“A miracle only ever grows wild,” Jeff Tweedy half-mumbles on “Random Name Generator,” one of 11 tracks from Wilco’s new album “Star Wars.” Miracle or not, “Star Wars,” available as a...
Rod Stewart will perform at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater on Thursday, July 16. The show’s official billing as “Rod Stewart: The Hits” gives reasonable assurance that one will leave the Amphitheater...
The Banditos’ self-titled debut is a rowdy, rollicking good time, a totally uninhibited collision of Appalachian twang, rock ‘n’ roll swagger, blues throb, punk snarl and youthful inertia. And they’re...
Last week on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder, Colorado, I stumbled onto something beautiful. Four scruffy guys stood playing folk music on the sidewalk, crowded around a beat-up old suitcase with a hand-written...
“Beat the Champ” is ostensibly an album about professional wrestling. But in crafting 45 minutes worth of songs about the spandex-clad world of big biceps and bigger egos, bandleader and lyricist John...
Courtney Barnett’s trademark stream-of-consciousness delivery is less the smiling UPS representative ringing the doorbell and conveying a package directly into your hands, more the disgruntled teenager...
Texas blues has always run a little contrary in tone to its counterparts in the southeast. The line is by no means a hard and fast one, but generally speaking, the old Mississippi howlers have cultivated...
Father John Misty is back with vim and vigor.Misty, who goes by Josh Tillman when he’s not on stage, released his first record as Father John Misty, “Fear Fun,” back in 2012. Before that, he was...
As it turns out, The Dude also reclines.Jeff Bridges’ new album, “Sleeping Tapes,” was designed with the sole intention of soothing you to sleep while raising money and awareness for No Kid Hungry,...
“We win, we lose. Only together do we break the rules.”From the moment they groped and clawed their way to the top of the Pacific Northwest’s riot grrrl scene in the mid-1990s, those words –...
Yeah, yeah. Their name may sound like the title of a long-lost Dr. Seuss book, but don’t write off King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard just yet. On “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz,” this seven-piece Australian...
The following 24 songs have quite literally never seen the light of day. Back in the late 1960s, a fellow named Jerry Riegle stuck a recording studio underground in an active limestone mine near Kansas...
People probably know her best as the sonic boom of a voice on the Eurythmics’ 1983 vaguely menacing vector of a hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” so Annie Lennox’s new album “Nostalgia”...
There is absolutely no guarantee regarding whether anyone will like this record or hate it, but I can say this with complete certainty: you should listen to it and find out. Sun Ra, born Herman Poole Blount...
In the closing seconds of “Winter is Passing,” Zoe Randell, the singing half of Australian duo Luluc, questions, “Winter is passing. I wonder what’s to come?” She doesn’t proffer an answer....
Gram Parsons died 41 years ago Friday. As Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once said, although we have no idea of what Parsons would be doing were he still alive, he made enough beautiful music...
Twin Peaks are inviting some lofty comparisons for their second album. The band’s name is a reference to the television series and movie created by disturbingly iconoclastic director David Lynch; the...
Jenny Lewis and Tom Petty, both fixtures of the super-hyphenated alt-country, alt-rock, country-rock scene that constitutes contemporary Americana, both release new albums today and both sets of new music...
Think of “Sketches in Spain” as you would a pre-owned Jeep Wrangler: never mind that the neighbor’s kid drove it into the ground during five years of Saturdays spent traveling to away games and Sundays...
Sturgill Simpson stuffed his first record, last year’s “High Top Mountain,” full of brief, jaunty tunes sounding exactly like what you think of when you think of country music: greasy slide guitar,...
Before we get all caught up in discussing how this record sounds (‘cause anytime the Neil Young aesthetic is presented for consideration, heated disagreement will inevitably ensue), it seems prudent...
Don’t worry – age hasn’t improved Leon Russell’s voice one bit. On new record “Life Journey” – his 37th solo studio effort, not to mention the hundreds of other artists’ albums on which...
Forty-four years ago, a lady from Los Angeles you’ve probably never heard of released a record called “Parallelograms.” It was at once mellow but vivacious, pastoral but worldly. The album sold incredibly...
“All I wanna do is stomp and holler.” And, apparently, shove out loud guitar licks, beat the drums ‘til they’re blue, and let your fingers and thumbs dance across the keyboard like the main...
