Call for Papers: Director Spotlight: Orson Welles

Have Fun: A Tribute to Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers, and the CHIC Groove of 'diana' (Parts 5-6)
While Broadway gets Motown and Daft Punk gets lucky, more than 25 artists and producers explore why Diana Ross and Nile Rodgers still turn us "inside out". Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the chapters in this story. [21.May.13]
The Shock of the Old:  Art Historian Alexander Nagel on His New Book, 'Medieval Modern'
New York University art historian Alexander Nagel talks with PopMatters about how art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is tied to modern and contemporary art in more ways than we might think. [21.May.13]
In Defense of... Star Trek
Who will defend the future from J.J. Abrams... and his fans? [21.May.13]
Signs & Wonders: Television Ads As Pop Art
By John Grassi
Every once in a great while, an ad will rise above the white noise and actually transcend the fetid swamp of commercial television. [21.May.13]
The Power of Friendship While Being an Asshole, or the Doormat NPC
Maybe a game doesn’t have to explore every facet of interpersonal relationships but it should not uniformly trust the player’s engagement with the world, and it should certainly hold the player accountable for being an asshole. There should be more to relating to a game’s NPCs than sitting down and nodding. [21.May.13]
Today's Articles
21.May.13
The National: Trouble Will Find Me
The National keeps on growing older gracefully with the impeccably executed Trouble Will Find Me, but it might just be that the venerable group has reached the point of no-longer-increasing returns.
Justice: Access All Arenas
Access All Arenas, a vivid and vivacious capture of Justice's 2012 Arena of Nîmes show, proves once and for all that the progression that occurred between Cross and Audio, Video, Disco hadn't changed them as a band. It, in fact, made them better.
Poisonous Relationship: Garden of Problems
This vinyl and digital only “album” feels more like a DJ's tool than a pure record, but it works best when the experimental nature of the music is unfurled and the artist just lets loose.
Cathedral: The Last Spire
Patron saints of doom bid farewell to their stony parishioners with their riff heavy swan song.
Odonis Odonis: Better EP
Odonis Odonis' Better EP is louder, darker, and uglier than its predecessor, the noisy, surf-minded Hollandaze. But the hooks are still there, buried mile-deep in feedback and sludge.
Young Dreams: Between Places
I don't hear Young Dreams in any of these songs, I hear their favorite bands, and I find that kind of frustrating.
Kermit Ruffins - When the Saints Go Marching In (stream) (PopMatters Premiere)
The incomparable New Orleans trumpeter and BBQ master, Kermit Ruffins, returns next week with a brand new album perfectly entitled 'We Partyin' Traditional Style'.
Listen to This Week's New Music Releases Now
This week's new releases available for streaming are highlighted by the National, Beth Hart, Townes Van Zandt and more.
'True Blood: Season Five' Runs a Little Dry
There are moments when we imagine that a character might actually meet the true death, leaving Sookie without a vampire lover to come to her rescue, for once.
'Captain America': It's Not That Bad
This much maligned film captures enough of the spirit of Captain America that Marvel fans will probably want to own this odd piece of ephemera from before the age when Marvel movies became a juggernaut.
'Dark Circles' Presents a Good Argument for Birth Control
When the kitchen sink starts calling you names, it's time to grab the baby and move out.
Looking for the Perfect Moment of Abject Failure: 'Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself'
George Plimpton was a blue-blooded aesthete who chronicled his many failures and never cared about being called a dilettante.
In Defense of... Star Trek
Who will defend the future from J.J. Abrams... and his fans?
Call for Papers: Director Spotlight: Orson Welles
PopMatters is excited to offer a new venue for film scholars, historians, critics, and social theorists of any stripe to reexamine the legacy of one of the American cinema's most iconic but divisive masters, Orson Welles.
'Fear of Food' by Harvey Levenstein
Raised on a lifelong media diet of “good” and “bad” foods, some Americans tend to approach the dinner table in a state of panic.
Jonah Berger's 'Contagious' Shouldn't Cause an Epidepmic
As with many marketing books, Contagious verges on pop psychology.
The Shock of the Old:  Art Historian Alexander Nagel on His New Book, 'Medieval Modern'
New York University art historian Alexander Nagel talks with PopMatters about how art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is tied to modern and contemporary art in more ways than we might think.
Small Black's 'Limits of Desire' + Bottleneck 'I Love You Man' Exhibits
Organized around an art exhibit the band curated, Small Black performed an intimate show to preview their new album Limits of Desire. Around the corner, the Bottleneck Gallery had an opening night reception as well.
In the midst of a craft beer revolution, a number of top-notch events have popped up in the hopes of educating consumers on the many facets of taste. But none have taken it quite as far as the prestigious SAVOR, which takes place in New York City on June 14 and 15.
