Monday, December 8, 2025

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Features

FEATURES

VH1 gets in the way of progress

The recent bombardment of nostalgia TV simultaneously has been clogging our precious airwaves and robbing attention spans across America. Channel-surfers have become hooked on the nonstop nostalgia-oriented programs such as VH1's "I Love the '80s," "I Love the '70s" and the highly redundant "I Love the '80s Strikes Back." VH1, supposedly the "Music First" channel, washed out a tidal wave of nostalgia a few years ago with a commentary-driven show that looked back on fads throughout the decades.

FEATURES

'Eternal' could have shined if it trimmed fat, redundancies

Thank God for Charlie Kaufman. The mad-scientist screenwriter behind "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" easily is among the most creative forces in Hollywood, combining intricate storytelling with bizarre quirks to make utterly different, yet subversively clever parables.

FEATURES

Songwriting legend brings 'connection' to 'U'

Megan Frye
March 24, 2004

So, why exactly are there so many songs about rainbows and just what is on the other side? Allow Paul Williams, the man behind the words to "Rainbow Connection" and countless other children's and adult contemporary hits, to tell you tonight at Wharton Center. Williams has had a profound effect on American children and adults throughout his three-decade career, though his name alone probably doesn't ring a bell for most 20-somethings. His lyrics for tunes such as "Evergreen" and "We've Only Just Begun" have gained him recognition as one of the best songwriters of all time.

FEATURES

WEB ONLY: Mayer draws cheers, panties at Breslin concert

Megan Frye
March 24, 2004

Breslin Center was oozing romance and peaceful tunes at the seams Tuesday night. About 7,700 people showed up for a concert featuring pop-rock heartthrob John Mayer with an opening act of East Coast indie rockers Guster. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about John Mayer or Guster.

FEATURES

'Young Playwrights' have materials performed

Joe Guillen
March 19, 2004

The eighth annual Young Playwrights Festival will be at Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre Sunday at 3 p.m.. Students from Holt, Mason, Haslett and Saline High Schools will have their plays performed by the MSU Department of Theatre. The festival showcases six local high school students who submitted one-act plays in the fall to be chosen as finalists with the chance to have their material performed and directed by the MSU Department of Theatre.

FEATURES

Movie hopping

"Grace and the Storm" A Manhattan drug dealer comes across a mythical drug that stimulates parts of the brain humans don't know how to use.

FEATURES

Eatery is best kept secret in E.L. after 30 years

Amy Davis
March 17, 2004

For more than 30 years, Hobie's Restaurant has been tucked away in the Trowbridge Plaza but it remains one of East Lansing's best untapped resources for sandwiches and soup on the go. Once part of a thriving franchise, Hobie's, 930 Trowbridge Road, has survived a near closing. "Parents know about this place because back in the '70s and '80s, this was the place to come to," Hobie's owner Dave Baker said.

FEATURES

Take Seven

Seven years ago, Susan Woods took the reins of the first East Lansing Film Festival while looking to add a bit of cinematic art to a town sorely in need of it.

FEATURES

Jucifer EP really, really, loud

Megan Frye
March 16, 2004

Few factors can make a band immediately amazing. One of them is when the drummer rocks so hard that he or she starts to bleed (see www.jucifer.com). Or when flange and distortion are used simultaneously (Flange, noun: Fuzzy, spacey guitar effect that sounds cool). Another is when the lyrics are so good, you skip backward on the CD just to hear them over again. Thus is Jucifer's new six-song (plus bonus track) release, "War Bird." Jucifer is a really, really loud rock band.

FEATURES

New releases

Megan Frye
March 16, 2004

COUNTRY"Live at Billy Bob's," Michael Martin Murphey, Smith Music Group Since recording his first solo album in 1972, country songwriter Michael Martin Murphey has become better known for his solo material than his work with the Lewis & Clarke Expedition or his songwriting for The Monkees.