This Friday, Dec. 12, a most unusual movie opens at The Carolina. It also has a most unusual name — The Babadook — and it has something else: a 98 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (97 positive reviews out of 99). I don’t put much credence in the whole business of review aggregation. For … Read more
It saddens my heart to know that William Anderson, the first African-American chief of police of Asheville, is retiring. How did we get to this point? In my professional opinion, the city leadership has allowed two police officers to continue to drive a false narrative, week after week, through the news media (WLOS-TV and the Citizen-Times newspaper) … Read more
In Theaters. Here we have a week of some note — with a certain urgency attached to it. Now, I’ve not seen the two mainstream films that hit town this week, but I have seen the two art titles that are opening at The Carolina and they are choice. However, take a look at when … Read more
Although Tom Hamilton counted himself among the many men preoccupied with “chicks and partying” during his 20s, the American Babies frontman found himself “digging deeper” for musical and personal inspiration over time. Last year’s resulting effort, a “40-minute existential meltdown” titled Knives and Teeth, addresses heavy topics like mortality, cruelty and frustration, often vacillating between … Read more
What’s the future of Western North Carolina’s public woodlands, particularly the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests? Public lands biologist Josh Kelly has worked with the Asheville-based nonprofit, WNC Alliance, since 2011, helping determine the answer. And with the U.S. Forest Service updating its plans for Pisgah and Nantahala for the first time in 20 years, the … Read more
Forget hibernating. Instrumental rockers TAUK are making a full-fledged national tour this winter, and Asheville fans have two chances to catch the band live. TAUK, oft-praised for its ability to infuse songs with emotional cues despite the absence of lyrics, plays New Mountain this week before circling back to Asheville as the supporting act for … Read more
