Cypress Hill’s B-Real, Sen Dog and DJ Muggs are back with a vengeance. They took a break after their first three albums chockfull of menacing rhymes over hemp-heavy hip hop beats, then shot back in 1998 with Cypress Hill IV. They followed that up in 1999 with a long overdue album in Spanish, before releasing the new double ‘Skull and Bones’ this year, filled with those blunted beats and gangster boasts that made them the West Coast’s most consistent players.
Posts Tagged ‘holiday’
Summer Sales
It’s worth trying to catch the end of the summer sales this week. Bargains are certainly to be had not least because the exchange rate of lire to pound is still so good. As the Florentines push off out of the city in August, there is no one around to scoop up the last bargains. For designer-wear, scour the chic shops (Prada, Gucci, Armani et al) around Via Tornabuoni and Via della Vigna Nuova. Mark-downs are often much more generous than those in Britain.
Beautiful Heidelberg
The Altstadt centers on the Marktplatz, a cobbled square where a mighty Hercules flexes his muscles over a fountain and where for many years punishments from beheading to imprisonment in a rotating hanging cage took place. Now tourists and locals gather not to laugh at convicts but to drink a coffee or to buy fruit in the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“Why does everybody else have to like this town too?” This is the question bitter tourists searching for a room in Heidelberg ask as they encounter one booked hotel after another. It is very important to call ahead to reserve, and the tourist office is very helpful in booking rooms. Hotel-Pension Elite is a quaint Victorian place in the bustling old part of town.
Heidelberg?s buzz of tourism is without a doubt worth enduring as its stunning hillside setting, endless list of attractions, and lively nightlife can always inspire poetry and romance.
Mappa Mundo
Although it only opened a year ago, this bar is on the corner of the increasingly hip Place St Géry, guaranteeing it a constant flow of business. Tastefully furnished, the bar is ideal for either a subdued coffee during off-peak hours or for knocking back beers in the evening. Its only drawback is that it has a reputation for slow table service, with the result that its best to place orders at the bar. It also serves a range of snacks, such as salads, soups, pittas and New-York-style bagels.
Sanno Festival
One of Tokyo’s three biggest festivals, the Sanno festival is held in even-numbered years, alternating with the Kanda festival. Thousands of people dressed in Heian-period costume (794-1185) congregate in and around Hie Shrine, which moved to its current site from within the walls of old Edo Castle in 1659. As a result, participants in the parade on the first day of the festival are granted the rare privilege of entering the imperial palace, which stands on the site of Edo Castle.
La Pegui
This is one of the few eat-all-you-can restaurants in town that doesn’t skimp on quality. La Pegui is located just behind the Olympic Port area, has great service and offers a reasonably priced combination of cold cuts, salads and seafood, plus a selection of roast meat served off wooden sticks, Brazilian-style, for those who want to splash out. La Pegui had a tough first year before being discovered in a big way by the Barcelonans a few months ago. Now you need to get there early to find a table.
Yes
British rockers Yes were the kind of torpid dinosaurs that punk was supposed to swallow, wash down with pints of snakebite and puke up as a horrid green mucus. Yet somehow the band, who once released the ridiculously overblown double album ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’, continues to fill stadia on both sides of the Atlantic. Still featuring their original singer Jon Anderson, they recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first album by releasing a new one, ‘The Ladder’. Prog-rock still lives… but why?
Ween
It’s been a long road for the pseudo-brothers Gene and Dean Ween who have evolved from mutant duo out to plunder all existing musical styles, to become one of the tightest and entertaining bands on the planet. They have thrived on taking chances that would cost any other band their careers, but a pure – albeit demented – respect for music has seen them through. Your jaw will drop to every minute of their infamous three hour live show, which will undoubtedly feature songs from their new album, ‘White Pepper’.
