Most Popular
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For women in Iraq, the terrorist could be the guy working beside you
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Why did Judge Linda Teodosio fire a model detention officer?
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How do you pass No Child Left Behind . . . when you don’t speak English?
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It took one drunken punch outside a Lakewood bar to end Matt Hockey’s life
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The Kickdrums may be hip-hop’s next big beatmakers. And they work out of a closet in Avon
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Why did Judge Linda Teodosio fire a model detention officer? (5)
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It took one drunken punch outside a Lakewood bar to end Matt Hockey’s life (4)
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Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations. (3)
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Education at Its Worst (83)
Confessions of a White Hat cubicle farmer
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For women in Iraq, the terrorist could be the guy working beside you (3)
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A mystical shaman, returning bandmates, and grinding riffs renew thrash kings Testament
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Feist has sung with a lot of Canadians. Unfortunately, she missed out on these classics.
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While Trent Reznor broods, Saul Williams celebrates a musical experiment
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Ministry calls it quits. But it has one more tour to get through first
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Singer-songwriter Chris Allen grows up on new CD by turning up the volume
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Slide Show: The Black Keys at the Beachland Tavern
10:54AM 05/08/08 -
Last Night in Cleveland: The Black Keys
09:32AM 05/08/08 -
Restaurant of the Weekend: Trip out at Tommy’s on Mother’s Day
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Cavs-Celtics: You can only hope to contain Boston's go-to extra-terrestrial
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$13 at ... Saucy Bistro
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What we are writing about
- alt-country
- alt-rock
- Blame the (blank)!
- blues
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- country
- Dennis Kucinich
- great documentaries
- great video games
- hip-hop
- hot venues
- indie-rock
- indie pop
- indie rock
- jazz
- legal eagles
- metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- political clap-trap
- pop
- punk
- R&B
- read your music
- rock
- singer-songwriter
- sporting life
- Wii
Recent Articles By Justin F. Farrar
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Singer-songwriter Shawn Phillips never sold many records, but he also never descended into AOR hell
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It took them 10 years, but the Sadies finally craft a country-rock classic
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Blossom Toes
We Are Ever So Clean/If Only for a Moment (Sunbeam)
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Weener
Saturday, December 22, at the Jigsaw, Parma.
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The Pearlfishers
Up With the Larks (Marina)
National Features
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The Pitch
We (Heart) Matt
The Shawnee Mission East class of '08 loves its gay homecoming king.
By Jen Chen -
Village Voice
The Cro-Mag Diaries
Remembering the brutal life and times of John "Bloodclot" Joseph, New York hardcore icon.
By Rob Harvilla -
Seattle Weekly
Being Gary Busey
Everybody thinks Jeff Swanson is somebody famous. And he does nothing to dissuade them of the notion.
By Aimee Curl
Blue Mountain
With Andy Friedman & the Other Failures. Friday, May 9, at the Beachland Tavern.
By Justin F. Farrar
Published: May 7, 2008
Subject(s): Uncle Tupelo, Americana, Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain bassist Laurie Stirratt lowers her voice and explains, without mentioning names, why she doesn't listen to modern alt-country. "There's no grit to it, and it's all real polished," she says. "It's been made into this marketable thing. Plus, I just don't think there are very many good musicians out there." Then again, Stirratt (her twin brother John plays bass in Wilco) has never cared for the tag. Like fellow pioneers Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks, Blue Mountain — which reunited last summer after a six-year break — has always insisted that it plays good ol' American rock and roll. Whatever you want to label it, Blue Mountain has been making music using a mix of searing aggression and tradition-schooled skill since the early '90s, when Stirratt and then-husband Cary Hudson formed the band — ragged roadhouse rockers who are one part X, two-parts Crazy Horse. But their reunion isn't about feel-good nostalgia and a handful of paying gigs: Blue Mountain already has two albums in the can. One features all new material, while the other consists of reworked older songs. "We've been playing really long sets," says Stirratt. "Not bad for a bunch of geezers."
