Seven or eight months ago, the movie “Big Trouble” was really no big deal. An ensemble comedy with a bomb as its centerpiece, it was just a harmless movie adapted from a novel by middle-of-the-road humorist and newspaper columnist Dave Barry. Of course, with what happened in September, suddenly putting a bomb on a plane and making a joke was about as funny as farting at a funeral ceremony.
Portable isn’t exactly the next best thing for rock ’n’ roll - but that doesn’t stop it from putting together a great record. This is no-nonsense rock with a strong backbone.
The cliché “never judge a book by its cover” fits this record to a tee. At first glance, the misperception is that this is another trend artist trudging through the well-established footprints of “neo-soul-soothing-goodness.” Nope. Actually, Aja mingles with the “I want to be Alanis Morissette” crowd - and poorly at that.
“Equus,” performed last weekend at Riverwalk Theatre, brings intensity to the stage.
As someone who is soon graduating from college, I look back fondly on my time here. On losing my virginity (no, it wasn’t last week), on getting drunk a lot in the dorms, or that time my friends and I horribly beat a hobo and hid his body in a Dumpster. Well, maybe not the last one.
Man, where to begin? I have so much bile to spew forth regarding the new Ashley Judd vehicle, “High Crimes,” that it may all come out as one long sentence, full of hate and rage for all the time I wasted watching this stinker. It’s a Lifetime movie with a bigger budget.
“India!”A single male voice rang out through the silent audience.“Will you marry me?”India.Arie stopped tuning her guitar and smiled.
Ann Arbor - Amidst the watchful eyes of police officers, visitors to the 31st annual Hash Bash still managed to hit the hookah. The line to smoke the flavored tobacco from the pipe was just one of the attractions of the pro-marijuana event, which was kicked off with a rally on the Diag of the University of Michigan’s campus. Cheers of “Marijuana, marijuana, hey, hey, hey, get high,” were sung over and over again as signs proclaiming “Hemp: It’s food, not drugs” and “Legalize freedom” were held up by protesters on the Diag. “I think it went real well and I think it was a good crowd,” said Hash Bash organizer Adam Brook.
Royal Oak - With a foosball table and entertainment center adorned with beer bottles complementing a pair of skis in the corner, Adam Miller’s apartment has that laid-back college, bachelor pad feel. But Miller, a 1998 MSU graduate, is no longer a college student - he’s an engineer in Royal Oak grappling with his transition into the working world. Sitting in the living room after a long day of work, he seemed wistful for his college days but noted his beer posters, often standard college decor, had been replaced by a few paintings and other kinds of artwork. When Miller, 27, was a student, he studied engineering arts.
“Sesame Street Live” visits Breslin Center today and Saturday with its production of “Let’s Be Friends!” Marketing manager Tara Peplowski said everyone can enjoy the humorous “Sesame Street Live.” “‘Sesame Street Live’ is a family program that comes to the Breslin every year,” Peplowski said.
The Common Grounds Coffeehouse, in the basement of Akers Hall, is again the best bet for this weekend, presenting Ann Arbor’s Athletic Mic League tonight. Described as a rap group with smooth flow, the seven-member team mixes rap, jazz and funk together into an irresistible sound that will please any hip-hop guru. Selfsez, Wandering Image and Third Degree will open the show. Hiphopinfinity.com called one of Athletic Mic League’s first albums, “The Thrill is Gone,” released in 2000, “one of the Midwest’s best albums of the year, and one of the best-produced LPs in all of underground hip-hop.” Songs can be sampled at its Web site, www.athleticmicleague.com. Tickets are $5 for MSU students with ID and $6 for everyone else.
We are truly in a nerd paradise, folks. No other time has ever held so many opportunities for people to ignore hygiene and indulge in our favorites: Superheroes, science fiction and most of all, “Lord of the Rings.” This weekend, why not indulge that “Rings” fascination one more time?
Friday • P.T. O’Malley’s will donate a portion of the cover charge on Friday to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event at MSU, the 24-hour team event to fight cancer is being held April 20-21 at Jenison Field House.
It seems music biz stars these days just can’t keep their pants on. Or their video cameras off. The latest scandal revolves around R&B extraordinaire R.
The music industry is full of artists that make the grade. But only a choice few stand out with their songwriting quality.
Commitment frightens so many, and a production performed by the Lansing Civic Players, called “Company” by Stephen Sondheim, raises the issue of settling down. Director Tom Klunzinger said it’s a musical comedy that was first presented in 1970. “It’s musical comedy about married couples and relationships in New York,” Klunzinger said.
Ernestine McMullen remembers when her daughter, Joyce Simpson, called her in 2000 to tell her some great news - that Simpson’s daughter, India.Arie, found an agent to help her distribute her music after a performance at the Lillith Fair in Nashville, Tenn. That agent was Reen Malli, a talent scout for Universal Music Group.
After a first listen, it’s easy to dismiss Custom as another Everlast or Staind rip-off. Better yet, just a one-hit wonder with the popular “Hey Mister,” the controversial song about pedophilia. After a second listen, those feelings intensify. In “Mess,” Custom rambles on about how his parents made a huge mistake with him, while “Streets” is the worst song released by an artist, any artist, since everything in Limp Bizkit’s catalogue (except “Break Stuff,” it’s possible to hate Fred Durst but like that tune, right?). “Morning Spank” is a Sugar Ray song that carries the message that “there is no piece of ass worth a friendship.” But there are some tasty nuggets in this otherwise undercooked pile of unwanted chicken parts.
Committing an act of crime can sometimes lead people to question life’s purpose, and “Equus,” to be performed this weekend at the Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing, sets the scene for such a contemplation.
All right, before I dig into the sentimental saccharine-fest that is “The Rookie,” I’m first going to dig on Joel Siegel.