Spectrum Check

This week, I contributed to our List Inconsequential feature on badass album covers by writing about the Sonic Youth album that includes their fierce collaboration with Chuck D and, even better, helped make possible their eventual, inadvertent and unbelievably cool collaboration with Christina Aguilera. I also wrote about the latest album from the Felice Brothers, one of way too many bands with the word “Brothers” in their name that emerged at roughly the same time. The new record was pretty good, though, even if it made me think anew about (and do fresh research on) the Creepiest Place on EarthTM. … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Conway, Garbus, von Sternberg, Weir, Yates

The Hucksters (Jack Conway, 1947). Based on Frederic Wakeman’s novel from the previous year, The Hucksters burrows into the intersection between advertising and media as a sharp-witted, upstanding man returns to the former field after years away. Clark Gable plays Victor Norman, a crafty operator who views his soap company overlord largely with sardonic superiority. The portions of the film that survey the ever-shifting terrain of the radio environment are uniformly strong, thanks in no small part to the boisterously effective performance of Sydney Greenstreet as the corporate bigwig who sets everyone but Gable’s Norman aquiver. The stretches that deal … Continue reading Conway, Garbus, von Sternberg, Weir, Yates

Spectrum Check

This week, I finally starting working on the backlog of record reviews I need to work through by offering up an assessment of the new album by the U.K. band Let’s Wrestle. It was one of those tricky instances of having to write about something when my primary reaction to it is “Eh, it’s okay.” What’s actually harder is writing about a film that’s terrific. Invariably, I feel like my words are inadequate. Lu Chuan’s new movie is tough, uncompromising and beautifully made. I am pleased that I wrote the review without ever using the word “epic.” That was intentional. … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Spectrum Check

This week I took my first crack at the Revisit feature over on the music side of things, which proved to be far more difficult for me. I initially thought I’d write about R.E.M.’s Out of Time this year stands as the twentieth anniversary of its release and, despite being a major success, it seems to be one of the forgotten albums by the band. I thought it would be interesting to give it a fresh listen, separated from the saturation play it experienced at my college radio station upon release. I may still try writing that piece at some … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Spectrum Check

This week, I reviewed a new film that stars John Hawkes as artist Stan Herd. Hawkes is good as always; the movie has some issues. I also contributed an entry to this week’s List Inconsequential, which focused on the best film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works. The super-secret, DVD commentary track backstory on this one is that it was initially intended to be the best and the worst of Shakespeare adaptations, but everyone wanted to write about their favorites. I’ve actually had a hard time thinking of a film bad enough to be singled out for the that sort of … Continue reading Spectrum Check