Cover Stories
Get under the bus?
Unless you’re a political junkie, policy wonk or highly motivated parent of school-age children, chances are you don’t realize the nation is (yet again) in the midst of an ambitious and high-minded (supposed) round of education reform. It is called Race to the Top, and it comes with a huge carrot ($4.35 billion overall) and…
Keeping promises
In the 40212 ZIP code, many people are crossing their fingers. That’s because the ZIP code — which includes the Portland, Russell and Shawnee neighborhoods — is one of 340 nationwide competing for “Promise Neighborhoods” designation, a new federal initiative that aims to match college graduation rates for inner city students with those of their…
Community college bound
When Corey Mumpfort, 26, was attending Iroquois High School, he dreamed about becoming a doctor. But then his mother was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol abuse, and that goal was put on hold. The then-17-year-old dropped out of school and took on a full-time job as a banquet server at the…
Jerry’s kids
If Louisville voters have reasons to hesitate in supporting Republican mayoral candidate and Metro Councilman Hal Heiner, R-19, this November, his opposition to the Fairness ordinance could be chief among them. Following a decade of heated protests and high-profile discrimination incidents, the Louisville Board of Alderman passed a historic city bill prohibiting discrimination against gay,…
The Bard’s Town plays to the crowd
Bardstown Road. Bard’s Town. The Bard. Bill Shakespeare! It’s surprising no one has seized the opportunity to pun upon the name of the Highlands’ main corridor until now. With the Bard above the door and the promise of grand entertainment within, expectations run high for this new establishment at the corner of Speed Avenue. “Curst…
Secret Colours
A consistent blend of ’60s retro-psych-sway from this Chicago five-piece that is more Mission District than Wicker Park. Employing jangly tambourines, reverb-doused vocals and endless pools of distortion, Secret Colours steps into the VW bus and sets its Garmin for 1968. Only that road has been Googled before: for its use of echo, for its…
Record
Hope they’re not breaking up. Collections could be a mid-career snack to tide you over, or a signal of the end. Stressful, and that’s the opposite of what a Zero 7 album usually does. Record compiles select classics and reinterpretations led from studio engineers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. The two initially made their name…
Bar Belle: Peace, Love & Beer beckons in Asheville
When the worn bar stool begins to feel too much like an obligation and not an elation, I need a vacation. A change of scenery. A week of sleeping through hangovers and leaving my twats and texts far behind. Although I heard about some great deals along the Gulf Coast, I opted for an easier,…
Hail The Goer
The Hex Haus, where they conceived this monster, isn’t pretty, and neither is this. Eight unchained howler anthems for lovers of P.J. Harvey and Gang of Four were the two caught screwing in a bar owned by John Lydon. Miss Jilly’s a thorny rose: Her shrieking, serrating vox are doubled and tripled to the point…
Papers, please?
Just after noon, as the lunchtime crowd at Fourth Street Live is beginning to swell, dozens of demonstrators — many of them clad in white T-shirts emblazoned with the word “immigration” — ask to see the citizenship papers of patrons and passers-by. “Can I see your papers, please?” they inquire. Their audience, mostly white business-types…
Comedy: Josh Wolf two-times with Chelsea and ESPN
Josh Wolf started his career in Hollywood as a writer on several television shows, including the CBS sitcom “Yes, Dear.” While taking a break from writing, he found himself a part of Chelsea Handler’s vicious circle — the notoriously unforgiving roundtable on her E! show “Chelsea Lately.” As a recurring panelist, his enthusiastic personality and…
Art: The devil made him do it
Most people might scoff at being called an agnostic, pessimistic hoarder, but artist Erik Underwood revels in it. In fact, it was these personality traits that led to the creation of his recent exhibit, “Holier Than Thou,” opening Friday at Day’s Coffee. The exhibit features eight graphic art depictions of the Bible’s heroes and villains…
Art: Rediscovering wet plate photography
Wet plate photography — sounds messy, doesn’t it? It’s what photographers used in the 19th century until someone discovered the chemical mix that led to the new and improved dry plate. The heyday of the wet plate (also known as the collodion process) fell between 1851-75. Photographers, using large-format cameras, coated a glass or metal…
Brian Paulson
In the July-August edition of Tape Op magazine, writer Alex Maiolo has a great Q&A with Brian Paulson. A recording engineer and producer in Carrboro, N.C., Paulson was behind the boards for the making of Slint’s landmark 1991 release Spiderland at River North Studios in Chicago. Based on the sound of that record, Jeff Tweedy…
Inbox — Aug. 4, 2010
Aging Pets I just finished reading the article about former Metro Animal Services Director Dr. Gilles Meloche (LEO Weekly, July 28). I am not surprised the current city administration missed the obvious clues surrounding this degenerate individual. In my mind, the shelter’s parking lot should have been covered in red flags indicating something was wrong.…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to mherron@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed. Aug.…
