Another Labor Day has come and gone, and that means that summer is officially over. No more lazy days. No more mundane summer jobs. And no more cinematic blockbusters until Christmas.
Film fare this summer left something to be desired. Officially opening on Memorial Day, the summer season started off with what might have been the most over-hyped, but never over-panned, film "Godzilla." Could it be that the public has finally sent the message to Hollywood execs that the plot does matter? Don't count on it.
Movies fizzle in summer heat
Exactly what the powers that be at Warner Bros. were thinking when they OK-ed "The Avengers" is something few will ever know. The script is supposed to be funny but isn't. There is no story. The villain is about as scary as the Michigan's previous football loss, and throughout the movie it's hard not to root for him just so the wretched thing will end.Thurman and Fiennes can't avenge weak storylines
The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is the event that proves that people who say "there's nothing to do in Ann Arbor" are as stupid as you think they are.
The wild rumpus gets underway on Friday, September 11 at 8 pm when Maceo Parker holds court at the Michigan Theater. 
A2 preps for Blues and Jazz
It seems as if many of today's movies have lost their direction. During the summer, audiences flock to large, special effects films such as "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact," leaving little room for smaller gems such as "Smoke Signals." Independent film sends 'Signals' of excellent cinema
It has been said that those who forget the past are destined to repeat it. Following this line of reasoning, those things that we remember are those things which will allow us to move forward, to progress and to prosper. Historians are assigned the daunting task of holding just this torch, of reminding us of our roots.
'Gifts' changed history
Halloween arrived in Detroit exactly two months early this year as gothic-rock's original architects Bauhaus brought their appropriately titled Resurrection tour to the State Theater in Detroit.
With reunion tours being all the rage in the late '90s, everyone from '70s titans like Kiss and The Eagles to unlikely counter-culture vets like The Sex Pistols and Culture Club have been jumping to cash in on the trend. It is hardly surprising, then, that Bauhaus should join the club.Gothic Bauhaus rocks on
There was one thing that seemed to dominate the 1998 summer concert season: festivals with a message. The powers that be, a.k.a. record companies, managers and promoters, seemed to think that putting tons of the same types of artists on a bill would increase the draw with a lot less risk.Tours compromise music quality for themes and money
Although brand new to American listeners, Embrace is already more than just a household name throughout most of the United Kingdom.
Still only in its early childhood as a signed commodity, the band, originally from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has already accomplished more in a year-and-a-half than most bands ever even dream of achieving in a lifetime.Embrace let the good will out
Lauryn Hill can do no wrong. Those who knew about the Fugees from day one thought it was only a matter of time before she ditched her Fugees compatriots and became a solo MC. This view spread to the mainstream, when audiences everywhere wondered when they would get a chance to hear L-boogie not only rap, but now sing.Hill climbs into her solo recording career
Numbers have tons of power if you believe "", the movie being referred to as the "best student film ever."
And while there's a certain... primitiveness to the look of the film, the soundtrack is super polished.Movie music is slice of
In the recording industry, there tend to be a lot of negative connotations associated with the term "long awaited." More often than not it is an indication that an album might be over-produced and bloated, if not altogether insignificant.Indie queen phairer than most
Medeski Martin and Wood is not a band that rests on its laurels. Though it gained popularity by attracting the post-Grateful Dead jam band crowd with the extremely danceable grooves of its last album, 1996's "Shack-man," MMW refuses to become trapped within a formula.Medeski, Martin & Wood, oh my!
Maxwell, in his relatively short music career, has been compared to everyone from Marvin Gaye to Prince in his seeming one-man crusade to resurrect good old sensual, spiritual soul music.
And on his sophomore effort, "Embrya," Maxwell proves with his new soul sound that he is an old soul indeed. Sophomore effort sounds s'well
After the small-scale, Ark-level success of the acoustic angel routine perfected on her debut, "Living with Ghosts," Patty Griffin's quiet delivery and tortured inner demons seem to have been exorcised forever.
Or maybe they were just scared off by all the amps and feedback.Griffin's ablaze with hot new recording
Sucker MCs beware: The Beastie Boys' latest effort "Hello Nasty," is bound to monopolize the speakers of hipsters' stereos worldwide for the remainder of the summer.
After a lengthy four-year hiatus, the beastly three, rappers and stylistic auters Mike D (Michael Diamond), M.C.A. (Adam Yauch) and Ad Rock (Adam Horovitz), have finally released their first full-length LP since the greatly ambitious and rewarding "Ill Communication," a perfect showcase of the Beasties' innovative and genre-warping metal/ rap fusion.'Nasty' is welcomed return
During the hey-day of the grunge era, five guys out of Bakersfield, Calif. moved south to Huntington Beach and decided to combine Death Metal's detuned guitars, hip-hop's groove and an emotional singer in a drunken swirl.
The result was Korn; a manifestation of heavy music that made the likes of Metallica and Black Sabbath sound their age. Following Korn's Lead
Elliott Smith recorded his first three albums in the bedroom of his house. The results were amazing. On "XO," his debut release on Dreamworks, the indie songster fails to disappoint.
The end result of Smith's venture into the depths of a professional recording studio brought several exciting new sounds to "XO." With a veritable stable of instruments at his disposal, Smith added several intriguing sounds to the album. Instead of the traditional acoustic guitar and drum sound on which Smith built his reputation, this record includes piano, sax, vibes and strings, in addition to the uncharacteristic liberal use of electric guitar.Smith makes 'Misery' listenable on 'XO'
09-09-98
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