Opinion
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Two U2 nerds on the significance of ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind,’ 20 years later
Twenty years to the day that U2 released its landmark album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Roman Gokhman and I jumped on Zoom to talk about what the album means to us as fans, its cultural impact and legacy, and how it changed the course of U2’s music–for better or worse–in…
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Guest Column: Chris Pappas of Elle Belle on writing a horror film, his new LP
Chris Pappas of Elle Belle, Courtesy: Casey Curry. New-Hampshire-born Angeleno Chris Pappas didn’t set up to be a multi-media artist, but that’s where he’s landed. He’s written two TV pilots, has a horror film in development and has also written music for the soundtracks to two NASA documentaries. As…
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Opinion: Kicking the tires on the new SkyStar ‘observation wheel’
SkyStar Observation Wheel in Golden Gate Park, photographed on Oct. 25, 2020. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Could the new Golden Gate Park Ferris wheel—the SkyStar—withstand the predicted 70-mile-per-h0ur winds Sunday night? I wasn’t about to find out. The 150-feet-tall SkyStar “observation wheel”—company spokesman Jon Finck was quick to point out that…
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Insert Foot: Expect talk of reopening venues sooner rather than later
Insert Foot vs. resisting the urge, Bayshore Drive-in. INA Photo Agency/Getty Images. Burlingame’s Bayshore Drive-in is hosting drive-in concerts during these days of whine and COVID. Which is nice … they just had Major Lazer play, and even have some comedy acts coming up. But … One of the editors…
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Insert Foot: Stuck with ‘Halloween 2018’ in 2020 until the COVID coast is clear
Left: Tony Hicks in the ’80s. Right: Tony Hicks in “Halloween 2018.” I went to a movie for the first time in eight months on Friday night. It felt … weird. I think paying for a film with Michael Myers as the protagonist, when I had once been paid…
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Professor Music dives into music theory and white supremacy with Kev Choice
Last month music school grad student and YouTuber Adam Neely released a video he titled “Is Music Theory Racist?” Quickly renamed “Music Theory and White Supremacy,” Neely’s video followed some controversy within the insular world of music schools after a symposium talk by Philip Ewell, an associate professor of music…
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Insert Foot: Putting the brakes on the bad to remember good times
Insert Foot longing for childhood. I just had an emotional Feel Like a Kid Again Week. Never heard of it? Me neither. I just made it up. I figure someone else is out there making up fake holidays (Daughter’s Day, Son’s Day … Hamster Month), so why shouldn’t I?…
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Obituary: The once-in-a-lifetime force of Edward Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen performs with Van Halen at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., on July 16, 2015. Derek Simmons/STAFF. I was done crying and trying to get my head around Eddie Van Halen’s death, when my mom called me and offered condolences for “the most loved person…
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Insert Foot: Rick Moranis, jet packs and infected Washington, D.C.
Insert Foot vs. rushing through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now I know the world is going to hell. We have proof. Because who punches Rick Moranis in the head? A once-a-century pandemic? It’s terrible, but one could argue one was due. The ensuing death, suffering and unemployment? Anyone not jamming…
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Insert Foot: National Daughters Day, punk rock boyfriends and bleeding on strangers
Insert Foot vs. boyfriends and National Daughters Day. Social media told me Saturday was National Daughters Day, which I didn’t know existed. My first thought was to wonder if Iron Maiden celebrates “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” day. My second thought was to think my first thought was…
