If you still own a copy of Sugar’s Copper Blue (1992), its cobalt-tinted jewel case probably stands out like a sore thumb in your collection, beckoning you to remember frontman Bob Mould in his heyday. After tinkering with electronica for the past few years, he’s getting back to the glorious sound that once kept us glued to MTV’s 120 Minutes…
A generation before Spencer Goertz-Giffen came of age in the tiny Kansas town of Goessel, dancing was taboo. But when the floodgates opened and the Mennonite village in which she was raised loosened its proverbial Bible belt, Goertz-Giffen sprinted to the front of the conga line. “At high school dances, it was just me and my siblings dancing because everyone…
The mix tape or CD has been an immaculately conceived Christmas gift for ages. Unfortunately, maudlin holiday cuts by the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Bright Eyes place the curator squarely at risk for a manger-inflicted head wound. We sought the council of Kit Cole and Katie Conrad of Lawrence’s old-timey string band MAW to compile a grittier collection of…
Nothing says “holiday spirit” quite like stabbing a terrorist or hammering a goombah, as the hottest games this season invite us to do. But no matter how cutting-edge the stars of 2007 may be, they are also unmistakably familiar. This week, we stack the holiday hits of today against the ghosts of gaming past: Mass Effect (Xbox 360): Interstellar…
The man is alone on Christmas Eve. A window glows in the house across the street. He can hear somebody else’s loved ones rushing home through the icy snow. His ex took most of their ornaments when she left; still, he has hung the ones that remain because they remind him of his old life. But holding on to those…
Isaac Diehl (ID) isn’t afraid to take chances — not with his delivery as an MC and not with the musicians with whom he surrounds himself. Along with past collaborators Nezbeat and Sleeper, guests such as Ming & FS, Miles Bonny, Deep Thinkers and the Symbol Heavy crew inhabit the Lawrence rapper’s latest, Avatar Hotel. Pieced together throughout various projects, the…
In a bittersweet, almost mythical case of bad timing, when widespread recognition came calling for the Pedaljets in 1990, few people realized that the celebrated KC quartet had actually just broken up. Much more than a memento of local lore, however, this newly restored version of the band’s second album probably won’t reopen old wounds for fans who pined for…
Dear Mexican: U.S. citizens are sick and tired that, for more than 40 years, Latin American elites have lived like monarchs because they pimp their poor to American businesses for cheap labor that American taxpayers have been forced to subsidize with health care, food, housing, education and so forth, costing taxpayers trillions of dollars annually. Meanwhile, our infrastructure, education and…
I’ve been hearing a lot of clucking about the city’s fried-chicken restaurants. A friend of mine applied for a job as a waitress at the long-awaited new Stroud’s Fried Chicken in Fairway (4200 Shawnee Mission Parkway) and was told it won’t be open until January or February. The same day, I received an e-mail from a reader named Dan, bemoaning…
Here’s the thing: Tim Burton has pulled it off. Nearing the end of an uncommonly strong year for American movies, he has taken a hallowed classic of the modern musical theater, hemmed in the narrative, cast nonsingers in the principal roles, and produced something magical. His Sweeney Todd isn’t a groundbreaking or innovative piece of filmmaking, but it’s as…
Hell of a thing, getting Mike Nichols to adapt the yer-kiddin’-me story of Charlie Wilson, the congressman from Lufkin, Texas, who damned near single-handedly helped the Afghans kick out the Russians in the 1980s. Says right here on page 11 of the paperback edition of the late George Crile’s 2003 book, Charlie Wilson’s War, that Wilson “flaunted” his brief relationship…
Two centuries ago, English poet William Wordsworth lamented that, in our petty pursuit of material gain, the natural world’s beauty was too often lost to us. Though Kansas City filmmaker Jon Scott Anderson uses a high-tech medium, his work evokes Wordsworth’s still-relevant complaint: The world is too much with us; late and soon/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;/Little…
