Slam dancing with the Rev.

Standing in the middle of the dancefloor at the Visulite Theater, the soles of black boots headed toward my face. I stepped back. Two drunk guys tried to lift another drunk guy in the air so he could body-surf over the dozens of people dancing in the Visulite’s pit during the Reverend Horton Heat’s performance on Thursday. They couldn’t get their friend into the air, so they put him on the floor. He stood up and resumed slamming into other dancers.
I’ve never been to a Reverend Horton Heat performance, and was surprised to see the several slam dancers I’ve encountered at the Milestone. I never thought of psychobilly (alternative rockabilly) music as a setting for a mosh pit.
Less exuberant, but enthusiastic fans, danced without hitting someone else. They thrust beers into the air or waved their empty hands and sang to all of the Rev.’s songs about drugs, cars and booze.

Hip-hop fans have more sex

Hip-hop haters, you'll love this:

Fans of hip-hop music are likely to have had more sexual partners in the last five years, while many of those who prefer classical strains will have tried cannabis, according to a new study.

Psychologist Adrian North from the University of Leicester surveyed 2,500 Britons to find out how their musical tastes related to their lifestyles and interests.

Almost 38 percent of hip-hop devotees and 29 percent of dance music fans were more likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the last five years, compared to just 1.5 percent of country music fans. However, they were also more likely to have broken the law, with more than 50 percent of both hip-hop and dance music lovers admitting committing a criminal act.

Meanwhile, a quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis, while 12 percent of those who liked opera had experimented with magic mushrooms.

North wants to recruit 10,000 people for a wider study (details: www.musicaltastetest.com).

So, hip-hop haters, I'm sure this confirms all of your assumptions about the vileness of hip-hop music. But what’s up with the classical and opera fans smoking weed and eating 'shrooms?

What's up in Charlotte? Hip-hop fans -- have you really been that sexually active? Country fans -- are you really that conservative? Actually, is having more than one sexual partner in the last five years a bad thing?

The Wire - Week 2

Aw shucks! Omar is coming back to "The Wire." He is my favorite homothug ever!

Wasn't that so cute when Bubbles tried to register his young apprentice for high school? I loved the idea of Bubbles, an addict, trying to mentor a teenager and also trying to expand his pushcart business. He sells everything from white T-shirts to paint cans.

I'm curious to see what's going to become of Michael, the teenager who wouldn't take Marlo's money. Michael is fighting to be his own man in a neighborhood where fists, guns and money define manhood.

I really like this season's emphasis on the young kids. Although the show is fiction, it's loosely based on real events. It's an eye-opening reminder that the lock-'em-up mentality won't solve the drug or crime problems in Baltimore, Charlotte or elsewhere. And for some kids, No Child Left Behind is simply a slogan -- not their reality.

If you haven't seen "The Wire: Connected" and "The Wire: The Game," you should. They both give a behind-the-scenes look at the veracity of some of this season's storylines. They also feature interviews with various cast members, many of whom were as criminal in real life as they are on the show.