You probably know Robyn Hitchcock’s name but you probably can’t hum one of his songs. For more than 30 years, the English singer/songwriter has actively recorded and performed while flying under the radar of commercial success. But while Hitchcock’s songs don’t resonate across the FM airwaves, he has garnered immense respect among his peers. The DVD Sex, Food, Death…And Insects takes viewers behind-the-scenes as Hitchcock forms his backing band Venus 3 and tours the U.S. in support of his album Ole Tarantula.

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EVERYBODY IN THIS SICK CITY could learn a thing or two from seeing SiCKO, the much-ballyhooed Michael Moore documentary that played for all of 12 days in local theaters (and way out in Trussville at that). The film will be shown at 6:30 p.m. this Friday, Jan. 11, during a benefit for Alabama Arise, a statewide coalition of 155 faith and community organizations who promote policies that help low-income populations. The free screening takes place at the Church of the Reconciler, 112 14th St. North. For more information, call 800-832-9060 or visit www.arisecitizens.org.

For more Weekly Picks, visit Bhamweekly.com

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THE CONTENTS PAGE IS FULL OF LIES: Yep. The table of contents for Vol. 11, Issue 12 says that Kyle Whitmire’s “War on Dumb” can be found on page 4, when in fact what appeared on page 4 was a guide to the first-ever Downtown Holiday Open House (it went well, thanks for asking). And the contents page also said that Molly Folse’s story “Permission to Stare” about the awesome AXIS Dance Company was on page 23 or thereabouts, when in fact, it’s here. Otherwise, we meant every word we said, and that includes “Midterm Marks” for the Birmingham City Council, Courtney Haden’s consideration of I’m Not There, Jim Fahy’s contemplation of Dead Confederate and Carey Norris’ review of Lions for Lambs.

Next week, the truth will be revealed on the contents page – and a day early due to the holiday. Meanwhile, just prowl around www.bhamweekly.com

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EXPERIENCE THE SILENT SCREAMS When The Alabama Theatre presents a screening of the 1925 silent film version of Phantom of the Opera on Saturday, Oct. 27, with the soundtrack to be played on the theatre’s “Mighty Wurlitzer.” The movie follows the same tragic love story as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical; Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry and others star. In 1929, Universal Studios re-shot the movie complete with sound however, that version has since been lost. It’s rumored that the ghost of Chaney haunts the soundstage where it was filmed. According to urban legend, part of the Opera House set still stands and deathly accidents have occurred when workers have tried to dismantle it. Doors of the “Show Place of the South” open at 7 p.m. and show time is 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12. For more information, call 252-2262 or visit www.alabamatheatre.com.

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THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW that says no self-respecting publication in the city of Birmingham can ever put Vulcan on the cover again. Don’t get us wrong – we love that big guy and appreciate all the nuanced metaphorical implications of having him as the symbol of our city. Still, as far as putting him on the cover, it’s been done a time or 10,000. We opted to do it again this week to highlight our story on the world premiere of Miss Vulcan 1939, which opens this Saturday at the Red Mountain Theatre. The play is a dramatic reimagining of a once-in-a-lifetime Birmingham pageant (not to be confused with the political beauty contest in which Larry Langford is a perennial candidate).

Speaking of pageantry, as of 12:01 a.m. today, there’s a fella born in Sheffield, Ala., running for president. The Republicans had their movie actor president in Reagan, their puppet president in George W. Bush and now are angling for a TV ham candidate in Fred Thompson. If anything about having a Law & Order president makes you feel safe, take a minute to ponder what you were doing six years ago this Tuesday. Then take an hour to ponder that while there’s no proof that Osama bin Laden is dead, there’s plenty to verify that nearly 4,000 of your compatriots are.

Such truths try men souls, making comedy necessary – special yuks in the offing this week come from Doug Stanhope and J. Michael McCall, as well as the steady funny J’Mel Davidson. Other worthwile diversions include Georgia wineries, Artwalk or the movies (although Halloween is evidently best avoided).