It’s hard to imagine a more potent test of family solidarity than the decision-making process regarding what to do with a sick and helpless relative. When it comes to dealing with the growing army of senile parents, most of us have no idea what the hell we’re doing. Tamara Jenkins plumbs the depths of that terror in her new film,…
Around here, it’s been a long time since a memorable party has been revisited with a sequel. Rehashing this old tactic of rave promoters is one Mr. Nuro, with his Winter Wonderland II, the follow-up to last year’s wildly successful event. Upstairs, DJ O.E. opens up with retro. Then Madame E and JAH take over. The Kings of Rock come…
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two — The War Years (Paramount) Alien Apocalypse (Anchor Bay) Balls of Fury (Universal) Black Moon Rising (Anchor Bay) Boy Eats Girl (Lionsgate) Braveheart: Special Collector’s Edition (Paramount) Bring It On: In It to Win It (Universal) Cinderella II: Dreams Come True Special Edition (Disney) David Leadbetter Golf Instruction Series: Special Edition (Well…
By BEN WESTHOFF 1. Worst Album: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible This cerebral garbage entertained about 100 people, none of whom didn’t either live in Canada or work as a music critic. Speaking of critics, it’s hard to agree with Sasha Frere-Jones about anything, but he was right that Arcade Fire lacks soul. This is true in both the musical…
Top 10 Records for 2007 by Billy Smith of Roman Numerals, Olympic Size and DJ Say10 fame. Von Sudenfed, Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino) LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (DFA) Battles, Mirrored (Warp) Cornelius, Sensuous (Ever Loving) Angels of Light, We Are Him (Young God) Earth, Hibernaculum (Southern Lord) Efterklang, Parades (Leaf) Republic Tigers, S/T EP (Chop Shop) Chromatics, Night Drive (Italians…
By NADIA PFLAUM Here, in no real order, are the ten songs of this year that make me want to cut off my face: Gym Class Heroes, “Cupid’s Chokehold.” Their “sample” of Supertramp was actually just wholesale theft of a good chorus, plus rewritten lyrics so repugnant that I bet they actually penned them themselves. J. Holiday, “Bed.” It’s…
By CHRIS PACKHAM Facts about U2’s mononymous front-man, Bono: — Bono is the founder and celebrity hood ornament of the (PRODUCT)RED campaign to expand opportunities in poverty-ravaged African countries and to combat the spread of diseases such as malaria and AIDS. — Bono is only four inches tall. — Bono was hatched from a pheasant egg and washes his…
While we here at The Pitch have been Photoshopping “Free Mustache Rides” shirts on everyone and their mother to commemorate the end of Kansas AG Paul Morrison’s career, the folks at the Wichita Eagle are a bit more mature. They made a holiday-themed music video. Categories: News
Robert Moore, host of Sonic Spectrum on 96.5 FM the Buzz, presents his list of the ten best albums of the year, with honorable mentions after the jump. ROBERT MOORE’S BEST ALBUMS OF ’07 Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Field Music, Tones Of Town Eleni Mandell, Miracle Of Five Various Artists, David…
Record Bar co-owner (and Roman Numerals member) Steve Tulipana said that not only could he make a list of the 10 best shows that went down at his venue this year but also the 10 best shows that no one attended. We said OK, do it. He did. TOP 10 BEST SHOWS AT RECORDBAR 2007 Eric Bachman Battles Radio Birdman…
By BERRY ANDERSON A couple of songs into the set, Jeff Pickman, guitarist for Action Figure proclaimed, “This place Crosstown Station kicks ass!” He is right… It kicks ass in that squeaky-clean, new-place kind of way. Scoring major points for sound quality, general stage appearance, and superfriendly staff (when was the last time a bartender called you “Love”?), downtown’s newest…
By CRYSTAL K. WIEBE Tonya Harding warms up to customers at Grinders. Bad girl figure skater-turned-boxer Tonya Harding came to town last Friday to sign autographs at a mixed martial arts fighting event. Before she headed to the National Guard Armory in Kansas City, Kansas, she agreed to have a beer with me at Grinders. She showed up wearing a…
