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    Michele Bachmann, Unmuzzled

    You don't need to read Sarah Palin's book to hear the ravings of a mad woman.

    By Matt Snyders

  • Miami New Times

    Pimp Daddy

    The rise and fall of a chubby sex-cult leader.

    By Natalie O'Neill

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    Babe 'n' Arms

    Tom was a hot-tempered cross-dresser with a garage full of guns--and then he became Rachel.

    By Nicholas Phillips

  • Dallas Observer

    The Fight for Texas

    Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are locked in a battle over the soul of the GOP. They're also running for governor.

    By Sam Merten

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High Beams

Dear and the Headlights

By DOUG WALLEN

Published on July 03, 2008 at 2:40am

They may be signed to Equal Vision, but you'd be hard-pressed to call Dear and the Headlights punk. Rather, last year's Small Steps, Heavy Hooves is a grabby showcase of swollen pop anthems. There are still razor-sharp guitars, though, and front man Ian Metzger's cathartic vocal presence is the heart of the band, at once empowering and tugged with melancholy. Bright Eyes and the Cure seem to be key influences on his singing, but the band's arrangements skew toward such indie-rock earmarks as the Arcade Fire and the Walkmen. Put it all together, and these melody-mad anthems climb dramatically toward big-layered finishes that lift Metzger's Everyman sentiments to the heavens. It's not punk; it's just good songwriting.
Sun., July 6, 7:30 p.m., 2008