Let guy love open the door

Bromance — the platonic, enduring love between two men — is not all about flowers and candy. It’s an all-out ode to the man a guy wants to spend the rest of his life with. I Love You, Man is the latest flick to give guy pals the warm and fuzzies, but is the flame of dudely devotion burning any truth? Vox compares Columbia’s finest bromantics to their Hollywood counterparts.

The art of vinyl

Imagine it’s pre-MTV, video has yet to kill the radio star, and the MP3 hasn’t destroyed the craft of the album cover. This was an era when people entered record stores bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and were excited to see what new creations covered the albums of their favorite musicians — at least that’s what we’ve heard.

What you WANT, WHERE you should go, WHAT you will get

SoCo in CoMo

"Divas by Design," the SoCo Club's Thursday night drag show, draws a diverse crowd of all ages, sexual orientations and races. This eclectic audience, as well as the drag show’s success, might be a result of the changing demographics in Columbia and an increase in the tolerance of diverse lifestyles.

A mic and no music

After tackling illegal music pirating, the music industry is shifting its target. Elusive music thieves are still a threat to the profits of record labels and recording artists, but new enemies are rising to the forefront: your local coffee shops and dive bars. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers demands licensing fees and threatens fines for venues that host licensed music, and some Columbia businesses are bending under the pressure.

Album Review – The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love

Turn the shuffle function off because The Decemberists’ fifth studio album, The Hazards of Love, is something that needs to be listened to from the beginning to the end — over and over again. This is not just an indie rock album; it’s a musical experience.

Brand new vocabulary

Hailing from across the Atlantic, Russell Brand graciously brought his indecent tales to America on March 10. Previously released in Europe, Brand’s My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up delivers on the title’s promises — the book recounts the various stories of his life from his difficult childhood to his tumultuous adult life. Booky Wook is already a No. 1 international bestseller, or so Brand claims on the book cover.

On the job: Tattoo artist

Scotty Lammers wants to make one thing clear: This is not Miami Ink. He can’t tattoo a dragon wrapped around your arm in 45 minutes. Lammers prides himself on the cleanliness of his salon, Tattoo You, and his attention to detail. “A lot of people don’t like doing the little roses or the little butterflies or the names, but to me they’re just as important,” he says. “A $50 tattoo is just as important to the customer, so it should be just as important to us.”

The good, the bad and the ugly

Chinese truck drivers, faux firefighers and dog-men

Smoke-free satisfaction

When I was an undergrad, I worked at a bar. The pay was good, the hours weren’t too bad, and my friends frequently stopped in to keep me company.

The lingering effects of the city's smoking ban

Columbia's citywide smoking ban went into effect Jan. 9, 2007. According to the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, “The purpose of the ordinance is to promote public health by decreasing workers’ and citizens’ exposure to secondhand smoke and to create smoke-free environments for workers and for citizens through regulation.” Two years later not all Columbia businesses are fired up about the ban. Two years later not all Columbia businesses are fired up about the ban. Steve Reynolds owns two area bars, and he says the ban is hindering his business. He thinks the ban is hypocritical. “What upsets me is it’s a legal substance,” he says. “If they’re so set on saving people’s lives, then stop selling cigarettes inside the city limits, too.”