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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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
08:45AM 05/08/08 -
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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Cleveland Clinic offers free yoga to soothe the embittered nurse
05:23AM 05/08/08
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Recent Articles By Dan Weiss
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The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely (Third Man/Warner Bros.)
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Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Part One, 4th World War (Motown)
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The Kills
Midnight Boom (Domino)
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Stephen Malkmus & Jicks
Real Emotional Trash (Matador)
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The Mountain Goats
Heretic Pride (4AD)
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
Rising Down is an appropriate title for the Roots' eighth album. Coming off Game Theory, 2006's miracle of soundscaping, Rising Down sounds like the Philadelphia hip-hop crew's weakest record. There are some genuine beats here, but keepers like the spare, slamming posse cut "Get Busy" and the old-school freestyle spit by then-15-year-old Black Thought eventually give way to a back half-stuffed with too many guest rhymers, trippy guitar jams, and curiously indistinct songs.
It doesn't help that the Roots are touting Rising Down as both their tough-guy and smart-guy moves. Digging deep for radical political insight, all they can muster is the usual bemoaning about being treated like criminals. Still, Black Thought's flow remains razor-sharp, even when he's slicing through the superficial rhymes. And the bass hooks bob and weave in highlights like the Fela Kuti tribute and "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)," a nonstop freestyle featuring the excellently named Tuba Gooding Jr.
