Sticking to beliefs despite overwhelming opposition can be considered a virtue. But what if those beliefs are false or even potentially dangerous? That’s the haunting question that runs throughout Errol Morris’ (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control) oddly engrossing new documentary, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. The film’s title character, Fred A. Leuchter…
Whereas most of Unified One’s tunes could pass as secular selections, Pillar’s lyrics leave no doubt about the group’s Christian leanings. In the hands of this band, even a song called “Secret Agent” turns out to have a religious twist, with lines such as never gonna be undercover in sin. Musically, Pillar favors mild alternative-rock, with singer Rob Beckley’s radio-friendly…
The Baggage That It Brings is certainly an appropriate title for a release from a Christian rock band, because many listeners have a set idea of what to expect from groups included in this genre. On a few tunes, such as the explosive “Hotel Prim” and the eerie keyboard-powered “The Passerby,” Unified One blows these preconceptions out of the holy…
Combining the hair-sprayed power of glam punk and hair metal, Jet kicks out driving jams with snotty, high-pitch vocals. Few of these trashy tunes exceed two minutes in length, giving listeners barely enough time to get into a headbanging groove before the group stops, reloads, and rocks again. Songs such as “Just Like Dad” and “White People (Go Home)” show…
There’s nothing even remotely odd about a band that counts two guitar players among its numbers. Conversely, there is something kind of peculiar about a band that has two bass players — traditionally the most anonymous member of a group — in its lineup. But such a band is Aerialuxe, which is making quite a bit of noise as a…
It was a day that was way too long coming. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2000, I excitedly made my way to the record store, as I do more or less every Tuesday, but this time I was positively giddy about what would be waiting there. After 10 fruitless years of wondering what a certain musical enigma had been doing with…
Are Europeans still more sophisticated than Americans? Yes. The latest exhibit: European radio actually plays Luna, the low-key supergroup composed of former members of even less commercially noted bands (Galaxie 500, the Go-Betweens, and so on.). Of course, its recent The Days of Our Nights had a five-month head start abroad, following Elektra’s sacking of the band last spring. The…
It’s a little chilling to see the sticker that adorns The Night. It reads: “the new album from Morphine.” It means: “the last album from Morphine.” “Right,” said the president of the record company, “I see dead people.” Given that the late Mark Sandman, Morphine’s brain trust and a prolific collaborator much beloved among fellow Massachusetts musicians, completed the band’s…
Saturday, Feb. 26 at The Bottleneck The good news is that Cary Pierce no longer has to perform under one of the dumbest names in rock history, Jackopierce. The bad news is that, slight as it may have been (ask the band’s old label), name recognition for the now-solo singer-songwriter is out the window. So Pierce is starting over, fronting…
Sunday, Feb. 27 at The Granada Hip-hop fans have notoriously short attention spans, which is why hot artists frequently crank out multiple albums in a year’s time to stay fresh in their listeners’ minds. However, the same cats who will dismiss a rapper who takes some time off as being a has-been will be overcome with old-school nostalgia when that…
He might be a virtual embodiment of all things retro, but guitarist Deke Dickerson bristles at being pigeonholed as a member of the nostalgia bandwagon. True, he shows proficiency in such time-honored genres as rockabilly, jump blues, hillbilly boogie, and surf music, but he says he developed his taste naturally for these styles years ago. “I grew up in Columbia,…
No matter how much attention such contemporary artists as Jewel, Beth Orton, and Ani DiFranco receive for their diverse contributions to folk, the genre will always, in the minds of many, conjure up images of hippies, protests, and rebellion. Although the personal has largely replaced the political in terms of subject matter, the movement itself retains a certain unique sense…
NICE TO KNOW THEY HAVE SOME STANDARDS … Fox has canceled a rerun of Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? and has dropped plans for any more such specials after learning that its TV groom, Rick Rockwell, was accused of physical abuse by former fiancée Debbie Goyne. Instead, footage will be incorporated into a new special called When Millionaires Attack….
The other day my fourth-grade son said he wanted to go to Science City at Union Station. His request caught me off guard. I had read the news articles and letters to the editor — in PitchWeekly and in The Star — seen the TV spots, and overheard conversations. Everybody had an opinion. Science City either wasn’t worth the admission…
Rumblin’, stumblin’, and grumblin’ Was Patrick Dobson on curmudgeon pills when he went with his daughter and uncle to Science City (“Science sham,” Feb. 3-9)? Having spent this past New Year’s Eve reveling in the fun and, excuse me, educational value of Science City, I was rather taken aback at Mr. Dobson’s critical view (and cranky tone) throughout his article….
Between Feb. 24 and 26, nearly all of the possible first-round NFL draft picks will assemble in Indianapolis to be poked, prodded, weighed, measured, and run through a rigorous body of physical tests to see how high they can jump, how fast they run, and how quickly they can change direction. Every year at the NFL Combines, front-office personnel…
The Jackson County Building in downtown Kansas City, Mo., is not known as a happy place. Built during the Tom Pendergast era, it is viewed by many as a den of degradation where people come to pay their personal property taxes, settle domestic disputes, and face paternity suits. The seventh floor houses Division 43, a small courtroom that is home…
It’s hard to tell whether this movie was meant to be taken seriously. On the one hand, it’s a thriller by John Frankenheimer, who directed The Manchurian Candidate and The French Connection II. On the other hand, it relies so heavily on by-the-numbers plotting and silly clichés, it’s hard to imagine someone with Frankenheimer’s experience meaning it as anything…
Films that revolve around the world of academia are common but seldom make the grade. Wonder Boys is yet another movie that uses a college setting as its backdrop, yet it manages to break new ground thanks to stellar performances by an exceptional cast. None of the performances is Oscar-caliber, but they’re strong enough to make director Curtis Hanson’s…
This derivative low-budget science fiction thriller borrows from just about every flick from Alien to Assault on Precinct 13. Strangely, this movie actually packs more than its share of chills and shocks. When a passenger starship crashes on a desert planet, the accident kills many on board, including the captain. The remaining survivors struggle to find a way off…
God, in his wisdom, made the sexes different. These differences go beyond the physical, as is evident with Hanging Up, the latest chick flick from the Ephron sisters, adapted from a book by Delia and produced by Nora (Sleepless In Seattle, You’ve Got Mail). Meg Ryan stars as Eve, the middle of three sisters coping with the imminent death…
Having a hit man on the lam as a next door neighbor could make for some lethally black comedy. Unfortunately, The Whole Nine Yards never quite makes the kill. Matthew Perry plays a beleaguered dentist whose life becomes even more miserable when his shrewish wife (Rosanna Arquette with a cheesy French Canadian accent) badgers him into selling out neighbor Jimmy…
“I worked as an investigator years ago. I was a private detective in Manhattan,” says director Errol Morris. “What I did as a private detective is not so different from what I do as a filmmaker. It’s listening to people. I like researching stuff.” Since his debut in 1978, Morris has made a series of unique documentaries that illustrate…
To feel or not to feelIt’s not in the details …D.F. Miller’s “Vectorgraph No. 12” has no beginning and no end. One searches for a place to start and to stop looking but to no avail. Instead, one takes in a dynamic division of space, composed of three axles, countless small wheels mounted to cement blocks and drywall, and…
