THE ATLANTIC: Famous deaths invite hyperbole. The news that Philip Seymour Hoffman was discovered dead today in an apartment bathroom, with a syringe sticking out of his arm, seems like an occasion to overreact with some exaggerated summary of his career—something like “most talented and kaleidoscopic actor of his time.” Except, in this case, the compliment isn’t hyperbolic at all. It’s just an accurate description, as true yesterday as it is today. And the competition isn’t even that close. MORE THE NEW YORKER: Philip Seymour Hoffman gave one of the greatest onscreen performances that anyone ever gave, in “The […]
BEING THERE: Dr. Dog @ The Electric Factory
Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ Last night Philly natives Dr. Dog threw down an epic, no-holds-barred, all-stops-pulled tour de force sold-out show that served as a fitting finale to the band’s two-night homecoming stand at the Electric Factory. Decked out in their trademark Skittles-colored beanies and cheap sunglasses, the Dog played a seemingly endless 18-song set, followed by a six-song encore, that took long pulls from their newish album B-Room, with smaller sips from their older vintages stretching all the way back to their 2002 debut, Toothbrush. The beard-y six-piece seemed to be having the proverbial time of their lives […]
IN MEMORIAM: ‘Pete Seeger Made Me Understand How Far Behind Enemy Lines I Was Living’
Illustration by ALEX FINE DAVE MARSH: If nothing else, Pete Seeger made me understand how far behind enemy lines I was living—he showed me the road that had to be traveled, if I really wanted to live. He did this the same way that James Baldwin and Elvis Presley and John Coltrane did it: by example, and with the same generosity and the same sense that the world was packed with a load of insurmountable cruelty and that, nevertheless, the truth was that something better had managed to survive within it. Which meant, for each of us, a choice and […]
LANA DEL REY: Once Upon A Dream
SPIN: This could be the cover Lana Del Rey was meant to sing. The 1959 Disney animated film Sleeping Beauty features “Once Upon a Dream,” an orchestral ballad with a slightly creepy undertone — the two lovers met in a dream? — and a fluttery-voiced throwback heroine. And now it turns out the Tropico star recorded her own take for Angelina Jolie-led Sleeping Beauty villain’s-perspective update Maleficent. Can’t you just hear her acting out the oh-so-innocent intro: “You know, I’m really not supposed to speak to strangers…”? […] Del Rey has an album on the way, though little is known […]
SIDEWALKING: Eight Miles High
Atop City Hall, Tuesday 4:16 pm by ERIC ASHLEIGH
BREAKING: Pollard Throws No-Hitter — In 1978!
MAGNET: For reasons unknown, except that it’s the internet, news of Guided By Voices‘ Robert Pollard tossing a no-hitter as a college hurler on May 11, 1978, has gone semi-viral. We noted it in MAGNET’s Top 25 Of 2012 and thought it was relatively common knowledge among diehard GBV fans at the very least. Still, it’s a treat to see Pollard’s mug in the Wright State student newspaper account of his masterpiece. At the time, the no-no was the first in school history. Given the unlikely resurgence of interest in his mound milestone, we asked Pollard to share any […]
BEING THERE: Neutral Milk Hotel @ The Tower
In 1998, Neutral Milk Hotel released an album of hallucinatory folk-rock called In The Aeroplane Over The Sea that is, it can be said without fear of exaggeration, nothing short of a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, it is lightning caught in a bottle, one of those rare perfect albums that come along maybe once a decade. Or once a lifetime. In 1999, Jeff Mangum — Neutral Milk’s singer, songwriter and primary guitarist — disappeared from public life without explanation, declining all entreaties to perform or discuss the album or record a follow-up. Over […]
Sign Petition, Help Netflix Find Its Spine & Stop The Internet From Becoming Another Cable TV Rip-Off
In an open letter to investors, Netflix warned that if broadband providers started charging tolls for US Internet subscribers and slowing down video, it would encourage its 34 million American customers to join them in demanding an open Internet — and ditching ISPs who don’t follow them. This is an amazing first step, and an amazing ally to win in the war for a better Internet. But if we want to succeed, we need to make sure Netflix uses action, not just words. Please, join us in thanking CEO Reed Hastings and CFO Davids Wells and encouraging them to […]
INCOMING: Schuylkill Expressway To Your Soul
WXPN will broadcast Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio, a new radio documentary produced by Philadelphia nonprofit organization Mighty Writers, on Monday, February 3rd from 8pm to 10pm. The documentary is narrated by legendary “Sound of Philadelphia” producer Kenny Gamble and features conversations with disc jockeys, radio professionals, record company executives, musicians, journalists and scholars. Listeners will hear first-person accounts of civil rights events, including a 1964 interview with Malcolm X just a few months before his assassination. The documentary also features rare archival audio of such pioneering disc jockeys as Douglas “Jocko” Henderson, Georgie Woods, Louise […]
KIEV: The Friendly Faces Of The Nice Revolution
RELATED: This is the Ukrainian response to all of the Media that broadcast false news about activists of EuroMaydan, especially Russian News Agencies that lie constantly about EuroMaydan and the people of the Ukrainian Revolution. Russian Media has been forced to deliver false news to people’s TV screens, news papers and web contents, deliberately by the Russian Government aka Mr.Putin himself. This dirty KGB+USSR mental move, is purposely made to control and influence public opinion, and if necessary to have full support from the Russian people in case Mr.Putin desires to deploy Russian Military Troops into Ukrainian Soil! Russian Media, […]
INCOMING: Fred Armisen’s Hometown Heroes
Plundering the fruits of Fred Armisen’s record fetish collection, Drag City gleefully presents a new 7” single series dedicated to the regional music stars of decades past and local one-hit wonders: Hometown Heroes.First in the series comes The Blue Jean Committee, the proud products of the late 70’s Northampton, Massachusetts music scene. Comprised of some of the most sought after local session musicians, the group was most defined by Richie Cornish’s busy talk-singing lyrical style. The gently soulful “Massachusetts Afternoon” celebrates the time in one’s life when independence, friendships, and the autumn sunset seem to go on forever. On […]
DR. DOG: Distant Light
As per our interview with Dr. Dog singer/songwriter/bassist Toby Leaman we posted just yesterday: PHAWKER: I love “Distant Light” — it sounds like the Greatest 70s Era Dylan Song Never Written. You sing it so I’m gonna assume you wrote it. What was the inspiration for the lyrics? In your travels, have you guys run into some mystical Merlin-type old man along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere who gave you directions to the “infinite road”? TOBY LEAMAN: [Laughs] Those lyrics came pretty easily. Sometimes you work on a song and once you start it, it’s […]
Ex-FBI Hardass House Republican Mike Grimm Threatened To Throw Reporter Off Balcony For Asking About Illegal Fundraising Investigation
CNN: It started when Grimm, who’s under investigation by the Justice Department for illegal fundraising during his 2010 campaign, walked away from an on-camera interview about the State of the Union after the reporter, Michael Scotto, tried to ask him questions about the allegations. “Alright, so Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about the allegations concerning his campaign finances,” Scotto said. “We wanted to get him on camera on that, but he, as you saw, refused to talk about that. Back to you.” With the camera still rolling, Grimm surges toward the reporter, who appears visibly surprised. The […]