Day: September 10, 2008
So you think you know Mumpower?
Editor’s note: News reporting inevitably involves many judgment calls. Typically, the quest for balanced reporting would call for including comments by Carl Mumpower’s critics as well as his friends and supporters. But those critics have been vocal and their concerns widely reported, both in this paper and elsewhere. Rather than repeating them here, we have … Read more
The Green Scene
The Blue Ridge Forever coalition has just released its “Conservation Vision for Western North Carolina,” a report spotlighting 28 areas in North Carolina’s 25 western counties deemed to be in critical need of protection. A different point of view: Fairview resident Francois Manavit speaks out while Jim Anthony, CEO of The Cliffs, looks on. The … Read more
From bubble gum cards to survivor stories
In 1986, a big deal was made about a graphic novel featuring mice. The story was titled Maus and the book and its author, Art Spiegelman, were about to break out of the underground comics world they had previously inhabited. “Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!”: A new edition of Spiegelman’s 1978 anthology, … Read more
Sunshine and darkness
In the 1960s and 1970s, groups like The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers explored the common ground between rock and country. Their best work in this hybrid genre showed that pedal-steel guitars and country-based song structures could find a home with rock audiences. Don’t be fooled: “The lyrics are pretty dark, but candy-coated by … Read more
Sea change
The music of Xavier Rudd—full of pulsing didgeridoos and happy-hippie ditties like “Better People” and “Let Me Be”—has long been aligned with all things sunshine-y and beach-y. Not that the Australian multi-instrumentalist and pro surfer is penning new millennium versions of “Surfin’ Safari”: His reggae grooves have always underscored messages of humanity and environmentalism. Still, … Read more
The Berman conversion
A few years back, circumstances suggested that the Silver Jews’ David Berman take a deeper look at the second half of his band’s moniker, chosen in 1992 mostly out of a contrarian impulse. But delving into Judaism was no celebrity-gets-bored-explores-Kabalah whim for Berman. A daily truce with his darkest inclinations: Silver Jews’ David Berman comes … Read more
Let it begin with me
After reading an e-mail from her nephew stationed in Iraq, Kathy Meyers decided that she needed to do something in Asheville to combat her feelings of helplessness and take a stand for peace. At Pritchard Park: From left to right, Katherine Abbott, Erin Braasch, Jenni Cockrell Oldham and Kathy Meyers. Photo Courtesy Moving Women “Despite … Read more
Mo Daddy’s
Flavor: Soulful Southern standards Ambiance: If Oxford American magazine ever opened a restaurant, it would probably feel—and sound—something like this one. Price: $7-$12 Where: 77-B Biltmore Ave. Contact: 255-8080 Hours: Tue-Sun, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. At first glance, Mo Daddy’s doesn’t look like a particularly local place—or at least not the sort that oozes with authentic … Read more
