Scoop
Don’t believe all the bad reviews this film’s getting: it’s hilarious. A silly comedy in the vein of oh so many other Woody Allen movies, but is that a bad thing? Not when it makes you laugh hard, as this one does.
Best song I’ve heard all year? Possibly. It’s a stark, direct, and gorgeous love song, off her upcoming new album Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars (Matador).
Fantastic career overview, two discs absolutely packed with ragged pop glory, played with a punk sense of independence and efficiency.
Previously underwhelming down-to-basics hip-hop duo has reinvented their sound, making it fresh and forward-looking.
Breezy, bossa-nova-ish pop on this excellent EP, which closes with a nice cover of The Arcade Fire’s “Crown of Love.”
Textured, layered, blissed-out pop/rock, but instead of glossing over the detailed emotions of the songs this dreamy atmosphere heightens them. A very impressive, enjoyable album.
On Dangerous Ground DVD
An excellent Nicholas Ray-directed suspense film from 1951, starring Robert Ryan as a cop who’s become hardened to life from the constant exposure to crime.
I was super-excited about this two-disc set of unreleased music from the great band Hefner, and so far it’s not letting me down at all.
Speaking of Hefner, I listened again recently to this 2002 album from that band’s guitarist Jack Hayter. It’s a wonderful record, singer-songwriter music but with a unique style.
I’m really coming around on this helter-skelter rock album from another of Robert Pollard’s projects. Great fun.
