As far as I’m concerned, there’s no greater loss to music than the suicide of Ian Curtis at the age of 23. There’s no one I’d rather bring back for a couple decades of recording than him. That’s because the heights reached by him and his band, Joy Division, in their brief existence, are both…
This is Grant’s half of the Pinkerton point-counterpoint review. Read Dan’s half here. Pinkerton is the sound of a band afraid to become great. Representing a comeback after the hiatus Weezer took in response to their debut album’s surprise success, it doesn’t so much as reinvent the band as push their less desirable attributes to…
Silent Alarm (2005) – 3 1/2 stars A Weekend in the City (2007) – 4 1/2 stars Intimacy (2008) – 4 stars Bloc Party exploded right out of the gate in 2005 as one of the most acclaimed bands in this decade’s post-punk revival phase. Their debut album, Silent Alarm, managed the tricky feat…
It comes down to this: If you consider Bull Durham a romantic comedy, then Friday Night Lights is the greatest sports movie ever. The barren, washed-out landscape of west Texas in 1988 provides the canvas for wrenching emotional manipulation in this true story. Based on H.G. Bissinger’s book chronicling a drama-filled football season of the Permian Panthers,…
Keep on Your Mean Side (2003) – 3 stars No Wow (2005) – 3 stars Midnight Boom (2008) – 4.5 stars Legitimately tough and brittle, with a calculated self-awareness and coolness that works, The Kills are a two-member garage rock band who, despite critical respect and some “Gossip Girl” love, haven’t really broken into the…