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The Culture Gyre was on assignment last week, March 11-14, in Lakeland FL, otherwise known as Tigertown.
On May 2, 2025, the Tigers released Kenta Maeda. The Tigers are the best team in the American League, and they are beginning to act like it.
HEAT LAMP
THE LATEST
The Weeknd released Hurry Up Tomorrow on January 31st, 2025. Abel Tesfaye searches for end-of-era-defining songs on what is rumored be the final album released under his present moniker.
Black Country, New Road’s newest project is every bit as creatively constipated and authentically heady as their last cult favorite.
Smokey
Smokey Robinson
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CG SAMPLER PLATTER:
This week’s feature is Smokey. I’d like to issue a correction. Last week in an effort to emphasize the completeness of his 1975 classic, I dismissed the majority of Smokey Robinson’s 70s catalog as expendable. Inaccurate, it didn’t even start that way. In 1973, Smokey Robinson was enjoying the perks of solo artistry. Without the Miracles around him, Robinson began his stylistic drift. His steady, light musical MO became less bound by the walls of bar-to-bar structure allowing Smokey to perform without distraction or constriction, just sonic support. That level of creative freedom resulted in some misses. The record’s first two tracks are good examples. But by track 3, “A Silent Partner In A Three-Way Love Affair,” Motown’s VP (and well-known champion of monogamy) found his groove. He doesn’t relinquish, consecutively supplying the timely “Just My Soul Responding,” the Miracles tribute “Sweet Harmony,” and his touching, famously ‘Kanyed’ rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”. This ’73 debut is two songs longer than his masterpiece, A Quiet Storm, and while it doesn’t have the same level of timelessness or unwavering execution, it serves as a damn good warning shot. The warmth, depth, and horizontal coverage of soul as a genre throughout this record set an important standard, and it wouldn’t be long before Robinson parked himself back atop the charts. Assessing this debut by metrics of critical popularity or monetary success disregards the framework it laid for a legendary solo career. Maybe it wasn’t quite time for Smokey in 1973, maybe people weren’t ready, but maybe they should’ve been.
Enjoy!
5/14/2025
By: Gabe Goode
Electric. No other word could describe the magic that occurred for the Wayne State Warrior Baseball program during the final two days of the GLIAC conference tournament.
Wayne State’s tournament run began Thursday May 8, at Jackson Field in Lansing, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate for the (Insert City Here) Athletics. There, the Warriors were tasked with a familiar opponent, the Parkside Rangers, who they split a weekend series against just a few days prior. The game got underway quickly. The Warriors put up a 5-run first inning and didn’t look back, securing the Game One victory on the backs of three separate 2-RBI performances from Caleb Sanders, Mason McGuire, and Jacoby Dale. Locking down the save was world-famous closer Ethan Getting. The win over Parkside guaranteed a matchup against a strong Grand Valley team the next evening.
Things took a turn for the worse Friday night against the Lakers. The Warriors sent arguably their best starter to the mound in Gabe Nazelli, but Grand Valley came ready to hit, tagging Nazelli for 5 ER on 10 hits while the Warrior offense lay dormant against the Lakers' pitching staff, mustering only 4 hits. While this didn’t mark the end of the double-elimination tournament, the loss meant that the Warriors would have to win out for a chance at the title.
Saturday rolled around, and a pair of do-or-die games lay ahead for the Warriors. Davenport won a thrilling extra innings battle against Grand Valley in walk-off style in the first game of the day. With the Davenport win, Grand Valley would be the opponent for the winner of the midday matchup between Wayne State and Saginaw Valley.
It would be hard to top the exhilarating events that took place before Wayne State was even set to play, but their game did not disappoint...
