These films are generous reminders that cinema isn’t always about diagnosing global problems.
Like The Flaming Lips, Andrew Bird’s a musical existentialist: Lyrics of doubt and worry against a reassuring musical backdrop.
Auteurist artistry and genre craftsmanship remain vital filmmaking avenues throughout the decade.
There’s a lot of controversy about how closely, if at all, From a Basement on the Hill mirrors Elliott Smith’s intentions for its final form.
The splendidly odd Neko Case has the looks of a pin-up girl and the voice of an “American Idol” champion.
Last year, for reasons I don’t entirely understand, Gucci Mane suddenly become a rap critic favorite.
Mellow’s name was a lie: Perfect Colors, their second (and seemingly final) album proper, is breathlessly sarcastic.
That something vital to pop discourse might be lost if full-length albums disappear should give pause as we dive headfirst into the 21st century’s gangly, awkward teenage years.
After Moon Safari, Air were (at least briefly) mandatory entry-level indie listening.
RJD2 eventually went in some poorly-reviewed direction or other I didn’t follow; apparently things got a lot whiter and clumsier.
Textbook blog-hype band: first album praised beyond (but only a little beyond) its merits, automatically slammed by same for their follow-up.
Arguably, the aughts traveled through three or four distinct phases of journalistically notable indie rock trends
Hello, and welcome to my much-delayed project to annotate my top 100 songs of our not-so-dearly-departed decade.
The decade that began with the commercial single seemingly gasping its last dying breath ended with it being the dominating format.
No one needs to tell you the sea change in the realm of music videos and how we all consume them in the 21st century.
Successful or not, there’s something about the rebbot that I gravitate toward.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact source, but the music landscape of 2009 is perhaps best characterized by its slipperiness.
The year delivered a cinematic bounty for those intrepid enough to venture outside their staid megaplex comfort zones.
So what did frighten me as a kid?
The year’s best music reflects the spirits of hope and change that will likely define 2008.
Documentaries in particular enjoyed a banner year, whether crafted by well-known legends of the medium or heretofore-unknown talents.