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Articles tagged "popmatters pick"PopMatters Pick Film ReviewThe Flight of the Red Balloon (Le Voyage du ballon rouge)by Cynthia Fuchs[7.May.08] :. In Hou Hsiao-hsien's first French film, interactions are mirrored and refracted, images of images, reflections of longing. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewStandard Operating Procedureby Cynthia Fuchs[2.May.08] :. Errol Morris' new documentary, Standard Operating Procedure, remembers the pictures' effects -- the shock, the outrage, and the anger that greeted their release. PopMatters Pick Comic ReviewCriminal Vol. 2by Greg Oleksiuk[1.May.08] :. With its second story-arc it has cemented itself as one of the best modern books and, likely, as one that will long be regarded as an example of the medium's artistic potential. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewSantogold: Santogoldby Alexis Pauline Gumbs[30.Apr.08] :. This is the soda shack where punk and electronica meet the rhythm of a diasporic dub addiction. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewPortishead: Thirdby Filmore Mescalito Holmes[28.Apr.08] :. Over a decade in the making, this legendary UK trio has buried trip-hop under a pile of creepy analog gear with their painfully long awaited third (duh) album. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewCarole King: Tapestryby Christian John Wikane[25.Apr.08] :. Tapestry: Legacy Edition is the definitive genuflection to Carole King's 1971 masterpiece. Nearly 40 years later, it's still a thrill to feel the earth move. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewCorporate Warriors by P. W. Singerby Chris Barsanti[25.Apr.08] :. By refusing to cast himself as a finger-wagging scold on the subject of military contractors, Singer’s concerns have all that much more power. PopMatters Pick Multimedia ReviewHot Shots Golf: Out of Boundsby Michael Abbott[25.Apr.08] :. Inserting cartoonish characters into luscious, realistic environments is all part of the Hot Shots aesthetic, and for some reason it just works. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewRobyn: Robynby Daniel Rivera[24.Apr.08] :. Nearly three years after its initial Swedish release, one of the best records of 2005 finally gets an official, slightly reworked, U.S. issue. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewLos Campesinos!: Hold on Now, Youngster…by Ian Mathers[18.Apr.08] :. Here's a riddle for you: How is a promising Welsh septet like an American political candidate? PopMatters Pick Music ReviewOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Dazzle Shipsby John Bergstrom[17.Apr.08] :. OMD's concept album about Cold War-era technology and tension was a flop upon its original release in 1983. But seen through modern eyes, it's a brilliant precursor to OK Computer. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewCornbread Nation 4: by Dale Volberg Reed, John Shelton Reed, John T. Edge (Editors)by Carolyn Fanelli[17.Apr.08] :. A vivid, heart-felt, often lyrical look at some of the most iconic food of the South -- from the commercial to the home-cooked to the most seasonal of delicacies, gathered in the wild. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewNick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!by Ron Hart[14.Apr.08] :. On his 14th studio album, Australia’s crown prince of goth manifests into its unheralded king of rock. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewMarvin Gaye: Here, My Dearby Mike Joseph[11.Apr.08] :. Gaye put his frustrations and anger into one of the most painfully intimate song cycles in musical history and then released it to the public, creating a time-delayed classic. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewJackalope Dreams by Mary Clearman Blewby Diane Leach[9.Apr.08] :. Blew's prose is as hardscrabble and finely whittled as her Montana subjects: protagonist Corey Henry is fierce, grumpy and, most unusual in today’s fiction, she’s older. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewSteven Bernstein: Diaspora Suiteby Will Layman[9.Apr.08] :. The fourth of the trumpeter's ingenious transformations of Jewish music, this gorgeous mass of guitars, horns and drums fuses Bitches Brew to the synagogue. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewThe Open Road by Pico Iyerby Carlin Romano [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)][1.Apr.08] :. The Dalai Lama: Down-to-earth and intimate. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewBig Dipper: Superclusterby Jennifer Kelly[28.Mar.08] :. Massive three-disc reissue reintroduces the jangle-punk, goofball geniuses of Big Dipper to the world, including all three Homestead releases, and the long lost-in-limbo big label and assorted unreleased tracks. Featured Article Music ReviewHercules and Love Affair: Hercules and Love Affairby Daniel Rivera[27.Mar.08] :. Damaged emotion, carnal frenzies, and genuine club bangers mark an exceptional debut from Andy Butler and his myriad guests. