Articles tagged "popmatters pick"

PopMatters Pick

TV Review

Damages: Season Three Start

by Lesley Smith

[8.Feb.10] :. Patty’s actions, rather like those of Jack Bauer in 24, dramatize the fundamental contradiction at the heart of any democratic society.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM

by Michael Miller

[1.Feb.10] :. Charlotte Gainsbourg gets in the studio with Beck to record a collection of pop songs that surpasses both artists' previous work.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Patty Griffin: Downtown Church

by Steve Leftridge

[27.Jan.10] :. One of the great songwriters in the business lays down the pen to go to church and rides off with a classic. Oh, she writes a couple of these, too, and wait'll you hear them.

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PopMatters Pick

Comics Review

45

by shathley Q

[26.Jan.10] :. 45 tables two issues that linger on from the previous century, the story of fatherhood and the story of journalism, and allows these to interact in the crucible of a comics narrative.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring

by Jordan Sargent

[26.Jan.10] :. Prolific British seven-piece show how sonic exploration can actually go right, and in the process prove that romance isn't all that boring after all.

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Music Review

Various Artists: Ghana Special

by Michael Kabran

[25.Jan.10] :. Following the success of the Ethiopiques compilations, here's another stellar collection of popular African music recordings from the '60s and '70s. Highly recommended.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Vampire Weekend: Contra

by Anthony Lombardi

[19.Jan.10] :. Contra's songs offer sharp, bracing takes on modern life and the album could strengthen their core audience, while netting them some new fans at the same time.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Alan Lomax: Alan Lomax in Haiti

by Craig Carson

[14.Jan.10] :. An important historical document, a master class in Haitian music from a bygone era, and an entertaining, life-affirming listen.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Sweetgrass

by Cynthia Fuchs

[8.Jan.10] :. Sweetgrass features images ranging from magnificent to stark, most often observing sheep in motion -- trekking along dirt roads, up and down mountainsides, through densely green forest trails or snowy fields.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[7.Jan.10] :. If 35 Shots of Rum doesn't spell out all of Lionel or Jo's relationships or choices, it does reveal the emotional fabrics that connect them.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Fela Kuti: Fela: The Best of the Black President

by Michael Miller

[6.Jan.10] :. A thorough document of the greatest moments of one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Elvis Presley: Elvis 75: Good Rockin Tonight

by Steve Horowitz

[16.Dec.09] :. There are no unreleased cuts or alternate takes on this collection, just 100 of the King’s best songs pristinely recorded.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

A Serious Man

by Chris Barsanti

[11.Dec.09] :. The Coens might be having a good time riffing on their Job's hyperbolic cluelessness, but for almost the first time in their careers, they have twined that jabbing satire with a deeper sense of the tragic.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Various Artists: BalkanBeats: A Night in Berlin

by Mike Schiller

[9.Dec.09] :. A Night in Berlin allows us to hear a BalkanBeats set with a specific -- that is, specifically German -- audience.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Beat Circus: Boy from Black Mountain

by Richard Elliott

[2.Dec.09] :. You are left with a memory of thrills and spills, daring and speculation, worlds visited and obstacles overcome. Beat Circus have provided one of the highs of the year.

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Will Stratton: No Wonder

by Evan Sawdey

[12.Nov.09] :. Following his quiet stunner of a debut album, this 22-year-old folk artist just proved that lightning, indeed, can strike the same place twice.

 
PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Slayer: World Painted Blood

by Adrien Begrand

[5.Nov.09] :. Not surprisingly, World Painted Blood is, well, a Record Made Metal.

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Comics Review

Madame Xanadu: Disenchanted

by Kevin M. Brettauer

[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.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Loot

by Cynthia Fuchs

[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.

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PopMatters Pick

Film DVD Review

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Diamond Edition

by Bill Gibron

[22.Oct.09] :. For Walt Disney, it was the realization of a dream, nearly a decade of wondering if his already successful short film style could actually be expanded to feature film length.

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White Denim: Fits

by Evan Sawdey

[20.Oct.09] :. Fits is an electic, sprawling, amps-to-11 rock excursion that revels in nostalgia almost to the point of outright defiance. White Denim have crafted one of the best rock albums of 2009.

