Hosted by our in-house rock expert Ed King, Rock Town Hall remains the place to take those volatile arguments about the majestic trivia of rock after your girlfriend gives you that disapproving ‘you promised‘ look. The new design makes it roomier than ever, plenty of room for throwing elbows. Come on by, take your shoes off, sit a spell.
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Sean Penn stars in Gus Van Sant‘s new biopic Milk — the story of an out gay politician who inspired a community with his courage, and whose 1978 murder made headlines across the country. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black says he was among those for whom Harvey Milk made a real difference. Born to Mormon parents, he grew up amid the military communities of San Antonio, Texas. He says Milk’s story, when he finally learned about it, helped him summon the courage to come out to his family and friends. “Texas kept me very quiet,” Black told the Bay […]
HEAR YE: Still Playing On Phawker Radio!
All this cool shit, STILL playing on Phawker Radio! Why, because we love you!
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The name of former anti-war activist William Ayers was brought up twice in an attempt to discredit Barack Obama during the recent presidential campaign — first by Hillary Clinton, and then by the McCain campaign. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused Obama — who served on two nonprofit boards with Ayers — of “palling around with terrorists.” The accusations stemmed from Ayers’ involvement with the Weather Underground, a radical group responsible for bombings on the New York City Police Department headquarters in 1970, the U.S. Capitol building in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. The federal case […]
BEYOND THE BEYONCE: I Am Sasha Fierce
[Illustration by BENJAMIN MARRA] DAN DELUCA: The first part, I Am, whose leadoff single is the mildly gender-bending “If I Were a Boy,” represents the multitalented Ms. Knowles – she declines to use her last name when in music mode – as she is “underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama.” The second part, Sasha Fierce, is named after the alter ego of Beyoncé, who stars as Etta James, alongside Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright, in Cadillac Records, Hollywood’s version of the Chess Records story, which opens Dec. 5. The two-sides-of-Beyoncé idea is, […]
NEW BEATLES: Macca To Release ‘Carnival Of Light’
THE GUARDIAN: For Beatles fans across the world it has gained near mythical status. The 14-minute improvised track called ‘Carnival of Light’ was recorded in 1967 and played just once in public. It was never released because three of the Fab Four thought it too adventurous. The track, a jumble of shrieks and psychedelic effects, is said to be as far from the melodic ballads that made Sir Paul McCartney famous as it is possible to imagine. But now McCartney has said that the public will have the chance to judge for themselves. ‘It does exist,’ McCartney says on a […]
CONCERT REVIEW: I Like American Music
BY DAVE ALLEN The Annenberg Center at Penn is giving this city something it’ll have a hard time getting at Kimmel Center this season: modern American music. After several years of strong contemporary programming, the Philadelphia Orchestra is doing a grand total of zero works by living American composers, so the American Composers Orchestra, a New York-based group with a dual season in Philly, fills the void. The ACO’s concert Sunday night at International House featured several pieces strong enough for repertoire status, but most remarkable was that all five composers on the program were in attendance – something you’ll […]
STRAIGHT OUTTA BIRDLAND: Q&A with Ben Ratliff
BY DAVE ALLEN Ben Ratliff has been the jazz critic for the New York Times since 1996. His reviews of live performances – produced at a rate of nearly one per night, always with a keen ear and a sharp word – always aim for the heart of the sound, and his newest book, The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music, strikes out for the same territory by a different path: through the words of the players themselves. He’ll be in Philadelphia tonight for a “conversation over music” with pianist Orrin Evans, an adoptive Philadelphian who’s made an impact on Ratliff’s […]
FUNNY: Justin Timberlake In A Leotard
INCREDIBLE: Beyonce’s legs. LUCKY: Jay-Z
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
MEXICALI: Calexico, TLA, Last Night [photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]