Popular Voices, Cultural Matters 2012-02-09T15:22:34Z Copyright (c) 2012, PopMatters.com ExpressionEngine tag:popmatters.com,2012:02:10 tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/feature/21.152490 2012-02-10T07:00:20Z 2012-02-10T07:00:20Z Cole Waterman Regardless how history comes to look Nick Cave's ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/column/19.154269 2012-02-10T07:00:15Z 2012-02-10T07:00:15Z Michael Abernethy Films about LGBT people that are aimed at mass audiences win awards; films about LGBT people that are aimed at LGBT audiences… not so much. So, here's the Queer, Isn't It? Best Pic nominees. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154206 2012-02-10T07:00:06Z 2012-02-10T07:00:06Z Ian Mathers Twenty years (or so) in, the seminal techno act releases two very different compilations. Both succeed on their own terms. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153612 2012-02-10T07:00:05Z 2012-02-10T07:00:05Z Corey Beasley Scottish brooders turn the shoegaze down, invest in some new technology, and make a record that pushes the limits of their band's well-honed sound. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153543 2012-02-10T07:00:04Z 2012-02-10T07:00:04Z Zachary Houle For those looking for something as strong as industrial-strength floor wax to serve as a dessert topping, this EP will handily do the trick. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.153552 2012-02-10T07:00:04Z 2012-02-10T07:00:04Z Zachary Houle Failure is ultimately an album you can put your arms around and give a great big hug to, and – maybe, just maybe – a big, wet sopping kiss. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.153462 2012-02-10T07:00:03Z 2012-02-10T07:00:03Z Philip Majorins tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153760 2012-02-10T07:00:03Z 2012-02-10T07:00:03Z Nathan Wisnicki Finally, a worthy compilation – and appreciation – of the greatest stand-up comedian of the '90s. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153882 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z Jaya Chatterjee This bespeaks a warm affection for the peripatetic poets, novelists, and philosophers who witnessed Paris’s transformation from medieval to modern metropolis under the aegis of Louis XIV, Baron Haussmann, and engineers who developed gas lighting in the mid-1800s. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154019 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z Victor Valdivia A compilation that shows that Bob Seger was at times a good artist, but also shows why he was never really a great one. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154275 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z Michael Barrett A child's garden of crazy grown-ups, lost locomotives, talented ducks, war orphans and innocent incest. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.152597 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z 2012-02-10T07:00:02Z Jonathan Kosakow tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.152659 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z Matthew Fiander Teen Jamz smacks of ironic distance. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.150314 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z Chris Colgan The most popular metal band in America makes the most unnecessary blunders to spoil what is otherwise a pretty good third album. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153849 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z Jedd Beaudoin It's not that historical revisionism exists in Russia, but that the revisionism––and sometimes the downright denial of the historical record––swings to extremes. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154000 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z 2012-02-10T07:00:01Z Luke Taylor Rowan Joffe sets this adaptation in 1964, amidst the mods and the rockers. A mods-versus-rockers riot serves as chaotic cover for one of the film’s acts of murder. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154393 2012-02-10T07:00:00Z 2012-02-10T07:00:00Z Jamie Lynn Dunston The problem isn’t the game itself. Glee Karaoke Revolution is fine, fine. The problem is that I also own one of the Sing It! games. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154424 2012-02-09T20:00:08Z 2012-02-09T20:00:08Z Cynthia Fuchs "What was it like coming back to America after fighting in Vietnam?" asks an off-screen narrator. A 22-year-old black man nods and begins to talk, his weary expression suggesting this is a question... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154405 2012-02-09T18:00:32Z 2012-02-09T18:00:32Z Comfort Clinton The Oslo-based artist is now coming into his own, creating original, funky sound mixes based in electronica and infused with hints of house, disco and pop. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154189 2012-02-09T17:00:44Z 2012-02-09T17:00:44Z David Ensminger Unlike potboiler musicians with kiss-off egos, the Shadow proves that Blank Generation music was open-ended and robust, a welcome home to punk brands of all stripes. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/moving-pixels/35.154325 2012-02-09T17:00:00Z 2012-02-09T17:00:00Z Mark Filipowich It’s odd to think of such an expensive hobby that is so often associated with a privileged class as designed purely for escape. What could such an audience have to escape from? