by Jessica Del Curto Daily Lobo Slug is spread thin, and it pains an avid fan to admit this. The rapper Slug, or Sean Daley, who makes up one-half of the indie hip-hop group Atmosphere, just can't make 'em like he used to. Daley, who at one time inspired young girls like me to be better writers, has unfortunately spent the last album recycling his stories and catch phrases.
by John Bear Daily Lobo Ah, what is there to say about Sheryl Crow. I can't stand her. She represents everything that is wrong with American pop music. When I hear one of her songs, I suddenly get the overwhelming urge to stick something sharp in my ears and exit the realm of the hearing forever.
by Brenda Lowder Daily Lobo When composer and pianist Miguel del Aguila speaks of music, his voice noticeably warms to the subject. "I never questioned it," he said. "I always saw myself as a musician." Del Aguila said he is tackling one of the most challenging projects of his career as he composes Albuquerque's tricentennial opera, Time and Again Barelas.
by Colin Donoghue Daily Lobo Blackalicious returns with the album, The Craft, and it doesn't disappoint. Keeping some elements from earlier albums, The Craft tightens up loose ends of the past with a soul-funk flavored LP that rises above the sub-par popular hip-hop currently filling corporate radio's play-lists.
by Lesley Bell Daily Lobo The deadline for Best Student Essays has been extended to Oct. 11, in order to give more students opportunities to enter said Scott Frank, editor of the publication. "We encourage all kinds of essays, from research papers to critical analyses to creative nonfiction - even photo essays," said assistant editor Monika Dziamka.
by Maria Staiano-Daniels Daily Lobo Every rumor you've ever heard about Amsterdam is true, said Hajo de Reijger, drummer of the band Blues Brother Castro. The band, which calls Amsterdam home, arrives in Albuquerque on Wednesday as part of its first North American tour.
by John Bear Daily Lobo It seemed like such a good idea at the time, helping an impoverished girl from Burma immigrate to the United States and escape a life of turmoil. In return she can do the dishes once in a while. It's a win-win situation. Of course if you are using a mail-order bride service, at least in the universe created by director Huck Botko, odds are you likely make dirty movies in the basement of your Queens home.
by Abel Horwitz Daily Lobo Serenity now! No, this is not about Seinfeld, but "Serenity," the long-awaited film version of the cult hit television show "Firefly." In 2002 the Fox Network premiered a show named "Firefly," the brainchild of Joss Whedon, the man behind the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" series.
by Abel Horwitz Daily Lobo If you stick your ring and middle finger into the air with the thumb out to the side, like you're almost flipping someone off, you're flashing Dane Cook's symbol. He calls it the "super finger" and it has two meanings. "This week, the 'feel the love mode' is for my fans and my continued success," Cook said.
by Chris Chavez Daily Lobo On her fourth album, The Naked Truth, Lil' Kim abandons her sexually explicit lyrics and bares her soul. Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones, who is serving a year-long sentence in federal prison stemming from a perjury conviction, uses her legal and personal troubles to create a quality rap album.
by Maria DeBlassie Daily Lobo Natasha Paremski said she wants to be a musician for the rest of her life. Paremski will be playing with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra this weekend in the performance "Russian Rhapsody," featuring music from Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.
by Lesley Bell Daily Lobo The name Cica is a derivative of the Spanish word cicatriz, which denotes healing and growth. The band, which has been playing in Las Cruces and El Paso for about three years, is getting ready to play its first Albuquerque show.
by Chris Narkun Daily Lobo To fantasy mavens who regularly watch the four-hour versions of "The Lord of the Rings" movies and adore their star, Viggo Mortensen: Do not see this movie. On second thought, do see "A History of Violence" - just don't take any of the youthful innocence that fuels your obsession with magical fantasy worlds with you.
by John Bear Daily Lobo "The Last Detail" is a movie about how life can seem like an endless stream of unpleasantness no one wants to deal with. The film stars Jack Nicholson and Otis Young as career seamen languishing in the temporary housing of some bleak naval base, awaiting their next assignments.
by Maria Staiano-Daniels Daily Lobo Matt Orio, the drummer of Ki, said he found the band's name on a tantric-sex website. "I was trying to find out how to have sex for 14 hours straight," he said. "That didn't work, but I found six cool band names.
by Chris Narkun Daily Lobo Usually, you can count on Jodie Foster in a thriller. Since breaking out as a 14-year-old prostitute in "Taxi Driver" through her role opposite Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs" and, most recently, as a woman protecting her daughter from a deranged Dwight Yoakam in "Panic Room," Foster's always been able to select roles in believable and suspenseful material with the best directors.
by John Bear Daily Lobo The Dimes are part of the burgeoning indie rock scene in Portland, Ore. But don't call them hipsters. Drummer Jake Rahner said his roommate is one, but added the state of being hip eludes an easy definition. "It's hard to define," he said.
by Maria DeBlassie Daily Lobo The Onlys are an acquired taste, said Jason Chenoweth, lead singer and guitarist of the band. "We're not writing formulaic music," he said. "We capture the energy of art and then go back and rearrange it." This indie rock band from Austin, Texas, will be in Albuquerque Friday to promote their album Limbic System.
by John Bear Daily Lobo Attention nerds: Imposters lurk in the shadows all around you. Actually, they lurk in the open as well. Some of them have even worked up the stugats to appear on television. For reasons I would rather not go into, I was sitting at home late two Saturdays ago idly watching "Mad TV.
by John Bear Daily Lobo UNM guitar instructor Michael Chapdelaine said he has something of a split personality. "My reputation has been this classical guitar nerd who wears a tuxedo and does long, serious pieces," he said. "But lately I've been doing different stuff.
Solutions by The State News
