http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Fri, 9 Sep 2005 10:56:50 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/09/105650.php Sean HackbarthHoltzbrinck Publishers owns such imprints as St. Martin's Press; Henry Holt; and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. They are now producing podcasts to showcase their new titles. It's a good idea. Even if a reader doesn't consume audiobooks this will expose them to new books in a way that's better than simply reading a dust jacket or reading a book review. Jeff Gomez told DMNews, "What we're doing as a trade publisher is allowing users to experience new books whenever they want, the same way that they might not have the time to listen to a radio show the day it's broadcast, but will listen to it later.""Book Publisher Enters World of Podcasting" [via Disembodied Voices Podcast Group] Edited: PC Books35760@blogcritics.org Fri, 9 Sep 2005 10:56:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/12/223650.php Sean HackbarthSatoshi Tomiie's new mix album ES, like any good dance mix collection, has a theme. The theme of it is the return of acid house (if it actually ever left). Throughout most of the tracks is that distictive squelchy, squiggly, fuzzy acid synth that typified the dance music of the late 1990s. Along with the acid vibe is a prominent progressive feel. It feels like something coming out of a New York City club where the music is harder, and the dancing more serious.ES starts with Kevin Freeman's "Time for Revolution." Part of the revolution is one of production. This song feels like it was made in Freeman's bedroom studio (if he has one). I don't mean that in a bad way. The technology to enable artists to make music practially anywhere expands sonic experimentation. All music lovers should appreciate that. "Revolution" goes for the old school, Kraftwerk, Derrick May sound. There's a lack of a distinctive bass drum, acid flourishes, and sirens. This is a good, entertaining start to the mix. What would be more entertaining would be something more carnal."Revolution" mixes beautifully into Pastaboys' "Tribute." It's still techno but incorporates dark, progressive sounds. Sexy vocals tell you to "Shake your body down" and "Do it to me, I'll do it to you." Combine that with a minimal melody that attatches to the bass and goes straight to your hips, and you have something almost erotic.Avenue D's "You Love This Ass" and Bush II Bush's "Piano Track" loosen things up and move into the house range of dance music. A couple uneventful tracks pass until we come to Peace Division's "Peaces of Gold." Here we have something dark and sexy with a nice synth build up that makes it epic sounding. Think a dark, house version of Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters."Chab's "You And Me" (Satoshi Tomiie ES Edit) and Maskio's "Wait (I Know What You Need)" take us to a progressive level. Texture replaces melody with driving bass and weird, hypnotic vocals. I swear Smegol is telling me, "I know what you need" on the Maskio track.JheReal's remix of Uppfade's "Friday Loops" is a funky, wide open house song. This is the definite arm waver with ass-shaking bass. Later on Beckers' "Fake" continues the positive energy output with driving keyboards. And if you pay attention to the lyrics (and are old enough) you'll recognize them from Living Colour's "Desparate People."For a mix released in the summer ES doesn't have any smiley, cheery tracks--Ibiza trance this ain't. Regardless, ES' combination of styles (dare I lable it "tech progressive?") and middle-of-the night vibe should provide ample listening value. Music30919@blogcritics.org Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:36:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/07/034148.php Sean HackbarthThe problems of legendary NYC music club CBGB are more complicated than just increased rent. The club has financial and legal problems with its landlord Bowery Residents' Committee. That organization cares for NYC homeless. At one point CBGB owed the committee $300,000 in back rent. Ironically CBGB could be made homeless itself. Music26372@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Mar 2005 03:41:48 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/18/115456.php Sean HackbarthDan Flynn, weblogger and author of Intellectual Morons, took time out to speak with me at CPAC about Ward Churchill and his latest book.On Ward Churchill, Flynn's "convinced that he's not an Indian at all" who "used an ethnicity to capitalize, to exploit it for his own career purposes." In the name of "political solidarity" and diversity the University of Colorado hired him, questionable past and all.On what to do about Churchill, Flynn differs from me and others who want schools to drop his upcoming speeches. Flynn told me "Once you invite someone to speak there's really nothing you can do about it." He also fears retaliation on conservative speakers. Having his books burned was just one of the bad experiences Flynn had on the college speaking circuit. Banning Churchill will empower the Left to stop conservative speakers. A intellectually stifling tit-for-tat.In Flynn's new book Intellectual Morons he examines how "ideology acts like a mental straightjacket." He went on, It blinds adherence to reality. It breeds fanaticism. It justifies dishonesty....Ideology makes smart people stupid.How do we know we've stumbled upon an intellectual moron (IM)? Flynn describes them: An IM is someone who's blessed with great cognitive abilities, but because they squander those abilities by relying on ideology to provide them their thoughts rather than their brain. A prime example of an IM on the Left is Noam Chompsky. He earned his academic position as a linguist, but he's most known as a radical, anti-American