With Clear Channel recently purchasing Boston's WFNX, almost certainly with the intention of changing its format, we look at how important it is for alternative radio to exist -- and evolve. [24.May.12]
With the re-issue of all seven of Stanley Clarke’s solo discs in a career-spanning box set, we talk to the legendary bass player about his career, writing classics like "Lopsy Lu" and "School Days", the ideal balance of heart and virtuosity and the value of live performance, warts and all. [24.May.12]
By Julian Chambliss
The Avengers highlights a persistent anxiety about equality in the U.S. experience. [24.May.12]
By Jorge Albor
The damage dealers may get the accolades, but the true unsung heroes of class-based games are the support champions and their designers. [24.May.12]
By Bill Gibron
Individually, they've each amassed a musical legacy worthy of several daily spins. Yet according to radio, these terrific musicians are only worth one -- or on the outside chance, two -- songs each. As a result, they've become pigeonholed, and these 10 tracks have become (almost) insufferable. [23.May.12]
Today's Articles
24.May.12
Killer Mike and El-P revive the spirit of early '90s Bomb Squad productions from Ice Cube and Public Enemy as faithfully and forward-thinkingly as possible.
Instead of spending so much time pulling things together, Stephens and company would have done well to break a few things down.
A theme of deliberate confusion runs throughout Aufheben's 11 songs. Hell, even dubbing them “songs” is a bit of misnomer, as structure is largely forsaken for instrumental pastiches and all-enveloping grooves.
Thorn should know a good song when he hears it. His own works are filled with saints, sinners and the strange whose lives cannot be viewed through the prism of the sacred or the profane. The same is true of the people he sings about on the new cover record.
Other than a crackling record on a turntable, there is perhaps nothing more satisfying to a jazz aficionado than the release of never-before-heard material from a great player.
On their eighth album, Soulfly strikes back at critics, proving why change is both overrated and unnecessary for them.
With Clear Channel recently purchasing Boston's WFNX, almost certainly with the intention of changing its format, we look at how important it is for alternative radio to exist -- and evolve.
With the re-issue of all seven of Stanley Clarke’s solo discs in a career-spanning box set, we talk to the legendary bass player about his career, writing classics like "Lopsy Lu" and "School Days", the ideal balance of heart and virtuosity and the value of live performance, warts and all.
Season Five’s American Idol saw a record number of Billboard chart appearances, with 18 contestants from the show eventually receiving some sort of record contract. What are those contestants up to, now?
Upon the release of Hell in a Handbasket, the classic rock icon opens up about fame, faith, and his fears about the world.
Cannes rolls along with Andrew Dominik’s anticipated return, Killing Them Softly, and Holy Motors, the first film from Leo Carax in 13 years.
Personable, funny, as good a singer as he is a rapper, Childish Gambino is likely here to stay, and probably only get bigger.
Sony's Bloggie Sport camera may not register as a must have gadget unless you want a rugged unit that can survive a fall and can go underwater.
The cage of fame that powers social media, was most arrestingly described by Lester Bangs in his obit for John Lennon. It's hard not to see it play out again here, with Mark Millar…
These films are the spiritual successors to Batman: The Animate Series.
The Avengers highlights a persistent anxiety about equality in the U.S. experience.
If you had no idea that Russian mystic / charlatan / healer / pretender Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, aka the Mad Monk, had a wife and two daughters, you are not alone.
Weaving together events that range from international politics to the socio-cultural development of poor American families, Lawrence Powell’s comprehensive glimpse of New Orleans' past is particularly important today.
Over time, Clueless has only gained a sweetness that perfectly goes hand-in-hand with Heckerling’s quick witted and, at times, biting dialogue to elevate the film above a the glut of teen comedies available.
The damage dealers may get the accolades, but the true unsung heroes of class-based games are the support champions and their designers.
Code 33 follows this changing dynamic among police, press, and politicians, as detectives voice their simultaneous dedication to the job and their concerns with the process.
Recent Articles
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
They’re four girls whose debut single, released on a good old fashioned independent label, was also the first song they ever wrote at just aged 13. They sound like little else right now -- except the swell of Generation LOL rising up to take on the charts. They’re Poppy & the Jezebels and they’re from Birmingham.
The story of my road trip to DC Entertainment, my first look at the new New 52 and an exclusive with Before Watchmen group Editor, Will Dennis.
Gone With The Wind is one of the most popular books ever published. More than 75 years after its publication, neither it nor its author are above controversy.
The comics medium has long been as broad as fiction, a mode of expression which reflects the deepest parts of an artist’s self to a corporation cashing in on a trend.
