Illustration by RANDY GLASS This is neither the time nor the place for johnny-come-lately arrivistes to learn about the 11 acclaimed and beloved books of caustic elegance David Sedaris has published since failing upwards from his job as a Christmas elf at Macy’s in 1992. Today we are not serving your kind, so try Wikipedia. Sorry to be harsh, but the Keswick show is way sold out, so this one goes out to the lifers, the true believers, or perhaps more aptly, the true non-believers. You and me, pal, we’re the loonies. Did you know that? I bet you didn’t […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR: For about 48 hours in December, Kevin Hart was slated to host the 2019 Academy Awards. Then Hart was called out for homophobic jokes and tweets he made in 2010, and the Academy asked him to apologize. Hart insisted that he already had apologized. Finally, after some back and forth, Hart stepped down from hosting, saying he didn’t want to be a distraction. Now, barely a month later, Hart says he’s “over” the Oscars controversy. Nevertheless, he sat down for a long conversation with Fresh Air in which he reflected on the whirlwind of the past few […]
Q&A With Holy Holy Bassist And Longtime David Bowie Producer And T. Rex Architect Tony Visconti
Artwork via SHAPERSOFTHE80S.COM EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview originally published in January of 2016, three days after David Bowie passed off this mortal coil. We are re-posting it because it’s Philly Loves Bowie Week, duh. Holy Holy kicks off a UK tour in February, click HERE for tour dates. BY JONATHAN VALANIA The DJ Murray The K — the Geator With The Heater of his day — was known as the proverbial ‘Fifth Beatle’ for his tireless Fab Four boosterism during the initial waves of Beatlemania. Legendary producer Tony Visconti is the Fifth Bowie. There are others who, it could be […]
IMMIGRANT SONG: Q&A W/ Comedian Amir K
BY HENRY SAVAGE As an Iranian immigrant, Amir K grew up straddling a language barrier that would later help him craft his outsider wit and deftness with character comedy. With hilarious impressions of his father, people you may find in traffic court, and Mexican St. Patrick’s Day, Amir was able to tackle most topics with a comedic flare. Coming up, Amir K’s worst nightmare was that he would fall short of achieving his dream of becoming a successful stand-up comedian and he’d wind up just being the funny water cooler guy at work, only able to crack jokes during […]
JAZZIN’ FOR BLUE JEAN: Q&A W/ Donny McCaslin
BY STEVE VOLK One spring night in 2014, an aging British gentleman walked into Bar 55, a tiny Greenwich Village jazz club, where he listened to a band that honked and squalled in the most beautiful array of colors. The old man was so good at maintaining a low profile that he blended right into the tables and the crowd, and it was only later that people both inside and outside the bar were made aware of this show. David Bowie’s Blackstar, his final album, released just two days before he died in January 2016 was born, many years […]
CINEMA: Matt Shaver’s Top 10 Films Of 2018
ISLE OF DOGS (Directed by Wes Anderson, 101 minutes, USA, 2018) Is it too much to ask for creators to occasionally make films that can be enjoyed for their simplicity? Wes Anderson thinks it is not. Isle of Dogs offers up adult themes in a good natured, perfectly executed package. Coupled with spectacular stop motion animation, Anderson and his army of voice actors bring alive a dystopian k-9 journey that is wrapped in very human emotions. It is an enjoyable journey populated by likable characters, each with their own unique set of mannerisms that make each dog more human […]
Fleet Foxes Tease Demo Excerpts From New Album
View this post on Instagram Forward ! (Very very demos happy new year) A post shared by Robin Noel Pecknold (@robinpecknold) on Dec 31, 2018 at 6:28pm PST KEXP: Robin Pecknold kicked off the new year by sharing a series of Fleet Foxes demos on his Instagram account. The snippets likely come from the band’s forthcoming fourth album, which was promised to drop “within 24 months of LP3 according to contract.” LP3, Crack Up, was released in June of 2017 so if everything remains on schedule, the new record should drop this summer. MORE
THIS IS OUR MUSIC: Our Favorite Albums Of 2018
Artwork by JOHN PATRICK BYRNE Upon returning to England in the spring of 1968 after a disillusioning pilgrimage to India to study Transcendental Meditation at the feet of the guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles set about working on music for their follow-up to Magical Mystery Tour, a slapped-together compendium of psychedelic odds and ends and orphaned singles like “Strawberry Fields” and “All You Need Is Love,” released in November of 1967, and Sgt Pepper, the landmark, kaleidoscopic ur-text of the Summer of Love, released the previous May. Having forsaken druggy fantasia in favor of meditation in the wake […]
SEASON’S GREETINGS: Happy New Year!
Remember, this too shall pass.
BEING THERE: Kurt Vile @ The Met Philadelphia
Photo by MATT SHAVER My friend Virginia insists that the only downside of marijuana is that it makes Kurt Vile songs go on too long. That’s simply not true. It also makes you cough and it’s very expensive. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Kurt Vile as much as the next stoner beardo of a certain age. And there’s a lot to like about him: wizardly finger picker, gorgeous Jag tone, droll Kensington hillbilly drawl, Joey Ramones’ legs, and, as of this writing, best hair in rock n’ roll. He has proven adept at mounting Burrito Brother jingle and […]
REVIEW: Black Mirror/Bandersnatch
BY MARIAH HALL By now the lingering haze of post-holiday goodwill has probably been ruined at the hands of Charlie Brooker and the all-consuming technological hell that is Black Mirror. In case you’ve somehow missed the internet hype, I’ll fill you in: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is a choose-your-own-adventure special, where viewers are presented with two options at poignant points in the movie, each choice branching off into a completely different chain of events. Set in 1984, the story follows Stefan Butler, a programmer designing an interactive video game, an adaptation of a fantasy novel called Bandersnatch, by a writer […]
BEING THERE: Margo Price @ World Cafe Live
Photo by JUSTIN PATRICK OAKES It must suck being a roadie for Margo Price. I mean, isn’t it humiliating enough to hump one drum set? But there they were: two full kits upon the World Cafe Live stage at Margo Price’s sold-out show on Friday night. What could this be? Were Mickey and Bill in the house? (Price has shared a stage with Phil Lesh in the past). Allman Bros. boogie-woogie to come? But I’ll be damned if little ole Margo — resplendent in full length dress, shit kickers, and one on the way — didn’t hop behind the second […]
CINEMA: Dan Tabor’s Top 10 Films Of 2018
SUSPIRIA (Directed by Luca Guadagino, 152 minutes, USA, 2018) What can I say about Luca Guadagnino’s mesmerizing and profoundly unsettling re-make of Italian horror master Dario Argento’s Suspiria that I haven’t said already? This film about a young girl recruited by a dance school run by a coven of witches still has me firmly under its spell even looking back on it all these months later. It mirrors Guadagnino’s previous film Call Me By Your Name in that both are a coming of age and a love story that leaves you speechless and completely enraptured in its final moments. […]