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewFieldwork by Mischa Berlinskiby Nav Purewal[27.Mar.08] :. This is clearly the work of a superior intellect, but one that doesn’t shy away from juicy plot twists or exciting set pieces, fashioning a story that thrills without condescension. Featured Article Music ReviewGnarls Barkley: The Odd Coupleby Christian John Wikane[25.Mar.08] :. Gnarls Barkley toils ever so soulfully in a complex confluence of emotions on The Odd Couple. Call it therapy-a-go-go. PopMatters Pick DVD Film ReviewThe Kite Runnerby Elizabeth Cho[24.Mar.08] :. This is a sensitive, kind adaptation of a well-loved book, and the DVD has well-crafted features that help extend the message of what is essential to human existence: hope. Featured Article Music ReviewNeon Neon: Stainless Styleby Zeth Lundy[21.Mar.08] :. Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and hip-hop beatman Boom Bip get elbow-deep in '80s synth-pop with a concept album about John DeLorean. PopMatters Pick Multimedia ReviewSam & Max: Season 2by L.B. Jeffries[21.Mar.08] :. The comedy routines between Sam and Max run a bit like Calvin & Hobbes humor taken to a freakish extreme. PopMatters Pick Comic ReviewGreen Arrow: Year One #1-6by Greg Oleksiuk[20.Mar.08] :. The best Green Arrow story in years. PopMatters Pick DVD Film ReviewGattacaby Shaun Huston[19.Mar.08] :. This film is quietly provocative, well crafted, and a subtle meditation on the future. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewSway by Zachary Lazarby Mikita Brottman[19.Mar.08] :. Reading this book is like taking a ride a dark, scary ghost train. Only in retrospect can you look back and see where you’ve been. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewPravda by Edward Docxby David Pullar[18.Mar.08] :. The odd mixture of cowardice and courage in all of us, the curious ties of family and genetics, and the eternal quest for significance are all contained within this novel. PopMatters Pick Multimedia ReviewAudiosurfby L.B. Jeffries[17.Mar.08] :. The real joy of Audiosurf is picking a song, any song, and seeing it literally appear before you as you travel and listen along. PopMatters Pick DVD Film ReviewPost-War Kurosawa: Eclipse Series 7by Michael Barrett[14.Mar.08] :. Many films of this era tap into fear and paranoia but not many address if destruction will come from those who fear it or those who ignore it. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewParanoid Parkby Cynthia Fuchs[12.Mar.08] :. The movie realizes Alex's desperate, poetic subjectivity in layers. His halting voiceover is perfectly unmatched with the uneven editing and skips back and forth in time. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewSamamidon: All Is Wellby Ian Mathers[11.Mar.08] :. One of the best records of traditional Appalachian folk songs ever recorded, and that's probably damning it with faint praise. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewOur Daily Meds by Melody Petersenby Chris Barsanti[11.Mar.08] :. It's hard to read Our Daily Meds without thinking of Americans as shaven-head underground dwellers of THX-1138, shuffling through their twilight days in a prescription-drug-haze. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewMudbound by Hillary Jordanby Diane Leach[10.Mar.08] :. It's impossible to read Mudbound without images of the Ninth Ward flooding one’s inner eye, or recalling the remarks made by former First Lady Barbara Bush. PopMatters Pick Book ReviewIn Search of the Blues by Marybeth Hamiltonby Chadwick Jenkins[7.Mar.08] :. This is a different story of the blues; it is the story of those people (primarily white men and women) who were in search of something that they believed the blues or some other form of secular and "primitive" African-American music communicated in an undiluted manner. Featured Article Music ReviewBell X1: Flockby Christel Loar[6.Mar.08] :. An album full of airborne anthems, celestial epics, and rock 'n' roll! PopMatters Pick Book ReviewThe Gathering by Anne Enrightby Nav Purewal[6.Mar.08] :. A multigenerational saga that never sacrifices intimacy for affected grandeur, a domestic novel that feels limitless in scope, and a family tragedy that affirms the very life it laments. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewGutter Twins: Saturnaliaby Ron Hart[5.Mar.08] :. Two alt-rock titans return to their roots to create an album that rivals the best in each of their respective canons. PopMatters Pick DVD Film ReviewInto the Wildby Mike Schiller[5.Mar.08] :. A "follow your dreams" narrative in a package that belies the cliché that it expounds upon. PopMatters Pick Comic ReviewIncognegroby Chauncey Mabe [South Florida Sun-Sentinel (MCT)][4.Mar.08] :. Incognegro proves once more, if proof is still needed, that the graphic novel equals prose, film and stage in its potential for all kinds of creative expression. PopMatters Pick DVD Film ReviewThe John Frankenheimer Collectionby Marco Lanzagorta[29.Feb.08] :. The rather complex ideological issues and unique sense of aesthetics that Frankenheimer infused in his films can be fully appreciated in this collection. