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Terry SawyerFeatures
Dead Grammy WalkingThe Grammys are a tradition whose bottom has fallen out, a relic still standing only because people are too bored to say otherwise. [12 February 2008] MTV Killed the Video Star: The MTV Video Music AwardsThe overall effect from watching this year's MTV VMAs was club drug vertigo -- but with none of the fun of the club or the drugs. [12 September 2007] Karen Dalton: In My Own TimeJust as the ambiguous details surrounding Nick Drake's death led people to exhaustively make his sorrow sacred, Karen Dalton was soul country's undiscovered Ophelia. [25 July 2007] Don’t Mess With Texas: The Lone Star State Loses Its Greatest SpitfireMolly Ivins was one of the world's most gifted bar stool philosophers, someone who effortlessly segued into the world of ideas from the sure-footed ground of details. [4 February 2007] Pageant Soldiers: The Oscar’s Pathetic Skirmish in the Culture WarsThe Oscars are not terribly important nor terribly influential on the cultural matters such as racism and homophobia that it addressed in this year's films. [7 March 2006] Beam Me Up, NAMBLA: The Tenuous Star Trek—Molester ConnectionWhy have all but one of the sex offenders investigated by the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit turned out to be 'hard-core Trekkies'? [14 September 2005] Bright Lights, Big Ass Bore: The 47th Annual Grammy AwardsThe guitarist from Franz Ferdinand tried to segue into 'Take Me Out' with Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas air-freaking him while dressed like a Wall Street Broker after your Lucky Charms. [15 February 2005] The Year In U.S. Politics: New Lows and Scattered Saving GracesOoooh to writh under the blinding glare of his piercing eye, to bear the stinging lash of his sassy tongue. It smarts to be pinned down so and held in the vise-like critique of Terry Sawyer, but 2004 revealed so many deserving people... Ah, but the sparks that fly from this year in review also light up the darkness, giving us glimmers of hope. Not all is lost. Read on. [30 December 2004] The Gremlin Assist: On the Last of the 2004 US Presidential DebatesThe Presidential debates are no supposed to be like the Special Olympics; everyone is not a winner for simply trying. [30 October 2004] Kerry Cakewalk: The Second of the 2004 US Presidential DebatesIt's stunning to see the President think that's he's handily dealt with his opponent's charges when he's in fact just lit another one of his hallmark stupidity flares. [11 October 2004] Gargoyle Eats Choir Boy: The 2004 US Vice-Presidential DebateCheney may have won if the discussion is dispassionately viewed as a series of chess moves, but the fact remains that he frightens the horses and bores most folks with the scowling, ancient grind of his voice. [6 October 2004] Road Kill: The First of the 2004 US Presidential DebatesBush and his handlers want the election to be a referendum on the war on terror as some kind of skeet shooting, coon skinnin', bare knuckle boxing triathlon. [1 October 2004] Republican Convention: Day FourBush's speech was designed to soft-pedal his ideological psychosis, recycle 'compassionate conservatism,' and excoriate what was his speechwriter's best turn, 'the soft bigotry of low expectations.' [8 September 2004] Republican Convention: Day ThreeZell Miller delivered this blustery bullshit with maximum venom, his mouth drawn tighter than a Crown Royal whiskey sack. Republican Convention: Day TwoTuesday's show felt like one long lull, a string of clichés tepidly delivered. I kept chugging Starbuck's espresso-and-cream cans, wishing Jerry Falwell would come on to talk about how God hates fags and the ACLU. [1 September 2004] Republican Convention: Day OneThe greatest feat of the Republican National Convention is to hide the GOP's true beliefs. It's a sign of great discipline that the party machinery would line up its most maligned moderates to speak during primetime, while shuffling the ghastly religious right off to the cold cut line, keeping its theocratic designs tucked under the Wonder Bread. [31 August 2004] Bottom FeedImagining The Jerry Springer Show as the radical vanguard is unspeakably ludicrous. What politics does it address or challenge? [4 August 2003] Rebel Yawn'American Life' maligns our generally antiseptic representations of the people we kill. You'd have had to log on to a Middle Eastern news network if you wanted to acquaint yourself with the unseemly fact that people die when bombs go off or that 'surgical' is an accurate description of bombing only if the surgery in question was performed in the Middle Ages. [29 May 2003] Columns