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154351 2012-02-09T16:00:15Z 2012-02-09T16:00:15Z Alan Ranta This is not your basic club single. It doesn't ask you to like it. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/short-ends-and-leader/17.154392 2012-02-09T15:00:31Z 2012-02-09T15:00:31Z Jordan Cronk and Calum Marsh What happens when an admitted auteur makes a grand -- and quite insular -- artistic statement? Critics are dumbfounded, which means it's time for our preservationist pair to break out the accolades. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154409 2012-02-09T14:35:34Z 2012-02-09T14:35:34Z Cynthia Fuchs Body and Soul and Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America both feature admirable subjects who have "overcome obstacles," and also take refreshingly unconventional approaches to these subjects. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154123 2012-02-09T14:00:06Z 2012-02-09T14:00:06Z Allison Taich Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were not out to throw a big production, nor re-enact characters and sketches. Instead they were onstage as Fred and Carrie, real people with a knack for casual conversational comedy looking to hang out. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/moving-pixels/35.154360 2012-02-09T13:00:00Z 2012-02-09T13:00:00Z Scott Juster Despite sharing many of the same problems, I'm willing to cut Mirror's Edge more slack than Sonic CD. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154406 2012-02-09T11:50:43Z 2012-02-09T11:50:43Z Shawn O'Rourke When examining a work whose mythology is an expansive as Star Wars, it almost becomes a historiographical investigation as opposed to a literary one. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/short-ends-and-leader/17.154321 2012-02-09T11:00:17Z 2012-02-09T11:00:17Z Sean Murphy Ben Gazzara: 1930 - 2012. What can you say about Gazzara? He was relevant in every decade going back to the '50s. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154330 2012-02-09T08:30:19Z 2012-02-09T08:30:19Z Comfort Clinton POPMATTERS SPONSOR -- Just as folk music provides a basis for the synth music of Au Revoir Simone, so too does Erika’s striped sweater act as a basic essential: a starting point from which the artist builds and transforms, dazzling audiences along the way. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.153749 2012-02-09T08:00:48Z 2012-02-09T08:00:48Z Comfort Clinton POPMATTERS SPONSOR -- Much like her music, Erika’s look here combines unexpected and playful pairings in a cohesive way to create a style that’s bold and unique. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/feature/21.150874 2012-02-09T07:00:20Z 2012-02-09T07:00:20Z Jonathan Tjarks Rappers have always wrestled with the question of how to succeed in a society where the odds are stacked against them. The biggest difference now is that their middle class listeners have the same worries. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/column/19.153360 2012-02-09T07:00:15Z 2012-02-09T07:00:15Z Alan Ranta To create something or to create something that creates something; that is a question. But if you lead an electric horse to art, does it dream of the avant-garde? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/feature/21.154361 2012-02-09T07:00:10Z 2012-02-09T07:00:10Z Michael D. Stewart It's the turning of the final tide, the groundbreaking Blue Estate wraps issue #8, which closes the second volume of the collected editions, and launches issue #9, which opens the final volume. The stakes, and the value, couldn't be higher. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153839 2012-02-09T07:00:06Z 2012-02-09T07:00:06Z Matthew Fiander The way we heal is a huge part of the sweet exhaustion of Tramp, but it is a double-edged affair. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153876 2012-02-09T07:00:05Z 2012-02-09T07:00:05Z Dave Heaton It leaves you with the impression that Bentley has made something special here -- not just his most consistent album and 2012’s first great country album, but even more. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153516 2012-02-09T07:00:04Z 2012-02-09T07:00:04Z John Garratt Math whiz Lawrence Ball adds another baby step of progress for Pete Townshend's "Lifehouse" project. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.153851 2012-02-09T07:00:04Z 2012-02-09T07:00:04Z John Bergstrom tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.153765 2012-02-09T07:00:03Z 2012-02-09T07:00:03Z David Maine tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153696 2012-02-09T07:00:03Z 2012-02-09T07:00:03Z Craig Hayes While heckles are raised when terms like "vintage" and "retro" are tossed about, the Devil's Blood has undeniably evoked the electrifying rush of '60s and '70s occult rock. What other sprits they have invoked along the way, well, that's a whole other story. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.152504 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z Chris Conaton Orchestra of Spheres should be recognized for its willingness to take chances and experiment with instrument-construction and sound in general. Unfortunately, the band’s ratio of hits to misses on this album is right about 50/50. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154342 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z Brent McKnight Fans of classic yakuza films and Japanese new-wave cinema have reason to celebrate today with Criterion’s release of Seijun Suzuki’s 1966 Tokyo Drifter, and his 1967... