The Wake

I have a confession. Actually, I have several: I purchase compact discs at Best Buy. And Amazon.com. I make regular shopping trips to Target. I like General Mills’ cereal, find 3M’s post-it notes invaluable and my whole apartment is furnished by IKEA.I even spend nearly as much time working for one of the aforementioned corporations as I do the in the classroom or studying.“So sad,” you’re all thinking. “We have on our hands a classic corporate sell out!” And the ominous chant begins (everybody now, in unison!): “Anti-corp-o-rate, Anti-corp-o-rate, Anti-corp-o-rate!”I can relate, maaaaan. A little under two …

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Luckily, we live in a country that gives us controversial books like “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, all of which faced the threat of banning. It also gives us the right to burn an American flag.Or does it? Enter the controversy over flag burning.In the latest attempt to spurn the U.S. Supreme Court, a certain Rep. Jerry Dempsey (R), introduced a resolution to say that Minnesota Legislature really, really doesn’t like it when people burn American flags.Dempsey …

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After several years of dismissing and scorning bloggers, the media can no longer deny their influence. They are the bastard children of the media profession, walking the line between heroes and pests. Bloggers have had their moments of journalistic greatness only to slip back into their role as pajama gossipers. Mainstream media has been able to reap the benefits of good blogging while deriding the medium as a joke, but that cannot last forever. Either bloggers need to be given the credit that is due or they need to be ignored by the media, and no longer influence print publications, …

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Not but one weekend ago I found myself in a reeling conversation at a Polka dance with George and June Krekowski. George stated, “Yeah we can’t do the Polish hop so good anymore, but we can still do a few Waltzes, and that’s pretty good at our age ya know.” To them and many others Polka and other dances were a way of life and as George mentioned, the Polish hop diminishes in those who can participate in it year by year. The assumptions of the dance relating to German and Polish folk along with large …

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“Well are you sure you have files you want to get back?”“No, I was kidding. I’M FINE LETTING GO OF THOUSANDS OF SONGS.”“Umm, well ok, I’m sorry Miss, but there is only a chance you can get a few things off of the old hard drive.”ONLY A CHANCE? I feel sort of bad for the person who had to spend so much time bearing my wrath. After I hung up from a two hour phone call with Dell customer service I wondered what percentage of calls end the way mine did, with harsh sarcasm and misplaced blame.My computer …

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Our lives are much like a motion picture; thousands of single shots together that make a greater whole. Imagine being able to pull a single image from someone else’s life and see it only for what it is, a fleeting moment that may be gone in an instant.Minneapolis photographer Alec Soth accomplishes this, and you can see the evidence at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Soth’s images capture a moment, but even more impressive, the moment is one of extraordinary interest. Soth has the patience to wait for his subject to materialize into something sublime. He does not fail to …

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On Saturday, March 26th, I was part of “Katwalk,” an interestingly exotic name for what was simply an elegant representation of Korean culture. “Katwalk” was billed as an evening of Korean food and fashion – a chance for a relatively small sized student group to extend their own delight in culture to others. The night began and ended at the Weisman museum. I arrived at 5:15, late as usual. Euna, Vice President of KISO and Katwalk informal model-finder, rushed to greet me at the door. Immediately, she shoved layers and layers of willowy silk into my arms. “Put this on, …

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For fans of psychedelic rock, John Snell X is it. The Minneapolis musician is one of the few who can make mind-swirling acid-rock sound unlike Spinal Tap’s “Listen to the Flower Children.” And that is no easy task. Over the years he’s released 6 albums, including IntHEkeYOfvacUUm, The Alien Highway, Audibly Oriented, and recently, The Clock Stops Here – all of which you should go out and buy now. Know Name Records has a great selection.Fans of The Kinks, Piper-era Pink Floyd, Love, Sgt. Pepper or pre-glam T-Rex will recognize Snell’s outerworldly atmospherics. But they’ll also see that Snell has …

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Hailing from Savannah, Ga., Kylesa play a unique brand of heavy music combining elements of crust, sludge, and many ideas that are entirely their own. The band is Laura Pleasants (vocals/guitars), Phillip Cope (vocals/guitars), Corey Barhost (vocals/bass), and Brandon Baltzey (drums). Their new album, “To Walk a Middle Course” (released March 22, Prosthetic Records), shows their stellar songwriting ability while highlighting some great production courtesy of Alex Newport (The Melvins, Mars Volta). I was able to catch their show on February 21 at the 7th Street Entry. I was highly impressed by the energy and skill displayed in their …

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I was in Know Name Records the other day when Chris, the fabled store’s most statically visible employee, pointed out a new CD. He said it was psychedelic – which was good. He also said it was recorded recently, which was strange. Because in the realm of psychedelic rock, you can only crawl so far past the late 1960s before you reach absolute shit. But this CD was not absolute shit. And though it may have sprung from the proverbial musical asshole of the acid-rock time continuum, it does not smell like it. Rather, it smells like it came out …

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American culture has a tendency to do more exporting than importing – making it hard for a band from another country to work their way in to the limelight. Granted there are exceptions, but we continue to deprive ourselves of rich opportunities just beyond our northern border. That’s right, I’m talking about Canada. You may think I’m joking when I mention the Canadian scene, but it exists, and there are some great bands to be discovered. Among these groups is The Dears, whose latest album, “No Cities Left”, is evidence of smart songwriting and a well-crafted sound. Fronted by Murray …

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Shall I compare thee to a bad TA?
Your language is more foreign than
a fresh grad student’s from Thailand,
writing papers titled “Relevance
Logic brings Hope to Hypothetico
Deductivism” or “A Nonpsychological
Realist Conception of Linguistic Code”-Your specialization and your niche
is a nail and the consequent nailhole
into which you’ve driven it.
You and others like you have been hammering
these buildings together for so damned long,
insulating the thin walls with
all the papers you can write.While the grad student will some day lose their pay,
you have tenure; you shall until your death remain.
And …

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Everybody acts like they
have fallen in love a thousand times.
They give boxes of chocolates,
perfumes and flowers
and thank each other with cards.
While the boxing companies may be doing quite well,
I can no longer spot
burning hearts in rooms of hundreds.
They all keep their clothes on
and four chair legs firmly planted.Count on your right hand
how many times you’ve been in love—
the lucky
will need their left hand.
Few make it to their feet,
fewer count at all.Georgia O’Keeffe lived for nearly a century.
Even those who saw only one …

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I flick my wrist when I talk to the girls
I consciously control it when I’m around my fatherI drink pastel liquids
And prance when overjoyedI cry at sad moviesI cried when brazen hands pummeled my flesh
Soul left bodyI groaned when they shoved me
I begged when I saw cold metal
Your phallus of unequivocal madnessProfane blood splattered words
Capped acceptance
Topped off insecurities
Societal washYou pierced my flesh
Trying to bleed out perceived abnormalitiesMy spirit will haunt you
As I prance on your graves