Any voter who cares about our community should pay special attention to the referendum on the new “justice center”, which includes plans for a large expansion of jail capacity. The current jail has a capacity of 96; the new jail has a capacity for 243. The current jail is overcrowded, with a nightly average of […]
Iowa City Mill
Posted inCommunity/News
Your Town Now: Justice: Supply & Demand
If you can cut through all the glittering doublespeak and rhetoric, you’ll find a deeply ambiguous set of truths about the proposed Johnson County “Justice Center” (read: jail) that will be put to a vote on Nov. 6. (Or right now, if you’re an early voter.) For dramatic effect, it should be noted that the fight […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: Landlocked Film Festival: Oct 25-28
Since its inception in 2007, Landlocked, Iowa City’s film festival, has taken place in late August. This year it runs from Oct. 25-28th. Hopefully, it will lure more students, who ought to appreciate not only the admission fee (it’s free!) but also the crazy variety of films: animation, docs, features, music videos, shorts and spirited […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: Iowa City Song Project
I try to collect as much Iowa City music as I possibly can. When I can’t buy a record at a show, I scour Bandcamp pages for the ones I don’t have yet. I spend hours creating and editing mixes of my favorite songs for my friends and family—people who aren’t familiar with the Iowa City […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Unknown Component – Blood v. Electricity
Unknown Component Blood v. Electricity www.unknowncomponent.com Keith Lynch, the man behind Unknown Component, may cringe when I draw an easy comparison between his latest release and the work of Radiohead, but I make the comparison lovingly and without claims of derivativeness. Unknown Component has all the elements in place for a great alternative rock album: […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Bands To Watch: Like Pioneers & Love Songs For Lonely Monsters
On October 6 at the Mill, I saw one of the better indie pop shows I’ve seen in a very long time. The two bands that I saw that night were Like Pioneers and Love Songs for Lonely Monsters. Like Pioneers is a Chicago-based quintet that makes melodic, fast paced noise pop. The band merges […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Haulin’ Ass: F O H T S W
Standing on the West Bank corner, a shirtless man wears a bib of dried blood and bellows long, singular tones like a throat singer. People stare but no one engages, even the cops wheeling past like dude is another fiberglass Herky. “We’re in Hell, keep moving,” clucks the smart-eyed girl sitting shotgun. This gets […]
Posted inCommunity/News, UR Here
UR Here: Open Spaces
In the days when prairies stretched from river to river across the expanse of what we now call Iowa, bison disturbance was essential to the health of the ecosystem. As the herds thundered across the grasslands and created wallows—depressions in the ground in which the animals rolled to cover themselves in mud and dirt—like a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 11-14
Welcome to this fresh edition of the Weekender. With the exception of Thursday night’s Alloy Orchestra show at the Englert, everything is local this week. With a couple of eerie film screenings and a new Samuel Locke Ward release called Double Nightmare, the season of spookiness is officially upon us. Hold on tight. THURSDAY Alloy […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On The Beat: In Defense of Homework
I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, but with some of the people I’ve seen getting deals recently, I think it has to be said. I believe that the internet is killing hip hop. It’s fundamentally changed the game in a way that I’m not sure it can fully recover from. It was the $3 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 4-7
Welcome to another edition of the Weekender, and oh, is it an exciting one this week! This weekend you can pick and choose from world class comedy to world music and a whole lot in between. Mission Creek makes sure to stay on our radar with a killer indie show, the Barnstormer crew in Maquoketa […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On The Beat: Buddy System
As summer begins to wind down and the population of Iowa City rises to full student capacity once again, it can feel a little stuffy. This feeling passes though, with the awareness that more bodies also means more demand for entertainment. Each new impressionable mind has the potential to be swayed into a seeing a […]
