Britt Robson The new Trent Reznor isn’t for everybody, including a large portion of his established fan base, who cherished the obsessive perfectionist who pushed the industrial-punk envelope with vintage stuff like Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral. But after waiting at least five years apiece to put out his first three discs, the sex symbol … Read more
Timberwolves Resign Craig Smith This thoroughly minor signing justifiably barely caused a flutter league-wide in the NBA, but smart Wolves fans have a right to wonder why it happened. The Rhino is an undersized power forward on a ballclub that just drafted an undersized center and traded for a journeyman legit center to pair alongside … Read more
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images The best way to sucker me into watching something like the Wolves-Mavs Summer League tilt in Vegas last night is to give me another deadline upon which to procrastinate. That was the situation, and thus here are my thumbnail takes on a meaningless game that may still have a tea leaf … Read more
Joe Fornabaio If you regard this Willie-Wynton matchup as a strange bedfellows mating of country and jazz, you’re missing the forest for the trees. These two iconic masters have far too much in common for any genre differences to disrupt their stylish little party, a series of live performances recorded at Lincoln Center in January … Read more
Maybe the best thing about Maher is his refusal to be pigeonholed, his keen negotiation of the difference between unorthodoxy and hypocrisy. He’s variously proclaimed himself a libertarian and voted for Ralph Nader for President (after supporting Bob Dole in 1996), aligned himself with PETA and NORML, and was the first to bring Ann Coulter … Read more
Mahogany’s resemblance to Turner is more physical than vocal. While matching Big Joe’s large, expansive frame, Mahogany is more dulcet crooner than blues shouter, closer in spirit to another vocalist he feted four years ago on his Mahogany Music label, Johnny Hartman. But Mahogany did play a Turner-Jimmy Rushing composite in Robert Altman’s film, Kansas … Read more
After their last local gig in a venue that actually had rows of seats bolted to the floor, they’re back at First Ave. where they’ll always belong, riding the crest of Stay Positive, yet another startling, snarling confessional of clean and dirty secrets set to anthemic guitar riffs, all girded by their thoroughly charming, drunken … Read more
Here’s a gig that lets you strain the brandy or fine single malt over your tongue while you swell with pride for living in a place with such a vibrant local jazz scene. Cox is an internationally renowned bassist who had Billy Higgins and Dewey Redman on his first record and happens to call the … Read more
Calvin Booth (center) – StewMac/flickr.com In a deal that is almost certain to become official when the NBA trade moratorium is lifted tomorrow, the Wolves will take on center Calvin Booth and swingman Rodney Carney from the Philadelphia 76ers, plus receive a first-round pick that is likely the one the Sixers got from Utah in … Read more
Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images Let’s start this with the big fat cavaet that I rarely watch, and am certainly not very well versed about, college basketball. And since two of the key principals in the eight-player swap that the Timberwolves and Grizzlies pulled off in the middle of the night Thursday/Friday are high-caliber college players, I … Read more