preacher. For Flynn having a "high IQ is not an antidote to thinkheadedness." "Because you're brilliant in that one field doesn't give you license to start making proclaimations about everything under the sun," Flynn continues.As for right-wing IMs Flynn mentioned Leo Strauss and Ayn Rand. Strauss believed thinkers through history had hidden messages in their works. One level of reading was for the lay public while another was for learned scholars. Flynn find Strauss philosophic approach as "Plato's noble lie writ large." It's acceptible for the intelligensia to lie to the public if it's a noble cause. Think of it as a merging of Machiavelli and Plato.Flynn criticizing Ayn Rand. He's a fan of her novels and views them as "propagandist." Some of her followers are known to be a little cult-like. Flynn told me some have gone so far as to talk with a Russian accent.By going after IMs of both Right and Left Flynn demonstrates his book is not the shallow polemic the title implies. Books25663@blogcritics.org Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:54:56 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/09/030042.php Sean HackbarthThe Rock and Roll Hall of fame is suing to stop the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from coming online. A R&RHOF lawyer said, I don't think people would know the difference (between the two). We have a lot of Jewish rock and rollers in the Hall of Fame. ... It's like saying the Jewish Oscars or the Jewish Football Hall of Fame. Well, there's a Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. No one confuses them with the institution in Canton, OH."Rock Museum Sues to Stop Jewish Rock Web Site" Music25289@blogcritics.org Wed, 9 Feb 2005 03:00:42 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/24/021857.php Sean HackbarthI Am Charlotte Simmons is Tom Wolfe delving into college life. You'd think a 74-year old man would not be able to portray such an environment with any accuracy. Somehow the old reporter pulled it off. Being almost eight years out of college I'll tell you that I Am Charlotte Simmons is pitch perfect. He got teenager's cadence and obsessive use of "like" and "totally" down pat. Males' need to constantly watch SportsCenter as well as their need to get drunk are also spot on. With Wolfe's pen sex becomes a character itself in this novel. If you've read his essay "Hooking Up" you understand Wolfe's fascination with the total removal of romance from sex. Sex for the students in the book is about quenching their carnal thirst. Look "cool," get drunk, find someone "hot," have sex, lather, rinse, repeat.A shallow reader would assume the author is just obsessed with sex. A deeper reading of the book would find something more profound. Wolfe's theme in this novel is belonging. Characters are either trying to fit in, maintain their place in their group, or leaping up the social ladder. The main character, Charlotte Simmons, comes from the hills of North Carolina. While in high school she only has one friend her age. She looks at the rest of her classmates as vulgar, stupid, lame people who will not move beyond the backwater of Sparta. She, Charlotte Simmons, is her class valedictorian with a 1600 SAT, and a full ride to the pinnacle of higher learning, Dupont University--think of it as Harvard but with really good sports teams. At Dupont Charlotte thinks she will live the "life of the mind." There she thinks she will be able to comisserate with those like her. Reality slaps her in the face the day she moves in when her country folks go to dinner with her rich roomate's parents. Class and status consciousness abound. The rungs of the social ladder are covered in spilled beer and used condoms.Coed bathrooms, being "sexiled," frat parties, all these the reader experiences through Charlotte's naive eyes. While those around her are acting in ways in complete contrast to how her parents raised her Charlotte continues to take part. Her alternative is loneliness.Charlotte has a desire to be cool. She wants others to see her hanging around cool people on campus. She likes showing off her legs sculpted from cross-country running. At a fraternity formal, she drunkenly laughs that one of the brothers is so vain. Ironically, all she has to do is look in the mirror to see someone else just as vain.Charlotte's desire to belong with the cool crowd gets her drunk and in bed with a fraternity brother named Hoyt. In the weeks Charlotte hung around Hoyt she thought his smile and the way he touched her meant there was actual love behind the frat boy's lust. She gives up her virginity only to find she was nothing more than a conquest, an "accomplishment" to tell his fraternity brothers.Charlotte forsook her mother's morals. Her punishment was her loss of innocence and a crushing guilt. This takes her into a depression which causes her grades to plummet which creates a vicious cycle. Without her school newspaper reporter friend/Rhodes Scholar wannabe Adam holding her in the night in his apartment and scolding her to get to her finals Charlotte wouldn't have passed anything. The tender, compassionate, accurate display of her depression was the most emotional, moving writing on the subject since Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon.I won't give the ending away. I will tell you that on the surface it's a happy ending. Charlotte may be more comfortable at Dupont, but her life is a far cry from the ideal she had at the beginning of the school year. Charlotte may have thought she wanted a "life of the mind," but belonging won out.Any accomplished novelist could set a story on a modern college campus. But when you read Tom Wolfe you expect more. The reporting as fiction (A.K.A. The New Journalism), the melding of high-level ideas like neuroscience and