Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues
by Jeff SiegelWhen I was in college, Muddy Waters played five minutes from where I lived. I didn’t go, because I was young and stupid and figured I’d have many chances to see him play. He died a couple...
View ArticleIn Memoriam: David Carradine
Good-bye.David Carradine(1936 — 2009)"I seek not to know all the answers, but to understand the questions."(The photo of David Carradine is © copyright Jano Rohleder; the photo was taken during an...
View ArticleFilms: Throw Down Your Heart
by Emily NortonSpecial to iVoryTowerzBack in Nashville again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover a heart for Africa outside the non-governmental organizations of Washington, D.C. However, I did...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio Takes a Summer Trip
This week, the underground podcast provides the perfect soundtrack for your summer vacation. No, nothing trippy here. Instead, plenty of C major smiles. The patented eclectic mix travels around the...
View ArticleMiddle-aged Mothers for Marriage Equality Unite!
(Editor's Note: This piece is cross-posted from Kit-Bacon Gressitt's personal blog, Excuse Me, I'm Writing.)fromKit-Bacon GressittWelcome to MAMMA!We are a group of middle-aged mothers who want our...
View ArticleMusic Review: Placebo's Battle for the Sun
by Rick RockwellAlright, any album that starts with a song entitled “Kitty Litter” immediately has this critic’s attention.Thus opens Placebo’s sixth album Battle for the Sun: a 13-track outing that...
View ArticleBroadway: Less Spectacle is Actually More
by Jordan CoughenourSpecial to iVoryTowerzBroadway's reputation has always been synonymous with the glitziest, gaudiest and most over the top production values known to the stages of this country....
View ArticleNBA Finals 2009: Can the Magic Survive?
by Phil KehresIt took a nailbiter of an ending for the Orlando Magic to hold onto a 106-104 win in Game Three of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. No doubt the Magic feel good about the...
View ArticleTennessee's New Gun Law: Seriously Dumb
by Emily NortonSpecial to iVoryTowerzI thought we were pushing dumb in Tennessee with the “Butt-Crack Bill” and “English-Only Bill" earlier this year until Nashville pulled it’s most recent trump card....
View ArticleElvis Costello & the City of Hope
Unusual for this blog to run an item that is promotional in nature, but we make an exception here for several reasons: 1) it is for a good cause; 2) Elvis Costello remains one of our favorite artists;...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio Waits for Godot
Get ready because the underground podcast gets very deep and philosophical this week. Still affected by the recent deaths of Koko Taylor and David Carradine, this show was programmed with the concepts...
View ArticleNBA Finals 2009: Kobe Wins His Fourth Ring
by Phil KehresI was wrong. I thought the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals would go six games. As it turns out, the Orlando Magic were playing even farther over their heads than I thought...
View ArticleBaseball: The Nationals Need Stephen Strasburg
by Suzie RavenThe right-handed pitcher from San Diego State was an obvious choice for the Washington Nationals number one draft pick, as the team’s struggling pitching staff has dragged their...
View ArticlePolitics: Social Debate Gone Awry & the Results
byKit-Bacon GressittSummertime once meant slow, sultry days; the lazy drone of locusts, lulling us into a doze beneath weeping willows; finding faces in the clouds or taking lady bugs for walks from...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio Glows
There are many reasons the underground podcast is glowing these days. Impose your own rationale, but many of the clues are contained in this musical mix. Our suggestion is to cue this one up late at...
View ArticleTelevision: True Blood & the Vampire Craze
by Jordan CoughenourSpecial to iVoryTowerzI never thought the day would come when I would see an ad for specialized vampire dental care shown before a movie. But there it was; between the slides...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio Puts on its Boots
If that picture gives you any ideas, then you know you're in the right place this week, as the underground podcast is in an especially eclectic and niche mood. Now, don't get the wrong idea. We haven't...
View ArticleAll Apologies
After three weeks on hiatus it is time to return. Our apologies for the radio silence without warning. There are many reasons for the lapse. We would offer some up to you, but many will just sound like...
View ArticleIn Memoriam: Walter Cronkite
Good-bye.Walter Cronkite(1916 — 2009)"And that's the way it is."My hero is gone. Walter Cronkite has passed. An era is truly now over.Cronkite shaped journalism. At CBS he created the type of...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio: Forbidden Music
Off the air for several weeks, the underground podcast is back with a vengeance. Download this one quickly because who knows how long it will stay online. This podcast is so deep underground it...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio: The Unexpected Mix
Anything appearing in this space this summer is certainly unexpected. But add to that a number of bands that we've never played before and you have an unexpected treat. About a third of this...
View ArticleIVoryTowerz Radio: Hidden Subtexts
The underground podcast returns and we will do our best to come back on a regular basis after our summer hiatus. Of course, we return with plenty on our collective minds. And sometimes what we are...
View ArticleIvoryTowerz Radio: The Lost Files, Vol. I
Two years after the official closing of the blog and we have unearthed one of the unreleased podcasts for your listening pleasure. The end of the podcast and the blog was a slow, disorganized affair,...
View ArticleiVoryTowerz Radio Salutes Les Paul
After another short hiatus, the underground podcast returns this week with our first opportunity to acknowledge the passing of the great Les Paul, the innovator who brought us the modern electric...
View ArticleSigning Off
iVoryTowerz (2006-2009)R.I.P.After a good three year run, this blog has now come to its end. What started as a place for honors students to express themselves about various themes in politics and the...
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