Vol. 28, No. 51
The Best Movies of the Year
We've picked our favorites -- let the debates begin
Balling Half the Night
Downtown life gets a new soundtrack
By Mike Seely
Attack of the Blog
A Post reporter is suspended for extracurricular Internet activities
By Ben Westhoff
Hot Air
Unreal sees what all the inflatable fuss is about, learns why kitties are bad presents and talks to a man who loves hotties-but-smarties; plus, the second installment of Local Blog o' the Week!
What Is the Worst Bill You've Ever Had to Pay?
Week of December 22, 2004
By Wm. Stage
Letters
Merry Christmas, Beeyotch!
Forget caroling. Here are a few hip-hop jammy-jams to warm your Yule log.
By Sam Chennault
The Friction Tape
Especially when it casts Fred Friction as Susan B. Anthony
By John Goddard, John Nova Lomax and Ayatollah of Rock
STL's Dirtiest
Underground releases rise to the surface in 2004
And Then There Was One
A great hip-hop station switches format and leaves St. Louis a little poorer
By Jordan Harper
Brian Henneman
Saturday, December 25; Hi-Pointe
By John Goddard
The third annual STLPunk Christmas party, featuring Femme Fatality
Sunday, December 26; Creepy Crawl
By Christian Schaeffer
Patrick Sweany Band
Frederick's Music Lounge; Tuesday, December 28
Cam'ron
Purple Haze (Roc-A-Fella)
By Andrew Friedman
Lindsay Lohan
Speak (Casablanca)
By Maya Kroth
The Shapeshifters
The Shapeshifters Was Here (Cornerstone Recording Arts Society)
By David Wilkinson
New York Dolls
Pre-Crash Condition: Live From the Royal Festival Hall (Sanctuary)
By J. Poet
Grecian Yearn
Cancel your plans for the evening -- you won't want to leave Momos
By Rose Martelli
Gekeikkan Sake (warm)
Little Tokyo, 16 South Central Avenue, Clayton, 314-721-0100
By Randall Roberts
Crash and Yearn
Howard Hughes gets what he wants, in this case a fun and loving biopic
By Robert Wilonsky
Focking Wonderful
Streisand and Hoffman save a family -- and a movie, too
Sea of Loathe
Wes Anderson takes Bill Murray out to sea and strands him there
Phantom Menace
Joel Schumacher's version of a theater classic gets a tragic ending of its own
By Bill Gallo
Bomb-alie
A French auteur makes a Hollywood-style epic about love and war
By Melissa Levine
Film Openings
Out with the Old, In with the New
2005 brings a brand-new canvas
By Ivy Cooper
Buon Natale!
Mr. Night and Ms. Day gawk at Hill Nativity scenes and then go eat sandwiches. You can, too!
By Alison Sieloff and Mr. Night
Current Shows
Ivy Cooper encapsulates the St. Louis art scene
This Week's Day-by-Day Picks
By Paul Friswold and Alison Sieloff
Silver Dollar Christmas
Get to Branson before your good will is totally tapped out
By Mia York
Present Imperfect
2004 brought gifts galore (but one big lump of coal)
By Dennis Brown
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
The Theater Santa, St. Thespis, brings gifts all year long
By Deanna Jent
Casanosa
Studly Raja turns twelve
By Paul Friswold, John Goddard, Rose Martelli and Mia York
Capsule Reviews
Dennis Brown and Deanna Jent suss out local theater
Schuss, Little Darling
Skiing in the dark
By Ian Froeb, Amy Helms and Rose Martelli
Silent Night?
Let's have a silent day!
By Jedidiah Ayres, Guy Gray and Alison Sieloff
The Belly's the Boss
Bellies are dancing all around town
By Jedidiah Ayres, Paul Friswold and Alison Sieloff
New Year's Eve Listings 2004
God Save the Scene
Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop.
By Dan LeRoy
Americana Pie
Grab a slice of 2004s best roots music while its still hot.
By John Nova Lomax
Trend-Spotting
In a scandal-ridden election year, the years top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote.
By Sarah Hepola
Smells Like Indie Spirit
Music that made the world safe for the word "alternative" again.
By Rob Harvilla
Marrying the Mainstream
White men learned to dance, and the emoting was as thick as the eyeliner on the years best pop-rock records.
By Annie Zaleski
Dance, Dance Revolution
This was the year electronic dance music got its head -- and its ass -- out of the past.
By Darren Keast
On the Down-Low
Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon youve been jamming and dig this years buried black-music treasures.
By Craig D. Lindsey
Up From the Underworld
This year, blood-soaked extreme metal took its rightful place in the world of heavy music.
By Jason Bracelin
