Monday, April 18 2011
From the Fringe of Islam: An Interview with Michael Muhammad Knight
Famous amongst orphaned Muslims -- teens and adults trying to find a place in a religion known for stringency -- Knight’s first book, The Taqwacores straddles the line between manifesto and coming of age novel.
Thursday, April 1 2010
The Up-side of Being Plus-Sized: Kirstie Alley and Her Big Life
"We're sort of like the Ozzie & Harriet family meets the Addams Family" says the Emmy-winning actress, who deals with both her weight troubles and family issues as part of her new A&E show which just barely premiered. PopMatters reports live from the set.
Monday, February 1 2010
The Cult of Kindle and the Myth of Digital Utopia
If I could read more with a Kindle, it stood to reason that I wasn’t reading enough without one. Getting and consuming increasingly MORE information is an end in of itself these days.
Friday, October 30 2009
Agonies of an ‘Antichrist’: Lars von Trier in the Forest of Unreason
Despite the efforts of some to dismiss it as a prank, Antichrist is a serious film and its disturbing extremes speak of broad and deeply felt moral, social, and ultimately, political anxieties.
Monday, October 26 2009
Bored New World: How the Zach Braff Prototype Is Slowly Killing American Music
Natalie Portman popped headphones onto Zach Braff's head and said, "This song will change your life." The resulting sound was not only that of carefully composed dullness, but of a million wealthy white kids investing in dull acoustic music to soundtrack their own romantic melodrama.
Friday, July 17 2009
An Unlikely Candidate for Influence: ‘Naked Lunch’ at 50 Years Young
William S. Burroughs changed the way writers would think of honesty in literature, achieving the mark of true greatness in 20th century literature by releasing the last banned book in the United States.
Wednesday, June 17 2009
Dinosaur, Sr. or, Growing Old with (Prog) Rock and Roll
As part of his own personal “See ‘em While They’re Still Standing” 2008-2009 Tour -- tracking how his old music heroes are aging -- one PopMatters writer checks in on Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood.
Wednesday, June 3 2009
Songwriting and Social Activism: An Interview With Nellie McKay
"If you keep your opinions and knowledge to yourself, it doesn’t change anything." McKay talks to PopMatters about her current projects, social activism, and philosophy of life in general.
Monday, April 20 2009
Full Circle: Béla Fleck, Paul Simon & America’s Return to the World Community
Béla Fleck didn't ask to be the Avatar of the New American Culture (avatars never do). He happened to be in the right place at the right time with a banjo and a digital recorder. The remaining dots are ours to connect, and we've begun to connect them.
Monday, April 6 2009
Recession Sounds: Revisiting Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska
President Obama faces an economic crisis, rising unemployment, and widespread anxiety about the country's future. In light of these troubling events, perhaps it is time for him (and us) to revisit Nebraska.
Friday, February 27 2009
Beautiful Agony: The New Naked
Erotica website Beautiful Agony continues to revolutionize how both men and women approach sex and intimacy by revealing individual facial expressions of real, vulnerable human beings orgasming.
