Month: May 2006

  • "This F'n Vaseline Thing"

    For those of you who are still reeling from Matt Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9, I have just the thing for you: tonight at the Walker Art Center they’re showing the documentary Matthew Barney: No Restraint at 8:00–and it’s free (provided you get there on time–tix available at 7). Quite frankly, this documentary is, in my…

  • Harder To Be Down

    He had gone up in his rocket again and again and returned to earth each time with a renewed sense of wonder. Even so, with each return it was harder to come back down. Or, rather, it was harder to be down. He’d gradually grown accustomed to the feeling of being out of this world,…

  • Trader Joe's

    Scenes from the melee that was the Trader Joe’s opening in St. Louis Park. Seriously, it was packed. Anyone with a cart was nearly lynched. Everything is sold under the Trader Joe’s label. The cheese selection was good but not phenomenal. And I want phenomenal cheese forever more. Yay, gazpacho! A nice deal on frozen…

  • Music for Big Boys

    One of those things I wish I had tickets to: The Minnesota Orchestra is performing Tosca all weekend long. Word on the street is that soprano Deborah Voigt, in the title role, has been knocking musicians’ socks off in rehearsals. On that note, here’s a word to the wise/note to self: If you want to…

  • The Music Up In The Clouds

    So the American Composers Forum has this little record label called Innova. Last I checked the label was putting out some great new jazz and gospel records, as well as the requisite “contemporary classical” discs. The few Innova-issued recordings in my collection include The Beat Circus, which is basically a collection of zany circus music–a…

  • Conversations Real and Imagined: The Puffer Ship of My Heart

    The Maggie (High and Dry), 1954. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, written by William Rose. Starring Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, Tommy Kearins, Hubert Gregg, James Copeland, Abe Barker, Andrew Keir, and Meg Buchanan. Quite possible the only place to get this remarkable movie is at Netflix. Did I ever tell you the story of when I…