When the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I first hit theaters, some fans bought tickets for the movie it was presented with, watched the trailer, and then walked out — essentially paying full price for a fraction of the final product. Superfans are happy to do that sort of thing…
I’ve gotten pretty good at acting bored when I meet someone who feels as I do about old buildings — that we don’t have enough of them here, that we tear them down too readily, that without them we’re a city with no sense of place — but inside, I’m…
Magnet lovers can bring their attractive implements down and stick ’em on the metallic outer walls at SMoCA to create a community mural. Special guests at this year’s event include Magnet Mafia, Alphamonster Art Collective, Spraygraphic, Conspire, Crafty Burritos, and Red Hot Robot. Thu., May 1, 5 p.m., 2008…
As you know, because you lived it, the goings-on surrounding Super Bowl XLII were monstrously off the grid. There were at least 30 bashes with price tags of $500-plus, and the nouveau-gauche admission price for one gig alone was $12,500. Per person. Then there was the endless scroll of participating…
Cristina Garcia — whose acclaimed new novel, A Handbook to Luck, tells the tale of three political exiles from the ravaged countries of Iran, El Salvador, and Cuba — probes seldom-told stories of an extraordinary America because she is, herself, an extraordinary American. Her family fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961,…
No demolition-derby promoter ever went broke underestimating the desire of the American public to witness vehicular carnage. It’s innate. We’re a country on the move, the car is our god, ain’t no way you cuttin’ in on me, muthafucka. That unchained aggression defines the demo-derby experience and our collective birthright…
In the soundtrack of our lives, there’s no ignoring Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It,” a tune that seemed to be going through the heads of some of Marvel Comics’ most popular and notable young artists of the ’90s. In the early part of that decade, Erik Larsen,…
You say you’ve never been much of a joiner. Perhaps you’re waiting for the right club to join – the right movement to believe in. Perhaps you’re just motivationally challenged. Or perhaps you simply feel uncomfortable around other people unless you’re stoned. Well, do we have just the thing for…
Tribute bands can be a rather divisive subject in the rock world. Copycat acts like Beatallica and Atomic Punks pack in crowds across the country by aping bands like the Beatles and Van Halen, but they also get grumblings about siphoning off the glory of has-beens. Frankly, we dig ’em,…
It’s First Friday time again. Yay! Right? Actually, boo (well, kind of). Ever since the monthly shebang caught on with the mainstream (example no. 1: emo kids from Mesa’s Dobson High School; example no. 2: Mercedes Benz-driving Scottsdale folks of all ages), it’s been nearly impossible to scope out the…
A geodesic dome is the only structure made by man that strengthens proportionately to each increase in size. The geo’s also considered one of the most stable forms of construction, and it’s pretty cool-looking, to boot – think Epcot Center, Expo 67, Silent Running. So why aren’t we all lounging…
As a small child, you wore those moon boots from your Halloween costume to school everyday. When you were a teenager, your parents begged you to make good grades and don a wardrobe like the mannequins at The Gap. Instead, you started pulling Ds in your best subjects and wearing…
Life in England during the early ’80s wasn’t an easy slog. It was quite bollocks, in fact, what with the Tories putting the screws to the working class and all. One of the bright spots during the first part of the Ray-Ban decade, however, was the isle’s lush music scene,…
It’s oft-times impossible to marinate our ears to all of the talented bands out there. That’s why the “Influences” section on MySpace is so important, and the first column of text that we tend to look at before checking out the downloadable tunes. When we visited the music page for…
She’ll never be allowed to live down that oddball wig she wore in her most famous film role, but Carrie Fisher has so much more to offer than Princess Leia and her Star Wars cinnamon-bun ’do, and she’ll prove it with the new Spy in the House of Me. Fisher…
If you’ve ever had a garage sale, you’ve witnessed that special breed of bargain shopper. As soon as you put out the signs, they’re dive-rolling out of their minivans to get the so-called best stuff. And here’s the creepy part. They’re not interested in your accidentally underpriced box of one-of-a-kind…
Forget for a minute that Marcus Miller – who was one of Miles Davis’ last collaborators – is one of the best bass players in the entire world. The “Superman of Soul” is also totally schooled in clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, and keyboard, and he’s produced works by Luther Vandross,…
Our accountant kept telling us, “Diversify.” We took that to mean, “Break up with your boyfriend and try out for a stripper gig.” Humiliating on both counts. Now we realize that the bean counter was gabbing about the Tres de Mayo Diverse-Fi Five-Year Anniversary Party featuring sounds by Fetti Profoun,…
We’ve always figured that near-fame must be infinitely better than the thing itself. If you can be eternally on the verge, like country-rockin’ Cross Canadian Ragweed, man, you’re livin’ the dream. But these smokin’ Okies aren’t long for the intimate kind of gig they’ll play at Martini Ranch so squeeze…
Gigantic, pissed-off chickens with teeth. That’s the impression created by the imposing models on display in the “Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origins of Flight” exhibit. After you check out these dentally impressive fowl, run for your life to Arizona Science Center and marvel at the computer-controlled dino-matrons galore featured in…
Search Google with the phrase “ska sucks” and you’ll encounter various vitriolic ventings about how the musical style blows. It’s not a surprise, really, as ska has long been considered the whipping boy among musical misanthropes, who unilaterally deride its seemingly repetitive nature and upbeat spirit, or how bands like…
The 2007 New York Mets suffered a magnificent collapse. It was one of the greatest in baseball history, even loftier, in many minds, than that of the 1969 Chicago Cubs, who squandered a 9.5-game lead to . . . the New York Mets. While those Amazin’ Mets won the ’69…
