Environmental Youth Crunch
Let’s Ride
Bakery Outlet Records 2007

Environmental Youth Crunch may sound like a hardcore band’s name, but this St. Augustine trio deals more in upbeat pop-punk riffs and heartfelt lyrics than anything the word “crunch” denotes. Well known for playing local shows in their underwear, EYC combines fun-loving live antics with thoughtful examinations of our species’ effect on the environment, often calling out developers, Wall Street types, and politicians point-blank. But instead of insisting on confrontational or extremist viewpoints, this Bakery Outlet Records band relies on humor and even a bit of heart-on-my-sleeve balladry to make its point known.

Devendra Banhart
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Beggars Xl Recording 2007

Devendra Banhart made the transition from wandering ex-art student to celebrated folk personality in less than five years, and his latest album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon proves Banhart will remain a musical force for years to come. Expanding on the full band format he conceived for 2005’s Cripple Crow, the 16 songs on Thunder Canyon showcase everything from upbeat samba to ‘50s Hebrew pop, with orchestral arrangements and gospel choruses thrown in for good measure. “Wait,” you might ask, “didn’t you say this guy was a folkie?” Well, yes and no.

MANU CHAO
La Radiolina
Nacional Records 2007

Manu Chao gave credence to the emerging Latin alternative movement in the 1980s as a member of Mano Negra, but simply relegating him to the Spanish-speaking scene neglects about 3/4 of his personality. Born in Paris to Spanish parents, Chao also sings in Portuguese, French, and English, and has cultivated a global-citizen image that allows him to fit in no matter where he travels. Whether it be supporting Spanish anarchist organizations, sympathizing with leftist South American rebels, or embodying the plight of France’s immigrants, Chao has successfully broken down national boundaries on his way to international success.

Local skaters rally to raise funds for an Anastasia Island park

By Glenn Judah

Eight miles from where they’d like to be skateboarding, more than 70 kids surround the concrete playground at Treaty Park, watching, cheering and waiting to drop in.

It’s been three years since a new skate park on Anastasia Island was proposed, and this skate contest, a fund-raiser held Dec. 15, represents the final stretch of the process for Project Skate Inc.

After waiting for city government decisions, meeting with neighbors, and revising their ideas, all that is left to do is raise $70,000 and break ground inside the Lighthouse Park neighborhood on Anastasia Island.

Laugh about it: Mixing serious-business updates with hilarious commentary, Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008 site squeezes in some election news while keeping the laughs coming. You’ll come for the stash of videos from The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and other comedy events, and you’ll stay for the unflattering photos of candidates along with blogs and candidate interviews. indecision2008.com

By Chuck Shepherd

Spectacular Errors

In November, a 77-year-old man in Jacksonville, intending to help his daughter by riding his bicycle to Long Branch Elementary School to pick up her 4-year-old son (his grandson), arrived back home with a kid on the bike but did not realize that he had picked up the wrong boy. Said the picked-up kid’s frantic mother, “(The two boys) don’t even look alike.”