Jackson Browne has been through many phases in his long and illustrious career. He started off as a songwriter for, among others, the ultimate West Coast band, The Eagles. Then Jackson ventured out on his own, having chart success as early as 1972. He was the poster boy for the…
What is up with Billy Bob’s? For years it was world-famous for showcasing country and Western acts exclusively. But things have changed. A while ago, I wrote about Bret Michaels playing there, which kind of makes sense. But now the stage of this legendary honky-tonk will be “graced” by none…
When archeologists first discovered artifacts from Greek and Roman civilizations, they must have been struck by their beauty and majesty. When future architects discover the first Poison album, chances are they will say, “What the fuck!” The cover showcases four young men with more makeup than Tammy Faye, winking and…
Long before The Food Network hocked up loogies like Paula Dean and Rachel Ray, TV cooking shows had some integrity. They aired on Sundays on PBS, and they RULED! Julia Child, The Frugal Gourmet and the transcendental “Rajin’ Cajun” Justin Wilson were but a few. My favorite cooking hero is…
I know what you hear in your head when someone mentions the band Squeeze. You probably picture that awkward and embarrassing scene in Reality Bites where those wacky slackers sing along to “Tempted” on the radio. As if that song wasn’t overplayed to death a million times already. The sad…
The title “The Mahler Cycle” sounds like some low-budget 1970s science-fiction flick where a computer learns to program itself and creates a super-plague that only astronauts from the future can cure, starring James Brolin and Donald Pleasance. Well, it ain’t, folks. In fact it is a series of performances by…
Dallas is lucky to have the Asian Film Festival. Your average moviegoer still thinks of Asian films exclusively in terms of kung-fu and samurai flicks. Don’t worry–there will be plenty of the latest and best of those genres represented, but there is a entire movie industry chugging away in the…
When I first heard the name of the play, Say You Love Satan, it conjured up a memory. I once read a true crime book about a Long Island teenage metalhead who called himself “The Acid King” and dabbled in Satanism. In 1984, he stabbed a friend 36 times while…
When people think about volleyball, some may reminisce about that awesome game in junior high where they spiked the hell out of that ball. Others may get all nostalgic for those Frankie and Annette beach flicks; so innocent, so naïve. The younger generation probably salivates over MTV spring break footage…
Long before he was famous for being a freaky, drunk-driving filmmaker obsessed with dead languages and gore, Mel Gibson was just another small-time Australian actor. He had enough rugged good looks and rugged acting chops to be cast as the title character in 1979’s Mad Max. Unfortunately, when released in…
Dallas will always be saddled with the reputation of being the city where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. By the same token, director Oliver Stone will always be saddled with the reputation for being an eccentric, conspiracy theory obsessed, confrontational whack-job. But there’s the rub, because those qualities are exactly…
To quote the late Rick James, “Cocaine is a hell of a drug.” At one point, Oliver Stone was as famous for his cocaine use as for his films. 1987’s Wall Street is his stunning depiction of this hunger for “more.” More money, more power, more everything. In the ’80s…
Once again, the ’80s are spewing forth into our modern age like a Rubik’s Cube being shot out of a wormhole. Footloose—The Musical is finally coming to the metroplex. If you’ve been living in captivity for the last 25 years, I have some news for you. The 1984 movie Footloose…
If someone had told me when I was a teenager that in the future John Waters would be producing family entertainment, I would have laughed in their face like a mad hyena. Back then my favorite John Waters film was Pink Flamingos, which ends with a 300-pound transvestite eating a…
In 1982, several major events occurred. The first artificial heart was implanted. The Weather Channel debuted on cable. But looking back, the most important thing that happened in 1982 and perhaps the entire twentieth century was the release of a movie called TRON. When it was released, TRON blew minds…
It’s nice when you can take what some would consider a silly and substandard television show and elevate its artistic value by taking it into the lofty realm of musical theater. As an aspiring writer of musicals myself, I was just tickled pink when I heard that Rover Dramawerks in…
Errol Morris is known for turning the mundane into the sublime. In his first documentary, Gates of Heaven, he chronicles the ludicrously vicious battle between two competing pet cemetery owners. By exclusively using interviews with the strange folks involved instead of narration, Morris creates a touching reality so real that…
Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war flick Paths of Glory was the first of his films to really showcase the potential of one of the cinema’s greatest artists. This film virtually wallows in the trenches of World War I Europe, and you can almost smell the rot through the screen. The focus…
UFO was the band that your cool older brother would blast in his van while smoking weed and drinking Coors. While not a household name like your Sabbaths or Zepplins, they were still one of the most influential hard rock bands of the 1970s. Their 1974 album, Phenomenon, helped build…
There are few more controversial political figures than former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. At once beloved and despised by his people, Amin was paranoid, bloodthirsty and a laugh riot. Wild rumors swarmed around him that only increased his appeal. Who wouldn’t love a ruler who ate the heart of a…
Here it is, folks. The greatest rock ‘n’ roll movie ever made. It doesn’t matter that the band featured in the film is “fake.” The trials and tribulations they endure are frighteningly real. Ask anyone who’s ever been in a band and they’ll confirm that 1984’s hilarious This Is Spinal…
Some actors spend years honing their craft on camera waiting for a career-defining role. Don Johnson is the exception. Forget Miami Vice. Forget Dead Bang. Forget Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man. Johnson’s talent exploded like a nuclear bomb in 1975’s bizarrely hilarious A Boy and His Dog, and it’s…
