Between the Lines: Facebook Is Not Your Friend

by | Sep 23, 2010 | News

When I grew up, back in the Age of Analog, there were clear protections on our private communications. Along with setting up the U.S. mail system, our first postmaster general, Ben Franklin, had established laws of conduct making it clear that tampering with the post...

Imperium Watch: Why You Don't Have a Job, 1

by | Sep 23, 2010 | News

To the extent that it oversees or nudges the economy, how much does the U.S. government value jobs for Americans? Historically, that value has had to compete with other values—which is one reason we have a crisis in job creation now. That crisis has deep roots;...

Art in Paradise: The Heart of a Saturday Night

by | Sep 23, 2010 | Music

For this week’s feature “A Charles River Boy,” I spoke to Cow Island Records founder Bill Hunt, who recently moved to the Valley. Many of the bands his label produces make music that’s undeniably country, but also undeniably unlike the meager,...
A Charles River Boy

A Charles River Boy

by | Sep 23, 2010 | Music

Cow Island is the kind of label that proudly offers, as the old saw goes, both kinds of music: country and Western. The label’s albums have a distinctively retro look, chock full of bowling alley fonts and vintage-look photos, complete with assurances of high...
Grand Band Slam 2010: Winners

Grand Band Slam 2010: Winners

by | Sep 23, 2010 | Music

Singer/songwriterJohn Brandoli PopJohn Brandoli Band If 2009 was John Brandoli’s coming-out party (he gigged incessantly in support of his debut disc, Suspended Disbelief), then 2010 is shaping up to be the year some pretty big names have decided to crash it....