Definitive Jux founder Jaime Meline, who goes by El-P, has spent the millennium battering hip-hop's boundaries, and on his first solo CD since 2002, he takes things well beyond his previous extremes. The results are intriguing but self-consciously arty, engaging the brain more often than they move the body. El-P...
When Gerald Pabst took the witness stand to testify against his brother-in-law, he looked scared. He was literally shaking. Yet he answered the prosecutor's questions in a soft, even tone that didn't fit the gruesome details of the murder. It was all the fault of Clay Chabot, Pabst said. At...
The VIP card is a delicate and dangerous thing. Obtained via one's prestige, wealth (parental or personal) and ability to shamelessly schmooze, it can open doors to many exclusive experiences. But recent evidence suggests overuse can result in mental breakdowns involving panty-forgetting and head-shaving. Rehab, ahoy! But I am no...
We have a few questions about Tom Leppert's inaugural speech, delivered yesterday at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and reprinted in its entirety after the jump (courtesy the city's Web site). But chief among them is this: Why did Leppert say, "A well-known philosopher once said, 'What is a...
Kazu Makino has a voice so shiny and cold, you can almost hear the titanium in her face. The Kyoto-born singer of Blonde Redhead—the New York art-rock trio composed of Makino and Milanese twins Amedeo and Simone Pace—was severely injured in a 2002 riding accident. She was thrown to the...
Pastor Sherman Allen of Shiloh Institutional Church of God in Christ has been suspended from his pastoral duties. And not a moment too soon? The Church of God in Christ has suspended Fort Worth Pastor Sherman Allen "from all national and local pastoral roles and activities" within the denomination. The...
On their Web site, brothers Braden and Craig Power -- the namesakes of 13-year-old Power Properties on Gaston Avenue -- have posted a number of complimentary newspaper stories written about their efforts to restore old Dallas homes and apartment complexes, including, perhaps most famously, their work rehabbing the formerly rundown...
For Amon Tobin's Chaos Theory: Splinter Cell 3 Soundtrack, the Brazilian-born U.K. resident and producer/DJ spun delicately assembled cinematic instrumentals into epic nightmarish videogame backdrops, boasting chopped organ and string section bits over boisterous drum breaks. It was another impressive exercise in Tobin's venturesome sound manipulation, but Foley Room presented...
Your taxes. Your spouse. Your diet. Your résumé. Your handicap. Your death? Chances are you've cheated on one of them. If not, how about the time you scurried across the street instead of using the crosswalk? That day you sneaked 12 items through the 10-or-fewer grocery line? The iPod music...
It's not a good morning for TXU, and the opening graf of this subscription-only Wall Street Journal piece says it all: "TXU Corp. may face tougher scrutiny of its proposed $32 billion buyout by private-equity interests including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. as a result of a finding it has...
The last time the Mavs won a division, the team looked a whole lot different. I know, the Mavericks played like April fools in Phoenix Sunday afternoon. But the day wasn't a total loss. In fact, it was a major win. How's that? After Dallas' ugly loss, the San Antonio...
To some extent, the lyrics of pop music are about emotion, specifically of the romantic variety. Oh sure, there are the occasional forays into intellectual queries, or literary ruminations, or mathematical formulae, but truly even the arithmetic boils down to two formulae: 1+1=2 and, more often, 2-1=1. Given the trite...
Not to be confused with the psychedelic British trio from the late '60s and early '70s, Clouds, the latest from Cave In shredder and vocalist Adam McCrath, is a nebular array of rambunctious retro rock that combines the Raw Power of the Stooges with the Texas-sized boogie of ZZ Top...
The Texas Rangers stink and, fittingly, general manager Jon Daniels feels like raw fish. "I put our name on the list," Daniels says as I arrive for lunch at Las Colinas' Blue Fish restaurant. "Should just be a few minutes." Cool. Wait. I mean...huh? You're telling me the Rangers' No...
Brian Harkin Someone told us the other day this photo of Sam Coats almost makes them wanna vote for the guy. "Makes him look tough." Which is one way of putting it. If a mayoral candidate has a beef with one of his fellow combatants, we usually hear about it...
Dear Readers, Gracias, gracias, gracias for ustedes who bought the Mexican's book last week (deportation for those who haven't). I've done mucho national press because of the interest; the list so far includes Talk of the Nation, FOX News Live, Paula Zahn Now, The Tom Leykis Show, The Glenn Beck...
To Catch a Thief: Special Collector's Edition (Paramount) Starring Cary Grant as a cat burglar and Grace Kelly as a hot-to-trot heiress, this is easily one of Alfred Hitchcock's slightest films, especially coming on the heels of Rear Window; indeed, its idyllic setting on the French Riviera suggests it was...
This man says he can prove that God exists. Big deal. So can we, in two words: Jessica Biel. This week's paper version of Unfair Park features a cover story on Roy Abraham Varghese, who founded the Institute of Metascientific Research in Garland four years ago. Its mission: to refute...
Paper Chase and Explosions in the Sky are two peas in an experimental pod. At least, that's what it looked like at Monday night's twin bill at the Granada Theater. In many ways, these two groups couldn't be more different, but in others they mirror each other almost perfectly, though...
From the newest iPod to the Olsen twins' collective waistline, the world loves all things mini. The Nintendo Wii embraces this digestible format once again for Wii Play, a collection of nine easy-to-play minigames that comes bundled with a free Wii controller. However, the result is like a Happy Meal:...
CANNES, France—The world's preeminent film festival celebrated its 60th birthday party — the opening banquet catered by the world's hippest, or is that once-hippest? — filmmaker. Hardly the disaster many feared, but far from the triumph others anticipated, Wong Kar-wai's first English-language feature, My Blueberry Nights — starring Norah Jones...
First, I'm not a sports writer. Thus, I won't ramble off statistics about shooting averages. I won't ponder what teams need to win and lose which game to determine the path to the championships. All I'm going to say is I hope the Mavericks mow down the Spurs like a...
