Features
Monday, May 14 2012
Watch It for the Clothes: The Class and Gender Warfare of 'Gossip Girl'
The past few seasons of Gossip Girl have sent a consistent message to the series' largely female audience: women who attempt to climb the social ladder won't get a happy ending. Even ladies born wearing Prada diapers can expect their share of misery.
Thursday, September 29 2011
Id N’ Ego Killed the Pop Metal Star... and the Alternative Rocker, Too
Grunge didn't kill pop metal, it merely succeeded it as the genre of choice as part of a logical progression. To understand the emergence of alt-rock, we need to examine why the tide turned against a wave of music that had once been so popular.
Friday, June 10 2011
DC Reboot Gives Comics a 'Logan's Run' For Their Money
DC Comics risks everything to re-boot its 52 major titles later this summer. Will this reimagined world bring in younger readers or spell "Last Day" for the comics giant?
Monday, November 9 2009
The Magical Mystery Four: The Beatles As a Successful System of Archetypes
The Beatles were the first band comprised of four distinct personas. This aspect would take them on a long and winding road that would eventually splinter them in four separate directions. The very thing that made them so special was what ultimately deigned their end.
Wednesday, June 3 2009
The Importance of Being Morris: Fop vs. Fop and Duality in Purple Rain
In both Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge, "The Kid" is pitted against Morris Day in a battle for artistic and commercial supremacy in the Minneapolis club scene. Lana Cooper digs deeper than that, though, showing that the characters are not too dissimilar, examining the psychological implications of both leads actions in these films, rife with business-minded headgames and personal attacks through pop music.
Reviews
Thursday, November 11 2010
Emil & Friends: Downed Economy
Emil & Friends shows a love of MGMT-esque synthpop that weaves humor into an eclectic blend of funk, disco, and folk and leaves you wanting more.
Friday, September 24 2010
Goo Goo Dolls: Something For the Rest of Us
Inspired by the recession, the Goo Goo Dolls craft an emotional, near-perfect album that gives a voice and a window into the individual struggles of the large number of "the rest of us" out there.
Wednesday, September 8 2010
Scary Mansion: Make Me Cry
Scary Mansion's latest features beautiful vocals and lush instrumentation but leaves much to be desired lyrically.
Thursday, September 2 2010
Papa Roach: Time for Annihilation…On the Record and on the Road
On their first live album, Papa Roach sticks it to their former label and nearly captures the full-blown intensity of their live show with an added bonus of five new studio tracks.
Monday, August 16 2010
The Dollyrots: A Little Messed Up
The group's third album paints the Dollyrots in the light of punk Pollyannas, delivering a message of staying true, all while plying fizzy pop-punk with an original and distinctive sound.
Blogs
Tuesday, August 21 2012
Phyllis Diller: The Last of the Not-Hot Mamas
Phyllis Diller was among the last of a dying breed of comics who recognized comedy as the domain of the outcast.
Tuesday, January 10 2012
Beavis & Butt-head Revisited
Beavis & Butt-head are back and have aged rather well. These two idiots have conditioned viewers rather well since their '90s heyday, having made a lasting impact on how we watch TV.
Thursday, September 2 2010
Cee Lo Green Has Some Choice Words for His Ex (video)
Sure it's gone viral, but not everyone has had the opportunity to hear Cee Lo Green croon his expletive ode to an ex-girlfriend and her current paramour just yet.
Thursday, July 22 2010
Death Was Televised in 'Deadliest Catch'. So Was Life
Deadliest Catch handles the death of Captain Phil Harris in a moving, dignified manner. While reality television is typically founded on exploitation, the Discovery series proves there is hope for the genre to be something better.
