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The bartender
So you're just chillin' at Maggy's, right? And lets say you just happen to meet a flock of four of the flyest young hunnies your eyes have ever seen.
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Gore film fascinating, intellectual
If you're planning on seeing "An Inconvenient Truth," there are two things you need to expect: plenty of Al Gore and plenty of Al Gore's lecture on global warming. However, this is not the Al Gore you may remember from the 2000 presidential election.
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Happenings
FRIDAY Festival of the Moon (517) 485-4283. Turner Street and Grand River Avenue in Lansing's Old Town.
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Math rockers engage crowd
It was approximately 120 degrees inside Lansing's Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., on Wednesday night.
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Solo project overly sappy with trite, unoriginal lyrics
Former Verve Pipe front man Brian Vander Ark has enshrouded himself in a cloak of absolute corniness. His latest solo project, "Angel, Put Your Face On," is a classic case of a pop musician with nothing left to prove, or at least nothing with any poignancy.
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Ragbirds explore world music
The Ragbirds are not a jam band. "We actually do draw a lot from the jam-band scene and the jam-band crowd, but I think it's more because we play really interesting world music stuff," percussionist Randall Moore told The State News in a phone interview Wednesday. Moore also discussed his affinity for world music, along with what goes through his mind on stage and the origin of one of his band's more curious song names. How did the band come together? Randall Moore: The Ragbirds actually started with Erin (Zindle, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist) and I.
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Transatlantics talk guitar solos, indie rock
It's a good time to be an underground band in Michigan, just ask Mike Spence, guitarist and vocalist for Mount Pleasant's Those Transatlantics. "It seems to me when we travel around the country, we always come back and think, 'You know, we're pretty lucky to be in such close company with people that are as talented as these bands are,'" Spence said. In the spirit of pride for the Great Lakes state, Those Transatlantics will be playing tonight at The Temple Club, 500 E.
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Scientists rock Temple Club
To make a gross generalization, scientists are supposed to be objective, urbane creatures, filling their days and nights with researching life's mysteries and acting as the voice of reason and rationality in the face of cinematic hysteria.
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Campy mockumentary genuine, witty
The band that was so bad turned out to be great. Half Japanese, a pseudo-band with unrivaled purity, comes alive like a zombie in the mock documentary, "Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King." Think Spinal Tap, but instead of a fake and over-the-hill metal band, Half Japanese is the essence of punk rock — out-of-tune guitars, lousy musical skill and all passion. The film clearly outlines what is good about music from the early '90s, or for any time period, really: absolute freedom of expression and everything that is wrong with music: MTV.
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Paper Chase talk zombie films, inspiration
The spooky, yet highly talented and innovative indie band The Paper Chase will perform tonight as the headliner at Mac's Bar, 2700 E.
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'Lake House' unrealistic, original
When I first saw "The Lake House" on Friday afternoon, I was originally going to give this film two stars.
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Sonic Youth still making enjoyable records
To: High Council of Pop Culture Critics (high_council@wearecritics.com) From: Erik Adams (adamser9@msu.edu) Subject: Re: Transgressions Against the Art of Criticism Dear High Council, Thank you very much for the concern expressed in your previous e-mail, but I'm not taking back anything I said about "Laguna Beach." These things happen; certainly you all have favorite pieces of junk culture, too. Anyway, the real reason I'm writing this is because I feel that if I am to be accepted as a pop culture critic, I need to get some things off my chest.
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Jazz essence moves E.L.
This weekend, East Lansing swung, grooved and shook to the smooth sounds of the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival. Amid the orange backdrop of a summer sun, a multitude of good-sized crowds rotated in and out of the festival's intimate setting.
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'Nacho' lighthearted, packed with laughs
If you're looking for some sort of epic or life-enhancing entertainment, don't go see "Nacho Libre." But if you feel like turning your brain off for about two hours in an air-conditioned setting with cozy seats under your butt and cupholders on each side, then "Nachoooooooooo" it is. The plot: Ah, nothing really special, but "Nacho" does come through in four zany categories of cinematic sweetness. First category of sweetness: Similarity to "Napoleon Dynamite." If you like the humor in "Napoleon," then you will like this film.
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Happenings
FRIDAY World Cup soccer games televised live at the MSU International Center Food Court.
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Jazz Festival expands to 2 days
In jazz, improvisation is a tool — a musical technique as vital as the notes themselves. This year, the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival will attempt to add a little improvisation to the city of East Lansing.
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The bartender
Jack Bauer, hero of the popular TV show "24" is smooth, chill and refreshing. He's also deadly, with the ability to knock you out before you even realize what's happening. The drink named after his likeness plays the same game. The Riviera Cafe Restaurant and Lounge, 231 M.A.C.
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'Automatic City' complex, monotonous
Given its bustling and complex arrangements, the title of the new album by Controlling the Famous is appropriately metropolitan. Like rush hour on a Los Angeles freeway, there's little room to move on "Automatic City," with tracks packed end to end and knotty guitar lines, interwoven vocal melodies and surging bass and drumming that would make an octopus' arms tired. Unfortunately, the album has another thing in common with the grind of urban traffic — monotony.
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'Now You Are One Of Us' engages listeners with eerie originality
If you're looking to make a zombie flick, then you may want to talk to The Paper Chase about the soundtrack. The tunes on "Now You Are One Of Us" sound like an evil man with long fingernails trying to break into an eerie, abandoned Victorian house on the wrong side of town. Screaming guitar blasts, creepy samples, cryptic lyrics and incessant drumming define the band's overall sound.
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Walsh talks improv, comedy
While filming the new Comedy Central series "Dog Bites Man," actor Matt Walsh experienced the absurdity of local news firsthand.