SAVE / IGNORE: Labels

GSN

shathley Q

21 Aug 2015

A Bookish Teenager Finds Herself in Laura Taylor Namey’s 'Library of Lost Things'

In Laura Taylor Namey's Library of Lost Things, teens find security and significance in themselves as works in progress.

Books

Surreal Visions of a Girls' Boarding School in Jacqueline Audry's 'Olivia'

The world always has a reason why sex is wrong, so perhaps the most subversive element in Jacqueline Audry's Olivia is its refusal to condemn.

Film

Randall Bramblett's "Vibrating Strings" Is About Staying Alive (premiere + interview)

Randall Bramblett reissues his acclaimed, quiet masterpiece, The Meantime in 2020. "This was not an easy record technically to make," he recalls. "We were vulnerable." Listen to "Vibrating Strings".

Jedd Beaudoin

Music

The Curmudgeonly King of Noir Chronicled in 'Notes From the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed'

Howard Sounes' Notes From the Velvet Underground is a beautifully considered book, with enough detail about the life and career of Lou Reed for the geeks, enough context for the historians, and just enough juicy stuff for everyone else.

Books

On the Raydio: An Interview with Ray Parker, Jr.

With a documentary and new album slated for 2020, GRAMMY-winning legend Ray Parker, Jr. reflects on his career from Motown to "Ghostbusters" and beyond.

Music

The 15 Best Avant-Garde and Experimental Albums of 2019

In an age when the personal is political feels as necessary as ever, we identify most with experimenters who transcend the throwing-shit-at-a-wall, banging-on-pots-and-cans approach. These artists occupy the earthly just as much as they occupy the mechanical and the celestial.

Music

The Power of Looking Compels 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'

Set in 18th century France, Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire applies ravishing historical details to the timeless poetry of forbidden love.

Film

Sharon Marcus Challenges Current Cultural Theories in 'The Drama of Celebrity'

Who decides who gets to be famous? What does it mean to be famous? Sharon Marcus offers insight.

Books

Music History, the Conspiracy Theory: On Ted Gioia's Music: A Subversive History

Although enjoyable in that sweeping big picture kind of way, there is nothing subversive to be found in Ted Gioia's Music: A Subversive History.

Books

The Best Jazz of 2019

Our jazz critics create four quartets of great creative music, demonstrating four trends that keep "jazz" relevant in a new century.

Music

MetalMatters: November 2019 - Winter Is Coming

Filled with everything from extreme doom/death and progressive death to experimental avant-garde jazz induced visions and screamo dreams, November does not disappoint.

Music

Venus as a Boy in Silent Film 'Little Old New York'

Sidney Olcott's silent film Little Old New York falls into a tradition of men who find themselves strangely attracted to boys that turn out to be girls in disguise.

Film

Jami Attenberg Explores Patriarchal Fallout in 'All This Could Be Yours'

Through a familial lens, Jami Attenberg offers a thoughtful and often darkly funny exploration of Trumpian patriarchy in All This Could Be Yours.

Reviews

The 70 Best Albums of 2019

From forward-looking electronic and experimental to new approaches in the ever-evolving R&B scene, from hip-hop and punk to rock and pop, 2019 bestowed an embarrassment of musical riches upon us.

Music

The Best Progressive Rock/Metal of 2019

This year in progressive rock and metal found genre mainstays continuing to impress while relative underdogs and newcomers finally seized some of the spotlight.

Jordan Blum

Music

Friend Within Brings Sunshine to the Dancefloor on "Space Jam" (premiere)

Liverpool producer Friend Within's "Space Jam" is the kind of deliciously fun, deep house tune made for detonating those winter blues.

Music

A Pact to Be Tender When the World Is Coarse: Stewart Lupton and Jonathan Fire*Eater

With the release of the expanded edition of Tremble Under Boom Lights, the 45-page chapbook of the poetry of Stewart Lupton, and the re-release of Wolf Songs for Lambs, Jonathan Fire*Eater are ripe for reappraisal.

Music

The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2019

Following Stormzy's run up the charts, 2019 proved to be a banner year for British hip-hop with a trio of masterpieces. America's myriad hip-hop scenes delivered the goods, and African rap gave us many stellar releases.

Music

'Shapeshifters' and Other Trans-forming Humans

Supernatural Historian John Kachuba deftly demonstrates in Shapeshifters: A History that change is the only constant in life.

Featured: Top of Home Page

With "Santa Baby", Emergency Tiara Updates a Classic Just in Time for the Holidays (premiere)

J-pop meets vintage girl group in Emergency Tiara's smart, sassy cover of the Eartha Kitt Christmas standard, "Santa Baby".

