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Return of the Legend

"Hook" Mitchell -- the best there ever was, before he went to prison -- and the redemptive power of basketball

By Tommy Craggs

Published: June 23, 2004

In the gospel of Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell, there are, foremost, the miracles. "We were playing Alameda," Shareef Nasir recalls. "It was packed out there, standing room only. Hook comes into the...

Matt Smith

Little People Win!

A bland supervisor, a high school student, an industrious bureaucrat, and Pamela Anderson prove that any of us can change the world for the better

By Matt Smith

Published: June 23, 2004

There was once a young bureaucrat named Tony who worked as executive assistant to the mayor of a small city. He spent his days following his boss to ribbon cuttings, speeches, and any other grip...

Night Crawler

Vroom-Vroom

At the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club, we find two familiar joys: speed and camaraderie

By Silke Tudor

Published: June 23, 2004

In the summer of 1905, less than a year after its formation, the San Francisco Motorcycle Club held its first run, a five-mile journey from the clubhouse on Market Street to the hilltop...

Dog Bites

Dog Bites

"Jesus spoke out about tax collectors and politicians, and we're supposed to do the same."

Overheard by Matt Palmquist

Published: June 23, 2004

Sniffing Out Bloomsday and Finding It Uselysses Last week saw the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, a celebration of the epic stroll through Dublin that serves as the centerpiece of James...

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Published: June 23, 2004

Building Readership On a mud foundation: Although I live 3,000 miles from S.F., I read with interest your article ["Tower Inferno," Matt Smith, June 16], as I am a proponent of rail...

Music

Ay dios!

Boasting sharply written tunes and a fan in Morrissey, dios is converting the hordes with its indie rock

By Dan Reines

Published: June 23, 2004

Joel Morales is beginning to piss people off. Actually, person. One guy. Morales, the shaggy, pear-shaped, 28-year-old singer/guitarist of the lo-fi beauty-pop quintet dios (lowercase "d," if...

Music

Pawns in the Sun

Rock Ninja! encounters the rules of a summer concert at BFD

By Rock Ninja

Published: June 23, 2004

The sun does not appeal to me. I prefer the cool shelter and safety of nightfall. Darkness tends to hide imperfections and veil appearance; it offers me great comfort. So when my grandfather found...

Reviewed

Pony Up: Sonic Youth

Sonic Nurse

By Todd Lamb

Published: June 23, 2004

Ponytails. They're the only way to know if men over 45 are "with it." Ponytails are the nonverbal signal for cool, a fashion-smart way of saying, "I'm lookin' clean and tidy, but check me on the...

Reviewed

Replicator

You Are Under Surveillance

By Garrett Kamps

Published: June 23, 2004

There's much to like about this record. Let's start with the song titles. "The Frogurt© Is Cursed" -- that's a good one, pretty self-explanatory. "It Seems Like the Real Deal, But the...

Reviewed

Consequence

Take 'Em to the Cleaners

By Sam Chennault

Published: June 23, 2004

The bar is set a little lower for hip hop mix-tapes, those self-released offerings that are widely seen as hip hop's liaison with the streets. With these homemade mixes (think Bob Dylan's basement...

Reviewed

Chris von Sneidern

Headful of Words: The Best of CvS, Volume One

By Mark Keresman

Published: June 23, 2004

Almost every major city has someone like Chris von Sneidern: a die-hard true believer carrying the torch of power pop. Alas, CvS, a fixture in the Bay Area since 1985, relocated to mythical Seattle...

Reviewed

The Ponys

Laced With Romance

By Abigail Clouseau

Published: June 23, 2004

The title of the Ponys' debut, Laced With Romance , is as accurate as that Spears girl is chaste. With lines like "I only love ya 'cause you, 'cause you look like me," the band is like that...

Reviewed

X-Ecutioners

Revolutions

By Sam Chennault

Published: June 23, 2004

While the four turntablists in the X-Ecutioners appear God-like onstage behind the wheels of steel -- pawing at breakbeats and twisting tempos into a rhythmic frenzy -- their work as producers has...

OK Then

City of Rock

SF's Starship said "We built this city on rock 'n' roll." Apparently the band was right.

By Garrett Kamps

Published: June 23, 2004

Reader, are you sitting down? Good. Now get this: You live in the hardest-rocking region in the country. That's the official verdict handed down by Scarborough Research, one of those large...

House of Tudor

House of Tudor

Get your multi-culturalism on with "3 Drops of Blood"; Sagan re-mixes history at this week's "Jiffy Scuttler."

By Silke Tudor

Published: June 23, 2004

Co-curated by sound-bending newlyweds Blevin Blectum and J. Lesser, along with "The Livingroom" co-host Sean Rooney and glitch-hop conspirator Lance Grabmiller, "Jiffy Scuttler" is a brazen...

Hear This

Hear This

KMFDM stands for "Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit". What a bummer.

By Abigail Clouseau

Published: June 23, 2004

Yes, it was frustrating when we learned that KMFDM stood for " Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit " (translation: "No Pity for the Majority") instead of "Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode," as the...

BeatBox

BeatBox

"Real People" is a breath of fresh air at the Oxygen Bar; Ghostface Killah proves he's Wu Tang's No. One.

By Charlie Amter, Brock Keeling, Sam Chennault

Published: June 23, 2004

It's possible that DJ D:Fuse would have toiled away in relative obscurity had he not been touched by the hand of God -- that is, Paul Oakenfold. From a pool of nearly every mixmaster in the known...

Eat

Falling in Love, Slowly

It took a number of visits over many months before our critic tumbled for Quince

By Meredith Brody

Published: June 23, 2004

It's unpredictable. You can fall in love at first sight or over a long time. And there are no rules (despite what you've read). I was nuts for Tom Collichio's food at Gramercy Tavern in New York...

Social Grace

Driven to Distraction

Toll-paying gadgets, cell phones, and other automotive disturbances

By Social Grace

Published: June 23, 2004

Dear Social Grace, I've recently begun using the FasTrak automatic toll-paying device. The little gadget has been a godsend, getting me across the Bay Bridge in record time. There's a downside...

Film

George of the Bungle

Michael Moore goes Bushwacking in Fahrenheit 9/11

By Gregory Weinkauf

Published: June 23, 2004

A strong toxin requires a strong antidote. In the case of the Bush administration, the cure is being served in significant part by Michael Moore, he of the Peter Jackson Diet (and similar...