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Entertainment

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The Queen comes back to the stage

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY The Associated Press NEW YORK - Before Erykah Badu made her grand entrance at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday night, rapper Common - one of her two opening acts - told the audience to get ready for the “queen.” When she appeared, she certainly played the part. Dressed in regal white with her trademark high head wrap, the slender neosoul diva held court before a capacity crowd of her adoring subjects while incense and a candle burned on a table at center stage. But even queens are human - and it was when Badu revealed her vulnerability and emotions that she made the biggest connection with the crowd. In her third concert on a nationwide tour that ends in Dallas next month, Badu took awhile to let the audience into her esoteric world.

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Grammys dont hold interest for music critic

Dan Julian
February 16, 2001

It’s that time of year again, kids. The Grammy Awards are coming, and to be perfectly honest, who cares? I contacted a lot of students Wednesday for the story you see running just to the right of this column, and the general consensus I got was that students here just don’t care about it - and I can’t really blame them. One student made me chuckle when he replied to me on the phone, “Dude, now’s not a good time (to ask me questions about the Grammys) because I’m with my girlfriend and it’s Valentines Day.” What can people really say about the Grammys?

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Grammy Time

Dan Julian
February 16, 2001

Gary Hoppenstand doesn’t look at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards as just another awards show. “They are sort of the equivalent of the Academy Awards for the motion picture industry,” the professor of American Thought and Language said.

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Weekend Guide

Friday: The MSU Department of Theatre presents William Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.

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Glee Club goes national

Juliana Keeping
February 15, 2001

If the Men’s Glee Club had a championship event equivalent to MSU’s basketball glory, it would be performing at the American Choral Directors Association national conference.

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Singer-actress Lopez calls it quits with rapper-producer Combs

LOS ANGELES - Valentine’s Day was a heartbreaker for Sean “Puffy” Combs, who confirmed his breakup with singer-actress Jennifer Lopez. “Mr. Combs confirmed that he and his love, Jennifer Lopez, have in fact broken up,” his publicist Nathalie Moar said Wednesday. But a breakup has been rumored for weeks. The performers have spent considerable time apart because she’s promoting an album and he’s been on trial in New York on weapons and bribery charges stemming from a 1999 nightclub shooting. “Mr. Combs is confirming this today as he wanted to put all the rumors surrounding their relationship to rest.

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Oscar gamblers bet on Gladiator

LAS VEGAS - Oddsmakers like “Gladiator,” Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts as favorites to win Academy Awards this year. Las Vegas bookmakers starting posting odds by noon Tuesday, soon after Oscar nominations were announced. Joe Lupo, race and sports book manager at the Stardust hotel-casino, said he has “Gladiator” favored at 9-5 because it received the most nominations at 12.

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Pucker Up

Matt Treadwell
February 15, 2001

Contrary to the jokes and stereotypes many believe describe men and women’s inability to understand each other, there is at least one thing they have in common. They both love to kiss. It’s just that women really, really, really love kissing - a lot. There are hundreds of Internet sites that mention kissing, and dozens of Web-based surveys on this subjects. And many of these surveys suggest most women consider the activity more intimate than having sex. “Kissing is more intimate than a hug and more personal than sex,” said Lyman Briggs freshman Rebecca Jurrens.

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19 Wheels returns to U after national tour

Dan Julian
February 15, 2001

Chris Johnston, vocalist and guitarist for modern rock band 19 Wheels, said his band sings about the standard topic for rock and roll music.“Mostly girls, lost love and all the stuff that pulls on your heartstrings,” he said.

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Mellow sings perfect tune

Dan Julian
February 14, 2001

Mellow Another Mellow Spring (Atmospheriques) Part melodic fuzz, part depressing surf guitar, part disco-minded and part Pink Floyd, French band Mellow has just released one of the most intriguing albums of the year. The lyrical pattern of “Paris Sous La Neige” pitter patters along like the vocal patterns of laid-back rock all-stars Pavement, while the happy-go-lucky chorus sounds like Beck trying to replicate the Brady Bunch theme song - this is good. These innocent futuristic power-pop lads surprise the listener in a different sense in each tune. Though it is obvious this band paints pictures with the psychedelia of the late 1960s, their mix with contemporary electronica leaves their canvasses painted with abstract murals of the past, present and future. The keyboards nearly mimic a Natalie Merchant piece during “Sun Dance,” but out-of-place samples and a drummer who taps the skins only for blues-esqe fills compliments the track’s new age theme. “Violet” is a classic “do-de-do-de-do”-type song with a rhythm that encourages heads to rock back and forth while singing along and smiling from ear to ear.

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V-Day gives men easy way out in romance

Vince Estes
February 14, 2001

There’s an episode of “The Simpsons” that begins in the offices of a corporate entity, upset over its loss of greeting card revenue during the summer months.And thus, “Love Day” was born.I like the idea behind Love Day.

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Eminem at Grammys may be show-stopper

Matt Treadwell
February 13, 2001

I’m so in denial, it’s not even funny. If there is any truth to one of the most recent rumors flying around Hollywood, I will seriously assume the world around me is nothing more than my own nightmare.Could hate-speakin’ rapper Eminem and distinguished rock ‘n’ roll royalty Sir Elton John actually share the same stage at the Grammy Awards next week in Los Angeles?

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Children create crafts at museum

Juliana Keeping
February 12, 2001

Tinsel, markers, bright paper, ribbon, glitter and lots of glue engulfed tabletops at Kresge Art Museum on Sunday as families, college students and even some high schoolers came to create their own valentines.“A Celebration of Heart” allowed patrons of Kresge to create valentines and puppets for a small fee Sunday, and provided equally sweet confections and lemonade to boot.“This one’s for my mom, I don’t have any boyfriends,” said Peyton Frank, 4, of the glittery, heart-laden concoction in front of her.

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Society offers music year-round

Dan Julian
February 12, 2001

Bob Blackman describes the Lansing Area/MSU Folksong Society as a folk music organization, but he uses that term broadly. The volunteer organization presents a weekly series of folk-influenced artists entitled “The Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse” every Friday during the MSU scholastic year. “The main purpose has been to present weekly concerts and monthly dances; the dances are both folk styles of dance,” Blackman, co-founder of the group, said.