 
PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Mungolian Jetset: We Gave It All Away… Now We’re Taking It Back

by Jordan Sargent

[13.Oct.09] :. Norwegian duo's debut album plus remix collection is a remarkably singular entry into the Scandinavian dance canon.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Brother Ali: Us

by Andrew Martin

[9.Oct.09] :. Say hello to one of hip-hop's best albums of the past 10 years. Brother Ali and Ant have done it again.

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Comics Review

Secret Warriors Vol. 1: Nick Fury, Agent of Nothing

by Kevin M. Brettauer

[8.Oct.09] :. Jonathan Hickman blasts into the Marvel Universe, and he brings Nick Fury with him, as the super-spy popularized by Steranko maintains his classic sense of “cool”, refuting the modern-day “kewl” methods of cinema spies like James Bond and Jason Bourne as he attempts to take down his greatest threat to date.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Araya

by Cynthia Fuchs

[7.Oct.09] :. Reimagined here, Araya is at once endless and utterly finite.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

October Country

by Cynthia Fuchs

[5.Oct.09] :. October Country focuses on the Mosher family to explore the many ways that patterns shape lives and expectations.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You

by Steve Leftridge

[29.Sep.09] :. They might remain too folk-fringe-y to be pop's Next Big Thing, but the Avetts' latest fully delivers on this band's considerable potential.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Miranda Lambert: Revolution

by Tom Useted

[28.Sep.09] :. It's hard to follow one of the decade's finest albums. But you can't really fault Miranda Lambert's music, even when she makes a long and uneven record.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Slavic Soul Party!: Taketron

by Andrew Dietzel

[25.Sep.09] :. Think Parliament mixed with Gogol Bordello and a dash of Beirut and you’ll have a fairly clear benchmark by which to judge Slavic Soul Party!

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PopMatters Pick

TV Review

Fringe: Season Two Premiere

by Lesley Smith

[24.Sep.09] :. Unlike her TV predecessors, Olivia is not moved by transcendent belief or duty. Uncertainty hurts her.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Capitalism: A Love Story

by Todd R. Ramlow

[23.Sep.09] :. In Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore is on target in his indictment of the top 1% of the population, those who own or control 95% of U.S. wealth.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Guy Clark: Somedays the Song Writes You

by Stuart Henderson

[23.Sep.09] :. Guy Clark’s best songs are so wise, so sneakily didactic that they can seem to blow on the wind of fable.

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Comics Review

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes

by Kevin M. Brettauer

[22.Sep.09] :. The newest creative team is doing tremendous work on the series that redefined the X-Men -- so why some fans won’t accept it?

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PopMatters Pick

TV Review

Community: Series Premiere

by Daynah Burnett

[17.Sep.09] :. Before you can say "The Breakfast Club," Community begins challenging stereotypes while also arguing that community college is one of the great equalizers.

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Comics Review

George Sprott: 1894-1971, A Picture Novella by the Cartoonist Seth

by Oliver Ho

[17.Sep.09] :. An almost overwhelmingly beautiful book-as-art-object, George Sprott also tells an intriguing story with an intense and pervasive mix of melancholy, nostalgia, introspection and gags.

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Music Review

Circulatory System: Signal Morning

by Anthony Lombardi

[16.Sep.09] :. Signal Morning is not only a vital part of Elephant 6's continued excellence; it's one of the best damn albums of the year.

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PopMatters Pick

Yesterday's Jukebox Feature

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses: 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

by Evan Sawdey

[10.Sep.09] :. Imagine if you will: an album re-release that actually gets everything right, making an already-classic album sound even better than before, deepening our understanding as to what made it so iconic.

Yesterday's Jukebox

 
PopMatters Pick

Music Review

BLK JKS: After Robots

by Michael Kabran

[4.Sep.09] :. Vowels or no vowels, this arty post-punk band from South Africa rocks with an intelligence and sensitivity sorely missing in pop music today.

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PopMatters Pick

TV Review

Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story

by Rodger Jacobs

[3.Sep.09] :. Federal funding for the arts in the U.S. was a contentious issue for FDR's Works Progress Administration.

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PopMatters Pick

Film DVD Review

Katyn

by Stuart Henderson

[28.Aug.09] :. Legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda tackles a very personal subject in the harrowing Katyn, the long-denied Soviet massacre of the Polish officer corps in WWII.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Mount Eerie: Wind’s Poem

by Thomas Britt

[28.Aug.09] :. The true achievement of Mount Eerie's Wind's Poem is the redemptive arc Elverum finds within the black metal context.

