Category Archives: Arts

Spencer’s Explosion creates distinct blues sound Band, on third tour, to make appearance at the Palace tonight By Nisha Gopalan When John Spencer sings the blues, no one gets depressed. The largely one-word song titles such as "Bellbottoms" and "Dang" on the John Spencer Blues Explosion’s (JSBX) latest release, Orange, seem to capture the dynamic […]

Dare to be stupid In the first installment of Naked Gun, Leslie Neilsen exits an airliner to thunderous applause. He bows and acknowledges the crowd humbly. But as his police chief informs him, the fans aren’t for him. They’re there to cheer for Al. By Michael Horowitz Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Maniacal Natalie Merchant: ‘What is the matter here?’ By Michael Tatum No music figure I revile intrigues me more than Natalie Merchant, formerly of the pop group 10,000 Maniacs. As I mentioned in a previous column, I find her impotent three-note range, her inexplicable drawing out of vowels and her inability to sing consonants at […]

‘Mask’ screenwriter visits Melnitz Film success story Mike Werb returns to his alma mater By Michael Horowitz Daily Bruin Senior Staff "Every parking attendant in town is writing a screenplay," declares Mike Werb, who writes screenplays for a living and doesn’t park any cars except his own. "I’ve driven out of my dentist’s office, I’m […]

Philharmonic revives 1919 performance for 75th By John Mangum The Los Angeles Philharmonic celebrated its 75th birthday with a six-foot tall cake. It didn’t need candles because the orchestra was on fire. Monday night’s program replicated the one played by the L. A. Philharmonic at the first concert on Oct. 24, 1919. Zubin Mehta, who […]

‘Islands’ offers six hours revulsion, not ‘revolution’ Six-hour play seems more like fluff than social commentary By Jennifer Richmond Daily Bruin Staff "Revolution creates hell for all the people involved," Osvaldo (Shawn Elliott) says of the torment he’s endured throughout his life. After a lifetime of struggle and suffering, the Ripoll family has become a […]

‘Dreams’ reflects UCLA reality Film documents American youths’ love of basketball By Bernie Cook Special to The Bruin Kristaan Johnson. omm’A Givens. J.R. Henderson. Toby Bailey. These are special names, hyped names, strange and yet already familiar. While games are still a month away, practice has started for these four "blue chip" freshman who joined […]