How Much?: Ten Grand #1
Can we escape our fate? And is doing so only a question of substantiation? The substantiation by means of a certain weight of money, or maybe the transubstantiation of piety in a hyper-noir landscape…
Signs & Wonders: Television Ads As Pop Art
Every once in a great while, an ad will rise above the white noise and actually transcend the fetid swamp of commercial television.
Culture
Have Fun: A Tribute to Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers, and the CHIC Groove of 'diana' (Parts 5-6)
While Broadway gets Motown and Daft Punk gets lucky, more than 25 artists and producers explore why Diana Ross and Nile Rodgers still turn us "inside out". Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the chapters in this story.
The Power of Friendship While Being an Asshole, or the Doormat NPC
Maybe a game doesn’t have to explore every facet of interpersonal relationships but it should not uniformly trust the player’s engagement with the world, and it should certainly hold the player accountable for being an asshole. There should be more to relating to a game’s NPCs than sitting down and nodding.
Recent Articles
Monday, 20 May 2013
Have Fun: A Tribute to Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers, and the CHIC Groove of 'diana' (Parts 1-4)
While Broadway gets Motown and Daft Punk gets lucky, more than 25 artists and producers explore why Diana Ross and Nile Rodgers still turn us "inside out". Stay tuned tomorrow and Wednesday for the rest of the chapters in this story.
Got a Song Request? There's an App for That
In a Kickstarter world where consumers can basically will anything they want into existence, and everything is interactive, it makes sense that we should want to control our concerts, too
Now Hear This!: Emma Louise - 'Vs. Head Vs. Heart' (North American premiere)
PopMatters presents the North American premiere of Vs. Head Vs. Heart, the debut album by fast-rising Australian songwriter Emma Louise.
Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
Daft Punk unleash their inner disco auteurs and release a colossal, self-indulgent mess as their comeback album. And make it work.
Sarah Dash: 12 May 2013 - New York
Few artists can navigate jazz, disco, glam funk, and Broadway with equal aplomb, but Sarah Dash proved to be a remarkable exception at 54 Below.
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monaco is a stylish heist game that’ll make you wonder why there are so few heist games.
'Doc Martin Special Collection: Series 1-5 + The Movies'
Doc Martin's social ineptitude and crankiness could tire easily, but Portwenn and its residents offer a balance that works well.
'It's Only Slow Food Until You Try to Eat It'
A pretty good food book from a guy who doesn't enjoy cooking, will eat almost anything, is cheap, and doesn't much care for food books.
Mikal Cronin: MCII
On MCII, Mikal Cronin isn't so much spearheading the current garage-rock revival, but rather redefining what the genre means altogether.
Put a Brown Wig on Lindsay Lohan and You Don't Get Elizabeth Taylor, You Get: 'Liz & Dick'
There's nothing remotely reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor in Lindsay Lohan, even in full make-up.
Glenn Jones: My Garden State
A guitar and a banjo walk into New Jersey...
Friday, 17 May 2013
Latitudes and Longitudes of Darkness: Four Remarkable 2013 Black Metal Albums
Black metal's compass may be spinning in many different directions in 2013, but at its best, the genre remains neither safe nor accommodating.
Is Corporate Sponsorship Now Long-Form Journalisms Last Hope?
How did Red Bull come to support and invest in long-form journalism at a time when this style of writing seemed as doomed as the typewriter, record stores and other art industry phenoms that have been wiped out by the Internet?
Counterbalance No. 129: 'Saturday Night Fever'
The 129th most acclaimed album of all time comes to you on a summer breeze, keeps you warm in your love, and then softly leaves. Call it the night fever, but the Bee Gees et al are the subject of this week's Counterbalance.
Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins
In a career that took him from the cotton fields of East Texas to the concert stage at Carnegie Hall and beyond, Lightnin’ Hopkins became one of America’s greatest bluesmen.
Drawn Back Into Dreaming: Spotlight on Neil Gaiman's Sandman
Why would Neil Gaiman return to the proverbial scene of the crime, the scene of his greatest, grandest, longest-running comics success, the Sandman? Perhaps the answer lies in the work itself…
'Star Trek Into Darkness' and the Wrath of Fanboys Being Khaned
In this spoiler heavy overview of the new Star Trek film, we discuss how the fanboy nation is gnashing its teeth over what J.J. Abrams and company have wrought.
Papo & Yo
Papo & Yo is an exorcism of sorts, a way for a survivor of childhood abuse to deal with his demons. This is a game as therapy.
'A Delicate Truth', An Ugly Business
The moral outrage felt by the Foreign Service whistleblowers in John le Carré's 23rd novel isn't matched by their corrupted superiors.
Capitalisms Self-Corrections: 'Repo Man'
The Los Angeles imagined by this delightfully dark movie is one where the repo man picks up the Reaganite economy’s table scraps—and in the process self-corrects for capitalism’s shortcomings.
