FRESH AIR We humans have long wondered what separates us from the other animals — but neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga may have given the topic more consideration than most. Gazzaniga, a pioneer in what’s called split-brain research, has just published Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique. He talks to Terry Gross about his work, which involves investigating the varying functions of the left and right sides of our brains, and about how that research informs our understanding of the brain and human consciousness. Gazzaniga has spent the past 45 years studying the functions of the left and right brain. […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
ZOOEY STARDUST: She & Him, Trocadero, Last Night [Photos by JONATHAN VALANIA] BY JONATHAN VALANIA We’ve all heard the mythic tale of Robert Johnson‘s Faustian bargain with the Devil, struck at the crossroads under a Delta moon. Let’s imagine for a moment that it’s a different night at that crossroads. On this night, the Devil is busy with other things, perhaps plotting the eventual rise of Slayer. And Johnson, well, he’s long since given the Devil his due, probably having second thoughts as to whether unlimited pussy, corn liquor and a little plantation-rock stardom was worth the eternal damnation as […]
LET ME COUNT THE WAYS: Why Pitchfork’s Review Of The New Dr. Dog Album Has Its Head Up Its Ass
[KEY: IAN COHEN’s Pitchfork review in black, JONATHAN VALANIA’s parsing in red] Dr. Dog have never released an album called Do You Like Rock Music? and I suppose that recent actions taken by British Sea Power ensure they never will. Among the dumbest opening lines in the history of rock criticism. If I was your editor, I would give you a ‘Do Over.’ But that question always feels implied in the Dr. Dog experience– just ask anyone who’s not picking up what this Philly fivesome is throwing down and is subsequently accused of not digging “real music, mannnnn.” And maybe […]
THE EARLY WORD: F*ck And Run
SHE & HIM: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here Tonite at the Troc with Freakwater!
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
ABSOLUTELY FAB: The Ting Tings, JBs, Last Night [Photos by JONATHAN VALANIA] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER There was a time when radio, MTV, Rolling Stone and Beavis and Butthead were the kingmakers of tomorrow’s hitmakers. These days, of course, it is the blogs, MySpace buzz and the ubiquitous iPod TV ad that are the new deciders. Case in point: The Ting Tings, a stylish duo from the UK, and their sassy, big-bottomed punk-funk hit “Shut Up And Let Me Go,” currently wiggling in throbbing primary color perpetuity on a cable station near you. Even before the iPod ad put […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say “embarrassing.” That’s the story of Spencer Elden, whom you may know as the little baby floating towards a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album, Nevermind. Nearly 17 years later, amid hating school and playing water polo, Elden is still struggling to make sense of his (very) public image. “Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis,” he says from his home in Los Angeles. “So that’s kinda cool. I’m just a normal kid living it […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The team behind Step Brothers has an enviable life. Director Adam McKay and actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly get to hang out together, make jokes and get paid for it. The three first worked together on the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and they enjoyed collaborating on the film so much that they thought another film was in order. Leaving behind the world of car-racing, Step Brothers centers around two grown men who never managed to leave their respective parents’ houses. Drama ensues when their single parents marry and the two adults become […]
DEVENDRA BANHART: Carmensita
A kicky slice of Tropicalia + a lo-fi Bollywood burlesque featuring Devendra’s new gal pal, Natalie Portman, and an octopus! * Queer as Folk How Philadelphia got its freak on. by Jonathan Valania It all started, for me anyway, at Brooke Sietinsons‘ walk-up loft/hobbit hole on Second Street, somewhere in that OK Corral-esque strip between the Standard Tap and the 700 Club. Even though she no longer lives there, the exact location will have to remain a secret because, technically speaking, L&I could still fine her for dispensing the Morning Glory seeds of Philly freak-folkdom without a permit. But the […]
BREAKING: Dylan To Go Play Electric Factory Aug. 8th
Tickets on sale RIGHT NOW! WORTH REPEATING: Bob Dylan Love and Theft There are three absolute certainties in this world: death, taxes and the fact that on any given night of the year, Bob Dylan is playing somewhere on Earth. Nobody is quite sure when this never-ending tour started, but for as long as anyone can remember it’s been going on like death and taxes. And while endless roadwork usually brings younger musicians to their knees–leaving bands shipwrecked on a deserted island of rehab and recrimination–it seems to have rejuvenated the 60-year-old Dylan, shaking him out of his ’80s stupor […]
HEAR YE: Stereolab Chemical Chords
Now playing on Phawker Radio! Details after the jump.
BREAKING: Liz Phair To Perform Guyville At TLA
In celebration of the 15th year anniversary of the groundbreaking album Exile in Guyville and its reissue by ATO Records, Liz Phair will perform the entire album at three engagements: August 27 at Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia; August 28 at 9:30 Club in Washington DC; and August 29 at The Paradise in Boston. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, July 23 via Ticketmaster.