Monthly Archives: March 2010

Unspooled: the older brother problem

Posted on March 30, 2010 by

What kind of profile do Neil Finn and co. boast? I fell in love with Crowded House the way Matos did with Marshall Crenshaw’s Field Day. For reasons I don’t know, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” experienced a revival in the … Continue reading →

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Yick.

Posted on March 29, 2010 by

For a lot of us in South Florida the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Adam Walsh in the summer of 1981 was our first exposure to what we call now “the news cycle”: the drip-drip-drip of coverage that begins with … Continue reading →

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Mongrel hearts

Posted on March 28, 2010 by

James Mercer has the tunes, Danger Mouse has the beats, so you’d think they’d make lots of hooks if not quite lots of money (even in this chart climate). But their Broken Bells collaboration offers plenty of hooks and beats … Continue reading →

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Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long

Posted on March 27, 2010 by

I’m a sucker for any song that samples Wings’ “Arrow Through Me.” Here’s a track from Erykah Badu’s new album.

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Singles 3/25

Posted on March 25, 2010 by

In descending order. After two months of living with it I’m slightly nauseated by the chimes on “Giving Up The Gun,” but I still adore it, like a beloved roommate who leaves his dirty socks on the kitchen counter. Vampire … Continue reading →

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Point and shoot

Posted on March 24, 2010 by

Brothers confirms three things: (1) while Natalie Portman has gotten so gangly-gorgeous that I considered reparative therapy, she recites lines like an assistant director keeps walking out of her line of vision with the cue card; (2) Jake Gyllenhaal, after … Continue reading →

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Unspooled: God’s footballer

Posted on March 23, 2010 by

Johnny Marr earned so much good will from his work with The Smiths and on Electronic’s eponymous album that his participation on Billy Bragg’s “Sexuality” persuaded me to trust him one more time (I gladly avoided his work on The … Continue reading →

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News flash: Western civilization “a slowly sinking ship”

Posted on March 22, 2010 by

John Derbyshire, whose crankiness fails to amuse, proves why conservatism has had trouble attracting the young. He also sounds, oddly, like Gore Vidal: It’ll be over soon. We’ll be down in the cold, lightless depths of imperial despotism — in … Continue reading →

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Too much information

Posted on March 21, 2010 by

So long as it sticks to its roots as a nasty political comedy with a few thrills instead of a suspense film, The Ghost Writer justifies the accolades heaped on it by critics eager to support Roman Polanski’s art yet … Continue reading →

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“A profane, profound, wisecracking American Music Man”

Posted on March 19, 2010 by

Ann Powers’ lovely Alex Chilton obituary.

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Singles 3/17

Posted on March 18, 2010 by

Retreating into the introspection of Mama’s Gun and even Baduism if I’m in a cranky mood, Badu scores the biggest triumph. Erykah Badu – Window Seat (8) Chiddy Bang – The Opposite of Adults (6) Jason Derulo – In My … Continue reading →

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Alex Chilton: RIP.

Posted on March 17, 2010 by

Like a lot of eighties kids, my first acquaintance with Alex Chilton happened when I fast forwarded around The Bangles’ cover of “September Gurls” on Different Light. A decent cover — sung by (I think) bassist Michael Steele, with the … Continue reading →

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