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154380 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z Carolyn Kellogg These stories are told with thick, evocative language that speaks of viscera and flowers and poetry and violence, from times distant and more recent, ringing individual and unique. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.151456 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z 2012-02-09T07:00:02Z Timothy Gabriele tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/37.153618 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z Stephen Haag tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153868 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z Robert Alford Michael Lewis explores the global economic crisis through the eyes of a financial disaster tourist -- and brings back a collection of exotic stereotypes about the people and places that he visited. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153874 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z D.M. Edwards Stalactites in the canyons of your mind. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154064 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z 2012-02-09T07:00:01Z Pat Kewley This ambitious three-hour-plus examination of Japan's notorious radical left-wing militant group loses its way in the narrative fog. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154166 2012-02-08T20:00:00Z 2012-02-08T20:00:00Z Comfort Clinton Though this was clearly a defining year for the actress, here are five other interesting things to know about the Oscar nominee's career in the entertainment industry. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154248 2012-02-08T18:00:25Z 2012-02-08T18:00:25Z Jane Jansen Seymour Pretty Lights has released a new song “We Must Go On", along with a self-produced video. It presents the hip-hop vibe with an uplifting yet reflective vocal hook, saying “times will get... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/notes-from-the-road/27.154318 2012-02-08T17:00:33Z 2012-02-08T17:00:33Z Dave MacIntyre With Justin in control, a great pre-existing catalogue and their highly promising new material, The Darkness has exactly what it takes to get back into the limelight. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154165 2012-02-08T16:00:49Z 2012-02-08T16:00:49Z Comfort Clinton Ah the internet. Bottomless pit of knowledge about news past and present, outlet for self-expression, facilitator of human connection, and… mecca of questionably offensive video montage parodies? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154220 2012-02-08T15:00:00Z 2012-02-08T15:00:00Z Enio Chiola In the wake of Madonna'a ostentatious Super Bowl halftime performance, PopMatters presents a rundown of the Queen of Pop's 15 finest singles. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/media-center/15.154162 2012-02-08T14:45:17Z 2012-02-08T14:45:17Z Alan Ranta Just when you thought the phenomenon of the Weeknd would burn bright and unchallenged on the East Coast, Vancouver duo Evelyn Mason and Jeremiah Klein rise up, armed with their deadly self-titled... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154068 2012-02-08T14:00:24Z 2012-02-08T14:00:24Z Justin Cober-Lake The Old 97's use two decades of experience to make being professional feel like anything but that. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154362 2012-02-08T13:15:00Z 2012-02-08T13:15:00Z Cynthia Fuchs Beautifully and evocatively, Bill Morrison's film traces the changes of fortune for the mines and miners, the industry and communities of Northern England. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/moving-pixels/35.154154 2012-02-08T13:00:00Z 2012-02-08T13:00:00Z G. Christopher Williams It isn't really a song about video games, of course. However, it is interesting for what it implies about games by taking gaming for granted as a normalized cultural practice. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/feature/21.146572 2012-02-08T07:00:20Z 2012-02-08T07:00:20Z Jennifer M. Perdomo Looking beyond the aesthetic surface of the series, what is the true motivation behind Mad Men’s frank depictions of these troubled social times? Is sexism being used as some sort of nostalgic trope, or does Mad Men actually delve deeper and explore these issues? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/feature/21.148757 2012-02-08T07:00:15Z 2012-02-08T07:00:15Z Kevin Dickinson Granted, Link does “hiyah,” “eyah,” and “ahh” his way through all of his post-64-bit adventures, but no amount of elfish interjections can change his status as a silent protagonist. Is a failure to communicate much, a failure to communicate? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154046 2012-02-08T07:00:06Z 2012-02-08T07:00:06Z Daniel Tebo After eight years spent growling for others, Mark Lanegan returns with his most musically diverse album to date. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.154284 2012-02-08T07:00:05Z 2012-02-08T07:00:05Z Alexander Heigl Die Antwoord may be strange and engrossing, but are they making good music? Yes and no. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/review/5.153641 2012-02-08T07:00:04Z 2012-02-08T07:00:04Z Josh Langhoff A modern take on disco music; an old-fashioned take on male wish fulfillment. ]]>