Forget about the noted indie director -- this is the original medium manipulator. Let’s face it, anyone who stands as one of elusive author Thomas Pynchon’s favorite artist has to be something pretty special. Deconstructing Tin Pan Alley classics with a cacophony of found noises and non-musical accompaniment (Gunshots? Train whistles?), the bandleader and cultural critic was like Mitch Miller without the tired traditionalism. Today, he’s a forgotten footnote in the otherwise recognizable novelty song sect. Thankfully, this DVD presentation provides testimonials from those he’s influenced (Weird Al Yankovic) as well as a chance to see the man in his manic element.
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
06 Dec 2019
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.
06 Dec 2019
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.
06 Dec 2019
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.
06 Dec 2019
'Shapeshifters' and Other Trans-forming Humans
Supernatural Historian John Kachuba deftly demonstrates in Shapeshifters: A History that change is the only constant in life.
06 Dec 2019
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".
05 Dec 2019
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.
05 Dec 2019
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.
05 Dec 2019
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.
05 Dec 2019
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.
05 Dec 2019
Tyler Boone Dodges Cliches With "Jealousy" (premiere + interview)
Americana rocker Tyler Boone wraps up a successful year with a video for "Jealousy" while growing his second career in the bourbon business.
05 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
Morris Day Gives the Reader a Funky Take on a Life in Funk with 'On Time'
Day built his everything on top of Prince's everything, and it's no secret. In his memoir, On Time, he channels the superstar to enjoyable effect.
03 Dec 2019
A Boy, a Dog, a Gang of Peanuts, and the Meaning of Life
For all the Charlie Browns in the world, Library of America has published The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life.
03 Dec 2019
At 60 Years Distance, Joe Meek's 'I Hear a New World' Still Sounds Unique
Joe Meek's vision of life on a different planet is placed in a fresh context by Cherry Red Records' three disc box-set treatment.
03 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
Comet Gain Make Their Most Punk Record Ever with 'Fireraisers Forever!'
Like most of the world right now, the members of Comet Gain seem to have a knot in their stomach that they're trying to break loose. As such, they've created their most punk effort yet with Fireraisers Forever!
03 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
Rachael & Vilray Update Swing-Era Music on Their Debut
Rachael & Vilray is an absolute reflection of the jazz era while also firmly integrating the sound and energy into the contemporary moment.
02 Dec 2019
gg's Graphic Fiction, 'Constantly', Knows Where the Monsters Go
Where gg's I'm Not Here found its force in ambiguity and the maybe-fantastical, Constantly is comparatively straightforward in its portrayal of the protagonist's sometimes literal battle with her own psyche.
02 Dec 2019
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 Dec 2019
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