Bside
The Found Footage Festival brings VHS absurdity to Ann Arbor's big screen
By: Kavi Shekhar Pandey
The age of the VHS tape is long gone. Hell, even DVDs are being phased out by Blu-ray discs and direct downloads. But there’s another chance to experience the joys of those jet-black, rectangular hunks of plastic when the Found Footage Festival rolls into Ann Arbor on Saturday.
MUSKET prepares to bring tribal love-rock to the Power Center with "HAIR"
By: Eric Chiu
“HAIR” follows a tribe of hippies living in New York during the 1960s, coping with issues of sexuality, politics, religion and identity during the Vietnam War. The show was written during the decade in which it’s set, and since then has become a staple among musicals that challenge and explore American culture — a revival of the show has been playing on Broadway since March.
Games of the Week: 'Foodoku' and 'Maze Tosser'
By: Jamie Block
Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. For those of you addicted to Sudoku but disappointed with the game's inability to make you hungry, "Foodoku" is made especially for you. Instead of those boring numbers — which are so passé — drag and drop some cute little food items into the infamous nine-by-nine grid. It's time to spice up your Sudoku.
Sasha Resende: Celebrities these days, not so Fergalicious
By: Sasha Resende
As this celebrity-trash spiel goes to print, lonely teenage girls across the country are donning their tackiest Edward Cullen T-shirts and abusing Kristen Stewart voodoo dolls in preparation for the much-talked about premiere of "Twilight: New Moon."
Music Vault: Stephen Stills — 'Manassas' (1972)
By: Mike Kuntz
Manassas is technically billed as a Stephen Stills solo project, though it’s often tough to see where the group dynamic ends and Stills's influence begins. With its freewheeling, off-the-cuff instrumentation, the record effectively captures a live-band feel: The unique blend of percussion, pedal steel, guitars and keyboards creates a sound rooted as much in traditional rock and country music as Latin and bluegrass.
Single Review: Yeasayer — 'Ambling Alp'
By: Leah Burgin
The undeniable coolness will draw listeners into “Ambling Alp” and force them to keep the track on repeat.
Soothing the soul through classic musicals
By: Jennifer Xu
Like a big bowl of chicken soup, musicals are my nourishment, my healing elixir. In a world where cynicism saturates each thing we do, sometimes escaping from it all feels like a breath of fresh air. When I’m feeling down, I pop in “An American in Paris.” The minute the big MGM lion roars, I’m transported to a time when there were no cares and no worries; a time when everybody was beautiful, perfect and charming; a time when the stars couldn’t make love without fading out.
Rocking the high seas with 'Pirate Radio'
- Courtesy of Focus
By: Hans Yadav
But what about the men who sit in the lonesome radio towers, broadcasting those soul-shattering tunes for millions to hear? If rock stars were the spotlight-hogging Don Quixotes of this world, then the radio disc jockies would unquestionably be their trusty Sancho Panzas. But the normally unsung heroes of this tale transcend to god-like status in the comedy “Pirate Radio.”
Games of the Week: 'Obama Alien Defense' and 'Rolley'
By: Jamie Block
Armed with nothing but a laser gun and hope, it's up to Obama (you) to save America from alien invasion. Jump and run around, wielding a weighty laser-type weapon, evading the enemies and finding the elusive Presidential Coins. With several species of aliens threatening our freedom, there's no end to the fun you and Obama can have defending our nation.
Printmaker Takeshi Takahara: mixing metal and acid to make beauty
By: David Riva
Along a dirt path some six miles outside of Ann Arbor sits a white-washed house. It seems to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by a carpet of russet-colored fallen leaves. This is the thinking space of printmaker Takeshi Takahara. Takahara employs a printmaking technique known as intaglio, using etchings in metal to produce a printable image and capture his thoughts and feelings taken from past experiences.
