It took us a long time to warm up to Dar Williams. She seemed like a better groomed, more temperate Ani DiFranco, or a Nanci Griffith without the twang–a little boring, a little forgettable. However, her new album, My Better Self, is a revelation. These catchy urban folk songs display a wry sense of humor … Read more
The stranger the artist, the more faithful the fans; isn’t that the standard equation when it comes to music? Case in point: Fiona Apple’s followers waited six long years for this album, and when it reportedly was scrapped by its label for lack of “an obvious single,” outraged fans mailed thousands of real and faux … Read more
Count on music folks to ignore all that flapdoodle over “freedom fries” and the pouring of French vintages down the commode. Here in the Twin Cities, a musical partnership has been growing since 2000, when French reed player Michel Portal and record producer Jean Rochard visited and recorded Minneapolis with the help of several local … Read more
Here’s your chance to hobnob with royalty. Norway’s Crown Prince Haaken Magnus will be in the audience on opening night of this performance of Peer Gynt, featuring the Norwegian National Opera and VocalEssence. Henrik Ibsen’s classic tale of an adventuring scoundrel destined to a fate worse than hell is both disturbing and highly amusing, partly … Read more
David Knight, of Fridley, and Lori Gerdts recently summited the tallest mountain in the world—Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, which measured from its base stands at 33,476 feet. They even took time to read The Rake at the top. Most people think Everest is the tallest, but at 29,035 feet (above sea … Read more
As stage personalities go, Jay Farrar tends to be a bit of a mute, but his shows are still iAs stage personalities go, Jay Farrar tends to be a bit of a mute, but his shows are still inspired occasions, because his evocative, road-weary songs are that much more powerful when he’s actually on the … Read more
I was at a garden center the other day, looking to score some indigenous weed for my front boulevard garden. That tall fall grass, you know. Zone Five hardy, tight buds, premium stuff. Anyhow, I was standing in the aisle, surveying the goods, when this completely irate woman charged at me. She was waving a … Read more
What does the boogeyman look like? For most Americans (even, I suspect, some of the darker ones), he’s probably big and black. The scary black man is an image older than the Republic and more enduring than apple pie and Chevrolet. The image of gangs running amok, snatching up women and anything else not nailed … Read more
I don’t get out much, ergo my love for vicarious road trips. As an armchair traveler, it’s important to choose your writer as carefully as you would a travel companion. This has become a more difficult undertaking in recent years, however. The booming “adventure travel” sector of the industry has spawned both a motor coach … Read more
Ikea has sold more than six million Swedish meatballs since opening its outpost in Bloomington last year. The trumpets announcing the opening almost convinced me that the End Times for snotty overpriced design had finally arrived. People were flocking to Bloomington as though to Lourdes. You had only to enter this cathedral of immaculate consumption … Read more