rakemag

There are two types of M*A*S*H fans: those who enjoyed the entire 11-year run, watching the rotating cast develop from two-dimensional joke machines to nuanced, complicated characters, and those who enjoyed the first three seasons (the Henry Blake-Frank Burns years) for its farcical tone and rapid-fire verbal jousting. The latter crowd abandoned the show when … Read more

If sweetness were a crime, then this movie would be a capital offense. Lucky for us that’s not the case. This movie is one of the most delightful and hope-filled creations to grace the big screen in years. Perhaps that’s because Audrey Tautou is as resplendent, charming, and beautiful as her namesake, Audrey Hepburn. Or … Read more

The late-80s bloom of radio-friendly female folkies came and went, as did the Lilith Fair phenomenon. But the Atlanta duo of Emily Saliers and Amy Ray hasn’t faded away. Their gift for hook-laden harmonies is part of the reason, but most of the credit for the Girls’ longevity is due to the fact that they’re … Read more

If you haven’t seen much of Paul Westerberg the past few years, it was on purpose. Our favorite native son took advantage of newfound fatherhood and his separation from his label after the underperformance of 1999’s Suicaine Gratification to immerse himself in the role of hermit. “I want to be mysterious,” he’s said. From all … Read more

After eight years of relative silence since the fairly blah Us, Peter Gabriel’s finally cranked up the steam and put some music out. Besides the new studio album, Up (due out in a few months) and a set of remastered re-releases of a dozen-odd of his older stuff, Gabriel’s also dipped back into soundtrack work … Read more

When most bands come out with a record this strong 25 years into their career, it’s a surprising comeback. For Los Lobos, it’s just the new album. The experimentalism heard on recent Lobos discs and side projects like the Latin Playboys is toned down here in favor of thick slabs of crunchy Latin rock, rife … Read more

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that we take a little time each issue to bang on about The Next Big Thing in music. Well forget everything we said before. If you want to know what the future of rock music is, do this: Take all the wasted potential of Beck, Air, Radiohead, and … Read more

In these distracted times, kids are frequently more adept than their parents at video games, VCRs, and all manner of batteries-not-included-some-assembly-required. But there’s still plenty of room for real magic and wonder. There’s no better place to experience that simple childish joy than the Minnesota Zoo’s butterfly garden, now open through Labor Day. In a … Read more

Ha, the stoic folks at the Swedish Institute are hipper than you think. We take the name of this fete to indicate that Gen-Xers are finally embracing something as square and unironic as their own ethnic heritage, and it’s about time. We’ve decided that ethnic pride among those of us of Northern European descent is … Read more

It was a surprisingly radical idea in 1996 to stage a full-scale Broadway musical that infused show tunes with rock and R&B, and at the same time dealt head-on with AIDS, drug addiction, and homelessness. It’s safe to say that the risk paid off. Jonathan Larson’s high-spirited, gritty look at life among New York’s young … Read more