Album Reviews
Moonface
Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums
Mar 11, 2010 Web Exclusive
For a time I was convinced Spencer Krug did not sleep, instead spending his nights tapping away at a Casio keyboard, penning his next great indie rock fantasy. In addition to his role as Sunset Rubdown's frontman, the Canadian avant-rocker balances responsibilities in Wolf Parade and Swan Lake, as well as a burgeoning solo project deemed Moonface. With the release of Moonface's Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums, there's musical proof that Krug does, in fact, find the time for shut-eye—and that he dreams quite a bit while doing so.
Classic Interviews
Band of Horses
No Place Like Home
Oct 01, 2007 Fall 2007 - Beirut
Artists are often a nostalgic lot. From Paul McCartney dreaming of just one more gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool to Neil Young returning to the Canadian prairie of his youth for inspiration, the places that formed you as an individual have the ability to awaken feelings long lost through the business of life. The saying goes that “you can’t go home again,” but sometimes going home can fuel great art. With Cease to Begin, Band of Horses goes home.
Comic Book Reviews
Madame Xanadu: Exodus Noir
DC/Vertigo
Mar 05, 2010 Web Exclusive
Madame Xanadu: Exodus Noir collects issues 11-15 of the DC/Vertigo series. I mentioned when reviewing the House of Mystery: Halloween Annual No. 1 last October that the art of Amy Reeder Hadley in the Madame Xanadu chapter was a standout. Accordingly, I was excited to review a chapter of Madame Xanadu, and somewhat disappointed when I discovered that Hadley was not the artist in this trade. But that disappointment didn't last long.
Book Reviews
David Hajdu: Heroes and Villains: Essays On Music, Movies, Comics and Culture
Feb 19, 2010 Web Exclusive
Though he's widely known for The Ten Cent Plague, his 2008 book on the U.S. government's 1950s war on comics, David Hajdu has long been a music critic for The New Republic. Heroes and Villains is primarily focused on the musical end of things, but as its full title notes, contains explorations into music, movies, comics, and the broader cultural landscape as well.
Video Game Reviews
BioShock 2 Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC
2K Games
Feb 21, 2010 Web Exclusive
The original BioShock did two things right. It told a brilliantly atmospheric story that borrowed heavily from Ayn Rand's dystopian novel Atlas Shrugged. And it married that story to a first person shooter, a genre that was hitting its peak in 2007. There was really no way that BioShock 2 could match the originality and surprise that the original possessed, but it comes close.
News
Betty White To Host Saturday Night Live!
Mar 11, 2010
Aint It Cool has some news that isn’t just cool, it’s down right awesome. Golden Girl Betty White is set to host Saturday Day Night Live May 8th. Sure beats the heck out of getting your mom a card.
Interviews
The Mary Onettes
Mar 08, 2010 Web Exclusive
After having graced U.S. shores with a (very) short tour in the fall, Swedish four-piece The Mary Onettes are primed and ready to bring their particular brand of lush, '80s-inflected pop music to the States once again this spring. The band will be working off its latest album, Islands, it's second with Swedish indie record label Labrador. The album may be the band's best to date, inspired largely by the loss of several important people in singer/songwriter Philip Ekström's life prior to and during the writing process. Ekström speaks with Under the Radar, sharing some of the hardships that came with Islands and discussing what is ultimately a triumph of spirit in music.
Pleased to meet you
Fanfarlo
Feb 19, 2010 Web Exclusive
Simon Balthazar, frontman of the orchestral pop group Fanfarlo, grew up surrounded by instruments. And although he learned how to play the piano, guitar, drums and mandolin early on, it wasn't until he was about 17 that he figured out a way to effectively use them: first to play other people's songs, then to write his own
Live reviews
El Perro del Mar and Taken By Trees at The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA, March 3, 2010
Mar 05, 2010
The thing about opening bands is, they rarely serve their intended purpose. Sure an act comes out, plays a mini set, and endures audience neglect and outright abuse in the name of hocking a few t-shirts and EPs, but as far as serving as a delicious appetizer to the musical main course to follow? Nine times out of ten you're better off cruising the bar for attractive singles, or more practically, earplugs. Maybe that's why the combination of co-headliners El Perro del Mar and Taken by Tress make such a shockingly successful paring. Both are thoughtful female singer/songwriters from Sweden with slightly off-kilter vocals, the only question is: what took them so long?
Blog
Guest Blog: Findlay Brown’s Tour Diary
Feb 23, 2010
British singer/songwriter Findlay Brown has just finished a west coast tour in support of his second album, Love Will Find You (Verve). Brown chronicled the short tour, which included opening slots for Nouvelle Vague, for this tour diary. Be prepared for bed bugs, '80s covers, gang fights, and much more!
Cinema Reviews
Alice in Wonderland
Mar 03, 2010 Web Exclusive
Few contemporary directors are as consistent as Tim Burton—consistently frustrating, that is. Though still blessed with an agreeably dark sensibility and a knack for striking visual design, Burton makes movies that are a treat for the eye, but it's been far too long since he's engaged the heart and head as confidently. Maybe that's why it's little surprise that his latest effort, Alice in Wonderland, is exactly what you'd expect from a Tim Burton film—unfortunately.
DVD Reviews
Cold Souls DVD
Studio: Fox
Mar 05, 2010 Web Exclusive
So this is what Charlie Kaufman has wrought. One had to wonder what effects Kaufman's flights of fancy (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, etc.) would have on Hollywood.
Television Reviews
Parenthood
NBC, Thursdays 10/9 Central
Mar 01, 2010 Issue #30 - Winter 2010 - Vampire Weekend
Twenty-one years after the movie and one aborted attempt at a television show in 1991, NBC is giving Parenthood a second try. The 2010 version has infinitely more potential with updated storylines and (major) star power. The genuineness and grit of the original, however, is intact.