In the early 1970s, there was no bigger U.S. rock group than Grand Funk Railroad. Their combination of sly publicity, smokin’ hot licks and a dreamy, shirtless, horseback-riding singer made them more popular than a bong at a tailgate party. Classic rock radio has ensured that their brand of good-time…
Americans love horror movies. A surprising number of otherwise sane citizens will gladly pay good money to sit in a dark theater and watch hours of unspeakable acts perpetrated by murderers and madmen. And while commercially successful, it is the rare foray into the genre that gets the privilege of…
Everybody’s familiar with the weep-fest film Steel Magnolias. However, most folks don’t realize that it began its legacy as an off-Broadway play back in 1987. This disease-oriented chick flick has everything you could ever want in a film, including female bonding, home cooking, headstrong ladies that live by their own…
It is a magic formula that could only have happened in the early ’80s. The future Governator, a coked-up, pre-Scarface Oliver Stone and John Milius (Apocalypse Now) got together to create the most ridiculously magical, oiled-up sword-and-sandal epic that ever graced the silver screen. Conan the Barbarian made 1982 “The…
When watching Wes Anderson’s 1996 directorial debut, Bottle Rocket, there are several “firsts” that the viewer will notice. Bottle Rocket is a stunning first film for Anderson as well as the local hero power couple, Luke and Owen Wilson. Outside of Boz Scaggs and Steve Miller, the boys are probably…
A great number of people think of Art Garfunkel as the “other guy” in Simon and Garfunkel, relegating him to the realm of an Oates or a Messina. But to do this is to deny the talent of an important artist who has made singular contributions to the world of…
There has been much heated discussion through the ages over what film should hold the title of “best Christmas movie ever.” Cups of eggnog have been spilled and families have been torn apart because of this. Old-school die-hards still insist that It’s a Wonderful Life is the only holiday film…
In case you haven’t noticed, Exposition Park is the last part of town that actually has any real character. Deep Ellum, on the other hand, is a creepy ghost town, and the West Village looks like it was squeezed out of some developer’s Play-Doh instant neighborhood machine. Expo Park resident…
Sporting a cool eye patch and an Afro, Dale Chihuly is synonymous with artistic glass pieces. His creations infest galleries around the world like a multicolored bubonic plague. He’s a major figure in the “fine art vs. crafts” debate that rages amongst art critics with nothing better to do than…
When you think of famous piano-playing rockers, you probably either think of Dennis DeYoung from Styx or Tori Amos. Well, maybe not. But the king of piano-driven rock is, was and shall always be “the piano man,” Billy Joel. Billy has been churning out hit after glorious hit since the…
Pretentious. Self-indulgent. Sell-outs. Bald. The Smashing Pumpkins have been called all these things and so much more. Bob Mould from Hüsker Dü himself once referred to the Pumpkins as “the grunge Monkees.” This was not always the case, however. Way back in the early 1990s, the Smashing Pumpkins were purveyors…
Americans have always had a soft spot for the “Latin Lover” type. And when there are two of them, the sparks will fly like it’s Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico. The whirlwind romance of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony has warmed hearts and adorned tabloid covers nationwide since their…
Take a deep breath. That is the smell of Southern Rock. Around these parts, it wafts through the air like the odor of two-day-old chicken-fried steak. Few would debate that the flagship store of the Southern Rock chain is Jacksonville, Florida’s Lynyrd Skynyrd. They did it first, did it bigger…
The history of Canadian rock is a strange and wonderful thing. Most people lump Canadian bands into the same dubious category that contains singing drummers and Foghat. There have, however, been a few shining stars in the otherwise pitch black sky of Canadian rock. The most famous and Canadian band…
Way back in the early ’80s, there was a magical Puerto Rican band filled with hit singles and pretty boys breaking hearts in shopping malls from San Juan to San Francisco. This band was called Menudo. They were one of the first “boy bands,” destined to stay that way due…
Bad Religion was always made fun of as “Ph.D. punk” when I was in high school. Their 1982 debut LP, How Could Hell Be Any Worse, however, was a trend-setting release that laid the tracks for their later albums and established their trademark style. Future releases were filled with very…
On Tuesday, September 4, less than a day after local musician Carter Albrecht was killed by a gunshot wound, another young local musician died. Darin Matthew Archer died of a self-inflicted wound. Archer was raised in DeSoto, lived in Dallas and was the drummer for local band the Sheena Militia…
A dashing, blond hero, an evil Fu Manchu-esque villain, a super-foxy Italian bombshell named Princess Aura and a soundtrack by Queen, one of the best bands in all of history. Add all these things up and you get only one thing: Flash Gordon! This 1980 live-action comic book of a…
Who doesn’t love puppets? Whether sock puppets, marionettes or the weird Jim Henson kind with the sticks in their hands, puppet shows have been a staple of community entertainment for hundreds of years. Well, if you have a puppet jones and don’t know where to get a fix, your prayers…
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED. REFUNDS AVAILABLE AT POINT OF PURCHASE.Peabo Bryson. The name may elude some younger readers. Hell, the name “Peabo” is weird enough by itself. It almost sounds like a medical condition. “We’re sorry, Mrs. Jones, your husband has an advanced case of peabo. There’s nothing we…
If you were one of the unlucky ones who missed awesome early ’80s events like the Us Festival or the Texas Jam back in ’78 then this is the week to redeem yourself. The Texas Metal Jam is swooping down upon Dallas like a spandex-clad bald eagle of pure rock!…
One of the first videos I saw at the tender age of 12—back when MTV still showed music videos—was the amazing minimalist masterpiece “Goodbye to You” by Scandal. Patty Smyth, the pouty-lipped lead singer, did the “Molly Ringwald Dance” clad in her mini-dress and white belt. Her band looked like…