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Music Review

Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate

by David Smith

[21.Aug.09] :. The North London Nutty Boys return with an ambitious, nostalgia-tinged effort -- and hit a new career high.

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Music Review

Megafaun: Gather, Form & Fly

by Matthew Fiander

[21.Aug.09] :. By shifting focus on this new record, fitting the experiments into more traditional structures instead of the other way around, Megafaun has produced one of the best records of 2009.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Lorna’s Silence (Le silence de Lorna)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[14.Aug.09] :. Even as the camera follows Lorna, it never quite keeps up, though it's unclear whether she's eluding your interpretation or her own.

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PopMatters Pick

Film DVD Review

Repulsion

by Matt Mazur

[14.Aug.09] :. This is the culmination of two artists upping their personal antes to produce greatness, two burgeoning legends of cinema testing their seemingly-limitless powers.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Richard Thompson: Walking on a Wire: Richard Thompson (1968-2009)

by Tom Useted

[14.Aug.09] :. It took long enough, but there's finally a great way to sample Richard Thompson's long and prolific career.

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PopMatters Pick

TV DVD Review

Torchwood: Children of Earth

by Evan Sawdey

[10.Aug.09] :. It'll be hard for the show to ever be darker than Children of Earth, and even harder for it to ever be more compelling.

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PopMatters Pick

Books Review

Inherent Vice

by Christopher Guerin

[7.Aug.09] :. Pynchon’s latest combines elements of The Big Lebowski, Dashiell Hammett, John Garfield’s movies, and the TV cop shows and Hollywood movie bikinis-and-surfboards grooviness of the early ‘70s.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Kronos Quartet: Floodplain

by Mike Schiller

[7.Aug.09] :. Floodplain is a worldly album in every sense of the word, appropriating styles, melodies, and even musicians from spots around the globe.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

Beeswax

by Cynthia Fuchs

[6.Aug.09] :. If it's rare to see sisters at the center of a smart, mature, and artful movie, it's even more surprising to see them so keenly in tune.

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PopMatters Pick

Film Review

The Girl by the Lake (La Regazza Del Lago)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[30.Jul.09] :. The mystery of The Girl by the Lake revolves around fathers, struggling to live in between eras, when their authority is questioned, their desires challenged, and their efforts deemed inadequate.

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Music Review

Goran Bregović: Alkohol

by Jayson Harsin

[30.Jul.09] :. Mournful, frenzied, and ecstatic -- Alkohol seems a fitting title indeed.

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PopMatters Pick

TV Review

POV: Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go

by Cynthia Fuchs

[28.Jul.09] :. In Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, the difference between "normalcy" and "deviance (or between feeling safe or hurting) is, at some fundamental level, a matter of performance.

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Comics Review

The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders

by Sara Cole

[28.Jul.09] :. So what is it about The Photographer that makes it seem so particularly effective in its story-telling? One reason may be that it is not exactly a comic book.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Maxwell: BLACKsummers’ night

by Christian John Wikane

[24.Jul.09] :. Only Maxwell can explain the gap between Now (2001) and, well, now, but all you need to know is that BLACKsummers'night is truly one of this year's best albums.

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Featured Article

TV Review

POV: The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[21.Jul.09] :. Nerakhoon looks forward to an unknown future as it also looks back on events obscured by history and media images.

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PopMatters Pick

Music Review

Magnolia Electric Co.: Josephine

by Matthew Fiander

[21.Jul.09] :. Years from now, we should look back at Magnolia Electric Co. and say that, at the height of their powers -- as they are on Josephine -- they were one of the finest bands going.

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Featured Article

TV Review

In Their Boots: Silent Partners

by Cynthia Fuchs

[16.Jul.09] :. Silent Partners, like other other documentaries of In Their Boots, offers its subjects a chance to share their experiences with the current U.S. military.

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Featured Article

Music Review

Various Artists: Legends of Benin

by Deanne Sole

[14.Jul.09] :. At the heart of Legends of Benin lies the spiral, the curve, the unfinished circle that leads to its replica.

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PopMatters Pick

Books Review

Near Death in the Desert, ed. Cecil Kuhne

by Chris Barsanti

[10.Jul.09] :. The insights into desert nomad culture make the always present possibility of death almost pale in insignificance.

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