The Breeders: LSXX (Last Splash 20th Anniversary Reissue)
The Breeders' Last Splash turns 20 and gets the deluxe edition treatment. Is it worth it? It comes down to how much of a fan you are.
Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness
Orci, Johnson and Messina get the fan base prepped with plenty of action and enough open questions to drive a starship through them.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
We Aren't the Mods and Other Sorry Tales of a Fashion Slave
I half-believed that if I went mod with enough gusto, a Lambretta would one day parachute itself onto my driveway. That was in 6th grade. I tried it again, as an adult, still hoping for that Lambretta.
On Nightmares Ending and Nightmarish Endings: An Interview with Eluvium
Matthew Cooper of Eluvium talks to PopMatters about the creative process, taking the leap into the world of the double album, and following up the most daring album of his career.
Cold War Kids Are Hard to Kill, a Sonnet
While the Cold War might be over, for the creative teams behind Winter Soldier and Suicide Squad, the Cold War itself becomes a powerful metaphor.
The Secret Meta-story of 'Curiosity'
I don't know what's in the cube, but I do know that what's outside of it offers valuable insight into the current state of video games.
'Star Trek Into Darkness': Dick Cheney's Legacy
Benedict Cumberbatch's John Harrison is at once the most compelling and least predictable figure amid a dauntingly predictable ensemble.
'Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System'
There's a creative tension between wanting to capture a documentary sense of reality and the expressionist visuals used to capture the characters’ psychological reality.
'All That Is' Is Surprising but Inevitable
James Salter has waited several years to publish his most recent novel. The result is unusually intelligent and graceful storytelling.
SFIFF Spotlight: Latin American Cinema
The San Francisco International Film Festival celebrated Latin American cinema this year with a selection of diverse, engaging films. PopMatters takes a look at six of the best selections from the festival this year.
Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Conscious
For Talib Kweli, protest songs, love songs, dance tracks, bragging and boasting and rhyming for rhyming’s sake are all part of the same action, an emotional engagement with the world through music.
Dont Open That Door! #42: 'Devil Girl From Mars' (1954)
Welcome to our weekly field guide to 1950s horror and sci-fi movies and the creatures that inhabit them. This week: a one-woman invasion force strikes Scotland in Devil Girl From Mars.
'Crimewave' Is Just One Example of Sam Raimi's Pulp-Slapstick Sensibility
With its grotesque caricatures, genre-kidding plot turns, and frequent violations of physics, Crimewave is the kind of goof that repulses mainstream audiences and delights movie-crazy geeks.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
The Top Ten Most Exciting British Artists (Playing at the Great Escape)
Ahead of the start of the 'European South by Southwest' this Thursday, PopMatters keeps you ahead of the game with ten British acts to watch in 2013.
In Defense Of... The Greatness of the Gatsby
Kathryn Schulz’s failure to appreciate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterwork, as professed on Vulture.com, is a contemporary case study for how not to assess literature.
David Sanborn May Not Be Cool -- But He's Sure Copied a Lot
David Sanborn may be the most imitated man in instrumental music. His ripe rasp on alto saxophone has been aped a thousand times over. Yet he's gotten little respect in true jazz circles.
A Cleaner, More Hygienic Apocalypse
While one would hope that humanity would aspire to a cleaner, post-apocalyptic condition, for the sake of art I guess I have to settle for dirty toilets and filth encrusted walls.
Further Illuminating the 'Stories We Tell': An Interview with Sarah Polley
From child actress, to award-winning director, Sarah Polley has had one of the most fascinating careers paths in recent history.
It's All Relative: Family Dysfunction in the Post-Modern Movie
The saving grace of many dysfunctional family films is finding the universality in the truly insular.
'Never Forget To Lie': Child Survivors of the Holocaust
Looking back on the lies now, the lies that saved lives, this film presents them in the fragments they must remain, appreciates gaps between them, frames images as they allude to losses.
The Power in Nightmares: Batman: the Dark Knight #19
As an issue that comes just prior to the culmination of the current arc, and on laced with artist Symon Kudranski's beautifully neonoir chiaroscuro, Batman: the Dark Knight #19, "the Pool of Tears," comes with the highest praise…
The 'Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries: Complete Collection' Offers Pleasant Escapism
Wimsey’s world, of posh city clubs and grand country houses, is a pleasant place to escape to for a few hours, without any need to worry too much about whether it bears more than a passing resemblance to any historical reality.
Growing Pains and Gains: Coming of Age ''On Sal Mal Lane'
War is not just fought between armies, as the characters on Sal Mal Lane choose to believe, but it's fought in the home, at school, and at work. In fact, every character here is at war with himself or herself in some way.
Eador: Masters of the Broken World
Eador's design is functional, but flawed, and the troubling subtext can feel alienating. However, there aren’t many games that fill its niche, so it’s worth a look at the very least.
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