Meta-Bullshit: The Trouble with Sarah Silverman and the Fawning Cult of Meta-BigotryIn the guise of smarts, there's woeful lack of intellect. Silverman tears-up the historical significance of the words she uses only to quilt them back together in meticulously parsed clashes of shock. [20 January 2006] (more Mind Over Matters) Fighting ChanceAfter the 2004 US Presidential election, part of me still waited for the Diebold voting scandals to unfold, irrationally hoping that Bush's victory was simply a dirty backroom handshake hammered out during an Illuminati luncheon at Cracker Barrel. [12 January 2005] (more Mind Over Matters) Smear the QueerWe were too frightened by the possibility of Bush's reelection to recognize that Kerry frets his way around the language of values, handling it in his speeches the way macho men hold their wives' purses for them. [10 November 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) Derailing the Peace TrainIf the former Cat Stevens were barred entry to the US due to his bad music, one might not feel compelled to defend him. As it is, we've got a problem, here. [6 October 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) The Rape of Logic: Conservatives and Abu GhraibConservatives have tried at every turn to whore out the country's existential fears since 9-11. Abu Ghraib is no exception. Maybe I should be more understanding of the environmental factors that have caused the Right to abandon their rhetoric of individual responsibility. [9 June 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) Kill Your Television Before It Kills YouJust one of many grotesqueries on reality TV: plastic surgery used to be something dirty and hidden, a product of cancerous vanity akin to pedophilia in its sick unnaturalness... Why hasn't the American Medical Association condemned the dark arts of its most bottom-feeding specialty, plastic surgery? [5 May 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes OffThe abstinence education movement, by and large, fails to save young people from the perils of sex, but it may be more successful in 'saving' them in a different way, writes Sawyer, 'A cursory glance at some of the people who receive some of that $270 million that the President has set aside for abstinence education lends further credence to the notion that abstinence education is just one of many methods fundamentalist Christians have for getting God in through the doggie door when straight-up knocking won't work.' [7 April 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) Queering the MicA hardcore advocate of free speech, Sawyer gives a close listen to hip-hop's homophobic spittin'. [1 March 2004] (more Mind Over Matters) Reviews
Hanne Hukkelberg: Rykestrasse 68Rykestrasse 68 is not the record you put on when you're trying to multi-task your way onto the next thing on your list. It rewards stillness, listening, and deciphering. [7 March 2008] 
Plasmatics: Wendy O. Williams and The Plasmatics: The DVD - Ten Years of Revolutionary Rock and RollA band so bold and extraordinary in its thinking and live intensity deserves a more driven and inquisitive introduction. [30 May 2007] The 2007 Grammy AwardsAwards shows like The Grammys are built around a torturous rhythm much like a faucet dripping in the middle of the night. [13 February 2007] 
Wanda Sykes - Sick and Tired (2006)Sick & Tired serves laughter like Sykes prefers her drinking: straight no chaser kissing the rim of a bottomless glass. [30 January 2007] LadytronAnyone looking for a shimmy between fixes? [30 October 2006] 
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, PhDIt is so tastefully informative, well-written, and kindly, that you feel like you're having a cup of tea with a brilliant friend who studies the varieties of sociopathy the way one might memorize every breed of rose. [6 July 2006] Sigur Ros + AminaAlways the asshole, never the acolyte... [10 March 2006] 
Willie Hightower: Willie HightowerHightower's story seems to be one of 'wrong song, wrong time' as his brand of gospel-infused soul, despite a few charting singles, gave way to other '70s styles, creating the misfortune of premature commercial obsolescence. [9 December 2005] Jamie LidellLidell is balls out brilliant, a mad hatter collision of soulful creativity. And, he's just as good doing a capella... [27 October 2005] 
Three WishesGod and Amy Grant, in all their just bounty, have the right to say no to your wishes. Before then, at least you can audition your agony in front of the American public. [6 October 2005] 
Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin - The Untold StoryStewie's time-continuum meddling focuses on insuring that he ends up with a non-retail job and a more tastefully decorated apartment. This is not 12 Monkeys. [30 September 2005] 
Star Struck by Pamela AndersonThere's something subtly depressive about the laundry list way that Anderson catalogs Star's life as if afflicted with something like the tit job version of ennui. 
