Jessica Hopper on girl groups p 25 The most popular gassy Jewish lesbian on the Web CHICAGO’S FREE WEEKLY | THIS ISSUE IN FOUR SECTIONS p 10 FRIDTheAY, JAN 6, 2006 | VOLUME 34, NUMBER 15 Best Movies andJonathan RosenbaMusicum, p 1 J.R. Jones, p 17 ofA 15 -music2005-critic pileup, p 19 McSweeney’s reprints a lost Chicago writer, a Roscoe Village businessman says he’s being PLUS harassed for speaking up, the music scene rallies around a veteran soundman, and more. Section One Letters 3 Reviews Music 25 Columns One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Hot Type 4 Sounds Lost and Found, Evie Sands’s Any On the Trib on the war Way That You Want Me The Straight Dope 5 Books 27 Literally scared to death? Triksta: Life and Death and New Orleans Rap by Nik Cohn, The Riddle of the The Works 8 Traveling Skull by Harry Stephen Keeler A row in Roscoe Village Plus Our Town 10 What Are You Wearing? 15 A podcaster to watch; how the City Council Aay Preston-Myint spends its money; have Virgin, will travel January 6, 2006 Ink Well 31 This week’s crossword: Subscription Descriptions ON THE COVER: JIM NEWBERRY (MADGE), COURTESY BERTHA MCNEAL (THE VELVELETTES) The Best Film of the Past Two Years And 24 more picks from what the industry thought us yokels could handle in 2005 By Jonathan Rosenbaum o choose the best movies of 2005 is to compromise. I T limit my list of candidates to films that have screened in Chicago, but I could easily fill it with movies that haven’t screened in the U.S. at all, and God knows what I’ve missed altogether. I’m at the mercy of studio heads, distrib- utors, and publicists, whose deci- sions about what to release and when defy comprehension. I saw Woody Allen’s Match Point in Madrid in mid- November, believing the distribu- tor’s announcement that it would open in Chicago in December. Surprised at how much I liked it, Idecided it probably belonged on my list, but then some industry executives decided that only the people in New York and Los Angeles should get to see it this year (in time for Oscar nomina- tions), not the less discriminating moviegoers in the Chicago boon- docks. I also couldn’t consider other films that won’t open here until 2006, such as Tommy Lee The World Jones’s The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. onto the Internet, Cinea will be that my top ten list expanded to tion, set in a theme park outside The people who run Disney able to analyze the copy and iden- 15 including ties. Beijing with scaled-down models spent a fortune sending critics tify the player, the time, and the of the world’s most famous and Academy members security- date on which the copy was 1. The World. Not just the best tourist attractions and populated encoded DVDs with special “high made.” Unfortunately, these play- film of 2005, Jia Zhang-ke’s fea- by visitors and workers. It’s a end” players to view them on. ers aren’t high-end enough to be ture was better, or at least more kitsch monstrosity that Jia Once we register the players we region free, and the version of important, than my first choices makes endlessly fascinating and can watch the five films we’ve Howl’s Moving Castle they sent for 2004 (The Big Red One) and suggestive—in contrast to the received so far as often as we like, me is the same old dubbed one I’d 2003 (25th Hour and Crimson cramped and unattractive “back- though each time we do, accord- already reviewed. The Japanese Gold). Those earlier master- stage” living spaces where the ing to the instructions, “the original with English subtitles pieces lack its vital and complex main characters spend most of SV300 inserts a powerful, com- won’t be out commercially on vision of what the whole planet is their time when they’re not pletely invisible watermark. It DVD until March. I can’t consider like at the moment. working. The animated fantasies stamps the content with your that version here because I Jia’s greatest film, Platform sparked by characters’ text mes- player’s ID number, and the time haven’t seen it, so I’ve grudgingly (2002), is about the Cultural sages are often even more spa- and date of the recording. If the put the dubbed version on my list. Revolution; The World is a cious and ethereal than the shots playback is copied illegally to These complaints aside, superb companion piece about of the theme park. The play videotape, recordable DVD, or 2005 was a good enough year China’s recent capitalist revolu- continued on page 16 2CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 6, 2006 | SECTION ONE 3 m Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago, IL 60611 312-828-9926 JANUARY 6, 2006 f VOL 35 | NO 15 Letters @ [email protected] Publisher Michael Crystal Editor Alison True donnas of press journalism, a link. This