Quantcast

Call for Feature Essays About Any Aspect of Popular Culture, Present or Past

Music
Nick Caves The Death of Bunny Munro: A Rock Stars Midlife Crisis or Valid Literature?
By Cole Waterman
Regardless how history comes to look Nick Cave's The Death of Bunny Munro, in the context of Cave’s career, it stands alone as the purest distillation of his artistry -- a poetic novel with Cave’s inimitable brand of the grotesque, absurd and often comic nature of humanity. [10.Feb.12]
Counterbalance No. 68: 'John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'
Counterbalance is a concept by which we measure the most Acclaimed Music of all time. This week, number 68 -- the first time an ex-Beatle makes the Great List. [10.Feb.12]
Enjoy Your Life: An Interview with Yelle
By Jose Solís Mayén
They've conquered the world by singing in French, pretending to rap, and releasing remix albums that are almost as acclaimed as their regular ones. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Yelle, where fashion, touring, and a love of Mike Meyers all collide ... [10.Feb.12]
Underworld: A Collection / 1992-2012: The Anthology
Twenty years (or so) in, the seminal techno act releases two very different compilations. Both succeed on their own terms. [10.Feb.12]
Tayisha Busay - Heartmeat, Lovemuscle Video (PopMatters Premiere)
Brooklyn electro-dancers Tayisha Busay offer up a perfect new video for Valentine's Day, “Heartmeat, Lovemuscle”. [10.Feb.12]
Reviews
FriThuWedTueMon
Twenty years (or so) in, the seminal techno act releases two very different compilations. Both succeed on their own terms.
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.
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.
Finally, a worthy compilation – and appreciation – of the greatest stand-up comedian of the '90s.
A compilation that shows that Bob Seger was at times a good artist, but also shows why he was never really a great one.
The most popular metal band in America makes the most unnecessary blunders to spoil what is otherwise a pretty good third album.
The way we heal is a huge part of the sweet exhaustion of Tramp, but it is a double-edged affair.
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.
Math whiz Lawrence Ball adds another baby step of progress for Pete Townshend's "Lifehouse" project.
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.
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.
Stalactites in the canyons of your mind.
After eight years spent growling for others, Mark Lanegan returns with his most musically diverse album to date.
Die Antwoord may be strange and engrossing, but are they making good music? Yes and no.
A modern take on disco music; an old-fashioned take on male wish fulfillment.
Lost rock 'n' soul classic from spiritual seeker.
Sultan blends together his doo-wop, garage, and punk influences, presenting himself as a peerless artist.
Tuareg rock youngsters are fatally hampered by bad production.
The feeling that this is your neighborhood bar band gives the music a punch of energy that’s memorable. At the same time, the stories in the music, and the ways they’re told, are less distinct, even generic.
As musical interpretations of romance go, Kisses on the Bottom may only get you about halfway there, flowers in hand wondering whether a second date is on the cards, unsure if that’s even what you want at all.
The band name is silly. The album cover art is atrocious. The opening song is merely a wall of noise. But once you get past all of that, Ester is a rewarding slice of shoegazey dream pop that’s evocative of ‘50s R&B and surreal movie and TV soundtracks.
The preeminent Mexican guitar duo rattles Havana with a Cuban orchestra.
Absorbing Snakeoil is one of this "how did they do that?" kinds of experiences.
Driven to be better than what his former band was forced to become, ex-Sonic Syndicate vocalist Richard Sjunnesson has finally created what he had envisioned all along.
For any intent or purpose, you are encouraged to spend as much time as possible with this recording. It is as edifying as it is enjoyable.
Kevin Barnes takes Of Montreal out of its sexy funk phase and into its...20th century atonal minimalism phase? Yikes.
Pretty Good Dance Moves are pretty, pretty, pretty... well, fair to middling, actually.
There’s a drunken fight, a couple grappling in the back seat of a car and other typical Saturday night scenes found outside a bar, but the lyrics give the participants a sense of dignity.