The cover of Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming Jan. 14 release, “High Hopes,” prominently features two not-quite-mirror-image The Bosses, each clad completely in denim and wielding a blurry Stratocaster,...
Robert Witt and Paul Finebaum agree: Not all assets are a dab of ink on the balance sheet. One of them carries a whistle and wears a big straw hat to practice each day. “Nick Saban is the best financial...
This record is really bad background music. I know, I know: What good is a CD full of eight- and 10-minute instrumentals if you can’t talk over it at the Starbucks counter or pipe it into the living...
When Douglas Fair, a junior at The University of Alabama, first considered the University, he said it was scholarship offers that caught his eye. Fair, originally from Knoxville, Tenn., eventually decided...
What I’m about to do feels absolutely felonious. In the few hundred words that follow, I will liken several of the songs from Paul McCartney’s aptly titled new album, “New,” to the signature sounds...
Though student organizers of the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 2013 march never formally submitted a permit request for grounds use, the University of Alabama administration used recent summer revisions...
The University of Alabama’s fall 2013 entering freshman class of 6,478 students includes 126 National Merit Scholars, according to a University press release. According to the University’s annual...
Light in the Attic Records is reissuing three of Roky Erickson’s early records – “The Evil One,” “Don’t Slander Me” and “Gremlins Have Pictures” – Sept. 17. I listened to them yesterday,...
Let’s set aside a few minutes to give John Mayer’s new album, “Paradise Valley,” a try. You might like it. You might not, but two things are for sure: We don’t have the same tastes, and you won’t...
This summer, many incoming freshmen’s first steps into The University of Alabama community took place more than 65 miles from campus. In addition to the University’s regular schedule of Bama Bound...
To hear club co-founder and president Dominique Butler tell it, the story of the Zodiac Society’s origin was written in the stars. “The idea came about in a very random way – my sister Alexis...
"Look at that black guy riding by on his skateboard right now,” Utz McKnight said, swiveling in our bench on the Crimson Promenade to point out a skateboarder weaving coolly through congested lunch-time...
“People, Hell & Angels” is 50-odd minutes of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix. What more can or should I say? “Back at the saloon my tears mix and mildew with my drink / I can’t really tell...
“What happened on that day in those doors is a matter of great consequence in the last century of American history,” E. Culpepper Clark said in a presentation to The University of Alabama’s Blackburn...
Let’s see. It’s Sunday night, easing into Monday morning, and I’m sitting here tearing through a package of generic Fig Newtons and digging Wussy’s new, free, download-only album “Berneice Huff...
Every weekday for four years, Erika Baranek woke up to an early Tuscaloosa morning to attend workouts and practice with the UA women’s rowing team. Now Baranek, who graduated in May 2012 with a degree...
There’s no surprise more pleasant than a rock ‘n’ roll surprise, and it’s been awhile since a rock ‘n’ roll band surprised me as pleasantly as Good Rats did last week, when I ran across the...
Don’t mistake its relative brevity for insignificance. Though many students plan on spending their first class meetings doing little more than reviewing syllabi, University of Alabama faculty say that...
For Jewish University of Alabama students next week, burning the midnight oil holds far more significance than staying up late to study. The Jewish holiday Hanukkah takes place this year from Dec. 8 to...
“Dead Week” often proves much more lively than its nickname may suggest. Many students spend as much time during the period immediately preceding the week of final exams, officially deemed Study Week...
For Jessica Allen, the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Nov. 5, 2011 matchup against Louisiana State University was the game of eight centuries. “Last year I sold just my LSU ticket alone for $800 dollars,...
By Jordan Cissell Staff Reporter ^ If there is one thing Evan Smith knows about rebuilding a restaurant from scratch, it’s that the process is not an easy one. “I’ll tell you what I’ve...
For members of Muggles Spreading Magic, the mischief is never completely managed. Muggles Spreading Magic is The University of Alabama chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance, an international nonprofit...
Here’s the neat thing about local act Callooh! Callay!’s new album “TALK:” it’s equally compelling at a speaker-rattling blast as it is in low-volume ambience. If that strikes you as dubious,...