Music

Ambient Producer Steve Hauschildt Gets Glitchy on 'Nonlin'

Electronic artist Steve Hauschildt has made one of his most challenging records with Nonlin, but that makes it one of the most rewarding.

Reviews

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.

Books

Pan American Expresse Powerful Emotions Through Guitar Instrumentals on 'A Son'

As Pan American, Mark Nelson sings for the first time since his magnum opus Quiet City, but his emotions are most powerfully expressed through his instrumental guitar compositions.

Music

Pop Ten

The 70 Best Albums of 2019

The Best Jazz of 2019

The 15 Best Avant-Garde and Experimental Albums of 2019

The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2019

The Best Progressive Rock/Metal of 2019

The 20 Best Metal Albums of 2019

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

The 25 Best Classic Progressive Rock Albums

The 10 Best Ambient Albums of 2019

The 15 Best R&B/Soul Albums of 2019

Collapse Expand Pop Ten

Mixed Media

Collapse Expand Mixed Media

PM Picks

Collapse Expand Pm Picks

GSN

In Laura Taylor Namey's Library of Lost Things, teens find security and significance in themselves as works in progress.

The world always has a reason why sex is wrong, so perhaps the most subversive element in Jacqueline Audry's Olivia is its refusal to condemn.

Randall Bramblett reissues his acclaimed, quiet masterpiece, The Meantime in 2020. "This was not an easy record technically to make," he recalls. "We were vulnerable." Listen to "Vibrating Strings".

Howard Sounes' Notes From the Velvet Underground is a beautifully considered book, with enough detail about the life and career of Lou Reed for the geeks, enough context for the historians, and just enough juicy stuff for everyone else.

With a documentary and new album slated for 2020, GRAMMY-winning legend Ray Parker, Jr. reflects on his career from Motown to "Ghostbusters" and beyond.

In an age when the personal is political feels as necessary as ever, we identify most with experimenters who transcend the throwing-shit-at-a-wall, banging-on-pots-and-cans approach. These artists occupy the earthly just as much as they occupy the mechanical and the celestial.

Set in 18th century France, Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire applies ravishing historical details to the timeless poetry of forbidden love.

Who decides who gets to be famous? What does it mean to be famous? Sharon Marcus offers insight.

Although enjoyable in that sweeping big picture kind of way, there is nothing subversive to be found in Ted Gioia's Music: A Subversive History.

Our jazz critics create four quartets of great creative music, demonstrating four trends that keep "jazz" relevant in a new century.

Filled with everything from extreme doom/death and progressive death to experimental avant-garde jazz induced visions and screamo dreams, November does not disappoint.

Sidney Olcott's silent film Little Old New York falls into a tradition of men who find themselves strangely attracted to boys that turn out to be girls in disguise.

Through a familial lens, Jami Attenberg offers a thoughtful and often darkly funny exploration of Trumpian patriarchy in All This Could Be Yours.

Kanye West's rap is rooted in gospel right from The College Dropout days. These five songs, which explore the relationship between Yeezus and Jesus, show that his recent album, Jesus Is King, isn't an aberration.

From forward-looking electronic and experimental to new approaches in the ever-evolving R&B scene, from hip-hop and punk to rock and pop, 2019 bestowed an embarrassment of musical riches upon us.

This year in progressive rock and metal found genre mainstays continuing to impress while relative underdogs and newcomers finally seized some of the spotlight.

Liverpool producer Friend Within's "Space Jam" is the kind of deliciously fun, deep house tune made for detonating those winter blues.

With the release of the expanded edition of Tremble Under Boom Lights, the 45-page chapbook of the poetry of Stewart Lupton, and the re-release of Wolf Songs for Lambs, Jonathan Fire*Eater are ripe for reappraisal.

Following Stormzy's run up the charts, 2019 proved to be a banner year for British hip-hop with a trio of masterpieces. America's myriad hip-hop scenes delivered the goods, and African rap gave us many stellar releases.

Supernatural Historian John Kachuba deftly demonstrates in Shapeshifters: A History that change is the only constant in life.

J-pop meets vintage girl group in Emergency Tiara's smart, sassy cover of the Eartha Kitt Christmas standard, "Santa Baby".

Electronic artist Steve Hauschildt has made one of his most challenging records with Nonlin, but that makes it one of the most rewarding.

Award-winning lawyer Ben Crump's Open Season irrefutably documents how America's treatment of Black Americans and other minorities is indistinguishable from genocide.

As Pan American, Mark Nelson sings for the first time since his magnum opus Quiet City, but his emotions are most powerfully expressed through his instrumental guitar compositions.