A state Senator from Bettendorf, Linda Miller, asks why we do not have a vote on banning gay marriage in Iowa. We do not need a "Defense of Marriage" act. Marriage does not need to be defended from all the wonderful, caring, loving gay and lesbian adults I know in the eastern Iowa who are in long-term relationships, many of them raising children, and simply living their lives as are heterosexuals.
With
a voice that sounds a bit like Michael Stipe gone folk, Richard
Shindell's songs feel instantly familiar even if you've never
heard him before. Those vocals are magnetic and dramatic, and the
singer/songwriter pays as much attention to melody and musical
settings as he does his words. But it's his first-person narratives
that have garnered him critical praise and a loyal following.
There
is nobody like Andrew Bird in the world, a songwriter and a performer
who makes his whistling, his glockenspiel, and his violin at home
with guitars, drums, and vocals in detailed, pitch-perfect pop songs
that never seem precious or forced, as eccentric as they are.
In
band-speak, "indefinite hiatus" is the equivalent of filing
divorce papers; it's the formal beginning of the end.