The Student Government Association Student Elections Board will decide this week whether or not to reschedule spring 2013 elections approximately one month earlier than last year’s voting day, an SGA...
First generation college students at The University of Alabama may not know it, but they have friends in high places. All the way at the top, in fact. University President Guy Bailey, who completed his...
Studies show many college students are not getting the amount of sleep necessary to function properly, a practice sleep researchers say can take a toll on much more than the gradebook. According to data...
The music world has been far too prolific over the past week or so to devote an entire 600 words to one artist or recording, so here’s some of the hippest stuff I’ve been hearing. Grace Potter I...
Dr. Alan Blum, a professor of family medicine at The University of Alabama, believes sugar and salt-laden snack machines mixed with a lack of physical education in grade schools deserve a heaping portion...
Thanks to a new Honors College program, students no longer need to be Fellows to help out their fellow man in Alabama’s Black Belt region. The new initiative, called 57 Miles, focuses on getting Honors...
As tuition costs rise and more students take out loans and shoulder debt to finance their education, college affordability continues to be a trending topic on the national conscience. But these headlines...
“I think he was just getting into his stride when he died. His actual output — the number of records he made and sold — was pretty minimal, but his effect on country music is enormous. This is why...
The Bruno Business Library is working to educate students on how to fully utilize the building and its systems. The new program, called Get Smart!, will host nine one-hour classes every Monday through...
Some pedestrians may hate it and authorities may try to catch them when they ride, but the love for longboarding is only growing around campus. According to Michael Brooke in his 1999 book, “The Concrete...
By Jordan Cissell Staff Reporter Keri Bess spends a large part of each day moving around. She goes to class, walks between classes and lunch and, after classes have finished, she heads over to Northport...
Many students who plan to print out lecture notes or have to submit an assignment online this semester may find themselves navigating unfamiliar territory as The University of Alabama transistions from...
By Jordan Cissell Staff Reporter Though most college students spend the first few weeks back at school collecting textbooks, supplies and class syllabi, many students add timecards and tips to that...
The Druid City Garden Project is almost hidden, tucked away behind University Place Elementary School on the corner of an overgrown athletic field. Only a sunflower-laden banner, hung from a crooked fence...
With highly contested bills in the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate over the past few weeks, charter schools are the hot topic in Montgomery, as well as school systems across the state of Alabama....
There are some things in life that just don’t mix well. A recently developing trend, dubbed “drunkorexia," dangerously combines two such items: eating disorders and substance abuse. According to a...
Former Crimson Tide star Mark Ingram may be a BCS National Championship winner, Heisman Trophy recipient and NFL running back, but so far, one coveted title has managed to elude his grasp; Chris Rogers...
Art history professor Robert Mellown is set to retire at the end of the spring semester after decades of teaching at the University. The 2011-2012 academic year marks his fortieth in the department of...
Santa has his elves, Sherlock Holmes has Dr. Watson and, as it turns out, even Big Bird sometimes needs a little help from his friends. Jamie Naidoo, a professor for UA's School of Library and Information...
An object fell from the sky and struck Amelia Warriner’s laptop keyboard with a sudden “thwack.” “Speak of the devil,” the sophomore nursing major said. The devil in question, a dark, tan-furred...
Benjamin Franklin once said two aspects of life were inescapable: death and taxes. But according to a recent study by Lookout, a mobile security firm, he left one inevitability off the list: losing your...
Stephen Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center and professor of higher education administration, visited Washington, D.C. in early March to discuss the importance of rural community colleges...
Talk of Mayan end-of-the world predictions and doomsday dates is enough to drive one to drink. At least, that’s what the manufacturers of relaxation beverage Drank are counting on. Innovative Beverage...
The Professional Staff Assembly and Women’s Resource Center are asking all students and faculty to donate old cellphones, batteries and accessories throughout March to benefit victims of domestic violence....
When Matt Hennigan settles down in Fresh Foods for breakfast each morning, the remainder of his day looks a lot like the rest of his fellow patrons: class, homework and maybe some study-time in the library....
It seems like a pretty normal evening in Bidgood Hall Room 365, with all the usual trimmings – calculations left on the board from an accounting lab, seats swung under the desks, projector tucked away...
At the beginning of the spring semester, many students experienced delay and confusion concerning the delivery of textbooks and other return-to-school packages. According to Ferguson Center post office...