Buzzcock Pete Shelley's label reissues its entire three album run with a bonus disc. Sometimes, there's even real music.
Both of these records, while markedly different, are strong indications that classical music, like any other genre, is one rife with innovation.
The felt itself is an additional instrument, a scrape of percussion as each key is played and released.
Capsule Reviews
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. [10.Feb.12]
Events
Features
By Cole Waterman
Regardless how history comes to look Nick Cave's The Death of Bunny Munro, in the context of Cave’s career, it stands alone as the purest distillation of his artistry -- a poetic novel with Cave’s inimitable brand of the grotesque, absurd and often comic nature of humanity. [10.Feb.12]
By Jose Solís Mayén
They've conquered the world by singing in French, pretending to rap, and releasing remix albums that are almost as acclaimed as their regular ones. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Yelle, where fashion, touring, and a love of Mike Meyers all collide ... [10.Feb.12]
Columns
The Difference Engine
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? [09.Feb.12]
Sound Spectrum
In 1982, with the charts ruled by “Physical”, “Don’t You Want Me” and “Eye of the Tiger”, along came a low-tech record about killers, small-time thieves and other forgotten souls -- and it's still one of the best albums in American music. [06.Feb.12]
From The Blogs
Counterbalance is a concept by which we measure the most Acclaimed Music of all time. This week, number 68 -- the first time an ex-Beatle makes the Great List. [10.Feb.12]
DVD Reviews
Loud guitar, astrophysics, little people, S&M clubs, positive thinking, and nude women on bicycles are all part of the Queen saga, darling. [30.Jan.12]
The US Festival's "Country Day" in June 1983, featured both Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. [24.Jan.12]
Now on PopMatters
A Far Too Safe... and Strained... 'House' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 9:00 am]
'Safe House' Is Ersatz Edgy (Reviews) [Fri, 8:06 am]
The 10 Greatest Shakespeare Film Adaptations of All Time (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 7:50 am]
Unicycle Loves You: Failure (Capsule Reviews) [Fri, 1:00 am]
  1. 'Nebraska': Bruce Springsteen's 'Heart of Darkness' (Columns)
  2. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 1: From 13Ghosts to Friendly Fires (Features)
  3. The 10 Greatest Shakespeare Film Adaptations of All Time (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. The Best Games of 2011 (Features)
  5. Not-So-Central Casting: Kevin Smith and the Birth of the Reality Podcast (Features)
  6. The 10 Greatest Movie Spies Ever (Short Ends and Leader)
  7. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 2: From the Go! Team to the Phoenix Foundation (Features)
  8. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 3: From Real Estate to Youth Lagoon (Features)
  9. Lana Del Rey: Born to Die (Reviews)
  10. The Top 15 Madonna Singles of All Time (Sound Affects)
  11. Get Off of My Cloud!: 'Collecting' Music in the Digital Age (Features)
  12. Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas (Reviews)
  13. Google and the Production of Curiosity (Marginal Utility)
  14. Carole E. Barrowman’s Authorial Journey to Hollow Earth (Features)
  15. Tower Songs: Townes Van Zandt (Columns)
  16. Black Bananas: Rad Times Xpress IV (Reviews)
  17. The Gay Ole Countryside (Columns)
  18. Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks (Reviews)
  19. “Don’t Let Me Fall”: Hip-Hop in the Age of Austerity (Features)
  20. Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom (Reviews)
  21. Counterbalance No. 67: John Coltrane’s 'A Love Supreme' (Sound Affects)
  22. 'Namath': Broadway Joe Looks Back (Reviews)
  23. A Tale of How Great Journalism Became Revisionist History: Grambling State U Football (Columns)
  24. Chairlift: Something (Reviews)
  25. The 10 Best John Coltrane Solos (Sound Affects)
  26. A Look to the Past, An Insight Into the Present: The Use of Gender in 'Mad Men' (Features)
  27. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - "Heart Attack" (Cosmic Kids Remix) (PopMatters Premiere) (Mixed Media)
  28. The Barbaric (and Poetic) Yawp of Shelby Lynne (Notes from the Road)
  29. After Cease to Exist: The Far-from-Final Report of Throbbing Gristle (Features)
  30. Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral (Reviews)
Announcements
PM Picks
Music Archive

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.