Tuesday, August 29 2006
Five Colors Rock Taiwan
Che Guevara, John Lennon, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein -- and Taiwan's late DPP legislator Lu Hsiu-yi -- all met up on a rock 'n' roll stage to rouse up a revolution.
Monday, August 28 2006
Foreigners in Foreign Lands, Part II: Exotic Occidentals
The second in a series of two examinations of foreign musicians, in which the Devil returns, literally, to China, to suss out those abusing the 'foreign' tag.
Friday, August 25 2006
Bubblegum Pops the (Counter-)Culture
Fake and faceless, bubblegum pop in the late '60s and early '70s offended the prevailing rock myths of artistic creativity and rugged opposition to the powers-that-be.
Thursday, August 24 2006
Wednesday, August 23 2006
Summer in the Cities
It is time to face a fundamental vacation truth: no matter how post-touristic we like to think we are, no matter how much money we throw at travelling halfway around the world in order to escape our mundane routine lives, there are only two types of holiday-goer and both are of the Real Touristik variety.
Tuesday, August 22 2006
Mass Xceptance: The Too-Discovered Country of Extreme Sports
In playing up the punk rock, DIY ethos of skaters, surf bums, and adrenaline junkies, the X Games (and extreme sports in general) have edged their way forward from the margins of sports culture and now boast a committed following - not least the predatory advertising industry.
Monday, August 21 2006
Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave
The apparent escape into the cultural niches available online will eventually lead directly into data-collecting advertisers' traps.
Thursday, August 17 2006
The Gruesome Gazettes Part 2: Fangoria and Beyond
Horror fandom finds its gruesome, gory touchstone in this second half of our look at genre publications, and its arrival signals a real renaissance in the power and influence of motion picture macabre.
Wednesday, August 16 2006
For God and Country
Alave expounds upon the Philippine's separation of church and state; or rather, the lack thereof.
Tuesday, August 15 2006
Postmortem
Hallelujah, it's raining blood! The Unholy Alliance Tour, a veritable distillation of the current state of contemporary metal on wheels, descends upon Western Canada and finally ends Begrand's 22-year wait to witness Slayer in the flesh.
Monday, August 14 2006
About Those People
People magazine is more than just a gossip rag or a teller of heartwarming tales: it's a secretly subversive publication, bent on reshaping society's attitudes about beauty and sexual desire.
Friday, August 11 2006
The Sounds of Now, Part Two: Meredith Monk
For the second installment in an ongoing series profiling contemporary composers, Jenkins reports on Meredith Monk, whose compositions and performances integrate the personal aspects of the body in a manner wholly removed from the majority of current musical production.
Thursday, August 10 2006
The Lighter Side of Artificial Intelligence
The scary-smart 20Q AI project asks: Animal, vegetable, mineral or legendary '70s rock star?
Wednesday, August 9 2006
The Da Vinci De-Bacle
As I sat there in the theater watching The Da Vinci Code, I wondered how it would be possible to follow the knotty narrative if you hadn't read the book first.
Tuesday, August 8 2006
An Axe to the Hexa
Fan expectations of Brazilian players are fierce. At their hotel in Germany, the Brazilian team was booed by a number of fans who had traveled there for World Cup -- and more were waiting at home.
Monday, August 7 2006
Little Americans: They’re Everywhere!
There's probably not a single place on earth where one won't run into an Australian. Hummel speculates on what compels her people to travel so.
Friday, August 4 2006
Punchin’ in the Rain
Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee were from different generations and decidedly divergent disciplines. Yet they have more in common than one might imagine.
Wednesday, August 2 2006
Hit the Road, Bonejack!
Seaver is a true product of the post-modern media. Glued to the tube like most of the '80s underage denizens, he lived on a steady latchkey diet of Full House, Thundercats and Charles in Charge.
Tuesday, August 1 2006
Onward Young Pioneers!
As Communism's old guard is gradually relegated to the past, much of Eastern Europe is faced with a decidedly non-traditional youth movement. But are countries like Hungary and the Czech Republic ready for the political make-over?
Monday, July 31 2006
Foreigners in Foreign Lands, Part I: Exotic Orientals
In the first in a series of examinations of foreign musicians we meet the Subs, a Chinese band who, no matter how good (or bad) their music, are first and foremost Chinese -- whether they like it or not.