Finally, start counting – only a month until the release of the 2007-2008 Menu of Menus and only a week until Jeremy Harper reaches a million.

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IT’S INDEPENDENT: It stars Steve Buscemi. You know what that means: It’s only playing at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery, where they actually care about movies! Buscemi also directed Interview, in which he plays a veteran political writer given the unlikely assignment of interviewing a Lindsay Lohan-like celebrity. The latter is played – fetchingly, frighteningly — by Sienna Miller. The duo goes at it all night long, putting on display the incomparable way that two people can get intimate through questions and answers. The show runs Aug. 24-30. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Matinees start at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. See what else Birmingham is missing in independent film by checking www.capritheatre.org.

For more Weekly Picks, visit www.bhamweekly.com

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Every year around this time, we Weekly people get sentimental about our halcyon college days and publish a back-to-college guide. Comprised of season calendars for the various metro area campuses, the guide also includes a primer on Birmingham’s cultural attractions.
But for those of you who need no refresher course on the city’s offerings, this week’s paper has plenty else: the beginning of our mayoral election coverage, including Mark Kelly’s meditation on more than a century of questionable communication and Kyle Whitmire’s dreamy speculation on what might happen to five mayoral candidates lost at sea; an open letter to Artur Davis, protesting his vote for the Protect America Act; another visit to “New Worlds of Wine,” with a particular emphasis on a taste for a cure; a cinematic obituary for Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni and, for a lark, an imagining of what Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane’s wedding vows might sound like if he wrote them himself.
Way back in July 1874 (and quoted in the September issue of The Atlantic), F.B. Sanborn said, “The careful reader of a few good newspapers can learn more in a year that most scholars do in their great libraries.” Here’s to hoping that Birmingham Weekly is required reading for you, back to college or not.

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It’s not often that anybody gets to write about the Alien Tort Statute outside of law school. That’s because for most of two centuries, it was pretty rare for anybody to break the law, which says that American government, military, and corporate leaders can be held accountable for human rights abuses committed as a result of their presence in a foreign country. Nowadays, the law is a favorite new tool of labor unions and foreign plaintiffs to sue American corporations for human rights abuses in developing countries. The trial against Birmingham-based Drummond Ltd. currently taking place should prove an intriguing test of this new use for the old law.

Other trials taking place around the state this week include Alabama NOW vs. Operation Save America and the brave Mrs. Barbara Wilson of Jacksonville vs. Alabama Power. Certain parties in those proceedings could stand a lesson in civility.

On a lighter note, the fud jors at Little Savannah can now learn you a thing or two about how to shop, then cook, then eat. And local music mainstay Damon Johnson is at again, this time with an all-new gig. You Kill Me is staying at local theaters another week and we went ahead and ran Allen Barra’s review of Rescue Dawn, hoping against hope that some Birmingham theater will actually get that movie in the coming weeks. If not, at least we have Sidewalk, with its upcoming Scramble screening featuring the handiwork of the original J’migga.

Finally, the regulars of one of our favorite local watering holes are mourning a major loss this week. Go by and buy the good barkeeps a drink, why don’t you. It’ll make everybody feel better.

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A MAN WHO TELLS LIES MERELY HIDES THE TRUTH: But a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it.” Mr. Dryden, played by Claude Rains, says that in Lawrence of Arabia. And Prince Feisel, played by Alec Guinness, says, “Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage, and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution.” And the titular T.E. Lawrence, played — nay, inhabited — by Peter O’Toole, in one of the greatest screen performances of all-time, has so many terrific lines that it’s tough to select a favorite. “I cannot fiddle but I can make a great state of a small city,” will have to suffice. Perhaps the only criticism owed to screenwriter Robert Bolt is that in 227 minutes, no woman has a speaking role. Still and all, the experience of seeing the sprawling epic on the big screen should not be missed. The film is at the Alabama Theatre on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $6 and are available at the box office one hour before show time. For more information, call 251-0418 or visit www.alabamatheatre.com.

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