April: Prague Spring

Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention up until now, but I believe that Prague and Vienna are home to Western Europe's most violent statuary. Most statues I've seen usually involve a god playing a lyre or growing a beard, or an admiral fondling his piece-nez and leering sullenly. Prague and Vienna are filled almost entirely with statues of hulking brutes stabbing, maiming, clubbing, and otherwise assaulting other hulking brutes. For example:



But how can you front on a region that also features the world's only lion-drawn chariot?



That's gangsta.

Anyway, after a jaunt through the land of Freud, Kafka, and Kundera -- and an educational stopover in Bratislava, the land of... um... (guys?) -- I'm back with the April update. I've got an extended reflection on Detroit's hip-hop avant-garde, two new soul reviews from okayplayer, and some Nigerian pop. That's a lot of verbiage to spread between your twin vanilla wafers...

Enjoy.

(all photos copyright of T.M. Wolf, except the Vienna Fingers package, which I wouldn't claim to have taken even if I did -- unlike Spanish eateries, I like to keep food and art separate)