Posted January 30, 2013in Book Review, Recent Posts
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Cathryn Lang Touchstone Books 1/22/13 $24.99 320 pp. We are nearing Super Bowl Sunday, and what do we look forward to the most? Yes, of course, those memorable commercials. Former ad man and New Yorker contributor John Kenny has written his debut novel about
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Posted January 23, 2013in Joe's Neighborhood, Recent Posts
Really? They tell me that you’re on your high horse about the recent visit of the Monster Trucks to Des Moines. Your artistic nose is out of joint at all the noise and the dirt and the craziness. You’re wondering how an over-sized truck can possibly have one admirer let
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Posted January 23, 2013in Recent Posts, Sound Check
Blondfire ‘Where The Kids Are EP’ Warner Bros Blondfire’s been something of an indie pop darling since its 2006 debut made it the first unsigned band to hit No. 1 on the iTunes Alternative chart. The band — comprised mainly of siblings Bruce and Erica Driscoll — has been working
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Posted January 23, 2013in On The Tube, Recent Posts
‘The Carrie Diaries; is a delightfully bad prequel to ‘Sex and the City’ “The Carrie Diaries” (Monday, 7 p.m., CW) is a prequel to “Sex and the City,” featuring a 16-year-old Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) in place of Sarah Jessica Parker’s adult version. In 1984, Carrie obsesses on “finding her
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Posted January 23, 2013in Book Review, Recent Posts
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Cathryn Lang William Morrow and Company 11/13/12 $ 22.99 192 pp. Oh, Willie, you clever scoundrel. You knew we would just have to read a book with a title like this. So I did, and here we go… This is a delightful, quick read
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Posted January 23, 2013in Recent Posts, Sound Notes
You know who’s had a busy January? Brolester Records, that’s who. The Des Moines-based label — already home to albums from North of Grand, Superchief and Patrick’s Beard and The Rusty Razors — continues to expand its (now global) network of bands. In the past couple weeks, Brolester’s Jeremiah Tuhn
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Posted January 16, 2013in Center Stage, Recent Posts
When something comes with a warning label, that usually means it’s good (or bad, depending on who you are). The “content advisory” you’ll find on your admission ticket to “The Book of Mormon” musical coming to the Civic Center on Jan. 25 is a sign you’re in for a great
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Posted January 16, 2013in Book Review, Recent Posts
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Barb Palar Little Brown and Company Oct. 23, 2012 $30 720 pp. Every time Tom Wolfe takes on a sacred institution, such as New York City in “Bonfire of the Vanities” or higher education in “I Am Charlotte Simmons,” it’s a bit of an
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Posted January 16, 2013in Joe's Neighborhood, Recent Posts
Truth is hard to come by it seems. What we see is shaped by so many factors that have nothing to do with what is actually in front of us. The problem ranges from an actual blind spot in our eye to the mind’s technique of filling in what we
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Posted January 16, 2013in Recent Posts, Sound Check
Holopaw ‘Academy Songs, Volume 1’ Misra “Acdemy Songs” is, I guess, a concept album. Whether it aims too high, or whether front man John Orth’s songwriting isn’t up to the task, is ultimately immaterial. Either way, it’s not a very good concept album. The Gainesville, Fla., indie outfit has produced
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