9.25.2012

The David Wax Museum is touring with so many instruments that “our 15 passenger van is packed right now,” says singer and band namesake David Wax. “We’re trying to do without a trailer, but I’m not...

If the citizens of Detroit need any further inspiration when it comes to rebuilding their city, they only have to look at the rebirth of one of its long-neglected daughters, Bettye LaVette. Since...

Onstage, Ben Sollee plays his cello like they share a deep-burning grudge, sawing away at the neck of his instrument with classically trained fingers and a feel for Appalachian soul. Of course, the...

Hometown: Austin, TexasMembers: Savannah Welch (guitar, vocals), Kelley Mickwee (mandolin, vocals), Jamie Wilson (guitar, vocals), Liz Foster (harmonica, vocals)Album: High, Wide & HandsomeFor Fans...

Before we begin, I’d like to apologize in advance for getting political. I tried to avoid it, and failed miserably. But I am trying to be fair. Okay? Okay. Now then… There’s an excellent essay by...

Robert Zacny looks at how dreams, reality and muscle cars merge in last year’s overlooked driving game. It’s surprising how grounded most videogames are. Maybe earthbound is a better word for it,...

Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison isn’t ruining anything for the listener by leaving nothing up to the imagination in his lyrics—that’s because he leaves everything up to his imagination...

The members of Murder by Death have aptly referred to their brand of gothic, old-West tunes as “dark whiskey devil music.” They have a plethora of songs that serve as musical yarns concerning revenge,...

In an era where buzz bands too often fall out of fashion without much notice, the fabled “sophomore slump” is even more of an issue. After a band releases a stellar debut album to widespread critical...

It’s been over a decade since we last heard from the glitzy pop fiends in No Doubt—and a lot’s changed in the interim: The music industry has tanked, and the kind of buzzy electro-tinged pop the band...

The main similarity between Yoko Ono and Sonic Youth is that while they’re both ultimately pop artists, they’re more well-known for their avant-garde work. That doesn’t mean, say, “Fly” or...

As singer, guitarist and frontman Scott Hutchinson recently wrote on his band’s website, “I suppose certain songs just don’t fit in to an album, but we thought these four still deserved to be given...

The Soft Pack’s Strapped is a curiously unadventurous record, considering it was two years in the making. That’s not to say it’s a lousy record. It’s just that, despite the addition of synthy bloops...

Techno, electronica and house music can be tricky to judge. It’s a frantic breed of music that throws aside actual instruments in favor of an electronic soundboard. Where once existed guitars, now...

Athens, Ga., power trio delivers another impressive set of booming interstate anthems Over the span of 10 years and four albums, The Whigs have simmered their energetic, overdriven, no-frills rock...

“Excuse me … excuse me … excuse me,” the voice insistently repeats. It is a thin voice, not imbued with the same presence as the one it interrupts. Prior to this moment in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The...

Best known for playing Ted on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, with happythankyoumoreplease and now Liberal Arts, Josh Radnor is establishing himself as a thoughtful writer-director of feature...

David Ayer is best known for penning the action films U-571, The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T. and Training Day. In his latest offering, End of Watch (which he also directed), Ayer mines the familiar...

There’s a haunting moment early in director/co-writer Patrick Shen’s documentary, La Source, in which Chrismendonne, brother of the film’s subject, Josue Lajeunesse, matter-of-factly discusses the...

Blue puke is never a good sign. I don’t mean medically, either—although cerulean spew certainly is a sign you might need a doctor. Nope, it’s the health of The Office we’re talking about here, and...

For the first two episodes, The New Normal had problems balancing the heartfelt creation of an unconventional family with the show’s attempts to find humor in differences in others, insulting...

Parenthood is at the point in its lifespan where it won’t pick up any new fans or start winning any major awards, but it still provides warmth for its dedicated fans. This episode was much smoother...

Most of the time, my least favorite episodes of David Simon’s shows occur at the beginning of the season, which is only natural given the way they’re structured. That’s just the way anything with a...

This week’s Go On dealt with Ryan coming to terms with the fact that the people from his support group are in fact his friends. Luckily the episode’s title— “There’s No ‘Ryan’ in Team”—tipped us off...

As the first episode of the season, “Ms. Knope Goes to Washington” was all about setting up what we’ll be seeing from Parks and Recreation for the next 21 weeks of the show. This means reassuring the...

The eighth, and possibly last, season of How I Met Your Mother started off a little ways down the road at the wedding the romantic comedy has been teasing for two years now. Last season we finally...

As I watched the convoy prepare to head back to AC in the final moments of “Spaghetti & Coffee,” I couldn’t help but think that an alternative title could have been “All the Sad Gangsters.” After a...

Something fascinating is happening with Hell on Wheels. No, it’s not that The Swede is getting even weirder or that two seasons in, we still don’t know the first names of two of the show’s main...

Revolution is worth watching because it’s fun, not because it will win you cool points for watching a critically acclaimed show. It’s a run-of-the-mill sci-fi drama that has planted some nice stories,...

When Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosted for the first time in 2009, he instantly showed that he was game for anything, by recreating the entire “Make ‘Em Laugh” scene from Singin’ in the Rain during his...

Jason Rohrer makes simple games that challenge perceptions more than they challenge reflexes. His fleeting Passage is a sober meditation of mortality. Sleep is Death plays like a tool for communal...

White Truffles in Winter, an unusual, well-seasoned stock of memoir, love story, essay and historical romance, deliciously simmers along, tempting a reader to tear out the pages and eat them as they...

James Brown, who died in 2006, enjoys membership in a very exclusive club of musicians, a group of men and women who created the current landscape of...

On Oct. 2, Diana Krall will release her 11th studio album, Glad Rag Doll. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the album sees Krall paying homage to early 20th...

With Calexico’s new album Algiers now available, the Tuscon duo has released a short documentary about recording in New Orleans. Often hailed for...

Radical Face, always one to tackle new album concepts, looks to be continuing the trend with their upcoming EP. The band’s 2011 full-length release,...

Wickerbird, a folk project rooted in the woods of Washington by Blake Cowan, utilizes intricate vocal harmonies accompanied by graceful guitars to craft a rich and thoughtful take on the genre.In the...

Paste and Sennheiser present another session from the Paste Ruins at the Newport Folk Festival, this time featuring Of Monsters and Men. Watch the...

The performance videos for “Feeling of Beauty” and “To Myself” are simple and just as beautiful as Merritt’s voice. She effortlessly creates an...