'Shapeshifters: A History' and Trans-forming Humans
Supernatural Historian John Kachuba deftly demonstrates in Shapeshifters: A History that change is the only constant in life.
18s
Features
The Book Every American Needs to Read: 'Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People'
Award-winning lawyer Ben Crump's Open Season irrefutably documents how America's treatment of Black Americans and other minorities is indistinguishable from genocide.
17h
The 10 Best Ambient Albums of 2019
Ambient music has grown with the birth of streaming, ushering in big audiences to sounds both challenging and relaxing. Here are ten best records of the year that say so much without saying a word.
18h
The 10 Best Electropop Albums of 2019
From bubbly, perky synthpop to the deepest of darkwave, electropop in 2019 reflected the general malaise by forging the brightest of pop to forget the bad times on the one hand, and embracing downtempo textures and moods on the other.
04 December
Walking the Tightrope Between History and Memory in Japan: On Harootunian's 'Uneven Moments'
Harry Harootunian's essays on modern Japanese history, collected in Uneven Moments from Columbia University Press, reflect a lifetime of intellectual contributions and span a wide range of topics in Japanese history. The tension between the historical and the everyday is a recurrent and vital theme in his work.
04 December
The 15 Best R&B/Soul Albums of 2019
The year in R&B and soul brought brilliant returns from music legends alongside artists pushing the boundaries of R&B past any limits. It's a genre where retro and futurism nestle cozily side by side. Here are the 15 best.
04 December
Codeine Club Music: 10 Sizzurp Rappers and Their Lean Lyrics
Southern Houston rappers put a twist on old blues musicians' mix of cough syrup and booze and stirred it up into a more dangerous concoction. Here are 10 rappers who took the brew from their double-cups and dropped the purple drank / sizzurp / Texas tea / "lean" into their lyrics to mixed effect.
03 December
Brits in Hot Weather #19
This week we have shadowy trap from Jordan Comolli, grime infused techno from Barney Lister, eclectic indie from Weird Milk, lo-fi indie pop from Tricky Juno, and an absolute belter from Two Tribes.
03 December
The 10 Best World Music Albums of 2019
In each of our best "world music" albums of the year, artists ask their audience to leave behind insular world views and understand new perspectives.
03 December
The 10 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2019
In 2019 "indie rock" felt more like a guitar-led free for all with artists drawing from an ever-widening musical well. These are our top 10 picks for the year.
02 December
Alex Gibney's 'Citizen K': The UK and US Through the Post-Soviet Looking Glass
In Citizen K, director Alex Gibney refrains from judging his imperfect protagonist, exiled Russian oligarch business man and political philanthropist, Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky.
02 December
'God Save the Queens' Addresses the Gender Imbalance in the Story of Rap
Kathy Iandoli's personable history, God Save the Queens, shows how women in rap face up to the battles.
02 December
The 20 Best Metal Albums of 2019
For yet another year, metal shows its endless well of creativity through fierce musicianship and ambitious outlook, highlighted through these 20 exquisite records.
27 November
10 Classic Films Making Restored Blu-ray Debuts in 2019
Classic films never before available in such spectacular shape comprise these ten recommended Blu-rays. They are but the tip of the year's big Blu iceberg, if you will, but they're an excellent starting point for your deep dive into the best classic films available.
27 November
Boy Harsher Are ​Stealing Back the Club
Boy Harsher are challenging the divide between band and club music. They're revisiting the early 1980s and not to dwell in nostalgia, but to pick up where bands like Cabaret Voltaire left off.
26 November
Brits in Hot Weather Presents: The Elephant Trees
Manchester's Elephant Trees possess fearless enthusiasm. Their upending of genre and life-affirming lyrics are all present as they move from brooding synthpop to dynamic, growling alternative rock on their latest EP.
26 November
Michel Pastoureau's 'Yellow: The History of a Color' (By the Book)
Focusing on European societies, with comparisons from East Asia, India, Africa, and South America, Yellow tells the intriguing story of the color's evolving place in art, religion, fashion, literature, and science. Enjoy this excerpt of historian Michel Pastoureau's Yellow: The History of a Color, courtesy of Princeton University Press.
Michel Pastoureau
Books
26 November
Silently Yours: The 10 Best Silent Films on Blu-ray in 2019
In our era of relentless "noise", if you will, there's a growing appreciation for silent film, as seen in the rise of festivals and the flourishing availability of silent film on Blu-ray. Fans and initiates are certain to enjoy Michael Barrett's 10 best silent films released on Blu-ray this year.
25 November
'Masked and Anonymous' and Today's Dispossessed and Disoriented
Larry Charles' misunderstood dystopic arthouse movie from 2003, Masked and Anonymous, becomes real in Trump's 2019 Impeachment America.
25 November
How Synthwave Grew from a Niche '80s Throwback to a Current Phenomenon
Synthwave began as something of a retro gumbo, pulling from modern house and nu disco music and piling in influences from vintage genres like Euro disco and the original sounds of electro. Enjoy Preston Cram's, aka "Iron Skullet" list of some of the most standout examples of synthwaves' reach into virtually every entertainment medium today.
25 November
Abjection Incorporated: Mediating the Politics of Pleasure and Violence (By the Book)
Escaping abjection's usual confines of psychoanalysis and aesthetic modernism, the contributors to Abjection Incorporated examine a range of media, including literature, photography, film, television, talking dolls, comics, and manga. Enjoy this generous excerpt, courtesy of Duke University Press.
Maggie Hennefeld and Nicholas Sammond
Books
22 November
The Chemistry of Sound and Picture: Director Midge Costin on Her Documentary, 'Making Waves'
Director Midge Costin, who explores the art of cinematic sound in her documentary, Making Waves, shows how we are informed as much by sound as we are our visual world.
22 November
Brits in Hot Weather Presents: Lauran Hibberd
There is a palpable buzz surrounding Isle of Wight singer-songwriter Lauran Hibberd. Throughout 2019, she has been capturing hearts with her electrifying live shows, chock full of whip-smart, playful indie-pop songs anthems infused with her wonderfully twisted, caustic wit.
22 November
Enjoy Yourself: An Interview with Todd Snider
Todd Snider's 2004 album, East Nashville Skyline, is getting a new lease on life with a new vinyl edition, but the veteran troubadour remains creatively restless and committed to his musical future. "I might sound like I know how life works but I don't. I know less about it all the time."
22 November
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