helluva game!” How else to explain the existence of the quirky puzzle series Mercury Meltdown? Debuting on the PSP, the original Mercury Meltdown turned Marble Madness…
Red Lion Pub
A cold front in Houston is an amazing, amusing event. With the temperature only in the fifties, we get out our overcoats and recipes for chili, chat up strangers on the marvels of fall, collectively sigh and pretend that global warming is just a bullshit theory. A nip in the…
Rocket Science: Daryl Morey Brings Hard-Core Statistical Analysis to the NBA
The autumn sunshine filters in through the draped windows of the Houston Rockets’ downtown practice facility, bathing the gymnasium with its muted golden glow. On the court, a tall, solitary man nonchalantly begins to bounce a ball with his head down and thoughts seemingly elsewhere. His dribbling echoes throughout the…
Sugar Skulls and “Sana, Sana”
Dear Mexican, How do I go to the Mexican grocery store and bakery to buy supplies for our Día de los Muertos party without looking like I’m doing the kitschy-goofy thing I’m doing? I walk up to the register and smile ingratiatingly, saying “Gracias” as usual — but a basketful…
Local Motion
Sig’s Lagoon 3710 Main, 713-533-9525 1. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, 100 Days/100 Nights 2. Terry Allen, Best of the Sugar Hill Years 3. Defiance, Ohio, Great Depression 4. Turbonegro, Retox (LP) 5. Budos Band, Budos Band II 6. Coalesce, Salt & Passage (7″) 7. John Fogerty, Revival 8…
Sleuth
Before he snagged the lead in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1972 screen version of Anthony Shaffer’s 1970 stage play Sleuth, Laurence Olivier had, with his customary diplomatic finesse, dismissed the source material as “a piece of piss.” Two movie adaptations later, I’m inclined to agree with that assessment. Still, it’s not…
Enon
It’s been a while since Enon cofounders John Schmersal and drummer Matt Schulz have called Dayton, Ohio, home, which is partially why it’s taken almost four years for the post-everything, electro-savvy trio’s Grass Geysers, Carbon Clouds (Touch and Go) to materialize. With roots in post-punk rhythm aces Brainiac and Skeleton…
Jay-Z: America’s Most Overrated Rapper
Rap’s Grateful Dead? Hova? Young? The No. 1 MC of all time? None of the above. A more appropriate title for Jay-Z is Most Overrated Rapper. Ever. With Tuesday’s release of his second post-retirement album — inspired by the movie American Gangster and, if the leaked single “Blue Magic” is…
Feature Photo
Matisse said, “What I dream of is an art of balance.” But he’s got nothing on this guy, cycling his way up Bammel North Houston Road recently. With all the balance anyone would ever need, he’s doing his part for Mother Earth by recycling cans and using pedal power. To…
Getting Better All the Time
Finally, someone executed one of Stephen Adams’s big ideas — a faithful note-for-note live re-creation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, complete with costumed musicians, and man did it ever turn out well. The Continental Club has seldom if ever been so packed, especially on a Sunday afternoon, and…
Radiohead and In Rainbows
It was a beautiful stunt, wildly ambitious and wildly successful, with cataclysmic import for music-biz hand-wringers and hype-machine prognosticators alike. And that grand rollout, in the end, is what Radiohead’s seventh album, In Rainbows, will forever be known for, which is great news for Radiohead and lousy news for In…
Sidney Lumet’s Long Journey
“There’s a reason I’ve had some good pictures and other guys will never have good pictures,” Sidney Lumet says matter-of-factly on a recent afternoon in his New York office — four cramped white walls, unadorned by awards or other memorabilia, on the top floor of the Ansonia Building, where Enrico…
The Force Is Strong With This One
The man who gave us Young Darth returns with a Young Indy boxed set. Rick McCallum had nothing to do with the original Star Wars. He was just 23 years old and chasing his first job in the film industry when it was released in 1977. “I’m portrayed as 70…
Habib Koité & Bamada, Afriki
After six years of relentless touring, Malian guitarist Habib Koité’s latest recording again draws upon his native roots. Opener “Namania,” an ode to a dark-skinned girl who triggers Koité’s memories of times gone by, perfectly syncs up the call-and-response vocals with Koité’s fluent guitar. “Barra” is a percussion-rich tune with…
Emma Pollock, Watch the Fireworks
Before they called it quits in 2005, the Delgados eased up on the swirling orchestral-rock arrangements they inherited from the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, whose Dave Fridmann produced both 2000’s The Great Eastern and 2002’s Hate. The Scottish quartet’s relatively stripped-down swan song, Universal Audio, suggests they were concerned…
PJ Harvey, White Chalk
Sometimes the simplest music is the most affecting. So it goes with PJ Harvey’s new studio album White Chalk, which often feels like a sequel to Björk’s Vespertine. Absent are the scorched-earth guitars and feral vocals Harvey is known for; instead, Chalk finds solace and strength in desolation and ascetic…
Johnette Napolitano
Johnette Napolitano, the former Concrete Blonde lead singer who recently released her first proper solo album, Scarred (Hybrid), has a unique way of dealing with her garbage. She makes it into art. “I have a fire pit and I don’t have trash pickup, so I have to be very careful…
will.i.am, Songs About Girls
Songs About Girls is derivative, repetitive, insipid, insincere and pandering. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, it also has the worst insert booklet in recent memory: seven pages of will.i.am mugging in a checkered suit. Actually, the first song, “Over,” a lover’s lament featuring a sample from Electric Light Orchestra…
M.I.A.
Mathangi “M.I.A.” Arulpragasam’s 2005 debut, Arular, got lotsa reviewers hot and bothered, and deservedly so, but only a relative handful of U.S. listeners succumbed to its multi-culti charms. Such sales disappointments generally lead to commercially motivated “adjustments” that leave no one satisfied. Fortunately, though, follow-up Kala avoids most of the…
Of Montreal and Outback Steakhouse
Last September, a new Outback Steakhouse spot provided indie-rock fans with the year’s definitive WTF TV moment. The ad unveiled an altered version of Of Montreal’s engaging psychedelic-dance single “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games),” its lyrics revamped, its chorus heftily reinforced and its instrumentation Aussied up with…
Girl Talk
Mash-up artist Girl Talk copies and pastes, then chops and screws together, million-dollar beats, timeless riffs and unforgettable hooks, creating addictive party anthems. Listening to his third copyright-challenging full-length, Night Ripper, is like absorbing three generations of music in pill form: digital ecstasy. “It all goes back to hip-hop, finding…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week
The Amicus Collection (Dark Sky) Angel: Complete Series Collector’s Set (Fox) Beastie Boys: The Complete Story (Video Music) Benny Hill: The Complete Megaset (A&E) A Christmas Story (Warner Bros.) CSI Miami: The Fifth Season (Paramount) The Cup (Festival Media) Day Watch (Fox) Dear Jesse (Sovereign) The Devil Came on Horseback…
Blue October, Foiled for the Last Time
The vast reserves of hate music critics reserve for Blue October can, in all likelihood, be traced back to their adolescence. Nothing angered these smart, socially awkward folks more than being at a high-school or even junior-high party, watching as some hapless wanker playing mediocre guitar in the corner convinced…
