[9.Nov.09] :. If this smart, long-winded documentary proves anything, it’s that there are a lot of scars left from those bruising early days of the Chicago scene, and few are ready to stop scratching at them.
[9.Nov.09] :. Meeting the Beatles for the first time, what did we hear? Did we know? Could we have ever known? Today, we will look at the first three shots from the Fab Four, from 1963-1964. To Re-meet the Beatles, start here.
[9.Nov.09] :. 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.
[9.Nov.09] :. Because the more thoughtful songs outnumber the straight-forward rockers, and the harder songs are camped up, the album works as a whole.
[9.Nov.09] :. More than the backdrop to fiction, this seems a very individual soundtrack to lives lived with questions and conflicts: human beings as living musicals.
[9.Nov.09] :. There's something to be said for the power of their dreamy mood, but for all the searching On Fillmore does here, when they return to the light, it turns out the dark didn't hide as many treasures as they'd hoped.
[9.Nov.09] :. A theme like the one Zacks has chosen gives crate-digging an exceptional purpose, putting a non-Cuban audience in touch with music that might otherwise be lost to them, giving a shape to an idea that might otherwise sound like a non-sequitur.
[9.Nov.09] :. For all its misfires and blemishes, Anjulie is by no means a bad album. It's just that the limitations of Anjulie's vocal range wear you out early on.
[9.Nov.09] :. The overarching theme among these stories is an often unacknowledged tension between affluent postwar consumer culture and a more austere mode of living.
[9.Nov.09] :. Ayan Rand set out to remake reality as if it were an ill-fitting dress: by sheer will, she tried to fashion a Balenciaga gown from a housedress.
[9.Nov.09] :. The attention to detail and sheer amount of time devoted to building a piano is extraordinary, and Niles makes a compelling case for Steinway’s approach.
[9.Nov.09] :. Miller is a constant ball of effusive energy, bobbing up and down and flashing that shy, embracing smile. It’s clear that this band loves to entertain.
[6.Nov.09] :. Endgame crafts a crackling thriller out of the tangle of crafty maneuvering and happenstance that put a stop to South Africa's apartheid.
[6.Nov.09] :. The combination of animation (where the laws of physics are conveniently suspended) and 3D technology is a powerful temptation, and here we see many of the ways in which those toys can be misued.
[6.Nov.09] :. The Next Iron Chef is not a show about cooking. It is a show about people freaking out; cooking just happens to be what they’re doing while they’re freaking out.
[6.Nov.09] :. Max Bemis and co. have returned with one of the most self-referential albums to ever grace the emo-rock canon, and lo' and behold, it's one of Bemis' best.
[6.Nov.09] :. This is a compilation for that large demographic that yearns for narratives about a large, talking milk shake ordering a wife from Chechnya, or the micronauts going on a breast-climbing expedition. You know who you are.
[6.Nov.09] :. The duo from Once return with a fine new album. It's mostly about how their real-life relationship fell apart, but with strong songwriting and gorgeous singing.
[6.Nov.09] :. Synth pop, effects-heavy rock, and dreamlike euphoria are the driving forces behind Neon Indian’s pleasurable and bright look at pop psychedelia.
[6.Nov.09] :. With generous remastering by Reel Music, the luster of Share My Love is ever-glistening. A rare gem from the Motown catalog finally gets its due.
[6.Nov.09] :. These five films from the golden-era of the legendary Nikkatsu studio shows off the never-ending ways Japanese filmmakers were able to combine the best elements of pulp and epic Japanese storytelling.
[6.Nov.09] :. it's safe to say that John Hughes has a secure legacy in Hollywood laughfests. No matter the age bracket, this film stands as one of his very best.
[6.Nov.09] :. Tanenhaus elegantly argues that the American conservatism might be at low ebb, but that should not be expected to last. Nor should liberals (as prone to premature gloating as their rivals) even want it to happen.
[6.Nov.09] :. Brütal Legend might actually be the best use of Jack Black yet, affording him a starring role that caters to his comedic roots and sensibilities while allowing everything around him to be more over the top than he is.
[5.Nov.09] :. Those who suffer from epilepsy, their families and friends, can only throw light at this neuro-spectre, as Fiennes does, showing us Richard in all his damaged Richardness, a man who truly haunted a castle.
[5.Nov.09] :. It's all but impossible to represent randomness. And yet this is the task taken up by Act of God, Jennifer Baichwal's documentary on lightning.
[5.Nov.09] :. Marvel's recent republication of The Clone Saga lights a way in this economic downturn: that old gems can be mined once more. Why not republish the hidden treasure that was Slingers?
[5.Nov.09] :. Sabatini’s book exudes an authenticity and warmth that can’t come from an author’s imagination alone, but from a lifetime of listening and observing.
