Music --The Willows bring to the Middle East Upstairs a brand of Americana country rock inspired by the seasonal carnival scene up in Salem. Alas, no salt water taffy is included in the price of admission. With The Vic Morrows, The Resonance, The Giant Melons. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, doors 9:00, 18+, $8. --While the show has been sold out for weeks, if there's any way you can get in we......

--A possible idea for Banditos Misteriosos? It might beat No Pants 2K8, if only for the reason that your bare thighs wouldn't have to touch any part of an MBTA car. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Barstool Sports has no love for Arlen Specter now that Specter is mucking around with VideoTapeGate. A sample line: "Next up on the agenda, investigating the role of WWF referees in world title victory by Andre the Giant over Hulk Hogan in......

--Useful, detailed advice on how to get your car started in the bitter cold. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Dan Kennedy evaluates all the speeches the winners (and runners-up) gave after the Iowa caucuses. [Media Nation] --A rave review of La Voile in the Back Bay. [Cave Cibum] --And a not-so-rave review of The Publick House for their treatment of people who were just trying to enjoy trivia night and who arrived more than willing to spend money......

Kind of a slow week on Series of Tubes (why it's a bit late) for the end of year, but we've got the goods. --Finally, someone else articulates why Celtic Woman is so weird. [Margalit] --Dan Kennedy had to talk about the whole Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy to his own teenage daughter. Awkward. He writes, "I wish her to be gone from Zoey 101." [Media Nation/Guardian UK] --When the Patriots beat the Giants and got......

Michele McPhee, Boston's queen bee of crime reporting, is jumping from the Herald to a full-time slot at WTKK. Boston Daily landed the scoop confirming what two of Boston's most reliable mediawatchers, Dan Kennedy of Media Nation and Adam Reilly of the Phoenix, heard. From Joe Keohane at Boston Daily: "Sources close to McPhee confirm this, and add that she’s taken a full-time gig at WTKK-FM and ditched daily journalism altogether." What will the Herald......

After several judges gave him a finger-wagging, Herald writer and talking head Howie Carr will return to WRKO after he tried to move to WTKK, according to All Access....

Update: Keller's editor, Michael Flamini, has provided the following defense to the Herald--“‘The Bluest State’ is a lively and controversial work” and “more akin to an op-ed piece than to a work of historical analysis or an academic treatise.... It is unreasonable to expect extensive footnotes for each and every quote, or a lengthy bibliography." Wow. How hard is it to print footnotes? And how stupid does Flamini think Keller's audience is? This statement makes......

The story of the drugs and alcohol found in the toxicology results for the bodies of firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill has three threads--the freedom of the press, public safety, and the memory of the firefighters themselves. As noted earlier, all news outlets except WHDH reported yesterday and today about the toxicology results. WHDH couldn't report because Suffolk Superior Court Judge Merita Hopkins silenced them at the request of the firefighters' union. WHDH appealed,......

Last night, word broke out that firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill, who perished in a blaze at the Tai Ho Restaurant, had drugs and/or alcohol in their system. This morning, many citizens are expressing outrage at the smear on their memories on the local news. Several outlets are reporting that Warren Payne had cocaine in his system, and Paul Cahill was legally intoxicated. However, the report comes from, in the Globe's words, "A......

--Everyone's got an opinion about Governor Deval Patrick's casino plan. Dan Kennedy at Media Nation, who also cross-posts at Blue Mass Group, has been taking the anti-casino view and offers an interesting post about how the new revenue Patrick has been discussing is just "rearranged money." --Britney Spears still will not go away. Onward Charles has discovered video trance remixes of that weird "Leave Britney Alone!" guy. Where does he she* find this stuff? It's......

Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill thinks he got a raw deal from customs officials at Logan when his family returned to the country from a trip to Italy. Customs was not amused when they found Cahill's daughter with three peaches, and these three little peaches have grown into a large dispute. Cahill told the media, "If this is the way the federal government treats people when they come into this country, it’s distressing." Has this......

Glenn Marshall, Mashpee Wampanoag tribe leader and major force behind bringing casinos to Massachusetts, is leaving his position as chairman of the tribe council. He was caught lying about his military past and of hiding the fact that he was convicted of rape and cocaine possession. Peter Kenney at Cape Cod Today first smelled something funny about Marshall's military service. The Cape Cod Times reported that Marshall did not participate in the battle of Khe......

According to official record, Middleborough is going to get a casino. On Saturday, voters said that they want the casino offered by the Mashpee Wampanoags. Here's what the town will get in exchange for the casino: "At least $11 million a year plus $250 million for road, sewer and other infrastructure improvements." But, although they approved the casino from the Wampanoags, they voted down bringing casino gambling into town. The "yes" vote was binding. The......

The Phoenix posted the tenth annual Muzzle Awards. The listing, compiled by Media Nation blogger Dan Kennedy, showcases the offenses against free speech by local individuals and organizations. An apropos way to celebrate liberty for the Fourth of July. He gets the Muzzle this year by stifling the free speech of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami by refusing to provide state-police protection to the visiting former head of state. Boston Police stepped up to provide......