Feature Chicago Tribune June 9, 2006 Like many filmmakers, David Zeiger was inspired by the Iraq War. Between the questionable battlefield buildup and the current drawn-out conflict, Zeiger was driven to show how American soldiers cope when they’re sent to fight in a war that much of the public–and some of the soldiers themselves–consider unjust. […]
Story XLR8R August 2006 Link “When I got involved doing this stuff I never imagined that, 25 years later, we’d still be doing this,” says Corey Rusk, owner of influential Chicago imprint Touch and Go. The label, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in September, was started in late 1980; named after a Michigan music fanzine, […]
Feature Playboy.com January 2006 Link In the thick of the playoffs, the first World Series of Beer Pong was a cross between March Madness and a frat party, with the stink of cheap beer and testosterone flooding the nondescript convention center. “It’s a pleasure to be around all these great athletes with swollen livers and […]
Feature Playboy.com April 2006 Link You’ve been sitting in those same lame nosebleed seats at the ballpark since you were a T-baller. Maybe it’s time to improve your game and lounge for nine innings in style. If you’re looking for an amazingly posh place to watch a Major League game, many franchises have upscale options. […]
Review XLR8R July 2006 Link Vancouver’s Douglas Coupland defined youth in the early ’90s with works like Generation X and Shampoo Planet, coaxing deeper meanings from a tech-obsessed generation’s collective neuroses. Nearly 15 years later, Coupland faces the question: Will he become obsolete, or merely retro, like some adored but aging game console from childhood? […]
Feature Chicago Tribune July 16, 2006 It seems as though there has never been more attention, airplay or talent agents focused on Chicago hip-hop music than there is now. Once maligned for being the biggest urban center in the country with the fewest marquee rappers — none for much of the ’80s and ’90s — […]
Interview XLR8R July 2006 Link Emil Nikolaisen–the guitarist, lead singer, and songwriter of Norwegian rock band Serena Maneesh–talks about writing songs like the late Hunter S. Thompson talked about lost weekends in Vegas. This isn’t a pharmacological comparison by any means. It’s just that Nikolaisen channels pure passion when music is the subject at hand; […]
Interview Playboy.com May 2006 As ESPN readied Monday Night Football before this summer’s cable premiere, the network brass decided to record a new version of the iconic theme song, a program staple since 1989. They assembled a musical dream team for the session, including Little Richard, Aerosmith ax-slinger Joe Perry and Bernie Worrell and Bootsy […]
Interview XLR8R April 2006 Link In 1968, Hugh Masekela experienced what some would consider a career apex. The South African trumpet and flugelhorn player came to the US in 1961 to study at the Manhattan School of Music. Seven years later, his single “Grazing in the Grass,” which eventually sold four million copies, hit number […]
Article XLR8R April 2006 Link Anybody with a healthy nightlife has endured serious (and unnecessary) scrutiny while entering a club, whether it’s undergoing a popularity contest to pass through the velvet ropes or the rough security checks at crowded concerts. But a new security system being introduced this year adds a computerized–some would say creepy–edge […]