is sometimes Managing Editor Kiki Yablon with their snobby pecking referred to as an “infomediary” Senior Editors Michael Miner |Laura Molzahn | Kitry Krause This Checks order, airs, pretensions, and or even “disinfomediary,” but Associate Editors Martha Bayne | Anaheed Alani delusions of grandeur, are out- the general idea is that you Philip Montoro | Kate Schmidt Out ward bound, and good rid- have someone or something Assistant Editors Jim Shapiro | Mark Athitakis | David Wilcox Staff Writers Liz Armstrong | Martha Bayne | Steve Bogira dance. They give lip service to that finds and filters informa- John Conroy | Jeffrey Felshman | Harold Henderson Mike [Miner]: the concepts of democracy, tion to give you a “best of” list Deanna Isaacs | J.R. Jones | Ben Joravsky | Monica Kendrick I want to attempt to set the equality, honesty, and free com- Craig is bent of information and links. Peter Margasak | Tori Marlan | Bob Mehr | Jonathan Rosenbaum Mike Sula | Albert Williams record straight and end all the munication, but when true on making a Bloggers help people find Copy Chief Brian Nemtusak nonsense of posters, plaques, equality of access comes along better world. articles. And then they link to Editorial Assistants Pat Graham | Renaldo Migaldi | Joel Score and reminiscences about who they favor the continuing stran- And now that those articles. Do you know Mario Kladis | Michael Marsh | Tom Porter | Jerome Ludwig Tamara Faulkner | Patrick Daily | Stephanie Manis | Robert Cass coined the advice to young glehold information bottleneck he has done what that makes bloggers, Mr. Kerry Reid | Todd Dills | Katherine Young | Ryan Hubbard reporters “If your mother says represented by their jobs and so for job Lenehan? That makes them Miles Raymer | Tasneem Paghdiwala she loves you, check it out” their billionaire owners. seekers, FREE ADVERTISING for the Typesetters Vera Videnovich | Kabir Hamid [Hot Type, December 9]. City Newspaper advertising can’t apartment publications putting those arti- Archivist Eben English News Bureau legend A.A. compete? Well, isn’t that too hunters, cles online. Dornfeld, better known as bad. Welcome to the 21st centu- and sexual Of course, this puts the onus Advertising Director Don Humbertson Dorny, is continually credited ry, guys. Thought you’d never predators, of generating revenue on the Sales Director Ginger Wade with the dictate. However, in get here. Take a year off. Take he’s turning publications that put their mate- Display Advertising Manager Sandra Goplin Assistant Display Advertising Manager Katie Falbo his book Behind the Front Page, two, they’re small. Nobody will to journalism. rial online. Let’s take the Online Advertising Coordinator Renate Durnbaugh the curmudgeon night CNB ever miss you. He’s involved Chicago Tribune, for example. boss, who tossed compliments in an online CPM (cost per 1,000 impres- Display Representatives Jeff Martin | Christine Thiel Neil Elliott Brad Winckler around like sewer covers, dis- project that sions) for banners ads on the Evanston Sales Development Manager Susan Zuckert abused Mike Royko of the will use the Tribune’s Web site ranges from Senior Account Executives Denice Barndt | Angie Boehler Evangeline Miller | Ryan A. Norsworthy | Geary Yonker thought and insisted Ed same “wisdom $12 to $33, based on how specif- Account Executives Nichole Flores | Greg Saint-Victor Eulenberg, a coconspirator of the masses” ic you are on where you want Tim Sullivan | Laura Swisher | Dan VanKirk rewrite and deskman, penned Dept. of approach your ad to appear (per the Trib’s Advertising Project Coordinator Allison Hendrickson the memorable order. “Eulie” that informs advertising media kit). Advertising Assistants T.J. Annerino | Jennifer K. Johnson was one of the great CNB men- Misappre- Craigslist. So let’s say the Wonkette, Kieran Kelley | Sarah Nishiura tors until he went straight and —Michael one of the Web sites with hate took the cash offered by the hended Lenehan, piled upon it in the article, ran Art Director Sheila Sachs Daily News . December 30 some commentary and a link to Associate Art Director Godfrey Carmona Hyperbole an article in the Tribune. I don’t Art Coordinator Elizabeth Tamny James B. Strong, aka Stormy have any hard data on how Production Director David Jones CNB ’55 Dear editor, many visits a link from Production Manager Bob Cooper Arlington Heights Associate Production Manager Nickie Sage I picked up the current Wonkette would generate, so Production Artists Jeff Marlin | Jennifer McLaughlin | Mark Blade issue and went straight to the let’s say 1,000 people left the Benjamin Utley | John Cross | Andrea Bauer | Dustin Kimmel Josh Honn | Mike Browarski | Nadine Nakanishi | Linda Montalbano comics section.