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The USF Dons Have Gone from National Champs to National Chumps
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Gonzalez/Nader Hysteria
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SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin's Message to Newsom: Quit Attacking Me!
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Chinese Import
The best (and cheapest) Shanghai-style food
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SF's Most Maddening
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The Demise of Hyphy (54)
Thizzle, bling, and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL pulled the trigger.
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Wikipedia Idiots: The Edit Wars of San Francisco (95)
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The 24 Real Reasons Matt Gonzalez Chose to Run with Ralph Nader (14)
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Gonzalez/Nader Hysteria (6)
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Ka-Ching! (4)
The Guardian hits the jackpot — but don't count the money yet, Bruce.
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Odd Nosdam to Release Remixes and Rarities Collection, Plays Hella Bay Area Shows
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Japan: Things Just Got More Awesome.
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Geoduck Sashimi, Sexual Innuendo On Dirty Jobs
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Recent Articles By Doug Wallen
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Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
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Atlas Sound
Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (Kranky)
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Jeremy Jay: spare songs spotlight teen-idol vocals
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Willits + Sakamoto
Ocean Fire (12k)
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San Francisco's Impalers Pursue the Groovy Over the Gritty
National Features
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Village Voice
A Long Way Wrong?
Another celebrated memoir threatens to blow into a million little pieces.
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LA Weekly
Hoop Dawg
Billionaire Donald T. Sterling owns the L.A. Clippers and loves the ladies. And those are just two of his problems.
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Broward-Palm Beach New Times
The Player Priests
They were holy men--and they sure knew how to party.
By Amy Guthrie -
Westword
The Good Soldier
When the Army tried to take down Andrew Pogany, they messed with the wrong coward.
By Joel Warner
Not quite neo-soul and not quite old-school, Renee Sebastian dresses the sunny simplicity of classic soul in the slick new duds of radio R&B, not unlike a purer version of Ne-Yo or Beyoncé's approach. Though the California-born, Philippines-raised singer splits her time between San Francisco and New York these days, both cities would be lucky to claim her as their own. She makes accessible songwriting look easy on her new EP, but anyone who has heard even mediocre R&B knows it isn't, and will welcome Sebastian's strong, smooth voice and these expert full-band arrangements. She's also brutally honest, tackling her teenage pregnancy on the hip-hop-flavored opener "This Is Me" and all but offering herself as a sacrifice on "Please Break My Heart." The lighter "Good Morning Son" is about making time for her kids, while the hidden track "Her Beauty" finds Sebastian alone at a grand piano for a spare, heartfelt gem worthy of John Legend. "Every Lesson" is probably the catchiest track here, with horns, finger snaps, and a commanding bass line leading her into a vocal hook that's cheesy on paper but perfectly passable when sung so warmly. Likewise, her honeyed soul songs might float away if they weren't grounded by such textured instrumentation and the weight of her consistently personal lyrics, which set her apart from the pack and then some.









