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Archive for the ‘Ann Arbor’ Category

It must be a real treat to live with me

Posted in Ann Arbor, I am a jerk on August 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I saw this article on my local NPR station’s website the other day and realized this is the future of awful reporting. The headline was “Amazon will drain jobs from local economies” above this picture:

closing

The caption reinforces the headline: “…with layoffs in retail continuing, Amazon’s expansion to Michigan could drain jobs from local economies.” So the headline is about store closings and there is a picture of a closed store, so it’s already happening!

But I don’t even know what that is a picture of. Could it be the old Dumpling Astronaut by the highway that the Health Department closed? Is it the prong resale shop that couldn’t make it next to the national Prongery? Likewise, I don’t know when the picture was taken or whether it’s even in Michigan. The article has nothing to say about the picture so no one knows. It would be great if at least the caption said something like “Another mom-and-pop Freezee shop closed by the giant retailer Amazon last year.” The editor might as well have picked out a kitty or random clickbait celebrity image of Farrah as an illustration of how Amazon is squeezing out other retailers. A kitty would have just as much relation to the text as the picture that did run.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the information and I agree with the tone and the few facts that the it offers. But the sloppy way we read the news today goes hand in hand with the sloppy way we present it.

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“What are your influences?”

Posted in Ann Arbor, I am a jerk, music on December 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I don’t like picking on my favorite theater in the world, but I just got this from the Michigan Theater, advertising an upcoming concert. The email begins:

“VULFPECK is a primarily instrumental, Los Angeles-based band inspired by the classic R&B rhythms recorded by the Funk Brothers,The Meters, and quite possibly Booker T. & the MG’s.”

First of all, “quite possibly Booker T. & the MG’s”? All I’m getting from that comment is assuredly NOT Booker T. & the MG’s. Either this really is an inspiration but you won’t directly say so (“The ingredients are sugar, water, and quite possibly something extra.”) or it’s not an inspiration but you want to appear as if it were (“I played gigs with Ratgrind, Easy Company, and quite possibly Metallica.”) If you did play with Metallica, you would say so.

Second of all, who cares? Starting out an announcement for a concert with a list of bands that are influences (or here “inspirations”) reminds me of all the band interviews I read in punk zines that began with “What are your inspirations?” Is music writing so depleted that it has to resort to a list of similar sounding bands when referring to some other band? Or is music just so derivative that influences are that important and obvious?

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After the show.

Posted in Ann Arbor, concerts on August 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »

My only opportunity to see King Crimson was when they played the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1982.  The performance itself was incredible, and like their albums from the ’70s, they continued to push against the boundaries where Rock stopped.  It was an enjoyable night of great live music.  However, the other reason for which this night will be remembered came in an unexpected highlight after the show.  Seeing that several people were crowded around the backstage entrance, I wondered, “Was the band really going to walk through that door?  Unarmed?”  Eventually, Adrian Belew stepped out, but he couldn’t get far.  Still, he was gracious with his time, told funny stories, and signed a variety of items.  Then, Bill Bruford appeared.  He was at least able to get about twenty feet away before a small mob swarmed in, yet I couldn’t help but notice his reaction, seeming weary of having to go through the motions once again.  Not wanting to be a part of the frenzy called, “Hey, can you sign this?” I distanced myself and was patient.  As the excitement wound down and everyone else had stepped away, I approached him, extended my hand and said, “I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your playing tonight.”  He looked at me, shook my hand and said, “Thanks.  I appreciate that.”  He was dedicated to giving everyone there a slice of his time but it felt like he truly appreciated hearing a slightly different approach.  Then, I watched them both simply walk away in separate directions, as nonchalantly as if they lived nearby.

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