FRESH AIR In his new film Outrage, Academy Award-nominated director Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) turns his camera on some of the nation’s most powerful policymakers — politicians, in both legislatures and executive suites, who live what some say are closeted gay lives while chalking up what activists describe as deplorably anti-gay voting records. Dick says he wants to “highlight the hypocrisy” by consulting openly gay politicians and journalists for their insights while talking to insiders about what they know. Dicks previous documentary films include This Film is Not Yet Rated, which looks at the byzantine world […]
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Good News Flower Hour
The Good News Flower Hour #19 The week that was in just five minutes! Prepare to smile. You know you wanna.
CONCERT REVIEW: As Emo As They Wanna Be
BY KYLEE MESSNER & DIANCA POTTS Taking the stage of the sold out Troc, Denver trio Single File subjected early show goers to subpar pop rock comprised of catchy cliché backbeats and worn out breakdowns. Would be stand-ins for emo all-stars Saves the Day, Warminster four piece the Traded Series served up a set of energetic anthems, complete with tone deaf vocals, power chords and leftover teenage angst. Prefacing their exit with a bit of self-advertising, the Traded Series’ “Let Go” failed to wow the crowd but managed to stir up a nostalgic throwback to high school basement shows and […]
THE KILLS: U R A Fever
At the TLA Friday. Sweet.
AT WAR WITH THE DIPSHITS: Flaming Lips’ ‘Realize’ Voted Official Okie State Rock Song Despite Red Scare
GUARDIAN: The Flaming Lips’ 2002 song, Do You Realise?, will be named the “official state rock’n’roll song of Oklahoma”. And Wayne Coyne wants everyone to know that the band are not communists. “Some minority of religious wackos are trying to make it seem like [we have a communist] agenda, which we don’t,” Coyne told Rolling Stone. His comments came after two whirlwind months, when “Do You Realise?” was chosen as the state’s official rock song, rejected due to the band’s “communism”, then finally reinstated by governor Brad Henry. The saga began in early March, when 20,000 internet voters chose from […]
EARLY WORD: The British Invasion (Of South Philly)
[Click flyer to activate Internets] Reportedly, Shep Fairey will be striking a blow for us Yanks with an 8 X 8 wheatpaste installation outside the T&P. Not sure exactly what that means, but you can check it out for yourself and let us know.
CONCERT REVIEW: Born Again In The USA
DAN DELUCA: Bruce Springsteen may well have miscalculated earlier this year when he released Working On A Dream, one of the most hopeful and downright happy sounding albums of his career just as a cratering economy was rendering the songs of struggle and strife that are his stock in trade more resonant than they have sounded in years. But like a canny coach able to make necessary adjustments at halftime, Springsteen has headed out on the road – where he and the E Street Band arrived in South Philadelphia on Tuesday for the first of back to back shows at […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR In his new documentary, called simply Tyson, filmmaker James Toback turns his camera on Mike Tyson — the controversial former heavyweight boxing champion. Tyson, infamous for taking a bite out of Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997 — and for his 1992 rape conviction — talks directly to Toback’s camera, telling his own story in between excerpts of archival footage from his life and career. Toback, the screenwriter behind Bugsy and director of films including Two Girls and a Guy, has been Tyson’s friend since the boxer was 19 years old; Tyson premiered in 2008 at the Cannes Film […]
TONY CONRAD Q&A: Minimalism Is Less Than Zero
BY JONATHAN VALANIA In 1965 Tony Conrad moved out of his New York City apartment, and like many people moving out he left behind a few items, one of which was a book. This is notable for three reasons: First, his roommate was John Cale, a classically-trained violist with a taste for the avant garde who, like Conrad, was a member of the Theater Of Eternal Music, a downtown collective of music-makers exploring infinite drone, endless improvisation and multi-media freakouts. Second, when Conrad moved out, Lou Reed moved in. Third, the book he left behind was a smutty S&M novel […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
The Good News Flower Hour #18 Oh noes!
THIS JUST IN: On Sale Today
July 10th, Frawley Stadium, Wilmington, Delaware. With Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band. New Wilco album June 30th. See your dealer for details.
THIS JUST IN: PJ Harvey Is Coming To Town
PJ HARVEY & JOHN PARISH Sunday June 7th 7:00PM DOORS / 8:00PM SHOW Trocadero Theatre 1003 Arch Street, Philadelphia PA www.thetroc.com All Ages Welcome On Sale this Friday April 24th at Noon! Tickets available at ticketmaster.com, Charge by phone 800.745.3000 and at the box office. Performing songs from their current album ‘A Woman A Man Walked By’ and their previous collaboration ‘Dance Hall At Louse Point’ the pair will be backed by Eric Drew Feldman, Giovanni Ferrario and Jean Marc Butty. Polly and John are currently on tour in the UK, where their opening night show in Brighton has been […]
VANILLA VICE: Asher Roth Is All That
INQUIRER: Asher Roth isn’t like other rappers. The rising star whose debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle went straight to No. 1 when it was released on iTunes on Monday hails from nowhere near the hood. The 23-year-old rhymer grew up in the middle-class community of Morrisville, in Bucks County. His hip-hop calling card is “I Love College,” an ode to higher-education hedonism born of his experiences while sort-of studying to be an elementary-school teacher on the leafy campus of West Chester University. That song, which Roth calls “satire at its finest,” has sold nearly a million copies since its release in January, and been […]