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewBe Kind Rewindby Cynthia Fuchs[22.Feb.08] :. A set of relationships -- father and son, past and present, fiction and something like history -- forms the foundation of Be Kind Rewind, another gently antic film by Michel Gondry. PopMatters Pick Multimedia ReviewNo More Heroesby L.B. Jeffries[22.Feb.08] :. Whether you'll enjoy No More Heroes really boils down to whether you're the kind of person who can make fun of yourself or you take yourself so seriously that you don't get the joke. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewTaxi to the Dark Sideby Cynthia Fuchs[20.Feb.08] :. Methodically, relentlessly, Gibney's Oscar-nominated documentary assembles stories, evidence, and testimony from witnesses and experts. Featured Article Music ReviewNick Lowe: Jesus of Coolby Zeth Lundy[15.Feb.08] :. Lowe's classic 1978 solo debut, long out-of-print and overlooked, is reissued in a definitive expanded edition that includes ten bonus tracks. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewFuture of the Left: Cursesby Cole Stryker[14.Feb.08] :. Future of the Left inject a little adrenaline into our ears, a jarring wake up call from the sleepy sounds of today's indie rock landscape. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewLiberty Kidby Cynthia Fuchs[11.Feb.08] :. It's not long before this small, extraordinary movie begins to unveil its many dimensions. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewMichael Jackson: Thriller 25by Mike Joseph[11.Feb.08] :. This, folks, is where the mere pop stars get separated from the legends. PopMatters Pick Film Review4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Daysby Cynthia Fuchs[5.Feb.08] :. The clock is ticking in the very first moment of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. It's Romania, 1987, and time is running down. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewHot Chip: Made in the Darkby Dan Raper[4.Feb.08] :. Hot Chip's third album offers moments of sparkling pop-dance perfection -- and some unexpectedly emotional material as well. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewShelby Lynne: Just a Little Lovin’by Evan Sawdey[1.Feb.08] :. From the delicate opening cymbal tap of the title track onward, Lynne remembers what made Dusty Springfield so great in the first place: she poured her soul into each song. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewVampire Weekend: Vampire Weekendby Ron Hart[31.Jan.08] :. Four more rich boys from NYC who think they can rock? But don’t have a stroke, they really do! PopMatters Pick Book ReviewAgainst the Day by Thomas Pynchonby John Carvill[28.Jan.08] :. There is sheer virtuosity and beauty in Pynchon's prose, its poetry and jazz rhythms, which he uses to build up a sense of artistic wonderment and then discharges with that little laconic snap of emotion at the end. Featured Article Music ReviewJoe Jackson: Rainby Will Layman[28.Jan.08] :. The eclectic pianist/songwriter delivers a treat -- ten perfectly crafted pop songs that recall his best work or maybe are his best work. Featured Article Music ReviewJonny Greenwood: There Will Be Bloodby Mike Schiller[28.Jan.08] :. There is only the stultifying loneliness, sadness, and occasionally the twistedness of the film to be found in its music. PopMatters Pick TV ReviewThe Wireby Jesse Hicks[27.Jan.08] :. In David Simon's indictment of American capitalism, numbers -- say, crime stats and school test scores -- no longer have an epistemic value, they don't refer to any external reality. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewBlack Mountain: In the Futureby Matthew Fiander[21.Jan.08] :. In the Future is an expansive statement of an album, full of big guitars and cold space, a variety of sounds and a hard-earned and ever-present brilliance. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewKoop: Koop Islandsby Zach Schonfeld[14.Jan.08] :. Freed from the constraints of genre boundaries, the Swedish duo has crafted this convergence of electronic pop and jazz that sounds as utterly natural as it does unusual. An overlooked treasure, for sure. PopMatters Pick Music ReviewThe Magnetic Fields: Distortionby Dave Heaton[14.Jan.08] :. Distortion is a game, a question, a provocation, a distortion, a fable, a fake, and a collection of pop songs. Featured Article Book ReviewThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Baubyby Nav Purewal[8.Jan.08] :. Economical and considered out of necessity, this is so meticulously crafted that there isn’t a wasted passage or a superfluous phrase. |
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