Garbage's first new record in seven years is precisely what you would expect from a band who peaked in the late '90s.
Xiu Xiu remains one of the most compelling live bands of its time.
A decorated veteran, a stuntman, a monk, a restaurant owner, a spiritual leader, and a frontman. Father Yod was all these things and more, becoming a LA cult figure until his death in 1975. Drag City releases some of Father Yod & the Source Family's most sought-after material.
Want to know the early history of the Grateful Dead? You may have to look no further than this review.
Rain Dragon strikes me as true lad lit: It’s the story of a relationship in crisis, told from the point of a view of a guy who doesn’t think like a girl. At all.
It’s a shambling, half-tossed study of an artist who epitomised the shambling, half-tossed record, executed by a musician who has made his career out of shambling, half-tossed performances. Brilliant.
A Victim of Stars is a fine testament to Sylvian’s artistry, but by all means new listeners shouldn’t stop there.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
What happens when the world of rock music collides with the world of the fine arts?
Critical discourse on Charles Dickens – especially late Dickens, most especially of all Bleak House – has gotten out of hand, and finds itself concentrating on virtues that Dickens doesn’t actually possess in a bid to shoehorn him into our notion of what a great writer is and what his writing does.
It's rare when a critic can go back and reevaluate their previous passions. Here are 10 examples of highly praised films that demand a personal reevaluation.
These Swedish sisters are barely in their 20s, but now with their second album acknowledging country's storied past, they get big help from the likes of Mike Mogis, the Felice Brothers, and Conor Oberst. The ladies sit down with PopMatters to tell us all about their wonderful journey ...
Irene Adler aptly deduces that “Brainy is the new sexy.” Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes and the second season of Sherlock are just that--as well as increasingly popular around the world.
Film Noir: The Directors offers two great pleasures: the chance to discover new films and directors, and the chance to see films you already know, but through new eyes.
The veteran English rockers hope the third comeback album will be the charm.
I wasn't ready for Martin Amis' memoir Experience at the time it was first released. I needed to wait. Just as this Shadow is the Garth Ennis' we've been waiting for, perhaps without realizing it…
This phrase, "a long hard row," sums up the story of Lolo Jones according to Lolo, ESPN's documentary, premiering this week.
Day five witnesses a trio of films from some of the artform's leading lights: Michael Haneke returns with Amour, Hong Sang-soo competes with In Another Country, and the incomparable Abbas Kiarostami produces a new masterwork.
Beth Murphy's documentary The List reminds us that true Americans come from all corners of the world -- including Iraq.
Monday, 21 May 2012
BBC's Sherlock has crossed the pond for the second time to find a lively, if not exactly raging, fanbase waiting. Why is it now that the idea of a reinventing Sherlock Holmes is suddenly so alluring?
Plot just provides us with a win condition, it is not necessary for the act of play. I can enjoy a game without plot, but I can’t enjoy a game without world building because that is a game without rules.
Video games allow us to take on roles of people that we could never be. What happens when those people are people we would never want to be?
Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble vs. Apple. The E-Reader Wars are heating up.
They have the biggest song of the year thus far, were in a Super Bowl commercial, and were even covered by Glee. Yet what you don't know about fun. is that what'll surprise you the most, as this is not the first rodeo these guys have been on ...
When we do finally reach the CGI-infused Last Stand in the breathtaking third act, we are cheering for those heroes in ways that we never quite have before.
That image of the Japanese-tsunami Harley washed ashore in Canada, is irresistible. And as with Winter Soldier #5, it too points to the art of the endless epilogue.
A revised edition of Randall's history of Radiohead provides an excellent summary of the band's genesis in Oxford, but provides diminishing returns when it comes to examining the quintet's most recent releases.
This is a powerfully intimate portrait of a private man who led a very public life.
Gossip could make excellent music in a number of genres, but they haven't done so here.
Cannes offers up Pablo Larrain’s No, the rising Chilean director’s latest and most direct indictment of the Augusto Pinochet reign yet and Miguel Gomes’ Tabu, which is something of a new cinematic landmark.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Welcome to the first edition of Flash Points -- a new weekly feature that provides a critical overview of cultural trends and developments. This week: the controversial Time cover, the gay marriage debate and the annual CLIOs.
Britain’s pop culture knight, Christopher Frayling, offers the definitive biography and interpretation of the Spaghetti Western maestro, Sergio Leone.