Somewhere on the Golden Coast
Another notch in the win column for Los Angeles, where working-class rock ’n’ roll can suffocate under the glitz. On The Henry Clay People’s gold coast, we all live on backyard barbecues, ping-pong and a multitude of carefree, recreational activities. The fireworks start off with “Nobody Taught Us to Quit” and “This Ain’t a Scene.”…
Vinyl Box
Tinny presupposition of recent electronic music made with an archaic technology. This is more of a historical document than a recording you rock out to. Pop is scattered among the shallow, empty space of ancient experimental beats. This collection gussies up Neu!’s catalog, but this is more than a clear record of goofy krautrock, Gameboy…
Staffpicks
Thursday, Aug. 5 Art for the Animals Mellwood Art Center 1860 Mellwood Ave. www.shamrockpets.com/afta $75; 6-9 p.m. Black and white attire is requested at this year’s Art for the Animals fundraiser — a gesture intended to emphasize the color pets bring to our lives, says event chairwoman Kristi Cook. The Shamrock Pet Foundation hopes to…
A meditation on meditation
Ultimately, all our difficulties arise from one basic illusion. We believe in the inherent existence of ourselves and all other phenomena. … We each believe there to be an essential and continuous “me” pervading the physical and mental parts that make up each of us. This essential quality is merely imputed by us; it does…
Lydia Burrell
Lydia Burrell is the solo outing from former Kangaroo member and composer Alexander Smith, who created Burrell as a character in a screenplay. If this album is a soundtrack, the role Burrell plays here is one of an unobtainable object of desire to that of Smith’s solitary, jilted lover. He’s left to ask questions without…
The Long Ride
Local Villains don’t stray from their classic, alt-rock background, and for good reason. The strength of The Long Ride cuts through on opener “Pass the Bottle,” which could easily be a summer anthem or at least make you shred air guitar. “Devil in Disguise” is especially strong with its haunting guitar riffs and vocals to…
What is life?
A dedicated fan recently brought it to my attention that I ruined his ability to enjoy one of Hollywood’s finer recent entertainments because I revealed some significant detail from the proverbial third reel. It continues to bother me, because it is central to my approach that prior knowledge of various plot details should be of…
Plea: 491
Matthew Fogle seems to be a pretty talented guy — he has a solid voice and an obvious ear for melodies — but I hit a snag on Plea: 491. Gospel can be beautiful and personal. It can also come off bland, disingenuous and repetitive. If God is a giant, omni-present being, maker of heaven…
Thinking about the unthinkable
Why should we think about the unthinkable? August 6 and 9 mark the 65th anniversary of the first (and so far only) use of nuclear weapons in warfare — attacks the United States unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. No one will ever know for certain how many…
Film: The real Joan Rivers revealed in documentary
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work Documentary directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern. Rated R; 1:24. LEO Report Card: A- The opening scene is a close-up on Joan Rivers’ face as she is getting foundation applied. It’s the quintessential shot of the film — a stark, unfiltered glimpse of the man behind the curtain,…
The chalk man cometh
Stu Noland didn’t set out to beat City Hall; his hand was forced. The 31-year-old Phoenix Hill activist didn’t expect to be arrested and handcuffed in June for chalking a downtown sidewalk near the Jefferson County Judicial Center, where he sat in Judge Jennifer Bryant Wilcox’s district courtroom Monday morning. “Are you nervous?” I asked.…
Breakneck Speed
Since February, when they posted two homespun songs on Bandcamp, Cults, the New York duo of Brian Oblivion and girlfriend Madeline Follin, have thrown a band together on no notice for their maiden tour, fielded annoying questions from rock writers, filmed a video for Adult Swim, and generally avoided the whiplash that comes from being…
WEB EXCLUSIVE: ‘Jersey Boys’ too good to be true
Jersey Boys Presented by PNC Broadway Across America. Continues through Aug. 15 in the at the Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall, 501 W. Main St. For tickets, call 584-7777 or visit www.kentuckycenter.org.) When a rock group comes along that reaches such iconic status as the Four Seasons, there seems to be some sense that destiny was…
Industry Standard: Insider info for those who dine out
With the Lebowski Fest, Forecastle Festival and HullabaLOU all recently put to bed, you might think Louisville’s festival season is over until next summer, but you’d be wrong. Don’t forget the Kentucky State Fair. Also, WorldFest is coming up on the riverfront on Labor Day weekend. Waterfront Wednesdays continue through September, and Jeffersontown celebrates the…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: DATE NIGHT 2010; $29.95-$39.95, PG-13 Tina Fey and Steve Carell are perfect in this no-holds-barred comic take on middle-aged marriage. With daily life getting kinda stale, they decide to go into town for a bit of — just a smidge, mind you — the high life. Tired of waiting for a…
