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12/03/2004

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TIP OF THE WEEK
Isaac Adamson

Brian Hieggelke

To most Americans, Japanese pop culture is the "Bizzaro" version of our own. Chicago writer Isaac Adamson makes the most of this mystique in his Billy Chaka stories, the second of which, "Hokkaido Popsicle," just hit the streets. Our hero Chaka writes about Asian teen culture for a magazine in Cleveland, and his nose for scandal leads him into a colorful and seedy world of rock stars, drug deals and love hotels. The plot of this whodunwhat is secondary to the cartoon cityscape of Tokyo and the richly rendered goofballs who inhabit it. Adamson works in the noir tradition of detective fiction, but with a Day-Glo brush; his Tokyo is not unlike the post-apocalyptic world of "Blade Runner"--before the apocalypse. By the time the mystery is solved, there is little mystery left. But who cares? This reads like a head rush of pop culture and colorful language all the way to the end. I found myself frequently looking up some of the absurd creations on the Web to ensure that they were, in fact, fictions. In fact, many were not.

Isaac Adamson reads from "Hokkaido Popsicle" May 17, 8:30pm at Barnes & Noble, 1441 West Webster, (773)871-3610.

(2002-05-16)

Also by Brian Hieggelke

AMERICAN ICONS: Garbo Lives
It's probably safe to say they're not making Hollywood icons anymore. But how did they make them in the first place?
(2002-05-09)

TIP OF THE WEEK
In "The Hip Hop Generation," Bakari Kitwana lays out a powerful and controversial case for an activist political force emerging from the culturally and economically dominant foundation of rap music. (He cites the Christian Coalition as a model!)
(2002-05-02)

TIP OF THE WEEK
In "Tonight at Noon," Sue recounts her life with Charles and its tumultuous but always interesting contours. Written in a somewhat freeform style, the work succeeds both as a fascinating look at the culture at a point in time--in addition to jazz giants, Mingus hung with the likes of Norman Mailer, Timothy Leary and Joni Mitchell--but even more as a story of love and devotion.
(2002-04-25)

MusicNOW Concert
CSO composer-in-residence Augusta Read Thomas shares her thoughts on the pieces to be perfomed at MusicNOW on April 26.
(2002-04-25)

TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-04-18)

TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-04-11)

TABLE TALK
(2001-09-13)

PLAY WITH FOOD
(2001-09-06)

TABLE TALK
(2001-08-23)

ROADFOOD ESSENTIALS
(2001-06-14)

TOONING JAPANESE
(2001-05-24)

Sunday, Aug. 29
Green Mill, Chicago-Uptown

Uptown Poetry Slam
(Words » Slams & Open Mics)