sociobiology, and the social satire place Wolfe a step above other novelists. But what makes Wolfe Wolfe is the zig-zag, BANG! ZAP! rat-tat-tat-tat style wordslinging. He is one of the few fiction writers who can rip off a paragraph that fills an entire page without the reader pausing. Sentences crackle, letters fly over you. Through it all Wolfe makes sure his novel doesn't fall into a postmodern morass. The plot moves forward, and the characters remain living, breathing creatures. Books24610@blogcritics.org Mon, 24 Jan 2005 02:18:57 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/05/005007.php Sean HackbarthFrom the Hollywood Reporter: Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and Jerry Lee Lewis will receive lifetime achievement awards at this year's Grammy Awards, organizers said Tuesday. Also receiving plaques from the Recording Academy will be Eddy Arnold, Art Blakey, the original Carter Family, Morton Gould, Jelly Roll Morton, Pinetop Perkins and the Staple Singers. Now, if only Page, Plant, and Jones jam on stage."Led Zeppelin, Joplin Among Grammy Honorees" Music23917@blogcritics.org Wed, 5 Jan 2005 00:50:07 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/31/035709.php Sean HackbarthThank God for iTunes. It's how I discovered a real treat in Paris, Texas' new album Like You Like an Arsonist. I adore good power pop (think Goo Goo Dolls and Sugar), so when I listened to PTX's "Bombs Away" I knew I needed to immediately get the rest of the album. All these songs are tight. They ripple with energy. One qualm with my first listen is the lead vocals aren't super dynamic. There's no sign of the annoying whining that plagues pop punk and no Pavement droning, but Scott Sherpe is no Bob Mould. Another flaw is there are few real guitar solos. There are some moments when a riff is repeated, but Nolan Treolo and Nick Zinkgraf can play. They could have stretched out a little.It's wild knowing a band this good was in my neck of the woods (Madison, WI). Too bad for me it took me this long to discover them.Below are some thoughts about some of the songs while going through my first listen. "White Eyes": Has machine gun, Ramones-like riffs and a dab of vocal harmony."Your Death": The fluttering notes at the beginning immediately signal no break from the fast pace. Big thick guitar chords in the chorus. I could live without the tempo shift just before the chorus. "Strike My Heart": The intricate guitar layering and interplay are the key to this song."One Hot Coma": Do I detect a snarl in Scott Sherpe's vocals. "Hip Replacement": More neat guitar combinations. Power chords with harmonies and stacotto swipes of the strings."Better Off": The intro riffs drip with power pop purity. Melody and crunch unite to become fist-pumping, tune-humming yummyness. This is the most "emo" of the songs so far. That's probably because there are moments of sparse guitar work where I can focus on the lyrics."Gemini": Jumpy. Slightly off-kilter rhythm guitar makes for a cleaver change of pace. Music23773@blogcritics.org Fri, 31 Dec 2004 03:57:09 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/07/165412.php Sean HackbarthOddly, it's December and my neck of the woods hasn't yet seen snow fall. Wisconsin has a reputation for being one of America's iceboxes so no hint of snow yet is a surprise. If it's because of global warming then I'm even more anti-Kyoto. I bring up the weather, not because I love writing about it, but because a new dance mix album is out. Escape: St. Barth's transports you to a place of sand, sun, and warm, fun house music.The highlights of this mix include Martin Solveig's "Rocking Music (Joey Negro Dub Mix)" that lives up to its name. It has a great groove and beat with a bouncing bass. GusGus's "David (Tim Deluxe Mix)" entertains with a simple happy synth topped by standard female house vocal. Tim Deluxe does it again with his own "It Just Won't Do." The song has a horn theme where even Sam Obernik's vocal sounds like a horn. The Supermen Lovers' "Starlight (Dub Version)" adds a retro touch to the mix. It brings a funky disco feel with soulful singing and traditional song structure. Near the end there's Lee Cabrera's "Shake It (Move a Little Closer)." It's sweaty, sexy, and makes you want to dance close to someone. This song best captures the summer vibe.Escape: St. Barth's is not serious progressive house. This is fun, smiley house with plenty of hooks but little cheese which a mix invoking the summer could easily "melt" into. Music23021@blogcritics.org Tue, 7 Dec 2004 16:54:12 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/01/195046.php Sean HackbarthMichele's review of The Da Vinci Code makes me happy I've ignored that neverending bestseller. She writes, As a novel, TDC is pedestrian. The plot is thin, the codes are easily seen by the reader before the characters break them, the plot twists are either telegraphed or inconceivable to the point of absurdity and the ending is contrived. It's a page turner only because Brown is a master manipulator; he drags you in with theories and near blasphemies that make you think, but he never puts these things to great use. Instead, you end up turning the page just to see how the damn thing ends. As one who grew up with a love for cryptograms, Encyclopedia Brown, logic puzzles and adventure games, I felt let down by the book; it could have offered me so much more than it did. Yet she finished the book.Worst part about the whole TDC phenomenon is that a few people think the fictional parts are fact. It doesn't help that Dan Brown creates the confusion. What this has done is create a cottage industry of TDC debunking books.In other TDC news, Tom Hanks will star in the movie version to be directed by Ron Howard. Books22808@blogcritics.org Wed, 1 Dec 2004 19:50:46 EST