When PopMatters last caught up with Jon Lindsay, the power pop aficionado was prepping the follow-up to his debut LP, Escape from Plaza-Midwood, one of 2010's hidden gems. The Charlotte-based singer-songwriter worked at a breakneck pace this past year, putting finishing touches on his new album Summer Wilderness Program (which is set for a spring release) when he wasn't on tour, and releasing a new album with his side project The Catch Fire. Lindsay also dropped a mostly holiday-themed EP, Could It Be Christmas?, on November 29. You can download "Partner", a track off the EP, here.
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The Dance of Male Forms in Denis' 'Beau travail'
Claire Denis' masterwork of cinematic poetry, Beau travail, is a cinematic ballet that tracks through tone and style the sublimation of violent masculine complexes into the silent convulsions of male angst.
18 Sep 2020
Music
The Cradle's 'Laughing in My Sleep' Is an Off-kilter Reflection of Musical Curiosity
The Cradle's Paco Cathcart has curated a thoughtfully multifarious album. Laughing in My Sleep is an impressive collection of 21 tracks, each unapologetic in their rejection of expectations.
18 Sep 2020
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Tobin Sprout Goes Americana on 'Empty Horses'
During the heyday of Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout wasn't afraid to be absurd amongst all that fuzz. Sprout's new album, Empty Horses, is not the Tobin Sprout we know.
18 Sep 2020
Film
'All In: The Fight for Democracy' Spotlights America's Current Voting Restrictions as Jim Crow 2.0
Featuring an ebullient and combative Stacey Abrams, All In: The Fight for Democracy shows just how determined anti-democratic forces are to ensure that certain groups don't get access to the voting booth.
18 Sep 2020
Music
'Transgender Street Legend Vol. 2' Finds Left at London "At My Peak and Still Rising"
"[Pandemic lockdown] has been a detriment to many people's mental health," notes Nat Puff (aka Left at London) around her incendiary, politically-charged new album, "but goddamn it if I haven't been making some bops here and there!"
18 Sep 2020
Music
Daniel Romano's 'How Ill Thy World Is Ordered' Is His Ninth LP of 2020 and It's Glorious
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17 Sep 2020
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The Masonic Travelers Offer Stirring Rendition of "Rock My Soul" (premiere)
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18 Sep 2020
Music
GLVES Creates Mesmerizing Dark Folktronica on "Heal Me"
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18 Sep 2020
Music
Otis Junior and Dr. Dundiff Tells Us "When It's Sweet" It's So Sweet
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18 Sep 2020
Music
Lars and the Magic Mountain's "Invincible" Is a Shoegazey, Dreamy Delight (premiere)
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18 Sep 2020
Film
What 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Gets Right (and Wrong) About America
Telling the tale of the cyclops through the lens of high and low culture, in O'Brother, Where Art Thou? the Coens hammer home a fatalistic criticism about the ways that commerce, violence, and cosmetic Christianity prevail in American society .
15 Sep 2020
Music
Alexander Wren's "The Earth Is Flat" Wryly Looks at Lost Love (premiere + interview)
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17 Sep 2020
Music
Big Little Lions' "Distant Air" Is a Powerful Folk-Anthem (premiere)
Folk-pop's Big Little Lions create a powerful anthem with "Distant Air", a song full of sophisticated pop hooks, smart dynamics, and killer choruses.
17 Sep 2020
Music
The Flat Five Invite You to "Look at the Birdy" (premiere)
Chicago's the Flat Five deliver an exciting new single that exemplifies what some have called "twisted sunshine vocal pop".
17 Sep 2020
Music
Brian Bromberg Pays Tribute to Hendrix With "Jimi" (premiere + interview)
Bass giant Brian Bromberg revisits his 2012 tribute to Jimi Hendrix 50 years after his passing, and reflects on the impact Hendrix's music has had on generations.
Jedd Beaudoin
17 Sep 2020
Music
Shirley Collins' 'Heart's Ease' Affirms Her Musical Prowess
Shirley Collins' Heart's Ease makes it apparent these songs do not belong to her as they are ownerless. Collins is the conveyor of their power while ensuring the music maintains cultural importance.
17 Sep 2020
Books
Ignorance, Fear, and Democracy in America
Anti-intellectualism in America is, sadly, older than the nation itself. A new collection of Richard Hofstadter's work from Library of America traces the history of ideas and cultural currents in American society and politics.
17 Sep 2020
By the Book
Democratizing Our Data: A Manifesto (excerpt)
Just as big tech leads world in data for profit, the US government can produce data for the public good, sans the bureaucracy. This excerpt of Julia Lane's Democratizing Our Data: A Manifesto will whet your appetite for disruptive change in data management, which is critical for democracy's survival.
Julia Lane
16 Sep 2020
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