"You may be as surprised as I was at the picture that emerges in these pages," writes Cecil Bothwell in the introduction to The Prince of War: Billy Graham's Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire. "It is not the story of a man of peace." Indeed, Bothwell's book, due out Nov. 15, "gives us a Graham who shrewdly managed his public image while offering religious blessing to both prejudice and war," writes religious scholar Seth Dowland in the Mountain XPress. Bothwell will be making appearances to promote the book around the Southeast in November and December -- you can see a schedule here.

Continue ReadingMountain XPress Staff Writer Examines Billy Graham in New Book

They say the buzz cycle on Next Big Things gets shorter and shorter each year, with music blogs and MySpace breaking down the geographic constraints that may have prevented a label-less and record-less band from Jacksonville, Fla., from becoming one of the most-talked-about bands in the indieverse in a matter of weeks. The case of Black Kids seems to affirm this notion. Last month, the band, which counts as its members Folio Weekly staff writer Owen Holmes and graphic designer Kevin Snow, popped up on a blog from British tastemaker NME, and it wasn't long before Black Kids were everywhere, from The Guardian to Vice to Pitchfork. The band is set to make a big splash at the CMJ Music Marathon this weekend, with three shows scheduled in New York. But before they head up I-95, both Holmes and Snow are leaving the paper to pursue the band full time. Holmes took a few minutes to talk to AAN News via email about the band's rapid rise, the difficult decision to leave Folio, and Barack Obama.

Continue ReadingAs the Buzz Builds, Two Folio Weekly Staffers Leave to Pursue Band

"I didn't want to end up the creepy 40-year-old taking notes in the corner of The Casbah," Troy Johnson tells KPBS. "It's a crisis in music journalism that I wanted no part of -- the aging rock critic who never goes out except to 'marquee shows,' but occupies space as a music editor because that's all they know." Johnson, who has been with CityBeat for five years, will be the new senior editor at the glossy RIVIERA magazine. "There's a lot to miss about CityBeat," he says. "That's a small paper built on chewing gum, bailing wire and severely passionate, severely talented, severely underpaid editors and writers."

Continue ReadingSan Diego CityBeat Music Editor Explains Why He’s Stepping Down