Damien Jurado Learns From Emptiness on ‘What’s New, Tomboy?’
What's New, Tomboy? is special for how profoundly Damien Jurado acknowledges what might be learned from the emptiness in this life, as well as from being still and waiting to be filled.
Thomas Britt
Thomas Britt is Associate Professor of Film and Video Studies at George Mason University.
Mark Lanegan Lives, Contending with Death Through Music on ‘Straight Songs of Sorrow’
On Straight Songs of Sorrow, Mark Lanegan tells stories from his life and wrestles with death, his chief subject.
Music, Drama, and Philosophy with Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix
Liturgy founder Hunter Hunt-Hendrix discusses religion, philosophy, history, and music from Johannes Brahms to Waka Flocka Flame.
Tarantino Descends to the 9th Circle in ‘Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood’
Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood is the clearest signal yet of Quentin Tarantino's transition from creative referentialist to repeat offender, standing somewhere between revisionism and recidivism.
Warming Up to Melody: An Interview with Film/TV Score Composer Cliff Martinez
Film/TV score composer Cliff Martinez talks with PopMatters about his work with Steven Soderbergh, Harmony Korine, and Nicolas Winding Refn, whose new series Too Old to Die Young features one of Martinez's most ambitious scores to date.
Lambchop Surveys the Senses on ‘This (is what I wanted to tell you)’
Lambchop's new album is the musical equivalent of that final "walk" monologue from Synecdoche, New York. It's a heavy listen, but potentially a rapturous one as well, for anyone who has ever experienced a reverie of aging and all it entails.
Cabana Wear Is Power Pop for Life’s Middle Act
At a time when some of the progenitors of this style of rock music are hitting walls creatively, a regional super-group comes along to show how relevant this sound can be.
Weezer’s ‘Black Album’ Has Already Expired
Weezer's Black Album shrinks to the low ambition of phoned-in karaoke over plastic keyboard preloads.
The Smashing Pumpkins: Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
Thirty years on, the Smashing Pumpkins are (mostly) reunited and recording new music that displays the band's visionary spirit.
Smoking Popes on Faith, Politics, and Judy Garland
Josh Caterer of Smoking Popes talks with PopMatters about musical and spiritual experiences, and reflections about the legendary Judy Garland, who inspired their new album Into the Agony.
The Sound of the Shimmer: Interview with Annihilation’s Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow
Emmy-nominated composer Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, music producer and founding member of Portishead, speak with PopMatters about their original score for Alex Garland's science-fiction film, Annihilation.