Most Popular
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An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry
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Joe Cimperman hopes to tear down his former hero, Dennis Kucinich
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Beat Down
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
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Everybody Hates Mike
The peril of coaching an icon.
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Secret Valentines Notes from C-Town Celebs
Our I-Team uncovered the private love letters of Cleveland's biggest names. You'll be shocked by what we discovered.
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$100 Bounty on That Kid (19)
Copley-Fairlawn finds a way to keep the impostors out.
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At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters (15)
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Dennis Kucinich’s brave talk about working and fighting — from the safety of the officer’s tent (10)
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Beat Down (3)
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
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An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry (3)
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Crazy Talk
Miranda Lambert is a lot like any other girl with a soft spot for guns and setting exes on fire.
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The Bravery's New World
New-wave revivalists discover the power of three-chord guitar rock.
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Beer, BBQ, industry schmoozing: Rounding up SXSW 2008’s local delegates
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Keep on Truckin'
Jason Isbell finds life after the Drive-By Truckers.
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It took them 10 years, but the Sadies finally craft a country-rock classic
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In Cleveland's Ward 6, a race for a new councilman might decide Martin Sweeney’s future
03:40PM 03/10/08 -
No pressure Cleveland State Vikings, but the fate of Cleveland is in your hands against Butler
01:53PM 03/10/08 -
Kalliope Stage, in Cleveland Heights, dies, but hopes to soon rise from the grave
01:28PM 03/10/08 -
Hello, Cleveland: The Week’s Concert Calendar
01:12PM 03/10/08 -
Carl Monday’s back, and he’s not better than ever, which makes us sad
08:14AM 03/10/08
What we are writing about
- Black Sabbath
- Bob Dylan
- classic rock
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- family films
- foodie media
- Get religion!
- great video games
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- jazz
- legal eagles
- Metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- Neil Young
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- political clap-trap
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- read your music
- Singer-Songwriter
- sporting life
- urban crime
- weird theater
- white-collar baddies
Recent Articles By Mark Wedel
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Guitar legend Adrian Belew gigs with kids half his age, tries to keep up
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DEVOtional 2007
Saturday, August 25, at the Beachland.
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Stan Ridgway
Celebrating Wall of Voodoo's Call of the West. Tuesday, August 7, at the Beachland.
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The Legendary Stardust Cowboy and the Altamont Boys
With Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival, Blk Tygr, and Miss Firecracker. Saturday, May 19, at the Beachland.
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? & the Mysterians
With Lords of the Highway and Dad of Rock. Saturday, May 19, at the Winchester, Lakewood.
National Features
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Houston Press
"It Was Like an Armageddon Movie"
For days after Hurricane Rita, a Texas prison was hell on earth.
By Chris Vogel -
SF Weekly
The Candidate
Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.
By Matt Smith -
The Pitch
How Not To Be a Rap Star
First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.
By Nadia Pflaum -
Village Voice
Project Runaway
What becomes a gossip columnist most?
By Michael Musto
Way back when country and western were two separate genres, men in colorful shirts, kerchiefs, chaps, and big white hats would sing to their horses, their cattle, and to their saddle pals. The singing cowboys brought wholesome entertainment from an idealized 19th-century Wild West into the 20th century. They were free of ironic pose and unaware of any "camp," other than that which one does with a tent at night.
The era of the singing cowboy ended long ago, but since 1977, Riders in the Sky has taken us back to the days of Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Roy Rogers. You can just feel the big sky overhead and smell the living leather in the Riders' chipper songs, like "Texas Plains" -- "I wanna feel my saddle horse between my legs, ridin' him out on the range/Just a-kickin' him in the side, make him show his steppin' pride, back on those Texas plains."
Most importantly, the Riders aren't "dudes" who pretend to be from the range; if they were, would the Grand Ole Opry have allowed them to be members since 1982?
