Stephin Merritt's Trapped on Magnetic Fields' Realism
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
Stephin Merritt’s experiments have started to overshadow his songwriting since 1999’s 69 Love Songs, his massive three-disc survey of American song forms. There he was almost as much a musicologist as a songwriter, tapping into ’60s pop, honky tonk, punk, and Tin Pan Alley. Full story »
More Music Reviews
- Surfer Blood's Debut, Astro Coast, Shows Off the Band's Florida Roots
- Another Spoon Album, Just Different Enough From Other Spoon Albums
- Eels Return With Their Saddest Album Yet
- Some Recent Releases Reflect the Variety of Thai Country Music
Jeff Bridges Saves Crazy Heart With His Unflinching Portrayal of a Washed-Up Country Singer
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
If the script of Crazy Heartpulls a few punches, Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake never does. His unglamorous, often devastating portrayal of a deeply flawed but essentially sympathetic character elevates the material to something that shouldn’t be missed. Whether he’s on his knees in front of a toilet or crooning on an embarrassingly small stage, Bridges inhabits the character so completely that little of the actor is left. Full story »
More Movies
- Hal Holbrook Delivers the Performance of His Career in Local Production "That Evening Sun"
- Colin Firth and First-Time Director Tom Ford Add Joy to "A Single Man"
- Peter Jackson's "Lovely Bones" Adaptation Is Totally Forgettable
- Emily Blunt Earns Her Crown in "The Young Victoria"
This Is It and Soul Power Shed Light on Michael Jackson and an All-Star Soul Concert in Africa
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
By far the weirdest thing about This Is It (Sony), Michael Jackson’s posthumous kinda/sorta concert film, is that it was never supposed to be a film at all. Full story »
More DVD/TV
- Sam Rockwell ("Moon") and Tilda Swinton ("Julia") Make a Pair of Good Films Great
- Star-Studded Documentary "It Might Get Loud" Explores the Magic and Mystery of the Electric Guitar
- The Year in DVD: From Polanski to Deep Cuts From the Warner Archive
- "A Christmas Tale" Offers an Unpredictable Take on the Usual Family Christmas Movie Trimmings; Robert Redford's an Icy Star in "Downhill Racer"
"Divinity 2: Ego Draconis" Clings to Life Through One Fun Element and a Lot of Prayer
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
Ego Draconis allegedly runs on the same engine that powered Fallout 3 and Oblivion, but I’m afraid to put that in print for fear of a libel suit from Bethesda. Divinity 2 is easily the buggiest game I’ve encountered in three console generations. Full story »
More Video Games
- "The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks" Blazes an All-Too-Familiar Trail on the Nintendo DS
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii May Cause Flashbacks
- The Year in Video Games: It's Been a Post-Apocalyptic Superhero Slugfest
- "Assassins' Creed II" Realizes the Series' Promised Potential
Will Microsoft's Windows 7 Render Your PC Obsolete?
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Operating systems are at their best when they sit down, shut up, and do exactly what the user wants. The truest test of an OS is how quickly the user forgets about it, and Windows 7’s greatest strength may be the ease with which it accomplishes just that. Full story »
More Digital Media
Downtown Gallery Shows Off an International Mix of Sculpture, Each Piece No Bigger Than a Shoebox
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
In a wide array of media and wildly divergent in form and content, 81 small sculptures representing artists from across the globe pack the popular triennial Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, which is here in Knoxville a second time. The curators asked only that artists create work sized to fit inside a standard shoebox. Although partly a means to include greater variety, such shows can crowd the work, making it difficult to see sculptures from different angles. Such an installation can also be totally misinterpreted in a consumer culture: Downtown Gallery director Mike Berry noticed that more than one visitor has tried to lift pieces upside-down in order to check for a price tag. Full story »
More Art
- ETHC’s Splendid Show of Smokies Art Ranges From the Classic to the Esoteric
- Brian Wagner’s Photo Project Lets Local Musicians Show Themselves Off
- UT Art Grads Rack Up International Acclaim
- Lost and FOUND
Despite Efforts, "Lulu in Marrakech" Unconvincing
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Diane Johnson has perfected the contemporary novel of manners. Or more particularly, she has mastered the expatriate version of such, a cross between Henry James’ American on European Tour and Jane Austen’s Social Commentary. In previous works, such as Le Divorce (1997), Le Mariage (2000), and L’Affaire (2003), Johnson’s central characters are invariably newly arrived Americans set adrift in European, mostly French-speaking, settings of subtlety and expatriate compromise. In her latest work, Lulu in Marrakech, Johnson relocates the setting from Europe to Morocco.
Full story »More Books
New York Soprano (and YouTube Sensation) Rachele Gilmore Brings Drama and Fireworks to KOC's Upcoming Lucia di Lammermoor
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
On Dec. 23, on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, Rachele Gilmore's career—and notoriety—took one of those sudden, out-of-the-blue upswings that are the stuff of show-biz legends. Gilmore had been on the Metropolitan Opera roster this season as a cover for Kathleen Kim in the role of Olympia, the mechanical doll, in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. Kim was forced to withdraw because of illness. On a few hours notice, Gilmore stepped into the role and electrified the Met audience with her coloratura vocal acrobatics in the “Doll Song,” which included an amazing high A-flat. Full story »
More Classical Music
- KSO Chamber Group Reprises Two Masterworks Concert Pieces With Surprisingly Effective Results
- KSO Guest Violinist Rachel Barton Pine Finds New Life in Brahms’ Warhorse Violin Concerto
- Next Movement: Violinist and Concertmaster Mark Zelmanovich Retiring From KSO
- The Year in Classical Music
Theatre Knoxville's "Forbidden Knoxville" Leaves Nothing Sacred
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010
In its second rendition, Forbidden Knoxville is a two-act roasting of everything K-town, cooked to perfection. With its original libretto sharply written by its director, Jayne Morgan, and its musical score set wonderfully to familiar Broadway tunes by its musical director, Christopher Hamblin, Forbidden Knoxville profanes the self-aggrandized with a robust incorrigibility only appropriate for those speaking the truth. Full story »
More Theater
- Tennessee Stage Company Rescues a Bad Script with Care and Focus in New Production of "I Hate Hamlet"
- Actors Co-op Presents Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love
- Hometown actress Dale Dickey skillfully inhabits Tennessee Williams’ Tortured Blanche
- Clarence Brown Ends on High Note with Tommy
Graphic Novel "Trick 'r Treat" Celebrates All Things Halloween
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009
After gathering dust on Warner Bros.’ shelves for two years, Mike Dougherty’s Trick ’r Treat finally found its way to DVD earlier this month. Though inexplicably denied a theatrical release, screenings at festivals and conventions helped the film earn an enthusiastic fan base and a well-deserved reputation as one of the best horror movies in recent memory. Full story »
More Comics & Graphic Novels
- Vikings Storm the Comic Book Stands
- Mignola Brings Hellboy Universe to Victorian England
- "Irredeemable": When Superheroes Go Bad
- H.P. Lovecraft Fans in for Creepy, Meta Treat