Do you remember that great band from high school? Those guys who played in basements, who knew how to have fun and knew the girls who wanted to party? The Iowa City band, Dead Larry, may be the best such band ever. Their second full-length album, …As the Radio, demonstrates that Dead Larry hasn’t lost […]
April 2011
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Artists Funding Art
Patrons of the arts are often characterized as cultural or political fat cats who support artists financially to improve their social standing, make more money, or insert other, nebulous, self-serving goals. But recently a new sort of art patron has popped up–artists who have taken it upon themselves to help their own. Rather than relying […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: A Caricature with Character
Directed by Miguel Arteta–of Youth in Revolt and The Good Girl—Cedar Rapids represents yet another stereotypical journey through the comic banality of Middle America. Amusingly, the reviews of the film, good or bad, are more trite than the film itself–I’ll refrain from using such repossessed phrases as “hayseed” and “flyover country” or references to the wood-paneled veneer of Midwest structures.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Book Review: Unbeknownst
“The poet thinks with his poem, in that lies the thought, and that itself is the profundity.” Wiliam Carlos Williams’ famous dictum echoes strongly in Julie Hanson’s new collection, Unbeknownst. Each poem finds her patiently tracing her fingers along the contours of her life, feeling for the smallest crannies. The opening poem, “Use the Book,” […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Hot Tin Roof
Hot Tin Roof: Year
1
The cage in my chest is rusted, it holds
robotic nuns. They spew sparks.
They light each others’ cigarettes.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: It's Raining Shows
In Langston Hughes’ 1921 poem “April Rain Song,” the thing that everyone hates about April–its big problem–is instead turned into a point of celebration, ending with the lines, “The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night / And I love the rain.” This point was totally lost on Billie Myers, who borrowed the phrase “Kiss the Rain” (taken from the poem’s first line) to create…
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
Prairie Pop: The Devil Made Them Do It
The 1980s were ground zero for the Satanic Panics, when thousands of children were allegedly kidnapped, defiled and murdered in ritual abuse ceremonies. Even though police statistics made it clear there was no such epidemic, a nation of millions believed the hype. Geraldo Rivera’s 1988 prime-time special on the subject–“Exposing Satan’s Underground”–became the highest rated two-hour documentary in the history of television.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Football Fallout
As the NFL lockout lurches on and throws the upcoming season into question, it’s important to draw attention to the real victims of this bitter labor dispute. Through no fault of their own, television executives stand to lose their top prime-time moneymaker. FOX will lose close to $1 billion in ad revenue if the football […]
Posted inCommunity/News
American Reason on KRUI: 4/10/11
This week on American Reason we talk about the averted government shutdown, the recent updates in the ongoing labor fight in Wisconsin and Vik makes his prediction for who the Republican presidential candidate will be.
Posted inCommunity/News
American Reason Web Exclusive: 4/9/11
This week on the American Reason Web Exclusive we discuss Terry Jones burning a Koran and the campaign finance case McComish v. Bennett.
Posted inCommunity/News
Andre Perry: The Real Deal
We all think Iowa City is awesome, but could be even better if people would just focus on working together. Andre is someone who just gets down to the business of making that happen.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: April 7-9
Mission Creek is over. Try something new. A change might do you good.