[5.Nov.09] :. Neil Patrick Harris is riding high these days. But in years past, if the average person sitting in his or her Barcalounger knew a TV star was gay, it would have been disastrous for both series and star.
[5.Nov.09] :. Starting with Nevermind, Kurt Cobain intentionally simplified his compositions in order to emphasize their pop components. Less song-focused than later Nirvana works, Bleach acts as an interesting showcase of the band’s musical chops.
[5.Nov.09] :. An individual at Coca-Cola's ad agency proposes the idea of a Charlie Brown Christmas Special, with music by Vince Guaraldi. And a new American institution was born...
[5.Nov.09] :. Even in the moments when they seem to be teetering on the edge of control, like during one of Ira’s guitar tirades, every single note and squall of feedback feels necessary.
[4.Nov.09] :. Using Ben in Leaving Las Vegas as a gauge to measure myself against, my life wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as it could be, but people who thought they had better control of their drinking than me still fuck their lives right up, so....
[4.Nov.09] :. In the late '30s and '40s, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys were the biggest stars in country music, but when he appeared onstage at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, he did so after a number of years spent toiling in relative obscurity.
[4.Nov.09] :. Mirah established her versatility as a musician while unintentionally proving that song choice truly can make or break an entire performance.
[4.Nov.09] :. Morrissey's uneasy expression on the cover notwithstanding, Swords is a worthy collection of 18 b-sides from his last three studio albums.
[4.Nov.09] :. Nicholson Baker writes from his enthusiasms, which are many and ever changing. Among other things, his books have focused on sex, John Updike, public libraries, and pacifism and World War II. His latest, The Anthologist, is his love letter to poetry.
[4.Nov.09] :. Like Sex and the City, to which it is often compared, Girlfriends is more product and champion of a pro-sex "postfeminist" culture than it is a relic of the past.
[4.Nov.09] :. Sounds like golden outtakes from lost sessions where James Brown's backing band got together with Booker T and the MGs at the Stax studios with an insanely talented batch of unknown singers.
[4.Nov.09] :. Introducing might make a case for Brilliant Colors being a knock-off group, a carbon copy of the Vivian Girls with subtle differences. But Brilliant Colors are a good carbon copy.
[4.Nov.09] :. If you’re going to claim that a game is about observing animals and taking pictures, there are certain things a person is going to impulsively want to do.
[4.Nov.09] :. Here are 11 refreshingly earnest and brazenly straightforward anthems that both rattle your floor and stick in your head. To this reviewer's ears, Roman Candle happily play non-hyphenated, non-adjective-ized Rock and Roll.
[3.Nov.09] :. Heavily based on The Manchurian Candidate, the political intrigue here makes this one of the best Doctor Who adventures ever filmed -- no, really.
[3.Nov.09] :. Reminiscent, in all the best ways, of Neil Gaiman and Kurt Vonnegut’s finest works, Matt Wagner’s opening salvo of his new Vertigo series shows the world still has need for the archetypes inherent in Wagner’s Parsifal.
[3.Nov.09] :. One can’t help but draw a parallel between McCorkle’s work and the stories of A. M. Homes – just without the controversy or big gross-out that Homes reaches for.
[3.Nov.09] :. Far beyond the end of the show and into the night, the songs continued to burrow deep and swift -- these Irish lads know exactly how our hearts and minds are wired.
[3.Nov.09] :. The Rapture may whisk the Saved up to Heaven ... leaving all of their corporeal assets untended. For the business-minded, earth-bound heathen, there’s money to be had in the leavings.
[3.Nov.09] :. Upon the release of the Mountain Goats' latest album, the band's founder and songwriter talks about the literary influences on his prolific output and the biblical theme of his latest opus.
[3.Nov.09] :. This more often than not pays proper attention to the artistic prowess on display, which saves it from playing too laboriously like someone else's vacation slideshow.
[3.Nov.09] :. Yes, Amy Speace is another girl with a guitar. But on this album, she proves that she's more than fierce enough to rock the scowl that she bares on its front cover.
[2.Nov.09] :. More surprising than the still-impressive special effects and the jokes that hold up to modern scrutiny is the fact that there are moments throughout Ghostbusters that are legitimately scary.
[2.Nov.09] :. Though several bands demanded double-takes, and many impressed, there were no obvious standouts at this year's CMJ. Instead, our writers found bands that exemplified standards for success, and failure, putting together ten rules on how to sink or swim at CMJ.
[2.Nov.09] :. The People v. Leo Frank indicts not only the shoddy police work and lawyering, but also the public hysteria advanced by local newspapers.
[2.Nov.09] :. A treasure hunter who has travelled far and wide looking for long-lost fortunes, Lance Larson's questing serves as point of departure for the beguiling documentary, Loot.
[2.Nov.09] :. At a time when country music was shining like a new dime, John Hartford and his collaborators were digging into old time music to find something new.