Month: December 2006

“To find a new name for St. Paul’s RiverCentre Convention and Visitors Authority (RCVA), the city’s tourism and convention arm, officials are raising $76,000 from private sources to hire a Nashville firm that bills itself as a community branding expert.”
—StarTribune, December 11, 2006

The Rake is wary of this latest foray into “community branding”— especially after the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau spent almost a hundred grand on the slogan “Rah Rah Rochester: More Than You Know.” Herewith, we offer some suggestions to St. Paul, gratis.

St. Paul: It Xcels!

St. Paul: The Midwest’s Magic Kingdom

St. Paul: A Hop Across the River from Sodom

St. Paul: C’mon in! (Just wipe your feet.)

St. Paul: 300 Statues of Snoopy Can’t be Wrong

St. Paul: That much closer to Wisconsin.

St. Paul: Come for the Fun, Get Home at a Reasonable Hour!

St. Paul: Our Mayor Can Match His Socks.

St. Paul: Nobody’s damn Apple.

St. Paul: Where Not Just Anyone Can Find Their Way Around

St. Paul: The Beast to the East

St. Paul: You’re a-Hmong Friends!

St. Paul: Funkytown — the Foxtrot Version

St. Paul: More History, Less Histrionics.

St. Paul: What Do You Say We Call it a Night?

From Kanye West to Mel Gibson to Michael Richards, 2006 was a year of unexpected outbursts on race. Is it possible to have a more productive dialogue on a topic that is habitually avoided in “polite” conversation? The Science Museum of Minnesota and the American Anthropological Association believe so—thus this groundbreaking exhibition. Slated to tour the U.S. for the next five years after its premiere here, it explores the idea of race from three angles: science, history, and “everyday experience.” Its main conclusion is that while race is very much a socio-cultural reality, there exists no biological evidence to support the concept. Featured are black-and-white photographs by Wing Young Huie that capture the faces of Minnesota’s diverse populace. 651-221-9444; www.smm.org www.smm.org

When Blidner last showed in Minneapolis it was selections from his “Tango Argentino: The Spirit of Buenos Aires” series—some hundred highly stylized images, appropriately doused in drama, of men and women performing the national dance of his home country. He ventured much farther for his new project, training his lens on Helsinki, London, Milan, Cologne, New York, Philadelphia, Rome, Buenos Aires, New Orleans, and other cosmopolitan centers, creating a portrait of each as “one great interior emotion put together visually, like a giant stage set connected to whomever takes part in it and registers its special character.” 1500 Jackson St. N.E., #443, Minneapolis; 612-788-1790; www.iceboxminnesota.com

Here’s hoping for a deep freeze (snow would be nice, too) so that artists and architects can wow us with their “thin shell construction” ice structures. Unlike ice blocks and ice carving, this method uses fabrics and support systems, taking advantage of water’s fluidity and its ability to transform into beautiful, sturdy ice. Organized by the L.A. nonprofit Materials & Applications (founded by Rochester native Jenna Didier), the event will include recreations of sculptures by Heinz Isler, a Swiss engineer who’s been making thin-shell ice constructions in his garden for a half a century now. 40 Civic Center Drive S.E., Rochester; 507-282-8629; www.rochesterartcenter.org www.rochesterartcenter.org

The fact that Sibony’s father was a contractor has a lot to do with this thirty-two-year old New Yorker’s affinity for materials like foam insulation, hollow-core doors, cardboard, and the like. He assembles these humble goods into sculptures and installations that—as at last year’s Whitney Biennial—are curiously arresting if you don’t dismiss them outright as minimalist claptrap. In the face of dominant styles involving excess and bombast, the very simplicity of his work is refreshing, and has critics making comparisons to Richard Tuttle and Arte Povera. 527 Second Ave S.E., Minneapolis, 612-605-4504; www.midwaycontemporaryart.org

At forty, Kristin Hersh still sounds like the tormented teenager who founded Throwing Muses. These days, though, her rage has been tempered and sweetened by years of travel, parenting, music-making, and management of the bipolar disorder that ravaged her early life (and fueled some of the best punk rock ever committed to guitar by a woman). Raw, disorderly, and deeply beguiling, Hersh’s music is always an unfiltered expression of the world around her, which changes every few years as she picks up her family and moves around the country to try on another life. Her latest album, then, is like a collection of new pictures shot through a familiar lens.

When someone was heard singing “Over the Rainbow” in a locker room recently, it inspired a roomful of clammy, half-naked people to comment. One rightly called it “a good song for when things aren’t so great”; another mistakenly described it as “a Judy Garland song.” Though Judy made it famous, it’s actually a Harold Arlen song. Arlen, the American songwriter who made many of the musicals of the 1930s and 40s so enduring, wrote for Garland, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong, among others. Here, singers Christine Rosholt, Bruce Henry, and Connie Olson, backed by the Rick Carlson Trio, pay homage. 1800 Old Shakopee Rd. W., Bloomington; 952-563-8575; www.bloomingtoncivictheatre.org

Cold winters in dark places have always inspired a rich interior life, and in Scandinavia, life indoors was traditionally warmed by music both hot and filled with light. Finland’s Varttina, a ten-piece outfit fronted by three stormy blondes, preserved some of its nation’s loveliest (and naughtiest) ancient folk songs early in its career. These days, though, the band is playing with electricity, blending traditional harmonies and vocal tricks into edgy, rock-influenced folk. They recently composed the music for the stage production of Lord of the Rings, and their latest album, Miero, comes from the same creative sessions, which means added drama and mysticism snakes through every song. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2874; www.thecedar.org www.thecedar.org

Some kids say that Garden State is the quintessential film for Generation Y. You’d think they could do better. But its marvelous soundtrack spirals around a couple of perfect songs by the Shins, a band that gives us abundant hope for the future of pop music. Their new album is the kind that reveals nuance and intelligence with every listen, but it only takes one listen to fall for these earnest, awkwardly tuneful, and exceptionally catchy songs. Singer James Mercer’s upper-register reveries, a wash of jangly guitars, and the smart-yet-goofy lyrics make us feel all over again the sweet heartbreak of standing on the edge of the rest of your life.