David Luhrssen lectured at UW-Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and Milwaukee Area Technical College. He is author of Secret Societies and Clubs in American History, Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen, Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism, and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Classic Rock, Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave and Noise in Milwaukee, War on the Silver Screen, Elvis Presley: Reluctant Rebel, A Time of Paradox: America Since 1890, and Searching for Rock and Roll. He has contributed to the American National Biography Online, the Grove Dictionary of American Music and 100 People Who Changed 20th-Century America and has been published in Historically Speaking, History Today, the Journal of American History, and other journals. Luhrssen co-founded the Milwaukee International Film Festival, is a regular contributor to WUWM’s “Lake Effect” program and Managing Editor of Milwaukee’s weekly newspaper, the ShepherdExpress.
While some of the imagery in mother! is compelling, director Darren Aronofsky falls into the trap of contemporary horror directors for whom enough is never enough and subtlety is sacrificed for visual overkill.more
Despite a long running time and a profusion of baroque horror visuals, It is an effective adaptation of Stephen King focused on a band of outsider kids forced to confront their fears.more
Frank Sinatra was still in his peakyears, a couple decades before time began to collect its inevitable chargesagainst his voice, at his 1962 concert in the Royal Festival Hall. Royalty waspresent, but all eyes were on the perf..more
On Flying Carpet, the German world music ensemble Quadro Nuevo collaborate with Cairo Steps, a German jazz band, on an album that explores the music of the Middle East.more
The Milwaukee Short Film Festival, located this year at the Fox Bay Cinema Grill, offers two days of films 15 minutes or less in length. The selections are from all over the world but include many minority and women directors from Milwaukee...more
The first American death in the conflict that grew into the Vietnam War was, in the words of Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, “the result of a tragic misunderstanding." Lieut. Col. A PeterDewey was in Saigon in 1945 trying t..more
In Slight Exaggeration, poet Adam Zagajewski argues eloquently against the flat irony of postmodernism and for admiration and enthusiasm in the humanities.more
The sequel to Al Gore’s Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, shows the growing danger of climate change. It also spends too much time on Gore.more
Ricky Phontaine, a Milwaukee rapper with an alias adapted from a minor character on Martin Lawrence’s ’90s sitcom, debuts as an album artist with his artistic persona fully formed.more
In a reversal of the usual American order of the day, Stax’s stars were African American but behind them stood integrated ensembles such as The MGs.more
As Wisconsin historian Michael Edmonds astutely observes in his picture-book history, the architects “wanted nothing to do with modernism" and resolutely designed an edifice that was “nostalgic, reassuring, and safe."more
“Lone Star BBQ—The PerfectPartner for Your Chicken," Lee Hayden insists. A movie star in the 1970s, Lee(Sam Elliott) is reduced to doing voice work for commercials. He keeps impatience in check when the unseen producer asks ..more
Sam’s Tap is a tiny place refurbished out of a decaying dive bar, The Long Trail. The neighborhood hipster hangout boasts interesting specialty drinks and tasty menu items at reasonable prices, including a great “Milwaukee Panini.”more
Jethro Tull founder-flautist Ian Anderson culled through 50 years of releases for this three-CD set, a well-chosen collection representing the band from the beginning through almost now.more
A collection of travelers’ accounts from the 17th through the 20th centuries, A Morocco Anthology shows that for many Westerners, the East represented an ideal of life beyond the stodgy restrictions of the West.more
Entertaining and meaningful, Eighth Grade casts light on the challenges of adolescents in the painful rite of passage from middle school to high school.more
Slovenian scholar Jože Pirjevec’s detailed biography of Josip Broz, nicknamed Tito, tells the story of a worker who clawed his way to become dictator of the “worker’s state” he established in post-World War II Yugoslavia.more
Rendered in an unusual format, a fold-open accordion within a hard cover, the graphic novel Undocumented has a narrative all-too common in today’s America.more
Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to the blockbuster Mama Mia! The Movie, lacks the bright panache of original, partly because it lacks Meryl Streep in the starring role.more
On his third album, Vincent Poag displays a distinct voice as a songwriter as well as a singer—an old voice reflecting on a life already half lived.more
Chicago chain Aloha Pokē recently opened its first Milwaukee venue (220 E. Buffalo St.) in the Third Ward. Pokē, a Hawaiian-rooted dish, exemplifies bespoke, healthy fast food suitable for a quick lunch or a carryout.more
The ancient Greek tragedies continue to be performed and new translations published. The latest, from UW-Milwaukee classics professor David Mulroy, revisits a trilogy by Aeschylus.more
Dan Kaufman stresses in The Fall of Wisconsin that the state whose motto was “Forward” has become the laboratory for America’s right-wing extremists, mislabeled as “conservatives.”more
