Monday, June 17 2013
‘Witness: A World in Conflict Through a Lens’ Raises as Many Questions as It Answers
HBO is to be commended for risking such an undertaking; it could have sailed along on another few seasons of Game of Thrones, etc. But it is programs like Witness that may prove the more enduring legacy.
Kanye West: Yeezus
Yep, it's here. It may not change the game like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy did, but there's still plenty to keep your attention on album that, of course, has to be called Yeezus.
John Fogerty: Wrote a Song for Everyone
With a songwriter of Fogerty’s calibre, you want him to keep going. Wrote a Song for Everyone certainly convinced me that he has, but more than that, it made me eager to hear him continue to do so.
The Heart Is An Unknown Country: ‘Bobcat and Other Stories’ by Rebecca Lee
This collection of short stories is a sharp, seductive venture into the foibles of marriage, infidelity and friendship among today's 30- and 40-somethings, with echoes of Updike, Freudenberger and Noah Baumbach.
Beach Day: Trip Trap Attack
Beach Day will not win any awards for being the most original band in the universe with their '60s girl group, surf rock and garage sounds, but the group is competent enough to provide a somewhat winning formula.
Benga: Chapter II
While there's nothing wrong with an artist exploring new avenues and using diverse styles, it seems Benga is possibly being carried by the tide and not forging his own paths and directions.
Willy Moon: Here’s Willy Moon
Even if the Elvis by way of trip-hop premise of Here’s Willy Moon is a gimmick, who cares when it’s this fun?
The Bats: By Night
Flag-bearing Flying Nun group and New Zealand mainstays the Bats balance pop grace and idiosyncrasy on By Night, their debut EP from 1984.
Friday, June 14 2013
Bonnaroo 2013: Day 1 - Thursday’s Not Just a Warm-up Day Anymore
Typically a warm-up bonus day before the headliners kick in on Friday, this Thursday was full-bore Bonnaroo mayhem, with bigger-than-ever crowds doubling the capacity of the tents, where buzz acts like Django Django, Purity Ring, and Alt-J played hour-long sets.
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2013: ‘An Unreal Dream’ and ‘99%’
Two stirring documentaries show the consequences of inhumane systems, namely, criminal justice and financial industry corruption.
‘Man of Steel’: A Super-Repetitive Superhero
The familiarity of this story cuts at least two ways in this decidedly not-new version. It means the film will rehearse and reinforce the grandly mythic saga of Superman, and provide rationales for his eyeglasses and his cape.
Governors Ball 2013: Mud, Music and Finding Yeezus (Photos)
Torrential rains on the first day caused Friday to end early and left the Governors Ball grounds very very muddy. But throughout the weekend, music from Kanye, Cut Copy and several other bands made trudging through the sloppy field worthwhile.
The ‘Mad Max Blu-ray Trilogy’ Makes Us Remember the Best of Mad Mel
The aughts are in desperate need of a new action hero. In his upcoming film, Mad Max: Fury Road, here's how director George Miller can make Tom Hardy be the new Mel Gibson (you know, in a good way).
Resident Evil: Revelations
The story reaches new levels of dumb for the franchise and not the campy fun dumb that defined Resident Evil in the past. This is just dumb.
‘The Spectacle of Disintegration’ Reclaims the Truths of the Situationist International Movement
What does it mean to be a revolutionary leftist today?There is still that tapping at your shoulder, that whisper in your ear that you once knew, when you were young, idealistic, in college -- Marx was right and you know it.
‘Chronicle of a Summer’ Is a Dazzling, Shot-from-the-Hip Mini-Masterpiece
Rouch and Morin's engrossing and powerful French sociological documentary is a fine example of cinéma vérité, and it changed the course of non-fiction filmmaking forever.
Black Sabbath: 13
Thirty-five years after its last Ozzy Osbourne-fronted album, Black Sabbath return with 13. With career re-energising producer Rick Rubin on board, and Sabbath promising a return to its roots, expectations are understandably high. Best prepare to be disappointed.
The Dandy Warhols: Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (Deluxe Edition)
Camped out in the Rock 'n' Roll Hotel at the corner of Sex Boulevard and Drugs Avenue, this is a record that wallows in its own filthy sweat and is an honest distillation of just about every excess known to mankind.
The Olms: The Olms
Catchy and light, Pete Yorn’s latest retro experiment finds him mining through the sounds of the mid-to-late ‘60’s accompanied by commercial artist/musician J.D. King. The result is easy-breezy fun, if ephemeral.
