Jan 10-16, 2018
Stacey Rose, Astrea Corp, dockless bike shares, Mujtaba Mohammed, Mecklenburg County Market
Cover Story
A Playwright’s Journey: From Charlotte to Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’
“No Sleep till Brooklyn” could be the soundtrack to the making of Nola Darling’s second dance — and to Stacey Rose’s journey from the Charlotte theater world to a Spike Lee Netflix joint. Darling, of course, is the character who made her black-and-white cinematic debut on movie screens across the country in Lee’s 1986 full-length…
Spate of Recent Murders Brings Attention to Domestic Violence
The year started off quietly enough. Through the first 10 days of 2018, there had not been one homicide in Charlotte. By comparison, there had been four in the first four days of 2017. But on January 11, that silence was shattered in Westerly Hills, a usually peaceful neighborhood on the Wilkinson Boulevard corridor. That…
Matrimony Frontman Seeks Help After Medical Emergency
James Brown sets up GoFund Me, will remain in Charlotte with family
The Post: An admirable full-court press
THE POST ***1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Steven Spielberg STARS Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks (The Post is one of the 10 Best Films of 2017. To see the complete 10 Best & 10 Worst article, click here.) In these turbulent and trying times, a timid and largely ineffectual media is par for the course,…
The Commuter: A bumpy but engaging ride
THE COMMUTER **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Jaume Collet-Serra STARS Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga Planes, Trains and Automobiles might be the name of a beloved John Hughes flick from the 1980s, but it’s also Liam Neeson’s preferred modes of transportation en route to dispatching various baddies with bone-crunching determination. Under the watchful eye of…
The Blotter: The Piggyback Bandit
The Rubdown CMPD sent out a press release last week that should immediately be recognized as a Blotter classic. Police were only recently made aware of a crime committed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in April 2017 by “the Piggyback Bandit,” who is already wanted for similar crimes in airports around the country. According to…
It, Matinee, Wuthering Heights among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) INHERIT THE WIND (1960). Stanley Kramer, known primarily as the producer-director of sterling, socially conscious films, is behind this still-relevant drama which has its roots in an actual historical event: the infamous…
Listen Up: Astrea Corp Gets Experimental on ‘Local Vibes’
Not many folks move to Charlotte with the sole intention of entering the music scene, but that’s what Mike and Carly Astrea did about two and a half years ago, and they’ve since brought Will Gilreath on to the experimentalist trip-hop group Astrea Corp they formed in south Florida. We talk to the trio about…
News of the Weird: Faces in the Froth
Self-Absorbent The Tea Terrace in London is offering a new way for customers to enjoy themselves — literally. On Dec. 16, the shop began selling the “Selfieccino,” an image of the customer’s face in the frothy topping of either a cappuccino or a hot chocolate. Patrons send an photo to the shop via an online…
Astrea Corp’s Dark Electronic Soundscapes are a Trippy Clash of Post-Rock Madness
One afternoon several years ago, Mike Bachman sat at the desk in his south Florida home where he produced the rich, multilayered electronic soundscapes of his music project Astrea Corp. He opened one of the tracks he was working on. His girlfriend Carly looked over his shoulder. “I remember sitting there and she was behind…
At Mecklenburg County Market, Fresh Food is a Family Affair
When it comes to food terms like “organic” and “free range,” it pays to be careful, Dale McLaughlin says. “I don’t like buying food that uses animal compost that goes directly on the ground,” he says. “If there’s salmonella [present] it goes right into the ground and into the product.” A similar common sense approach…
Isn’t It About Time Douglass Thompson Cut a New Record?
When a housefire scorched Douglass Thompson’s home in the tiny town of Waupaca, Wisconsin, in 2012, he and his wife decided to make a change. Everything they’d accumulated over the years was gone, so they took to heart the old Kris Kristofferson line “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” and hit the…
Mujtaba Mohammed Wants to Take the General Assembly to School
I knew that I knew him from somewhere, I just didn’t know how far back we went. Covering news in this city — especially on the social justice beat — I was vaguely familiar with Mujtaba Mohammed. He had sometimes moved in the same circles I have covered here over the past six years, so…
Where Did All Those Neon Bikes Come From?
Those damn bikes. They’re everywhere. Outside Creative Loafing’s offices at the Music Factory this very moment, there are probably three or four of them lying on the grass next to the street. I don’t even have to go look. They’re there. Trust me. And they’re also scattered all over the place up the street, at…
Salome’s Stars
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Guess what, Lamb? You’re about to experience a new perspective on a situation you long regarded quite differently. What you learn could open more opportunities later. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) The Bold Bovine is tempted to charge into a new venture. But it might be best to…
