Cover Story
A Life In Freefall
Just so you know, I throw up a lot.” Eric Rogers, 32, leans his thin, ghostly frame over the right side of his parents’ recliner, retches a poor excuse for a diet into a garbage can and continues talking, fully aware of his manners but hoping you don’t care. His stomach does not work, so…
Culture: IdeaFestival 2010 — Jon Landau
If you combine the box offices from movie producer Jon Landau’s two biggest hits, it would surpass the gross domestic product of 63 nations (based on estimates from the CIA’s World Factbook). The James Cameron-directed blockbusters, “Avatar” and “Titanic,” have raked in more than $4.6 billion — not including the theatrical re-release of “Titanic,” currently…
S/T
Sara Beck is back, once again recording and performing under the name given by her brother and producer, rapper Black Nasty. The first half of the new disc is dominated by quick songs that ricochet around on two or three smartly chosen alt-rock riffs. The variety of songwriting within that limited model is winning enough,…
We Got This
Go-go is said to be the only music native to Washington, D.C., a city where everyone is from somewhere else. Chuck Brown is the genre’s godfather, effectively creating it in the 1970s by combining percussive Latin grooves, jazz, gospel and rhythm-and-blues. The drum break to “Ashley’s Roach Clip” has been sampled to death by rappers…
Film: Louisville’s International Festival of Film returns
Mark Twain once said if you don’t like Louisville’s current film festival, wait five minutes. OK, maybe that was the weather in Buffalo. But it does seem like a new collection of films pop up somewhere in the city on a weekly basis. This month has already seen the Asian Film Festival, the Kentucky Short…
Chk yourself
One inescapable cultural facet of the West Coast is its brand of hip-hop. So when !!! wanted to cover a song for a 2005 EP, Nate Dogg’s “Get Up” seemed logical. “We’re from California, so we’ve always liked West Coast hip-hop,” says singer Nic Offer, who founded the band in Sacramento in 1996. “We always…
Gravity
A few days before the seasons changed, Jupiter appeared on the horizon, quite visible to the naked eye, closer to Earth than it had been in 30 years. Over the course of several days, it passed beneath a beautiful Super Harvest Moon (a full moon within 24 hours of the equinox), the first since 1991.…
Heaven Is Whenever
Bogged down early on with comparisons to Jersey’s favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, The Hold Steady seems to have finally embraced The Boss’ influence while cultivating their own distinct voice. Craig Finn pushes the previously narrow parameters of his voice to find a greater range, and while the songs are anything but happy, his lyrics aren’t…
Show me the money
When University of Louisville professor Ben Foster campaigned for a seat on the Jefferson County Board of Education two years ago, he felt hampered by the contribution limit put on school board candidates. The first-time candidate raised more than twice the amount of his opponent, but still found it difficult to compete because the Jefferson…
Burst
Synth-pop is resurging these days, meaning there’s a welcome abundance of fantastic songs that are also super-danceable. The Pass has worked hard at a full, varied ensemble sound, yielding a lively full-length debut. This foursome shares LCD Soundsystem’s modus operandi: borrowing from the entire history of burble-rhythmed hits but never descending to mere pastiche. Brian…
Staffpicks
Wednesday, Sept. 29 Janelle Monáe Bomhard Theater, Kentucky Center 501 W. Main St. • 561-0100 www.jmonae.com $30; 8 p.m. When was the last you heard a diva describe her album as “an epic James Bond film in outer space”? I thought so. This tornado of electro-soul inhabits different genres, positioning herself as a crossover threat…
Bar Belle: Plays well with others
Believe it or not, I was that kid in school. I loved learning, writing on a chalkboard, trading Twinkies for Tater Tots, and showing Mom my report card (usually followed by a reward trip to Ponderosa). I always got high marks and played well with others, unless they took my Ewok away. College was the…
Jerry’s kids
It’s unclear whether Republican Hal Heiner will gain traction in the race for mayor by putting the controversial Jefferson County Public School student assignment plan front and center. The mayor has no authority over public school policy, yet in a 30-second commercial that began airing last week, the East End Republican says it is time…
