murder, midgets and music

Metro Pulse's "Best of Knoxville" edition hit the street the other day. I finally got around to picking up a copy this morning. After checking for the annual snub of Einstein Simplified (appearing May 6 at The Comedy Zone by the way), I read the rest of the survey and found a few entries that piqued my interest. In addition to all the categories voted on by readers, there are several "staff picks." Here are excerpts from three staff picks I found worthy of sharing :

Best Merchandising Idea We Wish We'd Thought Of
The "Knoxville Girl" T-Shirt
We'’re impressed with their popularity, considering that in the ancient ballad, which became a bluegrass standard lately interpreted by rockers like Nick Cave and Elvis Costello, the "“Knoxville Girl" is a victim of a grisly and apparently senseless murder. We'd like to think of the T-shirt'’s popularity as her revenge. You go, girl.

Best Midget Wrestling
The Electric Cowboy
This past February, the theater of the absurd reached new heights. Even Beckett couldn't have foreseen this kind of zany rigmarole. Bloody, hard-core midget wrestling. '’Nuff said.

Best Rock'n'’roll Barbecue
Sweet P's
Chris Ford knows his barbecue. During the years he spent on the road with his former band, Gran Torino, the musicians made sport of scouting out the most authentic barbecue joints. When the band split, he decided to open a West Knoxville catering kitchen called Sweet P's that would keep those memories alive forever.