Crackers Say “Who Dey”

Bootsy Collins isn’t the only local musician with Bengals fever. Local turntablist squad The Animal Crackers — who recently represented the U.S. at the DMC World DJ Championships in London — and their MANIMAL label are putting together a Bengalscentric CD featuring Cincinnati area musical acts of all stripes.
The Crackers just put out the [...]

Borat Storms the Gates

The word-of-mouth buzz about the upcoming comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan already ensures it will make some bucks at the box office (or at the very least be the year’s biggest cult flick). The trailer alone is funnier than any movie I’ve seen this year.
But leave [...]

Note to Cranley: Come Out of the Iraq Closet

John Cranley’s latest commercial is cheesy as hell. An impersonator posing as George W. Bush makes a mock phone call to U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood), thanking him for supporting the administration 92 percent of the time.
The commercial ends with faux-Bush telling Chabot, “And thanks for not asking any pesky questions about Iraq. You’re doing [...]

The New Musical Immortals?

Watching Green Day and U2 perform together on Monday Night Football from New Orleans got me thinking about a topic I ponder often. In 20 years, who are the musical artists of today who will be seen as “legendary”?

Music Fest Madness Continues (Now With Hooker References!)

Though summer is the traditional “festival” season in Cincinnati, it’s looking like early fall is shaping up nicely as well, especially for music fans. MidPoint is done and Tall Stacks is next week, but music lovers have a nice stop-gap fest at East End Cafe this week. Starting tonight, the three-day Live at the Brothel [...]

How Many Cops Does It Take to Arrest a Minister?

I have often criticized the way Cincinnati Police officers handle peaceful protests. In 2000, for example, while covering a nonviolent protest against corporate globalization, I was roughed up on Second Street by an officer for no apparent reason.
But last night I saw firsthand that the police have learned to deal professionally with people [...]

Mallory Says His Bodyguard Isn’t a Bodyguard

Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. and City Manager Milton Dohoney today were dragged into the political fight between the mayor and city council about who should pay for the mayor’s bodyguard.
After council’s Finance Committee voted Monday to begin the process of transferring the bodyguard’s expense from the Police Department’s budget to the mayor’s office, [...]

Local Singer/Songwriter Peter Adams Gets Magnet-ized

Local Indie Pop singer/songwriter Peter Adams scored a great profile piece in the current edition of Indie bible, Magnet (check local newstands for a copy). Adams’ debut, The Spiral Eyes (which we gave a rare but deserved “A+” when it came out last year), has drawn glowing reviews, but this is his highest-profile press [...]

StreetScapes Salvages Weekend, Puts Art on Sale

The fifth annual StreetScapes street painting festival survived a rain-out by moving indoors last weekend, salvaging the Clifton event and inadvertently creating a fund-raising opportunity. With torrential rain Friday night and into Saturday, the intricate chalk paintings weren’t going to stick to Telford Street, so organizers moved the artists inside the nearby Ludlow Garage.

WOXY: The Station That Would Not Die

You know those horror movies where the monster gets shot, stabbed, run over by a semi and pushed off a cliff but then gets right back up and continues his march or terror? Well,  WOXY appears to be the radio equivalent — without the “march of terror” part … and replace shot and stabbed with [...]