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. Sept.…
The Inevitable Past Is the Future Forgotten
In “Battle,” the forerunners to critical heroes Pinback and Black Heart Procession foment a contextual debate: This is why I trust you/This is why we wait for you/This our battle, what have we won? Do San Diego’s adept pilots trust their audience to welcome them? Do their hand-covered faces signal apprehension? The answer is yes…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS SPLICE 2010; $28.95-$35.95, R Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley star in this “Species”-like sci-fi shocker as a pair of too-smart scientists who create a human-something hybrid with a stinger in its tail. It grows fast and turns into sexy Delphine Chanéac before anyone thinks to consider the fascinating cinematic implications of…
Book: Matthew Zapruder leads poetry’s resurgence
Come on All You Ghosts By Matthew Zapruder. Copper Canyon Press; 111 pgs., $16. If you haven’t been paying attention, you might think poetry was limited to what you learned in school. Who could blame you for thinking that? It’s not like television talk shows devote airtime to modern poets — unless you’ve tuned in…
Inbox — Sept. 29, 2010
Correction The line-up for Best Antique Store in last week’s Readers’ Choice issue was incorrect and excluded some of the winners. The correct order is: First Place, Goss Avenue Antiques and Interiors; Second Place, Joe Ley Antiques; Third Place (tie), Crazy Daisy Antique Mall and East Broadway Home Store. LEO regrets the error. Pope Lick…
Locavore Lore: All hail the powers of kale
Like most kids, I did not grow up professing my love for kale. Despite my parents’ efforts, I mostly thought of kale as a frizzy garnish that enhanced the presentation of the real food. I can’t say there was an exact time when I magically began liking kale, but I was slowly exposed to greens…
The Grape Escape: Pinot gris, pinot grigio, whatever
It doesn’t matter whether the label reads “pinot gris,” as the French call it, or the Italian-style “pinot grigio.” It’s the same grape, and either way, you’re much more likely to call for this popular white wine today than you were a decade ago. Pinot gris vineyards have tripled in California over the past 10…
Group therapy
Parlour unveiled its first album in nearly a decade last week, but they’re continuing to celebrate the record release. In advance of this weekend’s Cropped Out Festival, a three-day event organized by Sophomore Lounge Records owner Ryan Davis and New York talent buyer James Ardery, Parlour’s Tim Furnish tells where he’s been. LEO: Why so…
Halcyon Digest
Atlanta impresario Bradford Cox is correct in singing that “Darkness doesn’t always make much sense,” and that’s apparent in the composed freakiness of Halcyon Digest. His is a varied palette: After the cataclysmic crunch of opener, “Earthquake!,” the menu meanders from the jangly upswing of “Revival” and “Memory Boy” to the stark falsetto of “Sailing.”…
Everything In Between
If brevity is the soul of wit, Dean Spunt and Randy Randall must be the funniest guys in the room. The L.A. duo doesn’t mince words, and goes to great lengths to vary the volume war they started on their 2008 debut smash, Nouns. Advancing beyond West Coast punk (but not by much), their pop…
Culture: Saigon, Kentucky
It’s been more than 35 years since Gen. Van Tien Dung and the North Vietnamese Army sacked Saigon and ousted American forces forever, just enough time for the second generation of Vietnamese-Americans to grow up and inquire into the histories of their refugee parents who were ushered into Louisville throughout the ’70s and ’80s. The…
I’m sorry for causing this recession
Obviously, I did not cause this recession overnight. I planted the seeds of our economic ruin back in 2001, when President Bush asked us to shop. I’m not proud of this, but the truth is that when my country desperately needed me to shop, I did not shop. Normally I’m willing to make personal sacrifices…
Comedy: Lavell Crawford is in the game
Chances are, you know who Lavell Crawford is, although you might not recognize his name. The soon-to-be-dad is a regular panelist on “Chelsea Lately” and will be shooting an hour-long special next month. He’s developing a show with Ralphie May called “Brothers From Another Mother.” He’ll be performing at The Impov this weekend. LEO: Are…
