For those who didn’t grow up in the 1960s, it’s hard to believe just how radical Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. magazine and probably the world’s most recognizable feminist, was once considered. It was one thing to be an advocate for women’s rights (sexual and reproductive freedom, equal pay for equal work), it was another […]
Angie Carlson
Posted inGuides
Water Music
Waving, luminescent sea urchin spines, their venom sacs hued and segmented much like a stained glass window, the pedicals “delicately crafted, reminding one of serpent’s heads.” So goes the images and narration to French scientist and cinematic pioneer Jean Painlevé’s Oursins (Sea Urchins), an ultra-close, richly colored examination of the common sea urchin. But, as […]
Posted inMusic
Death and Dismemberment
If you happened to click on to D.C. indie rockers The Dismemberment Plan’s Web site last week, you’d have found yourself looking at a photo of journalist Daniel Pearl, murdered by Pakistani terrorists. The image was accompanied with a simple message by Dismemberment frontman Travis Morrison to the effect that this sort of “senseless act” […]
Posted inMusic
Tiger Beat
With their second full-length, Feminist Sweepstakes, NYC’s Le Tigre unveils a new lineup and a return to the danceable, beat box-driven grooves of their debut. JD Samson, taking the spot vacated by video artist Sadie Benning, had actually been touring with the band as their projectionist before becoming a full-fledged member during the making of […]
Posted inNews
Haute cur-ture
Forget the Westminster Dog Show and that smug little miniature poodle that’s sashayed its way to two Best in Show titles. Sure, the Westminster canines exhibit a dazzling display of breeding, temperament and obedience (not to mention a healthy well-groomed coat), but would any of these couture-clueless curs have the slightest idea what to wear, […]
Posted inNews
Jumping Beaneries
Whether it’s a national chain like Starbucks or a locally owned coffee shop, there’s no doubt that America’s love affair with Juan Valdez is still going strong. But one thing these chains lack is a sense of community, the kind of community that spawned coffeehouses back in the beat days when folks like Ginsberg and […]
Posted inArt
Going Mobile
It’s about 8 p.m. on a brisk January evening. Twenty or more scooters, nearly all vintage rides, line the sidewalk in front of Series 1, a graphics studio and budding scooter shop located on Carrboro’s Main Street. The parked scooters are all angled stylishly, as if the sidewalk were a showroom; the bikes range from […]
Posted inNews
Outer limits
There’s a great bloopers CD, Celebrities at Their Worst, that features thespians, musicians and TV personalities showing their true colors. One highlight is a snippet of dialogue taken during the taping of a Star Trek episode, where Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk (actor William Shatner, recently in Durham for a Star Trek convention), really shows […]
Posted inMusic
Work For Hire?
With the industry reeling from one of its worst retail years in memory, the two-day Future of Music Conference (FMC) held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., last week didn’t exactly exude a party atmosphere. But it was a chance to see industry bigwigs–Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers, Miles Copeland (CEO of Ark 21 Records) and […]
Posted inMusic
New Year’s Eve Live Music Guide
Love it or dread it, this Monday is New Year’s Eve, unaffectionately known as “Amateurs’ Night” in the entertainment and hospitality biz. Will you have as much fun as you think you’re supposed to have? Probably not. But you can send 2001 (our newly Twin Tower-less, anthrax spore-filled year of reckoning) packing to the sounds […]