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Breaking the Cycle

It's expensive and time-consuming, but a court can help cure the hard-core homeless problem in San Francisco

By Eliza Strickland

Published: August 8, 2007

Steve Winters' single room in the Tenderloin's Ambassador Hotel is a dismal scene. The bare mattress shoved against the wall is a dirty gray, a heap of clothes inhabits one corner, and the bathroom...

Matt Smith

Governor Newsom?

Not likely, given his lack of spine in opposing the initiative promoting more parking

By Matt Smith

Published: August 8, 2007

Except for insurgent Matt Gonzalez entering the race at the last minute and nearly pulling off an upset, Gavin Newsom's 2003 campaign for mayor came off perfectly. Consultants Eric Jaye and Jim...

Sucka Free City

A Cuddly Rapist

My rapist wasn't a "great guy": A Castro man challenges a recent anti-gay-rape campaign

By Lauren Smiley

Published: August 8, 2007

Muni riders have been doing double takes at the posters for the "Men Surviving Rape" campaign launched by the district attorney's office and Community United Against Violence for more than a month...

Sucka Free City

Homer Race

With Barry Bonds closing in on baseball's home run record, black-and-orange trumps black-and-white

By Frank Munnich

Published: August 8, 2007

Perhaps it's inevitable given this country's history, but steroid use isn't the only thing skewing perceptions of Barry Bonds' inevitable crowning as baseball's home run king: The specter of race...

Sucka Free City

Sharp-Dressed Man

Attention addicts and alcoholics: The state will buy you a $200 suit to help you get a job

By Joe Eskenazi

Published: August 8, 2007

Whenever an ambulance wails by, Daniel Coates raps his fist on his skull twice — knock on wood — and mutters, "Thank God I'm not in it." The San Franciscan's boyish good looks belie his...

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Week of August 8-14, 2007

Published: August 8, 2007

Rolling in Cash ADA-OK: I am writing in regard to the July 25 piece "Wheelchairs of Fortune." I am a small-business owner, a model citizen, and someone who sees the disability rights...

Music

Small-Town Serenades

El Capitan delivers a rootsy California tapestry

By Evan James

Published: August 8, 2007

Grass Roots Records, a cool little indie label nestled in Joanna Newsom's new folk hotbed of Nevada City, has been building a buzz more for its retinue of elfin-voiced songwriters like Mariee Sioux...

Music

Disquiet Storm

Jennifer Gentle tweaks psych rock in cinematic ways

By Kurt B. Reighley

Published: August 8, 2007

The name sounds so sweet and innocent: Jennifer Gentle. It's a tag fit for the Teletubbies' babysitter, or some loved-up hippie chick with daisies in her hair. But in truth, what lurks behind this...

Music

Take Cover

Patti Smith offers a beacon of light in '07's slew of dismal tributes

By Jeremy Martin

Published: August 8, 2007

A snotty music critic's hypothesis: No relevant artist releases a covers album. Several supporting examples have dropped in 2007 alone, and we'll get to those in a minute. Contrary evidence is...

Music

Minnie Trooper

Driver's not a songwriter yet — but she's legit

By Maya Kroth

Published: August 8, 2007

With her latest disc, Seastories , actress-turned-singer Minnie Driver proves she's not just another actor — OK, I know, you're bored already. Every time some starlet gets a wild hair up her...

Let's Get Killed

The Return of Arthur Magazine

Arthur magazine: back from the ashes but still looking for a lifeline

By Jennifer Maerz

Published: August 8, 2007

Arthur may have a low print run of 50,000, but its influence is unquantifiable. The lefty counterculture magazine has been ground zero for antiwar activists, psychedelic drug enthusiasts, and,...

Reviewed

John Vanderslice

Emerald City (Barsuk)

By Lee Zimmerman

Published: August 8, 2007

This latest disc from San Francisco singer, songwriter, and audio auteur John Vanderslice was born from mitigating circumstances, mostly having to do with his French girlfriend being denied a visa...

Reviewed

Digitalism

Idealism (Astralwerks)

By Jonah Flicker

Published: August 8, 2007

These days, the rock clique feels no shame getting cozy with boom-thwack club tracks, thanks to the guitar- and synth-wielding purveyors of dance-punk. A purer form of electronic music, one firmly...

Reviewed

Bad Religion

New Maps of Hell (Epitaph Records)

By Tony Ware

Published: August 8, 2007

New Maps of Hell , Bad Religion's 14th original studio album, does an admirable job proving that the L.A. sextet is still the epitome of a tempestuous, polemically driven punk band. The...

Reviewed

Spider Bags

A Celebration of Hunger (Birdman)

By Mike Rowell

Published: August 8, 2007

With hints of such songwriters as Neil Young and Paul Westerberg apparent in his countrified garage-rock group, Spider Bags bandleader Dan McGee is a barstool philosopher. He looks at life through...

Reviewed

Kelly Rowland

Ms. Kelly (Columbia)

By Dan Leroy

Published: August 8, 2007

The genesis of Kelly Rowland's sophomore album is a sad commentary on the aesthetic currently choking R&B.; The singer and member of Destiny's Child allegedly recorded an earlier version of the...

Hear This

Pelican's soaring instru-metal lands in S.F.

By Mark Keresman, Jeremy Martin

Published: August 8, 2007

If nothing else, Bang Lime , the Oakland-based duo comprising Metric's rhythm section, is solid proof that we've run out of things to name bands. Bassist/vocalist Joshua Winstead and drummer...

BeatBox

Subtle: hip-hop collagists of the artiest caliber

By J. Niimi, Tamara Palmer

Published: August 8, 2007

Reminiscent of Zero 7 and Portishead, Bitter:Sweet sounds like it comes from England rather than Los Angeles. And that's a compliment, because American attempts at soulful downtempo often pale...

Bouncer

War and Woody Allen: the various ways lovers attempt letting go

By Katy St. Clair

Published: August 8, 2007

Woody Allen is famous for many great quotes. My favorite is from Annie Hall , where he talks about the idea that we are reincarnated repeatedly, reliving the same life until we get it right....

Eat

No Sign of the Colonel

Chic New American eatery takes no prisoners at erstwhile Mission fast-food joint

By Meredith Brody

Published: August 8, 2007

Everybody in town seems to know one thing about Spork: It's housed in a building that used to be a KFC. Perhaps it was the location that inspired the name — sporks, almost-all-purpose utensils...