The Masters of Metal Tour -- the most metal tour ever, assuming you're a die-hard old-school guy -- featuring Heaven and Hell (that's the Dio-era lineup of Black Sabbath), Judas Priest, Motorhead, and Testament has announced tour dates. Cleveland's not on the itinerary, but Pittsburgh is. Maybe it has something to do with gas prices. Dio's a big sports fan, and he's from upstate New York; maybe he doesn't like the Browns. Pittsburgh's a good metal town, but not like Cleveland is. Who knows? It's a weird business. ...
Topic: Kevin’s stern disapproval, and savvy decoding, of Barack Obama’s race speech
Kevin's Sanity Level Today: 47 percent
What Your Head Would Feel Like if You Read it Yourself: Ever see that video of Fabio riding a rollercoaster and a goose smashes into his face? Reading this mimics that experience: you’re meandering through, following his logic, and then—splat!—a large waterfowl of Kevin-brand nonsense smashes into your nose.
There was an odd dearth of bearded people on the streets of Austin Thursday afternoon. Turns out, they were all at one of SXSW’s best day parties, hosted by New West Records, home to such alt-country acts as Drive-By Truckers and the Old 97’s (as well as former Kinks frontman Ray Davies). There may be hipper day parties happening during the four-day music festival, but none embodies the spirit of SXSW’s Americana roots more than New West’s annual bash. (I also wasn’t invited to any of those. But that’s not the point). ...
Topic: O’Brien’s old standard: if global warming is real, why is my windshield iced over?
Kevin's Sanity Level Today: 19 percent
What Your Head Would Feel Like if You Read it Yourself: You’ve strayed into Apache territory, and they’ve buried you to your neck in sand, coating your cranium in honey to attract hordes of bees, ants, and flies. Vultures are pecking your ears. And your nose itches.
We love you, Diane Rehm. Your show, too. But mostly just you.
Dear Public Radio,
You do things no other media can do. Every show is insightful, demanding, and intelligent. You help the world multi-task. Why just last month, with a mere ten minutes of listening in the car on the way to quaff pitches of Miller Lite at Pannini’s, you helped me understand the role super-delegates play in the Democratic primary, explained why the new Russian president Medvedev is less Putin than one would think, and changed my carburetor. Amazing. ...
Ah, the goold ole days, when Carl tricked unsuspecting Buckeye fans into admitting they crank it in the library.
In late January, we questioned whether Carl Monday had gone soft. He hadn’t done a Carl Monday Investigation worthy of that title in two months, instead wasting his valuable time and even more valuable moustache on two boring Cleveland Clinic stories that didn’t even require a trench coat.
Monday, apparently, reads C-Notes. And he’s heeded our call. Like Picasso’s Blue Period, the last month and a half may go down as the most prolific epoch of Monday’s career—he’s aired four investigations. ...
Alright, Dan Moulthrop, we get it. You’re the world’s most amazing person. You’re intelligent, friendlier than a Jesuit at Happy Hour, and unlike us, you're rarely drunk on a Tuesday morning.
Oh, and that show you host on 90.3 WCPN, The Sound of Ideas, it’s pretty damn good public radio. We gave it a Best of Cleveland award, because it invites newsmakers, journalists, and regular folks to dissect the stories behind the latest headlines. ...
I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: This snow outside is a goddamned imposter.
Why, back in my day, snow was something you feared more than pinkos. It was the great white equalizer, the frozen monster of blue lips, the sacred chill-cotton of the sky. And it didn’t come in these pansy-ass flakes. Why, in my day, the clouds dropped anvils and machetes on your head. But these days, you might as well smear coco-butter across you belly whenever there's a cumulonimbus cloud approaching. This snow is weaker than Dukakis in '88. ...
Rover has barked his last bark -- at least on 92.3 K-Rock. His popular and controversial morning show, Rovers Morning Glory -- featuring naked fat men prancing in the street, stomach-turning bets, death-defying dares, as well as heated debates between the shrilly clueless Duji and nasally arrogant Rover -- is officially done.
Tom Herschel, the station’s general manager, tells C-Notes the decision was mutual and the result of unsuccessful contract talks.
“Rover has been with us for five years, and we really hoped we could come to an agreement to keep that going,” Herschel says. “But at this point, that’s not going to happen. Rover has chosen to move on. So we made the decision to move on ourselves.” ...
Let’s say that you really want to step on Bill Martin’s face, maybe because he makes bags and bags of cash, or his perfectly coifed hair annoys you, or you’re just a big Ted Henry guy. Let’s additionally say that you are a huuuuuge fan of wooly bears. You love the little critters, and can never find enough wooly-related accessories for the summer months. Also, you love shoes. And you really love Cleveland sports. And you happen to have $5,000 sitting in your PayPal account.
There’s literally only one pair of shoes for you. ...
Via clevelandsaplum.com: The above video is the promo WKYC aired this week for a story by The Investigator, Tom Meyer, who Scene investigated ourselves a couple years back. Meyer's is a worthy story that raises questions about the behavior of some Canton police officers, who seem to have confused their holding cell for the champagne room at Christie's Cabaret. But the promo is a little much ... for a Rob Zombie movie. For a news story, it's the most over-dramatic 30 seconds in the history of television. I bet it worked like a charm. -- Joe P. Tone
WKYC's Maureen Kyle is among the finalists for Cleveland's Sexiest Reporter. Who's your hottest?
Earlier this month, local blog Political Science 216 announced it was holding a contest to crown the Sexiest Reporter in Greater Cleveland, because what else would a political blog write about during an election year?
Now, we know what you’re thinking — journalism is a field whose most famous local faces are the not-so-Brangelina mugs of Dick Feagler, Carl Monday, and Mike Trivisonno. Announcing the hottest of the lot is like giving an award to the most elegantly dressed Bone Thug.
Today's topic: George Bush’s planned economic stimulus
I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: This economic stimulus is an under the table tugjob for the weak.
Why, back in my day, we didn’t get stimulated by the government. If you needed cash, you were a vagrant, and the police had a whole set of laws just for you, with punishments that included burning down your shanty, spraying you with a fire hose, or paddy-wagoning you just over the Michigan border and leaving you there. ...
What’s happened to Carl Monday lately? The “Dean of Cleveland Investigative Reporters” has made a career out of a trenchcoat, a microphone wielded like a baton, and the ingratiating persistence of a frantic chihuahua. His specialty: turning petty stupidity or lewdness — like, say, cranking it in a library -- into high crime. All in a day’s work for the grand master of sensationalism.
It's probably too early to tell if editor Susan Goldberg's changes are working.
For many readers, their daily newspaper is like that old buddy from high school: Year after year, he keeps showing up on your doorstep. And year after year, you keep letting him in.
Unfortunately, he’s also like an old buddy that tends to really annoy you. Especially when he changes.
For old pals of The Plain Dealer, the most recent annoyance has been induced by the paper’s front page, which has undergone a makeover unseen since Ricki Lake took the buffet table out of her shower. Life-size photos and dizzying graphics, visible from space, now anchor the front page. National news has all but vanished. Lighter features and commentary are more often prominent. And sports have found a permanent, loving home there. The paper even recently violated the 7th Commandment of Journalism: Thou Shall Not Put Bud Shaw on A-1…
