Monday, December 22, 2025

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Entertainment

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NYC singers to play Creole show

The relentless lifestyle of a musician is a rigorous task. You have to drive across the country, play every single night to anyone who’ll listen and then find a comfortable floor to crash on. For Amy Speace and Felix McTeigue, the next two weeks they spend touring the Midwest will be like this.

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Nirvana scandal a disgrace, Love should get a life

I’ll say it now: Courtney Love is completely out of her mind. Ever since I started following Love’s vendetta against the surviving members of Nirvana after the death of her husband and the band’s former frontman Kurt Cobain, I’ve lost nearly all respect for the once talented lead singer of now-defunct Hole. The ruckus Love raised while trying to stop the release of one of Nirvana’s last recorded songs, “You Know You’re Right,” caused a standoff that spiraled out of control, creating one of the worst publicity stunts I’ve ever seen. Following Cobain’s death in 1994, things were bad for Love. I’ve got sympathy for her there - losing her husband to suicide, leaving her to care for their daughter Frances, certainly couldn’t have been easy.

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Western Keys creates catchy sound

Austin, Texas’ Western Keys makes the kind of music that fluctuates from sweet and simple melodies to twisted and torn tunes that are ridiculously catchy and entertaining indie rock. Ben Dickey’s voice is addictive in its imperfection as it breaks and jumps around the songs, never sticking to routine.

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Beck finds success with somber Sea Change

After the appropriate and exotic overtones of Beck’s last record, “Midnite Vultures,” he returns with “Sea Change,” what many critics believe to be his best effort. Gone are the strobe lights and whacked-out disco beats that plastered his last disc, and thankfully he’s returned to the inspirational songwriting that surrounded 1998’s “Mutations.” Instead of ranting about “Sexx Laws” and “lobotomy beats,” we see the calm, collected side of Beck, as most of the songs have minimal percussion and emphasize his diverse musical talents. But most noticeably, the lyrics and overall mood display a sad and helpless man. There are many answers flying around the media trying to explain why this record is so much more melancholy compared to “Midnite Vultures” or even “Odelay,” but the real answer is simple: Beck is a striving musician who won’t settle for anything less than making a completely different record each time he walks into the studio. I find it difficult to immediately label this as Beck’s greatest collection, as some publications have boldly proclaimed. But I will go as far as to agree that this record is at the forefront for this year’s “Album of the Year.” The seas have changed yet again for Beck, and for that, we thank him.

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The F-bomb:

When you were young, you had your mouth washed out with soap for saying it. As you approached those pubescent years, you felt so cool when it blurted from your mouth - even if you really didn’t understand what it meant or why it was so bad. It can be used to describe something un-frickin’-believably good, but can also be used as a demeaning, vile insult. You were taught never to use it because it was a naughty or dirty word.

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Chan, Hewitt disappoint in James Bond imitated Tuxedo

Chris Tucker must not have been available to co-star in Jackie Chan’s action comedy “The Tuxedo.” Of course, the story would have to be altered to make room for Tucker and his big mouth personality since it doesn’t exactly fit the “Rush Hour” profile. Instead, a more passive role was filled by Jennifer Love Hewitt.

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Ledger leads complex life in inspiring Four Feathers

At a time when the British crown had claimed nearly one quarter of the world and was in a constant fight with different civilizations, there had to be a few inspiring stories. “The Four Feathers,” a remake of the 1939 original, is an epic tale of one soldier’s need to save face and overcome cowardice. At the end of the 19th century, a newly engaged Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) and his best friend Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) learn they must ship out to Sudan to defend a British fort that fell to rebels in Khartoum. Facing a promising future with fiancee Ethne (Kate Hudson) in one hand and a questionable mission in the other, Harry resigns from his commission as his troops go to war.

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Center of the Universe opens at BoarsHead

The BoarsHead Theater, 425 S. Grand Ave. in Lansing, kicks off its 2002-03 season with the Joan Vail Thorne comedy “The Exact Center of the Universe.” The five-person cast is headed by BoarsHead veteran Carmen Decker as Vada Love Powell, an elderly Southern belle whose son, 35-year-old Appleton, is the center of her universe.

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Blues guitarist to play Jambalayas today

Blues guitarist and singer Long John Hunter will perform at 8:30 p.m. today at Jambalaya’s Restaurant, 5942 Round Lake Road in Laingsburg. The event is part of Jambalaya’s Thursday’s National Blues Series. Hunter, a Texas native, began his career more than 40 years ago, but only remained regional until he released his first full-length album in 1996 with his Alligator Records debut “Border Town Legend.” With the added success of his follow-up “Swinging From The Rafters” in 1997, Hunter went from the Lone Star state’s best kept secret to the international blues most wanted list. His made-for-dancing Texas shuffles, fueled by searing single-note solos and melodic, drawling vocals have made Hunter a favorite at clubs, concert stages and festivals around the world. Jambalaya’s provides an elegant lakeside view as Hunter rips into his foot-pounding brand of original, hard-driving roadhouse blues.