With all the redundancy of pop music, it can be hard to find something fresh. On the Great Plains Gypsies' latest release, "Ride the Blinds," the music is not only fresh, but also inventive. The album is a collection of 12 stripped-down tracks that range...

This is Benjamin, and he's a little worried about his future. A young man set to graduate is trying to find his way in a chaotic and obtuse world. For answers, he sleeps with family friend Mrs. Robinson and her daughter Elaine. Now that sounds like a...

There's something that I have to come clean about: I've never done it. "It," of course, is referring to downloading music off the Internet. At this point, you're probably asking yourself, "Does this guy live in a cave?" or "Has he been asleep for a while,...

Predictability isn't an ideal attribute for a band trying to make it, but it just might work in the bar scene for Suite Oblivion. The Rockford-based quartet's debut album, "Shine," certainly isn't earth-shaking, but it follows the formula for good rock...

All souls will be out Saturday night at Otto's Niteclub, 118 E. Lincoln Highway. Otto's isn't having some spiritual seance, but alt-rockers Soul Asylum will perform at 10 p.m. A veteran of the rock scene, Soul Asylum has been together since 1981. Originally,...

Anyone who can sing a thoughtful song about pissing in a river is OK by me. Rock poet Patti Smith sings about that, and over 31 other equally meaningful subjects, on her new double-disc album, "Land (1975-2002)." Spanning four decades of music that some...

It might be time to put down that Keystone Light and start drinking with a little class. But finding a good, affordable wine is nothing like finding a good, affordable beer. "A good wine is one that is finished in a style that is true to it's varietal,...

It all began in 1995. That was when Disney released the box office gold mine "Toy Story." With that release and its ensuing success, which has spawned a sequel, the film genre of computer animation has produced one hit after another. The surprising aspect...

Have you ever sniffed a pony's butt? In 1982, kids throughout the country had their noses pressed up against the vinyl tush of My Little Pony. The sweetly scented buttocks of My Little Pony gave off the fragrances of peaches and berries. It was the pony...

Art enthusiasts from the community and NIU gathered at the Art Building March 21 for a proposal presentation given by Karen McCoy, an NIU alumna and head of sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute. Her piece, "The DeKalb County Farmland Project," will...

Few things from the 1970s have aged well, if Peter Frampton's appearance at Naperville's RibFest last year is any indication. But underneath a thin layer of cultural classics ("The Godfather" films, Led Zeppelin's peak period) and a whole mess of embarrassments...

"Sorority Boys" is a terrible film. Not a single scene in it sheds any optimistic light on anyone involved. It plays with gender roles before it points a middle finger at the audience, expecting us to laugh. First off, Harland Williams is not funny. After...