I pitched in for both of my regular areas this week at Spectrum Culture. On the film side, I wrote a review of a new documentary on the widely protested incarceration of Mumia Abu-Jamal. I actually took this one on for a very specific reason: I’ve now spent at least twenty years hearing cries of “Free Mumia” from a certain, impassioned subsection of society, without ever hearing a corresponding explanation for why his sentence is unjust. I presumed the documentary would provide that, but it instead glossed over the particulars of the situation in much the same way I was accustomed to, operating as if the former radio journalist’s status as a political prisoner is plainly self-evident. I guess I need to keep waiting for that documentary that will address the matter with openness and integrity.

In the music section, I wrote on the new album from Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. It’s fantastic. Between this and the Yo La Tengo I recently reviewed, I’ve had some blessed luck with 2013 album releases thus far.