Or, Taking Thunderfuck Mountain by Strategy: Enter the Wyrm King One. I am prone on the table, awake, naked and aware. The light is open and white, as are the gypsum ceiling tiles and what bit of the upper walls I can make out. I am not restrained, but I don’t think to move. My […]
Chris Wiersema
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: The Mill was an Iowa City institution. Maybe that was the problem.
By Chris Wiersema, Iowa City The Mill is an important and sadly repeated lesson in Iowa City “institutions.” There have been beautiful, heart-rendering remembrances. There have been wails of mournful surprise. There have been valiant proclamations of forthcoming financial heroics that shall save the day. The Mill has died its second and possibly final death. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Recipe: Instant Pot sesame chicken for two, when going out is just too much work
Try this romantic Instant Pot stay-in style sesame chicken for two (since you’ve both progressed long past fighting for elbow room in oversold, prix fixe seatings, but you don’t want the local delivery since they’ve been to this address three times this week and it’s only Wednesday and yes they totally notice hence the passive-aggressive number of plastic flatware sets they’ve been assuming with your order).
Posted inArts & Entertainment
UI alum’s fandom leads him down the path of putting out his favorite artist’s next record
As music fans we occasionally come into contact with artists who leave a profound impact on our lives, informing our tastes for years to come. Rarely do these relationships extend beyond mere fandom, but for University of Iowa alum Jake Hopes and Hungarian electronic artist Robert Bereznyei (Tigrics), the story goes far deeper: This September, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Interview: Joseph Heuermann on Flyers of Iowa City, opening Friday at White Rabbit
Joseph Heuermann has been a particularly discerning set of ears and eyes for Iowa City’s new-music scene over the last five years. His own varied…
Posted inCommunity/News
Reflections on a silver ball
On a Saturday afternoon, when the sun shimmers in the slight breeze of summer, two men huddle close in the darkness. In a back corner of the Deadwood, far from the reach of that sun and its shine, their faces are tense with concentration. Their eyes flit in all directions, lips pursed and jaws set. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Next Stop: Britt, home of the annual Hobo Convention
In the Northwestern corner of the state, in Britt, Iowa, an annual summer festival just celebrated it’s 111th birthday. It celebrated the core values that are not just universal to summer, or to we as Iowans, but to us as Americans: our rights and our liberties, however we choose them. The 111th-Annual Hobo Convention celebrates a freedom that few will know outside of its tightly knit culture and the curious who hover close to its campfires.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon, Mirror/Dash
Thursday, March 31 – Englert Theatre (Lecture), The Mill (Performances by Mirror/Dash, Thurston Moore Trio, Stare Case) These are not simply musicians, they are the godparents of underground music. In the past thirty years, in terms of sheer output, both Kim Gordon and husband Thurston Moore are closer to cultural forces of nature. Starting with […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mountains
w. Cocoon Wednesday, March 30 – Wherehouse – $8 New York duo Mountains often receive comparisons to the founders and boundary pushers of ambient composition: Eno, Jeck, Niblock, Fennezs. These are not unfounded or unflattering relations, but they undercut the true pleasure of Koen Holtkamp and Brendon Anderegg long-form compositions. The two created and operate […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Preview: Thunder Power at Gabe’s 10/14/2010
Don’t let the name mislead you; there is little “thunder” in this ensemble’s repertoire. Rather, the Omaha band’s “power” lies more in their generous, cascading melodies and subtly shifting harmonies. Instead of complicating and cluttering these already compact pop songs with studio witchcraft, Thunder Power draw on the beguiling arrangements of Bacharach or, more recently, the early ’00 works of Sam Prekop.
