Arts

Every week, we choose 5 things to read, watch, listen to, or experience. This week, an important read about how democracies decline and a classic film to watch at home that still zings after 8 decades.

Guitarist Slash has said "Sweet Child O' Mine" got its start as a quick little melody he made up, with his bandmates adding chords and lyrics later on. It went on to become Guns n' Roses' only number one single.

"I am making fun of the most weird aspects of higher ed," said Julie Schumacher, author of "The Shakespeare Requirement."

Plus, Art Hounds recommend a pro-labor musical review and a Fergus Falls art exhibition.

The new food editor at The Growler magazine recently went on a tour of some of the many new restaurants popping up in the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior, Wis. He called the area "out of control."

Prince's family sued Dr. Michael Schulenberg and various health care providers in Hennepin County last month, saying they provided services to Prince in the weeks before his death but failed to treat his opioid addiction.

Recorded in Justin Vernon's Wisconsin studio and produced by BJ Burton — who also produced Bon Iver's trippy "22, A Million" — the new record includes its fair share of distortion and crunch, blended with Low's haunting vocals.

Presented by Doctors Without Borders, "Forced From Home" aims to replicate the experience of leaving everything behind in a bid to survive.

Shannon Gibney struggled with how to treat the Liberian saga in fiction. The result is "Dream Country."

English and Ghanaian culture collide in Michael Donkor's new novel, "Housegirl."

A mix of soccer and volleyball, sepak takraw is well known within Minnesota's Southeast Asian communities. St. Paul recently opened courts in two parks. Supporters are interested in bringing the idea to Minneapolis.

Minnesota's new African American Heritage Museum aims to provide a more clear picture of the past and a brighter future.

Cape Town's government asked people to save water by taking showers that lasted two minutes or less. Inspiration struck: the 2-Minute Shower Songs campaign.

Minneapolis-based architect and designer Siah Armajani gets his first U.S. career retrospective at the Walker starting this week. It's called "Follow This Line."

The National Baptist Convention, the nation's largest predominantly black Christian organization, wraps up its weeklong annual gathering Friday in Minneapolis with street outreach in north Minneapolis — and lots of music.

A new Minneapolis restaurant will help give a chance to former convicts who have done their time.

Burt Reynolds was a handsome film and television star known for his acclaimed performances in "Deliverance" and "Boogie Nights" and for an active off-screen life which included relationships with Loni Anderson, Sally Field and Dinah Shore.

Plus, jazzy Celtic music and a one-day art exhibition on the shore of Lake Hiawatha.

Wayetu Moore fled Liberia's civil war when she was 5. Now she is reconnecting with her homeland through her novel "She Would Be King" published by Twin Cities-based Graywolf Press.

The Minnesota State Fair easily passed the 2 million visitor mark this year and fair officials say there's plenty of room for more. The fair breaks ground on yet another expansion in October.