Wynonna, Ziggy Marley, Liza Minnelli, and more than 20 other artists, songwriters, and producers explain who they "love to love" as PopMatters studies the remarkable four-decade career of Donna Summer.
Moss Icon and Jason Farrell still sizzle in the present tense, despite years of obscurity.
Did U2’s 1991 blockbuster disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? Either way, it’s still the 82nd Most Acclaimed Album of All Time. Counterbalance has a listen.
Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to the farthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancient past to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?"
In our soon-to-be-published exclusive with Rob Salkowitz on his groundbreaking Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture, Rob talks about the joys, and also the fears of the writing process…
Cannes coverage continues with reviews of Jacques Audiard hotly tipped Rust & Bone, a short film from Thailand’s sensational Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and the latest from severe Austrian auteur Ulrich Seidel.
Battleship has plenty of trailer moments, 15-second expensive-looking money shots of stuff blowing up in all sizes and shapes.
The character of Alan Wake has evolved in appropriate ways over the series, but what’s more interesting is how the mechanics have evolved with him.
This is a scattershot documentary about live music in Austin, Texas, that features a lot of great material with local musicians, but bails out on its intriguing noise vs. neighbors premise early in the film.
Mixed Media
Catching Up with Former American Idols: Season Five [Thu, 11:00 am]
Laid Back - "Cocaine Cool Extended" MP3 (PopMatters Premiere) [Wed, 12:45 pm]
Lindsay Fuller - "Libby" (Video) (PopMatters Premiere) [Tue, 12:20 pm]
Mick Jagger Performs on 'Saturday Night Live' [Mon, 10:15 am]
NYC Popfest Is Here! [Fri, 10:00 am]
Sam Sparro - "I Wish I Never Met You" (video) [Thu, 11:00 am]
Spiritualized's May DC Concert Captured on Film by NPR [Thu, 7:45 am]
Ken Burns’ ‘The Dust Bowl’ Highlights PBS Fall Lineup [Wed, 10:35 am]
Poppy & The Jezebels - "Sign In, Dream On, Drop Out" (video) [Tue, 2:00 pm]
Baroness to Release New Album 'Yellow and Green' in July [Tue, 1:00 pm]
This Day in Pop: 1958 - Lerner and Loewe's 'Gigi' Opens [Tue, 10:00 am]
Gold Panda Release New Single "Mountain" Today [Tue, 8:00 am]
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Revive American Folk Classics [Mon, 10:00 am]
Animal Collective Releasing 'CENTIPEDE Hz' in Late Summer [Mon, 8:26 am]
PopMatters Highlights
Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ to get 25th anniversary reissue (PopWire) [Thu, 1:35 pm]
All in all, it’s more bricks in ‘The Wall’ (PopWire) [Thu, 12:35 pm]
Road Testing Sony's Bloggie Sport Camera (Notes from the Road) [Thu, 12:00 pm]
The Beach Boys at 50: Reaching their fans through QVC (PopWire) [Thu, 11:35 am]
Catching Up with Former American Idols: Season Five (Mixed Media) [Thu, 11:00 am]
New generation of location apps look to overcome ‘creepy’ label (PopWire) [Thu, 10:35 am]
Bat Out of Hell, Hell in a Handbasket: An Interview with Meat Loaf (Sound Affects) [Thu, 10:30 am]
Cannes 2012: Tom Hardy’s sliding into stardom with ‘Lawless’ (PopWire) [Thu, 9:35 am]
Cannes 2012: Day 7 - 'Killing Them Softly' + 'Holy Motors' (Notes from the Road) [Thu, 9:00 am]
Library of Congress names new entries for National Recording Registry (PopWire) [Thu, 8:35 am]
Pearl Jam, Skrillex, Santigold to headline Jay-Z’s Made in America fest in Philadelphia (PopWire) [Thu, 8:04 am]
Post-Classical 'Transcendentalism EP' available for Streaming (Mixed Media) [Thu, 8:00 am]
It’s been an epic ride to the screen for ‘On the Road’ director Walter Salles (PopWire) [Thu, 7:46 am]
In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels) [Thu, 7:00 am]
'Code 33' Screens As Part of Rumur Film Retrospective (Reviews) [Thu, 6:45 am]
The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
Beach House: Bloom (Reviews)
Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
20 Questions: Kate Bornstein (Features)
Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
'Dark Shadows' Resurrects Alice Cooper (Reviews)
Stand-Up! America’s Dissenting Tradition Part 2: Transformers George Carlin & Richard Pryor (Columns)
Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
This Is All There Is: The Boredom of Lessened Expectations (Short Ends and Leader)
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