Hard again
During his nearly five decades in the music business, Detroit’s own Sir Mack Rice has penned some of the most popular rhythm and blues hits ever. These days, the R&B veteran is busy trying to outlive his past.
Dear Angel of Dust
From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate, an ongoing series of letters written by composer/multi-instrumentalist N., founding member of a band formerly known as the Mystic Horn Society. Volumes One through Three are Bedouin Hornbook, Djbot Baghostus’s Run and Atet A.D., respectively. Volume Four is not yet titled. [Dateless] Dear Angel of Dust,…
It takes a village
Fantastic Vol. 2? Loved it. What do I think about its marketability? It’s a slow burn. Why? Slum Village music will be a new thing to the average hip-hop consumer. It’s not new to D’Angelo, Q-Tip, the Roots, Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, Dianne Reeves, the Brand New Heavies, Busta Rhymes, De La…
Thanks for the Memorex
Name-checking Sleater-Kinney & Sinatra in Sarah Vowell’s new essay collection….
Held Up
Jamie Foxx follows up his impressive dramatic supporting role performance in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday with a less-than-impressive lead role in the silly romantic comedy Held Up. Although “silly bordering on stupid” works in the hands of the Farrelly brothers, the same can’t be said for this script in the hands of director Steve…
Frames of mind
A mammoth, mute anthology opens a new epoch….
When words collide
The comic books of Tel Aviv artists’ collective Actus Tragicus are handsome objects – with slick production values and intriguing full-color art – as well as good reads. Jetlag, the collective’s recent collaboration with Israeli novelist Etgar Keret, is as attractive as ever. But most of these five tales are more strange than interesting, and,…
Democratic vistas
Norman Rockwell painted us the way we thought we were….
Understated elegance
Annam co-owner Nguyen says that customers should feel comfortable eating their rolls with their fingers, as it’s done back home. It’s normal for restaurateurs to say they want you to experience and enjoy their culture, but as Nguyen lovingly explains her recipes, you get the feeling she really means it–light cuisine, generous portions, and comfortable…
Battlefield Earth
I’ve long felt that there should be something accompanying a movie review which would indicate any mental, physical or circumstantial condition that the critic might have been dealing with while discharging his or her viewing duties. It seems only fair to the reader and need be only a brief phrase, perhaps located just below the…
Incarnate
Incarnate tells the rather ambitious tale of a psychiatrist whose disintegrating marriage and feelings of self-doubt are complicated by his encounter with a supernatural being who, in turn, may be connected to a series of mysterious murders. As usual in a genre film, the acting is variable, though the lead, David Adler, is quite good…
Time Code
In their methodology, The Big Kahuna and Time Code are diametrically opposed. The former is a filmed play, the latter a visual experiment with improvised dialogue – yet they manage to exemplify the complex storytelling dilemmas facing contemporary filmmakers. For his debut film, The Big Kahuna, theater director John Swanbeck has made a respectful adaptation…
The Big Kahuna
In their methodology, The Big Kahuna and Time Code are diametrically opposed. The former is a filmed play, the latter a visual experiment with improvised dialogue – yet they manage to exemplify the complex storytelling dilemmas facing contemporary filmmakers. For his debut film, The Big Kahuna, theater director John Swanbeck has made a respectful adaptation…
