This weekend, YouTube and the National Independent Venue Association are doing an awesome thing for local music venues nationwide, and I’m sure many of you have heard about the star-studded Save Our Stages Fest. It’s the kind of huge, publicity-grabbing event that gets a ton of attention with people in markets across the country. Which is a good thing, because it’s for a good cause, and it needs to get in front of a large group of people to make that positive impact. I do not begrudge that at all, and I wholeheartedly encourage people to check it out, and any other event of that... Read More

Are Netflix executives reading our minds? There’s been an eerie pattern throughout the pandemic, in regard to the most popular programming emerging on the streaming platform. In an uncanny way, it’s mirrored the attitudes and zeitgeist of society at that time, especially over the past year during the time of covid. Certainly, some of it can be chalked up to unconscious needs and preferences being manifested in viewing choices — of people being attracted to certain programs at certain times and them becoming popular because the vast majority of us are feeling a certain thing at... Read More

“If you work in the media, you’re going to get fired.” My college Journalism 101 teacher said that to our eager group of 18-year-olds on my first day in his class. Great way to introduce us to his curriculum, and the business, right? He told us it wasn’t meant to be a cautionary statement, merely a pragmatic one. That’s the business. That’s media. Ownership changes, management changes, budgets get cut, formats and directions get shifted, and the people in the trenches are the ones who are usually set loose. You have to have a thick skin, a backup plan, and the ability not to take it... Read More

Today, negotiations are set to continue on another covid stimulus bill. Nancy Pelosi has said, to her credit, that she doesn’t want Congress to adjourn without another one. And, Steven Mnuchin, also to his credit, has seemed eager to likewise get a deal done. And make no doubt about it, there NEEDS to be another deal. And it NEEDS to get done before Congress goes home for a month for the window dressing of campaigning for votes during a time in which they should be earning them by actually doing something for the people whom they claim to represent. Recent numbers show as many as 60 percent... Read More

Throughout this week, we’ve been featuring stories on Quad-Cities band Einstein’s Sister, which is releasing its first record in almost two decades this weekend, during Record Store Day at CoOp Records in Moline. The band – Kerry Tucker, Bill Douglas, Marty Reyhons, Steven Volk, and Andy Brock – is releasing a double-A side single, “Standing Still” and “Begin Again,” on transparent blue vinyl. But that’s one of the only ways in which the band has been completely transparent. Throughout this week, I’ve been scanning the archives and corners of the internet for information on... Read More

The Video You Deserve does not live on vintage videos alone. Sure, most weeks we give you a cheesy video to start your week, when we drop The Video You Deserve every Monday morning, usually one from the early days of the video in the ’80s and ’90s, but sometimes we mix it up to reflect more current videos that are just as cheesy and strange. Like this week’s entry. If you, or a child or friend, is on TikTok, you’ve undeniably heard the following line: “We all know the best MC is M to the B It’s M to the B It’s M M M M M to the B Bang!” Usually though,... Read More

There are very few shows you can deem “must see” anymore, although not as much due to their quality, as due to the fact that not many shows can truly be described as being targeted for a wide audience anymore. We live in a world that’s become increasingly fragmented and subdivided, and invariably there are few things upon which the vast majority of the population can agree. Entertainment used to be the great uniter of the people. When television began to rise to prominence in the ‘50s and ‘60s, cultural touchstones were based upon events it showcased. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. The finale... Read More

What is Disc Golf? Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to a sport that is taking the world by storm!  You may have heard people call it “Frisbee golf” or even “frolf.” However, for those of us who play, we prefer to call it “disc golf.” So what exactly is disc golf?  Well, it is a sport played much like traditional golf.  However instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc, or Frisbee, and try to throw it into a basket with chains.  The sport was formalized in the 1970’s and shares with “ball golf” the object of completing each hole in the fewest... Read More

There’s a scene in Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity” where the lead character, played by John Cusack, asks whether or not it’s fair to judge people largely on their music tastes. So, is it? What kind of music do you like? Who are your favorite singers? What’s your favorite song? When I was younger, particularly in high school and early college, I was inclined to judge potential friends and girlfriends in large part on their musical and pop-culture tastes. Yes, I was an entertainment snob. Hard to believe, I know. In comparing preferences in music, TV shows, movies, and books, I felt... Read More

A teenager who can see the worlds of demons and the paranormal around us that others cannot is the protagonist of Sean Leary’s critically-acclaimed graphic novel series, “Exorcising Ghosts” The book is available worldwide and in local bookstores. Leary wrote and illustrated the series when he was a teenager and the books seem ripped from the diary of a teen, featuring various perils of growing up, including family issues, relationship breakups, friend squabbles and more, but with an added twist. The anti-hero of the story, Colin Drewry, is a recovering alcoholic and addict who... Read More