Month: November 2005

  • Busted and Disgusted

    — People are talking about whether Rev. Randolph (Randy) Staten will run for his old seat representing North Minneapolis in the Minnesota House of Representatives. If he did, and won, he would become Minnesota’s version of former Washington mayor and convicted felon Marion Berry: a political player who went through a very public crash-and-burn, followed…

  • Made For America

    Why rent when you can own? At my neighborhood shop in Shanghai, well-ordered racks are full of the latest Hollywood releases, the Hollywood catalog dating back to the mid-1960s, and a middling selection of Chinese films and television series, most of which sell for between eighty-five cents and two bucks. The majority have English and…

  • In the Bleak Mid-Winter

    Our century has been remarkably efficient in the manufacture of wastelands. In Uptown you can still experience the sort of passageways down which Mr. Eliot smelt steaks, but nowadays they seem to have almost a period charm. It is the same reading about the Algiers described by Albert Camus; the delicious colonial loucheness of the…

  • Mark Mothersbaugh

    It seems like there are a number of rock icons these days who, if they haven’t burned out, haven’t really faded away, either. Take Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh. For one thing, the most influential of new wave bands never actually broke up; Devo toured again just this year. And Mothersbaugh is constantly working on new music,…

  • First Avenue Nightclub, Minneapolis: The Bootlegs: Celebrating 35 Years, Volume I

    You have to appreciate how the rock ‘n’ roll landmark at Seventh and First has witnessed a total transformation of its surroundings–Target Center, cheesy nightclubs, Block E, the freaking Hard Rock Cafe–while keeping the wrecking ball off its own hallowed but scummy walls. For a few weeks last year, it even looked as if First…

  • In The Mailbag

    letters@rakemag.com. Keep those cards and letters coming! Also keep in mind the following: Unless notified, we assume that submissions are intended for publication. We cannot return materials sent by mail; please don’t send valuable originals. We strongly encourage submission by email. Finally, letters may be edited for length and clarity. Can’t get enough? Is it…