The Ghost WhispererMelinda's acquaintances get their dead-o-grams and move on, serene again even though we know their pain can never fully heal. [29 September 2005] Sharon Jones and the Dap-KingsJones doesn't just perform; she becomes a center of seductive gravity. She commands every inch of the room in ways that make you want to give yourself entirely to fits of raw spirit. [26 September 2005] 
My Name Is EarlWhat's so wonderful about My Name Is Earl is that it's a comedy with its heart in the right place and everything else gleefully in the gutter. [20 September 2005] 
Elkland: GoldenIf Elkland have any saavy at all, they'll return to the studio to re-tool, and comb the chicken bone predictions of tastemakers to find a newly budding style. [19 September 2005] 
Hidden Howie: The Public Life of a Private NuisanceHidden Howie lifts so many premises from other shows, it's difficult to find in it the slightest crumb of originality. [17 August 2005] Dressy Bessy + The Jessica FletchersIt's wonderful to abandon all critical pretenses and to just go dementedly native and these guys are eye candy with enough skill to tear shit up. Adore them with me, please. [21 July 2005] 
Hit Me Baby One More TimeNBC's has-been-celebrity version of American Idol brings to television live music that you'd otherwise have to go to car shows to hear. [28 June 2005] 
Pine*am: Pull the Rabbit EarsJ-Pop yawningly steamed over with vapid electronic textures. [24 June 2005] 
I Want to Be a HiltonIt's nearly impossible to describe the many offenses efficiently compacted within the excruciating hour that is I Want to Be a Hilton. [20 June 2005] 
Tiger Saw: Gimme Danger/Gimme SweetnessThis is an album built for below zero evenings that start at 5pm, nights better spent waiting to tip into dreams from under a pile of quilts. [2 February 2005] 
Horns and Halos (2002)The real thrill of Horns and Halos is watching an upstart DIY publisher make a noticeable dent by championing what everyone else might see as a lost cause. [6 December 2004] 
Miss Kittin: I ComGone are the allusions to coke-filled after parties and velvet ropes opening like eager draw bridges. Apparently life as Miss Kitten has been rougher than I might have imagined. 
Trailer Park BoysA clever dig at the unreality of reality shows, Trailer Park Boys makes the point that the camera alters the world it's observing. [22 November 2004] 
Talib Kweli: The Beautiful StruggleTalib Kweli is clearly struggling between the underground's 'values-based' approach and the mainstream's love of the crook and the hook, trying to find a third way that negates the either/or tug-of-war between 'consciousness raising' and big pimpin'. [16 November 2004] 
Harsh RealmHarsh Realm lacks sci-fi gadgetry, set in shantytowns where people have handguns and old hoopty cars that look like prime candidates for Pimp My Ride. [1 November 2004] 
Deadline (2004)Watching the families of both the victims and the prisoners grapple with the enormity of their losses can be torturous. [27 October 2004] 
Wanda Does ItWanda Does It tries to have it both ways, or several ways. It's difficult to tell exactly what is and isn't the 'reality' portion. [11 October 2004] 
Blue Collar TVWhen I watched Blue Collar TV, I couldn't help but think of how homogenized images of 'working class' folks have become. [27 September 2004] 
Outfoxed (2004)Outfoxed makes the case that Fox News is the video component of the Republican National Committee. [23 September 2004] 
South Park: The Passion of The JewParker and Stone's project is sometimes hobbled by their apparent belief that anything offensive is inherently purgative. [15 September 2004] 
Six Feet UnderSix Feet Under has become crass, each episode an empathy decathlon topped off with ghoulishly deferred catharsis. [24 August 2004] 
How’s Your News? (1999)It's impossible not to do a little genuine soul-searching while watching, How's Your News? because it reframes disability in terms that aren't super-heroic, but ordinarily virtuous. [26 July 2004] 
Kingdom HospitalWhat haunts Kingdom Hospital most is the recurrent intrusion of clumsy, forced humor. [22 March 2004] 
Good Day LiveWithout irony, Jillian Barberie's website bio notes, 'She has changed the dress standards for television news.' 
