Samples

Fire Alarms
As Night Crawler reported last November, Survival Research Labs staged "Crime Wave" at an empty lot on Beale Street. Although no public property was damaged and no spectators were injured, Mark Pauline and Mike Dingle were slapped with arrest warrants two months later and charged with "unlawful open burning" and "use of explosive materials" by the SFFD. They turned themselves in (and were later released), and face a Feb. 14 court date. Though Pauline says "SRL had never had any direct confrontations with officials before," an anonymous source claims that an SFFD representative told the DA that they're sick and tired of dealing with SRL's semifrequent events. But as anyone who has ever attended one can attest, safety is always foremost. "If they said that they want to work with us in the future, that I'd understand," Pauline says. "We just did a show in Phoenix three block from City Hall, and the Sheriff's Office laughed about it." For more info, check out the SRL Web site at http://www.srl.org.

Eat to the Beat
"I look fat, but it has nothing to do with my eating disorder," petite Miho Hatori of NYC's food-obsessed Cibo Matto cryptically joked soon after she and her partner, Yuka Honda, declared themselves Charles Bronson Jr. and Neil Young at their kicky Bottom of the Hill show Sunday night. Though their dance-hop sample sculptures from the new Viva! La Woman lost a bit in the translation to bare-bones keyboards and DAT setup, Cibo Matto "Know Your Chicken," if you know what they mean (we sure don't). On that song, Beastie guest Adam Horowitz lent some hardcore juice while Hatori screamed, "I was cruisin' in Brooklyn, if you know what I mean." Sure, something about "Beef Jerky," if you know what we're saying.

The Death of Print
Apart from executives at Urban Outfitters, who will admit to creating and marketing an "alternative" aesthetic? Look at graphic-design superstar David Carson, formerly of the style-setting and frequently illegible Raygun magazine. He's not "sitting down wondering what Generation X wants to see next," according to The End of Print, his nearly readable coffee-table tome from Chronicle Books. The ironic finality of the title may suggest an Internet fantasy, but it equally hints at textual obsolescence. Raygun is often full of densely packed paragraphs and artfully erased sections. "Just because something is legible doesn't mean it communicates; it could be communicating the completely wrong thing," Carson is quoted. Decide for yourself Thursday, Feb. 15, at the Center for the Arts Theater. Call 978-2787.

By Sia Michel, Glen Helfand