What's Right About Bud Lite?Slate's Nicholas Thompson says baseball commissioner Bud Selig has gotten a bad rap and might turn out to be the man who saved major league baseball. MLB is so perverse that Thompson might be right.
[Chick] Teaching Monkey the Birds and the BeesEight years into it, and I'm still allowed to be a mother. I can't believe it. What kind of decision-maker approves me as a fit mother? Oh, that's right. God. God gave me this child. I'm sure this is when …
"Celebration Castle," The Pony'sThe Pony's stormed on the post-punk scene last year, from Chicago, and quickly gained a reputation for tight, high-energy live shows, and a great debut record. The Pony's are back pumping edgy and accessible DIY garage pop punk, with a …
"Arular," M.I.A.Setting the music world on fire, Maya Arulpragasam's (M.I.A.) debut release is a futuristic urban monolith. Having released two singles in 2004 and a mixed tape (on which she collaborated with Diplo), the hype was built up in the U.K. …
"RaYDONcoNG 2005," MahjonggReleased on the same day as M.I.A.'s "Arular," Mahjongg approaches the afro-dancehall-indie mélange a bit more chaotically but no less engaging than young Maya. This "Ch-Ibiza-Cago" band's musical genre melding and political posturing are similar, at the root level anyway, …
Poll: Clinton, Giuliani Top Party Pick<i>While Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Rudolph Giuliani are their party's top picks for the 2008 presidential nominations, both remain highly polarizing figures, according to a national poll released Friday. Forty percent of Democrats polled said they favored Clinton, …
New Wire CD+DVDWIRE are set to release WIRE: THE SCOTTISH PLAY: 2004, a film based on the live performance by the avant-garde art rock band at Scotland's 2004 Triptych Festival. Their concert, honed to a fine performance edge from earlier live forays …
Ryan Adams — "Cold Roses"Finally, Ryan Adams is back to making good music. Years ago, he was producing albums like "Stranger's Almanac" with Whiskeytown and "Heartbreak" solo, and he was breaking the hearts of music fans everywhere. His latest missives have been, at times, …
"American Whip," Joy ZipperTake the more lush hypnotic power and cerebral psychedelic harmonies of Yo La Tengo ("Autumn Sweater"), Spiritualized, Luna, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Death Cab for Cutie, Starflyer 59, the beautifully catchy sun-soaked hooks of Kill Rock Stars melodies (Elliot Smith/Jeff Hanson), …