Opinion & Commentary

I don’t know what it is about this song that gets a party started so easily, but Juvenile’s 1999 cut, “Back That Ass Up” is just classic booty music that defies the notion of booty music. Aside from the title, it’s a hell of a well-composed song which features Juvie…

It’s been awhile since the world has heard anything out of the Cuban emigres, Orishas. The group, which captured the hearts and eardrums of world music fans back in 1999, did put out the album, Antidiotico, a few months back, but that was mainly filled with their past hits and…

Kokomo might not be real, but Monty’s (2550 S. Bayshore Dr., Coconut Grove; 305-858-1431) surely captures the touristy quality of that fictional vacation paradise. At this bar and restaurant situated on the Coconut Grove marina, couples sip fruity frozen cocktails while families congregate under the tiki huts, their children darting…

Racist Washing And we’re all along for the spin cycle: The Haitian refugee situation mentioned in Janine Zeitlin’s November 29 article “Washed Up” is to be expected, especially in today’s anti-immigrant climate in the United States. It’s said this climate is created by working, poor whites who believe the country…

Traveling down I-95 South, I looked over to my right just in time to catch a glimpse of this work and watch it fade into the distance through my rearview mirror. I got off on the next exit after 135th Street. Because the tanker on which the graffiti was painted…

These murals are all that is left of the “Bullfrog Eatz” nightclub on NE 2nd Ave and 23rd Street. Like many Miami night clubs, it existed for less than a year before going out of business, joining the many empty shells in this area of Miami that refuses to be…

Liberty City Eight Put the prosecutors on trial too: Regarding Bob Norman’s November 22 story “Have Terror, Will Travel”: Great article about the work of a great investigator whose job is to expose the truth behind the allegations in criminal trials. But the actions taken by this court come as…

Surviving for more than 95 years, Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-374-1198) is the oldest bar in town. While other nightclubs pop up and crumble within a year’s time, the ol’ Road’s faithful imbibers shack up within its abiding walls. Inside, a long bar spans the length of…

A formerly unlikely block on the southeastern edge of Little Haiti is set to become a playground of sorts for Miami’s slowly expanding underground culture. Churchill’s has long been holding it down punk rock-style on the corner of NE Second Avenue and 55th Street. Next door a new turquoise-and-purple-stripe awning…

It’s hard to stay in a somber mood when you’ve got Iggy Pop in your life. The lean and lanky rocker is actually coming back to South Florida to perform in a couple of weeks with the Stooges, and though it probably won’t be as big and bombast of a…

Today has certainly started out on a somber note with the unexpected passing of Miami’s star football player Sean Taylor. It’s hard to wrap your brain around a situation that’s so “senseless” but for those of us that did wake up this morning, it’s just a reminder not to take…

Longtime Kendall biker bar Scully’s Tavern better watch out. LA Sports Bar and Grill (10575 SW 109th Ct., Kendall; 305-270-0311) is new competition. On a recent Thursday night, the row of hogs lined up in LA’s elevated courtyard loomed over the adjacent street like a shiny black fortress. The Hermandads,…

Rest in Peace Adrian Ellis was a good man: Regarding “The Life and Death of Adrian Ellis” (November 15) by Calvin Godfrey: First let me say that Adrian was a wonderful father to our children. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a man who wanted the best for his family…

Earlier this year, Back Door Bamby took a vacation and forgot to come back. The 10-years-running Monday-night party was the last of its kind on South Beach, a holdout from the days when freaks of all stripe — gay, straight, and in between — still partied together. This past spring,…

“My mother was Italian — a Catholic — and my father was a German-Jew,” explains Henrietta, her blue eyes wide under two pencil-thin brows. “Back in those days, when I was a kid, people didn’t believe in mixed marriage. So when I came along and I was a gay boy,…

A Pat on the Back for Patrick And a swat in the behind for the principal: I’m not surprised to read about all the discriminatory acts in Francisco Alvarado’s November 8 story about Patrick Williams, “Good Teacher, Bad Principal.” I recently graduated from Turner Tech and have personally been through…

On a recent cool Saturday night, things were status quo on South Beach: People were dressed up, paying, and putting on airs for the powers that manned the doors at packed clubs. Less savvy partygoers waited in line, thereby eliminating any chances they had of getting in. The only people…

This structure (14th St., and N. Miami Ave.) sits near the railroad tracks that separate “Mid-town” from “Overtown.” No matter what you call it, it is still “Dirty Dade.” — Jason Handelsman…

It’s hard to believe it’s been 19 years since the Queen of the Forehead, AKA Sade released her stellar Stronger Than Pride album. It’s still the anti-break record of the century in my opinion as it has a way of talking to you regardless of where you’re at romantically. The…

Here’s another local music mystery… A reader writes: “Hi, I’m trying to figure out the name of a local progressive band from the late 90s, (1997-2000). I know they were signed to a major label, and were influenced by bands that sounded like the Cure, and that the entire band…