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Barack Obama and Me

It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
Mescaline on the Mexican Border

Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.
A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
Little Bitty Burger Barn

"It's okay to be little bitty in the big city" is an apt slogan for this new burger joint, where sliders rule
Ghost Town CFS: Carriage House Cafe

Step back in time — to a spooky old carriage barn with a monster chicken-fried steak

Barack Obama and Me (246)

It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
Save Lobo: A Siberian Husky Mix is Sentenced to Die (28)

Why? Because he's big and intimidating and because one family complained about him over and over again
A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita (13)

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge? (6)

All This Useless Beauty
Rotten to the Corps: A Question of Justice at Texas A&M (140)

Thanks to A& M and a district attorney, two cadets escape punishment for beating in a student's face

Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge?

All This Useless Beauty
Tired of the Hype, But That's All There Is

Next month, Houston gets to be a cool kid. But only for a week.
The improbable redemption of Ashlee Simpson

"La La" Love You
Rap's Rapidly Vanishing Female MC

The Why Chromosome
A New Official State Song for Texas?

A case for a new — or different, anyway — state song

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Danava

By Jennifer Maerz

Published: November 2, 2006

Get ready for by-the-misty-bog Zeppelin hallucination fantasies.

Subject(s): Danava

While purists continue splitting hairs over "true" heavy-metal style, Danava combs the genre into a weave of fantastic art-rock wizardry that leaves the stick-straight by the wayside. For its full-length debut, Kemado Records' dark horse moves between kohl-cloaked glam and by-the-misty-bog Zeppelin hallucination fantasies; gargantuan stoner rhythms and high caterwauls abound. When your shortest song clocks in at the seven-minute mark, though, there's plenty of space for Hawkwind, Ozzy and Alice Cooper to flash back, and the Portland act keeps an open relationship with its influences.

Plenty of mainstream heavies hearken back to when the black light was the bedroom bulb of choice, but Danava is no cloying trend-chaser. Instead of skating on stadium-ready simplicity, every track is texturized for maximum dramatic impact. Frontman Dusty Sparkles narrates from a distant fuzz-toned plane while guitar plumage billows around him and counteracting elements keep the moods swinging -- feedback morphs into Herculean wind tunnels, and piano melodies become melancholy codas. As masters of the balancing act, these Northwestern magic men marry progressive aesthetics to deep metal grooves, ending up with a niche even the sticklers can bang their heads to with appreciation.

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Music

Most Popular

It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator

Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.

"It's okay to be little bitty in the big city" is an apt slogan for this new burger joint, where sliders rule

Step back in time — to a spooky old carriage barn with a monster chicken-fried steak

It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator

Why? Because he's big and intimidating and because one family complained about him over and over again

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.

All This Useless Beauty

Thanks to A& M and a district attorney, two cadets escape punishment for beating in a student's face

All This Useless Beauty

Next month, Houston gets to be a cool kid. But only for a week.

"La La" Love You

The Why Chromosome

A case for a new — or different, anyway — state song

Recent Articles By Jennifer Maerz

Blood Visions

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Danava

Danava

By Jennifer Maerz

Get ready for by-the-misty-bog Zeppelin hallucination fantasies.

Subject(s): Danava

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