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In this Issue
I SUSPECTED THINGS would get rough in New York City, and I'm glad the protests turned out to be, for the most part, peaceful. The giant weekend march knocked Bush off the front pages for a day and sent exactly the right message: lots and lots of good Americans think this guy is the worst president ever. But it turns out that things have also been very, very weird – and a little, well, spooky. As Camille T. Taiara reports on page 13, shadowy operatives who appear to be undercover cops have been following activists around and compiling dossiers on them. Taiara was with a group of activists who were tailed. The men who followed them around were aggressive, sometimes abusive, and made no secret of the fact that they were tailing the group. She asked the snoops if they were law-enforcement officers, and they refused to identify themselves. Apparently, according to what she's learned, this has happened to quite a few law-abiding activists. If Bush gets reelected, we better all get used to it. On a happier note, this week's cover story looks at 10 local bands that are ready to graduate from the local scene and make the jump to bigger things. Music editor Kimberly Chun oversaw the package, and here's how she describes it: "Bands come and go – and it's so hard to keep track of the achievers, freaks, geeks, heshers, punks, rednecks, cowboys, jocks, jokers, and exchange students. "That's why, in 'The Class of 2004,' we've decided to take stock of the music scene and pick the local artists and bands most likely to graduate ... to the big league of their choice. University, community college, vocational school, Web development – these folks could go anywhere. Suffice to say, we suspect these Bay Area music up-and-comers will be taking the next, massive step soon, whether it's releasing their first album or finding a new, larger audience. We can picture them joining local indie heroes like Coachwhips, Tussle, and Erase Eratta in some nutty, mind-altering or -expanding show of shows, up on a special stage lodged in our hearts and minds." |
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