Swing lo Magellan
Dirty Projectors (Musical group) Music I love Dirty Projector's last album, Bitte Orca, but this one is slowly taking over the top spot in their catalog. These folks have some amazing licks and...
View ArticleThe film club
David Gilmour Book This turned out to be a pretty quick and interesting read. The whole time you are waiting for this experiment to fail terribly or succeed into some sappy parable, but it walks an...
View ArticlePage France and the family telephone
Page France (Musical group) Music With their jangly folk music, Page France has been one of my favorite underground discoveries in the past few years. Full of their characteristic ethereal writing and...
View ArticleHeima
Movie After completing a world tour in 2006, Sigur Rós decided to play a series of free and largely unannounced concerts in their native land of Iceland. Playing in diverse locales such as a protest...
View ArticleFleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes (Musical group) Music This Seattle band has often been compared to the Beach Boys, The Band, and Fleetwood Mac, but has somehow combined and transcended these influences to create their...
View ArticleBe kind rewind
Movie After accidently erasing all the videos in a struggling video store, Mos Def and Jack Black attempt to act out and rerecord the movies themselves. Although simple and bit ridiculous, this film...
View ArticleNetherland
Joseph O'Neill Book The novel follows Hans van den Broek, a Dutch banker now working in New York City. After being forced out of their Manhattan loft because of their proximity to the 9/11 events,...
View ArticleSplit lips, winning hips, a shiner
Shapes and Sizes (Musical group) Music This band walks a fine line between melody and chaos; just when it looks like it's all about to fall apart, they somehow weave it back together. Although a bit...
View ArticleFor Emma, forever ago
Bon Iver (Musical group) Music Written in a cabin in a Wisconsin forest, this album evokes the introspective and isolated landscape one would expect from such an environment. Strong songwriting and a...
View ArticleI belong to this band (original sacred harp)
Music As a companion to the documentary Awake My Soul, this album collects sacred harp music from Alan Lomax's first audio recordings to present day singings. One of the earliest forms of uniquely...
View ArticleVampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend (Musical group) Music Not that this band needs anymore hype or publicity, but after a listen or two, it's hard not to recommend this to everyone you meet. These ivy-league grads have...
View ArticleRandom spirit lover
Sunset Rubdown (Musical group) Music Splitting time between his bands Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, and Frog Eyes, it's hard to believe that Spencer Krug has time to create such an intricate yet aurally...
View ArticleAnother bullshit night in Suck City : a memoir
Nick Flynn Book In his memoir, Nick Flynn, working in a Boston homeless shelter, is reunited with his unstable, alcoholic father, now an occupant. Barely in control of his own life, Nick sees how...
View ArticleFriends of Old Time Music
Music This 3 CD collection, released by Folkways, collects performances that took place in New York City as a series of concerts from 1961-65. Organized by The Friends of Old Time Music, city...
View ArticleWe walked in song
Innocence Mission (Musical group) Music Easily one of the best releases of their career (and they have many to choose from), the beauty of this album is in its quiet power. Consistently on the...
View ArticleThe Ministry of Special Cases
Nathan Englander Book Set in Argentina during the Dirty War of the 1970s, a family is torn apart by their outcast Jewish ancestry, generational differences and a volatile political environment. Facing...
View ArticleLive at Massey Hall
Neil Young Music Recorded weeks before the release of Harvest, this archived concert finds Young on stage in his native Canada with just an acoustic guitar and piano. The recording preserves a unique...
View ArticleCloud atlas : a novel
David (David Stephen) Mitchell Book This engrossing novel consists of six seemingly separate stories that journey through both time and genres. Both an endeavor in writing and structure, the stories...
View ArticleHow we got insipid
Jonathan Lethem Book Collecting two of his novellas, How We Got Insipid displays Lethem's science fiction skills only partially unveiled in his more well known novels. From a virtual reality snowman...
View ArticleThe trials of Van Occupanther
Midlake (Musical group) Music This album caught me completely off guard. After having it recommended to me, I put it in the player where it remained for a solid week. Opening song "Roscoe" immediately...
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