Dr. John Witherspoon was born in Gifford, Scotland, in 1723. A scholarly Presbyterian minister who was elected to the Continental Congress, he is perhaps best known for his hilarious portrayal of Ice Cube’s dad in the Friday movies. Defying all known medical science, Witherspoon lived for more than 250 years,…
The KDGE-102.1 FM EdgeFest, age 16, a once-promising showcase of quasi-independent “alternative,” “modern” and “new” rock acts, died on April 15 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, following a courageous battle with cultural relevance. The EdgeFest premiered in 1992 with interesting and inventive bands such as the Sugarcubes and Charlatans…
One part human kazoo and one part yawning tree frog, an expert Tuvan throat singer can traverse scales and melodies throughout dreamlike hypnotic stretches, sometimes stacking up to four notes at a time. This traditional vocalization style also lends itself to some beautiful and poetic lyrics. Here’s a sampling: “Uuuuuuuuuuunnnnnngh,…
This summer’s Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is going to make your old grade-school trips to the planetarium look like Bantha turds by comparison. Can’t wait till June? This weekend’s sneak peek will allow visitors to hang with R2D2,…
Backed by blipping beats and cybernetic synth sounds that owe equally to Deltron 3030 and Duck Hunt, Fort Worth’s MC Router dispenses a distinct vocal style not unlike that of a squealing 9600 baud modem. By her own description, the first lady of nerdcore spits “angsty lyrics” and “whiney rants”…
A remastered reissue of an out-of-print underground hip-hop classic, Ruff Draft is the late, great J Dilla at a creative apex. It took him a week to turn the whole thing out, but that was more than enough time to unleash a maelstrom of lo-fi breakbeat jams that paid tribute…
Jesus is risen, bitches! Nothing commemorates the resurrection of our Lord and Savior like pastel-colored wicker baskets lined with plastic grass and filled with marshmallow chicks, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. Here’s Your Official Easter Playlist. Jam it when you’re coming down from that sugar high in the waiting room…
Master hypnotist Gary Conrad is the best master hypnotist of all master hypnotists, alive, dead or living dead. Master hypnotist Gary Conrad performs flawless, life-altering feats of suggestion that are unmatched in this or any other known galaxy, universe or alternate dimension. Master hypnotist Gary Conrad was a guest on…
When you’re at the Command Performance of International Ballet try to behave yourself and refrain from using your newfound mind powers to telekinetically inflate a male dancer’s nut bunch in a hilarious balloon-like fashion. What mind powers? The mind powers you got after being doused with errant radioactive sludge from…
Typecasting always works. Charlotte Rae didn’t just portray Mrs. Edna Ann Garrett, she was Mrs. Garrett. Jim J. Bullock was Monroe on Too Close for Comfort. Mr. T was Clubber Lang. Similarly, he was also B.A. Baracus. Kinda the same dude. What happens when you go against type? John Belushi…
You know you’re in for a cinematic tour de force when a film stars rapper, thespian and noted pimping enthusiast Ice-T, the mayor of Batshit Crazy Town Gary Busey, F. Murray Abraham and Rutger Hauer. Equally eclectic is the string of plot keywords listed on the movie’s IMDB profile, including…
“The first hip-hop record I owned was The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five,” recalls DJ Rob Viktum. “My father bought it for me.” When that record first dropped, back when Viktum was but a wee lad, it was mostly the inner-city kids who were having The Message…
We’re sick and tired of Dennis Miller trying to make us common folk feel all dumb by using them polysyllabic turns of phrase and pulling out obscure references such as Lord Theomopharah’s trusty crossbow during the final throes of the historic Siege at Dalamiphius. And we’re tired and sick of…
Spoiler alert! Despite what you’re led to believe in The Usual Suspects, Keyser Söze is not any of the usual suspects. He’s not mumbling, menacing Fenster. He’s not short-fused McManus or wiseass Hockney. He’s not our hero Dean Keaton nor is he the limping, gimpy Verbal. He’s not even interrogating…
OK, we know all of you out there in newspaper-reading land (you know, the three of you who prefer the printed word to rapidly blogged scuttlebutt) depend on us to provide the most accurate information as possible. But hey, music writers are 1) lazy and 2) often drunk, so mistakes…
Oi, these goyim and their indigestion-inducing foods, with the barbecues and the crawfish boils and what have you. Just thinking about that traif gets us all farblondzhet in the boykh. It’s absolute meshugas. Luckily, our khevre over at Tiferet Israel are ladling up some spicy nosh of comparable fiery deliciousness…
For their one-year anniversary, the Road Agent folks are serving gallery-goers a revolving, mashed-up smorgasbord featuring work from some of their favorite artists, among them the bold canine portraits of Raychael Stine and James Christopher Case’s intricate ink and charcoal reflections on modern disaster. Road Agent: The Audience Is Listening…
An “All Pet” Expo, huh? As in, an expo for all pets? Well, this could get dangerous. Some people think mountain lions make good pets. We knew plenty of people in college who considered iguanas and marmosets to be acceptable house pets. What happens when the people with pet pythons…
We could ruminate about Office Space, Mike Judge’s ode to the weary cubicle worker. We could ponder it as biting social commentary, realist absurdism or as simply an enjoyable, above-average 90-minute comedy. Or we could be completely obnoxious and just belch up a bunch of references and lines of dialogue…
This isn’t some li’l prissy, powder-puff football team; this is your three-time world champion Dallas Diamonds. Still, the “Tryout FAQ” on the team’s Web site reads like Redbook, focusing on the latest diet crazes (“Eat something that will give you energy, but stay down.”) and fashion footwear (leave the heels,…
While Lee Harvey’s front yard fire pits do little to remedy recent weather trends, be they “frigid frosts” or “arctic blasts,” the vibe inside remains warm and cozy. This is mostly because the place has the spatial capacity of a newly purchased tin of breath mints. But it’s the rotating…
Hannibal Raheem, Tree and Oneself Salaam are brothers in the strictest definition of the word. Sure, they’re “brothers” in the way that a lot of musical groups claim fraternity. They create music together as Verbal Seed and share a common vision for the group. But they also share the same…