Christian Smith, current Student Government Association treasurer, plans to make the office of vice president for Financial Affairs more efficient and effective through an emphasis on developing continuity...
Andy Koonce plans to increase the Student Government Association budget, as well as make the funds more readily available to a larger number of student organizations. The current chairman of the SGA Senate...
Recent constitutional adjustments to the position of Student Government Association executive vice president have rendered the job a governing liaison between the organization’s offices, and Alex Clark,...
The Student Government Association vice presidential debate was held last night in the Ferguson Center ballroom, sponsored by the Student Leadership Council and UA Chapter of the NAACP and moderated by...
Each year since President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the trend in 1943, the president has proclaimed March to be Red Cross Month. This year, Tuscaloosa is taking full advantage of the opportunity to...
Crock-pots and casserole dishes, step aside. Attendees of Thursday’s Progressive Potluck are intent on serving up fresh, hot servings of forward-looking thought and conversation. This month’s edition...
“In this very room, there’s quite enough love for all of us,” the Stillman College Singers crooned as they closed the second annual “A Day Without Civil Rights is Like a Day Without Sunshine”...
The mighty warrior pulls up atop his majestic steed, preparing to do battle on the grassy slopes of the river’s bank. Helmet gleaming in the afternoon sun, he steps down from his mount and draws a menacing...
As of Wednesday night, the Bama Memes Facebook page had more than 2,000 “likes.” However, by the time this sentence hits your retina, this tally will surely be an underestimation of the true number...
The University of Alabama Environmental Council, in collaboration with Focus the Nation, will host the University of Alabama Clean Energy Forum in Gorgas Library Room 205 from 1 to 6 p.m. on Friday. The...
Prisoners are no longer trapped within its confines, but after more than 150 years of service, the old Tuscaloosa County Jail still manages to capture the attention of many 6th Street passersby. Tuscaloosa...
Most everyone who walked through the Ferguson Center last Thursday or Friday noticed the fountain squirting water with more than a passing resemblance to pink Kool-Aid. Get used to the flavor, because...
It’s the cinematic and literary plotline passed down through the ages: average guy meets beautiful girl and attempts to overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles standing between him and his goal...
Down the hall from a legendary bronze statue, in an athletic facility that boasts more champions than any other program in college football, works a flesh-and-bone figurehead of University sports. Athletic...
It may be tucked away at the base of a hill behind the Ferguson Center, keeping ten Hoor Hall company along the outer fringe of campus, but Marr’s Spring was central to the original planning and construction...
One of the University of Alabama’s jack-of-all-trade buildings, B.B. Comer Hall, will soon be adding yet another hat to its rack full of responsibilities, with construction of the new Veterans Center...
Sometimes it takes little more than a smiling face behind the cafeteria counter to brighten somebody’s day. Three decades amount to a lot of days to brighten. One face has repeatedly proven it’s up...
Everybody knows the best way to stop a vampire in his tracks is a wooden stake through the heart. A silver bullet is the solution for your werewolf trouble. And zombies? Nerf darts are the way to go. ...
“Have you seen it up close?” asked Rachel Dobson, communications specialist and visual resources curator for the College of Arts and Sciences, as she moved towards her Clark Hall office window, focusing...
They’re perched on the grassy knoll on the corner of Hackberry and University. Three of the 10-foot-tall grey figures stand erect, vigilantly observing the street before them. Another lies among the...
Zen Buddhist priest and poet Norman Fischer is taking a step beyond simply enlisting the monk and the rabbi for a walk into the proverbial bar. Instead he is bringing interfaith dialogue and understanding...
In an effort to facilitate interaction among members of the University of Alabama’s academic colleges, the Student Government Association is working to establish an organization called Capstone Collegiate...
Students may be waiting to get one more shot at the pecan pie before starting on the spring break beach-bod chiseling, but the Student Recreation Center is already getting in shape to handle the increased...
It’s less than a mile away from the Quad, but the trip to Oz Music might be more accurately described as a journey through time rather than a movement across physical space. The musical note sign hanging...
University students who would rather serve a feast than eat one over the upcoming holiday season need to act quickly. The application deadline for participation in the Community Service Center’s Alternative...
