Blogcritics Author: Stephen Foster

Mad Men: AMC's Brilliant Series and the High Cost of Nothing

Stephen Foster — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:47:33 EDT

Nothing begats nothing: AMC's Mad Men.
My father, on those gratefully rare and unnerving occasions when he was even around, used to do it, too, like the protean Don Draper (played with great subtlety and nuance by Jon Hamm) in Mad Men: take out his Lucky Strikes, shake one out, and tamp either of its unfiltered ends against his Zippo. One, two, three, then magically flip it into his...

Music Review: Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest of Times

Stephen Foster — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:44:11 EDT

Boston punk takes on mean, hard times.
"Truly fertile Music, the only kind that will move us, that we shall truly appreciate, will be a Music conducive to Dream, which banishes all reason and analysis. One must not wish first to understand and then to feel. Art does not tolerate Reason." --Albert Camus The irony of using this quote as a prelude to a review of Dropkick...

Music Review: Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life

Stephen Foster — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 14:40:31 EDT

Amy MacDonald wants more
Scottish born Amy MacDonald has this going for her: she is a talented singer-songwriter who paid her dues, and then some, banging her way up the musical food chain, gig to dolorous gig, in her native country. She writes from the heart, that's obvious. And like all true artists, she puts all of herself into every song she sings—listen to...

Remembering George Carlin

Stephen Foster — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 10:37:42 EDT

Even 200 years from now, some comic somewhere will believe in only one god: George Carlin.
"My God has a bigger dick than your God."Which is the reason we fight wars, and isn't that the truth.We don't really need another remembrance of George Carlin, especially from someone who did not know him personally. But I can't help it: he is my moral compass in times of doubt and uncertainty. What do I think about war? What...

Music Review: Marcia Ball - Peace, Love & BBQ

Stephen Foster — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:12:34 EDT

Piano blues to Blow the House Down
Marcia Ball's music—jook-joint blues—doesn't require deep scrutiny or focused analysis, and that is a compliment. What you hear is what you get. And what you hear is always excellent. Analysis would be missing the point: the point being that Ball simply plays and sings the blues, whether rollicking or relaxed, with her heart and...

Music Review: Marcia Ball - Marcia Ball: Live at the Highline Ballroom

Stephen Foster — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 08:39:50 EDT

Marcia Ball performs for you.
Listen carefully now: Marcia Ball ("long, tall Marcia Ball," as she's called) is possibly the best blues piano player you've never heard. If you know her and her music, you've been blessed. If you don't know her, Woozyfly gives you a glimpse of her hard stomp, swamp boogie blues. So get connected. It's time to receive...

Website Review: Vagabondage Press Launches Online Literary Magazine The Battered Suitcase

Stephen Foster — Sun, 1 Jun 2008 17:56:34 EDT

Literary website that means what it says.
On June 1, Vagabondage Press will publish the inaugural issue of The Battered Suitcase, an online "literary magazine that promotes intelligent and imaginative art and fiction." And so it does, if the preview copy available is any indication.Here's the important question, though: aren't there enough of these things - high art...

Book Review: Harpoon - Into the Heart of Whaling by Andrew Darby

Stephen Foster — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:34:41 EDT

The dangers of playing Captain Ahab.
Passion is contagious, and that's why Andrew Darby's Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling (Da Capo Press) is so enlightening and entertaining, despite its scholarly style. At least since the time of Melville and his masterpiece — Moby Dick was a quest for a sperm whale, by the way — the sheer size of whales, their majesty and...

TV Review: Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno

Stephen Foster — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:06:51 EDT

Not the birds; just the bees and other insects.
The worst sin of any critic is condescension, and I'll do my best to avoid it here (but it's gonna require an effort). Isabella Rossellini may simply have too much time on her hands these days. It turns out her latest project -- whimsy, actually -- is a series of short films titled Green Porno, available on the Sundance Channel. The title...

Music Review: Scott Hamilton and Friends - Across the Tracks

Stephen Foster — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:44:51 EDT

Veteran jazzman swings with another great outing
Veteran jazzman Scott Hamilton has never really followed the crowd, and that’s good for us. On his latest work, Across the Tracks (Concord Music Group) the prolific Hamilton—over 30 albums since 1977 most with Concord—teams up with friend and occasional playing partner Duke Robillard to create mellowed out yet vibrant jazz in the...