also: Margaret Atwood on MPR’s Talking VolumesFitzgerald Theater, May 8 You most likely know Margaret Atwood from her chilling 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, the book that made her modern literature’s prophetess of feminist and ecological doom. It was made into a rather dull film in 1990, but the story’s lately found new life in … Read more
There are very, very few cultures left even partly free from the homogenizing touch of the modern world. The Asmat people are one of them. A tribal culture of about 65,000 from the rainforests of New Guinea, they only recently stopped practicing headhunting and ritual cannibalism. The St. Paul museum’s current “Embodied Spirits” exhibition of … Read more
Man, we’re getting old. It seems like just yesterday that Art-a-Whirl was the fresh-faced l’il whippersnapper of a neighborhood arts festival, a new hip event in a rather stodgy part of town that nobody was really sure would see a second year. Now, in year eight, it’s well past the point of becoming an expected … Read more
Sometimes great artists move from New York to Minneapolis—no kidding! Stuart Pimsler relocated his company here in 1999, and now he opens his 25th season with this exciting trio of pieces; Rooms of Disquiet, Islands, and Total Surrender. If this performance stacks up to SPDT’s platinum reputation, it will be as moving as it is … Read more
Lyrically and vocally reminiscent of an acerbic but less rough-edged Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega first made her mark in the mid-80s among the Edie Brickell/Natalie Merchant crowd of earnest female folk-rockers. Even in her mawkish breakout hit, the anti-child abuse ode “Luka,” she had an almost hidden steely edge that set her apart from her … Read more
That decision to drop out of divinity school looks like the right one. As far as record sales go, Kurt Elling has yet to crack the Billboard Jazz Top 10. Nevertheless, he’s widely considered one of the hottest things going in male jazz vocalists, and with five Grammy nominations on five CDs, he must be … Read more
We will never forgive them for that maudlin “Under the Bridge” song—one of the most heinous pieces of unfiltered pap to hit saturation rotation in the past 20 years. But we know you love them. After all, you made Californication one of the bestselling records in their whole storied career. For now they’ll stay on … Read more
On her three previous, criminally underheard records, Amy Rigby won our hearts with her tuneful, world-weary wit, mapping out the emotional landscape of the mid-30s woman who feels wiser with age just as the world’s become more confusing with time. There’s nothing here as transcendent as “Sleeping With the Moon” or funny as “Cynically Yours,” … Read more
Whatever she does, it matters—right? Easy to forget that the ersatz Material Girl skillfully retooled her whole M.O. back in 1998, suddenly creating “serious music” in connection with William Orbit, right about the time she discovered yoga and Pilates. Ray of Light was actually a critical success, and 2000’s Music also had its fans among … Read more
We’ve been reading occasional snipes against the White Stripes that suggest a backlash against their meteoric rise. If so, that’s ridiculous. Never mind their media oversaturation, the opening dates for the Rolling Stones, Jack White’s new career as a Hollywood actor. Look past the red/white color scheme that just happens to be an effective branding … Read more