Mice Parade: obrigado saudadeAmbient music and easy listening can exist dangerously close to one another’s borders. [15 January 2004]
The Simple LifeNicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton have no discernible talents (I haven't seen the video) and personalities as pleasant as a bout of dry heaving. [8 December 2003] 
Amateur (1994)Its strengths lie not in this improbable plot, but in Hartley's challenges to conventions. [1 December 2003] 
Miss MatchKate (Alicia Silverstone) is adorable in that way that makes you want to comb the manes of a full set of plastic toy ponies. [29 September 2003] 
Israel - A Nation is Born (2003)Most invested in showing how Israelis have struggled to create, protect, and sustain their nation. [25 August 2003] 
Queer Eye for the Straight GuyQueer Eye is the single most shameless corporate tramp on television. [22 July 2003] 
Love Liza (2002)Phillip Seymour Hoffman defies the shallow gravity of Hollywood logic. [30 June 2003] 
Da Ali G ShowAli G misses that Americans prefer their humor compartmentalized, prefer the joke to have a beginning and end. [3 June 2003] 
Real Time with Bill MaherA provocative, dead-on, and hilarious political roundtable. [21 April 2003] 
Wanda at LargeWanda Sykes' new show provides a perfect stage for her one-lining sass. [31 March 2003] 
Stars of the Lid: Avec LaudenumSo if you’re in the market for a feather’s drop into wombed-out bliss, this is perfect winter soundtrack for your drifting disembodiment. [12 December 2002]BlogsNotes from the Road: Film: Four Boxes [21 March 2009]Notes from the Road: Film: Still BillNotes from the Road: Film: Crude Independence [18 March 2009]Notes from the Road: Film 2009: Make-Out With ViolenceNotes from the Road: SXSW Film 2009: Say My Name [17 March 2009]Notes from the Road: SXSW Film 2009: Sissyboy [16 March 2009]Sound Affects: Video and Song of the Year [7 November 2008]Sound Affects: Pulp Diction [13 October 2008]Sound Affects: Arctic R&B [15 August 2008]Sound Affects: Good Bad, and Probably Evil [25 July 2008]Sound Affects: The Cynic’s Summer Single [22 July 2008]Sound Affects: Perez Hilton, The Answer With No Question [28 June 2008]Sound Affects: I Could Have Your Guts for Garters [25 June 2008]Sound Affects: Cheap and Cheerless [18 June 2008]Sound Affects: Elvis Was The Male Wanda Jackson [11 June 2008]Sound Affects: It’s My Video, It’s My Fantasy [10 June 2008]Sound Affects: Anti-Intellectualism and Music Criticism [9 June 2008]Sound Affects: Youth Without Youth [5 June 2008]Sound Affects: Float Like a Schizo, Sting Like the Elderly [4 June 2008]Sound Affects: Big Baby Jesus Getting Food Stamps [30 May 2008]Sound Affects: Trapped in a Courtroom with R. Kelly [28 May 2008]Sound Affects: The Decemberists Win by a Landslide [27 May 2008]Sound Affects: You Ain’t Got No LoverSound Affects: Do Your Homework [23 May 2008]Sound Affects: Sleepwalking to Sunset [21 May 2008]Sound Affects: Urinal Disco [16 May 2008]Sound Affects: Are We Post-Queer Yet? [2 May 2008]Sound Affects: Wristslitters of the World, Unite and Take Over [28 April 2008]Sound Affects: Goodbye Magazines, Goodbye Critics [25 April 2008]Sound Affects: Stamping the Night With Vigor [22 April 2008]Sound Affects: Erykah Badu Riffs On Women and Music [21 April 2008]Sound Affects: Move Over Winehouse, Now There’s Someone Sober [18 April 2008]Sound Affects: Klosterman Tackles Downloading B.S. [16 April 2008]Sound Affects: Ego, Tripping [9 April 2008]Sound Affects: Apocalypse Meow [7 April 2008]Sound Affects: Great Single - Proof That Poultry Doesn’t Make a NameSound Affects: The Artist as Buddhist Warrior [1 April 2008]Sound Affects: What’s the Point of the Pop Hit Covered as a Ballad [31 March 2008] |
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