When I saw Don McLean in concert some years ago, he introduced “American Pie” by mentioning that people often asked him what the song meant. “It means,” he noted after a pause, “that I never have to work again.” Bobbie Gentry could undoubtedly say the same thing about her brilliant “Ode to Billie Joe,” which...
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October 16, 2018October 16, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: City Slickers (Collector’s Edition)
New from Shout Factory’s imprint Shout Select comes City Slickers, a collector’s edition Blu-ray that presents a brand new 4K HD scan of the smash hit comedy. For viewers of a certain age (i.e. those who were barely adults in 1991), it may be a shock to contemplate that City Slickers is now 27 years...
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October 16, 2018October 16, 2018Entertainment
Album Reviews: The Ramones – Road to Ruin (40th Anniversary Edition), Plus New Music from Johnny & Jaalene, Dave Keller, Permanent Green Light
By the time the Ramones got around to crafting their fourth album, they must have been feeling a little nervous. Several of their contemporaries on the punk/new wave scene— including Blondie, Elvis Costello, and Talking Heads—had begun to break through commercially. They had not. Their first two albums had flopped; and while their third, Rocket to...
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September 5, 2018September 5, 2018Music
Album & Book Reviews: Steve Forbert – Big City Cat (book) & The Magic Tree (CD) + Music by Vanessa Peters, Anthony Geraci, Chris Darrow & Max Buda
Particularly if you’ve been listening to Steve Forbert’s music for many years, you’re bound to have some fun with his new memoir, Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock. The book—which lifts its title from that of a track on Alive on Arrival, his 1978 debut LP—offers lots of commentary on the inspiration for Forbert’s...
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August 26, 2018August 26, 2018Music
Music Review: Paul McCartney – Egypt Station
Much of the most interesting work of Paul McCartney’s career has been issued over the course of the last 20 years or so. Albums such as Flaming Pie (1997), Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005), Memory Almost Full (2007), and New (2013) have contained some of the more varied, introspective, and downright creative songs...
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August 10, 2018August 10, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: Avengers: Infinity War
Epic. Engrossing. Thrilling. Funny. Tragic. What else do you want from a blockbuster spectacle? Avengers: Infinity War is all these things, ably proving that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is far from exhausted. In fact, however improbable it might be, it just seems to keep getting better. The 19th film in the now-20-strong franchise, Infinity War...
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July 16, 2018July 16, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: Rampage – (2018)
Maybe ten years ago Rampage, the new Dwayne Johnson-starring action film, would’ve been a must-see blockbuster. But honestly how many times are studios planning to serve up the same mega-budget, CG-dominated creature features? Though it probably made enough overseas to qualify as a solid recouper, domestic audiences did not flock to Rampage during its spring...
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June 18, 2018June 18, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: Spinning Man
When it comes to direct-to-video movies these days, it’s really a roll of the dice. Even with the presence of major name stars, there’s usually the perception that most of these movies are outcasts for one reason (or many). A different scale of expectations, rightfully or wrongfully, is usually applied to a title falling under...
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June 13, 2018June 13, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars
A tremendous effort by director Lili Fini Zanuck and Eric Clapton, Life in 12 Bars is that rare rock documentary that goes well beyond the hagiography style frequently adopted by “official” filmed bios. Too often we get basically a Wikipedia entry fleshed out with some performance clips, mixed with endless praise by contemporaries and disciples—many...
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May 30, 2018May 30, 2018Video
Blu-ray Review: The Lodgers
Gothic horror thriller The Lodgers is new to home video via indie distributor Epic Pictures as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. Director Brian O’Malley, previously known for the horror indie Let Us Prey (2014), has crafted a deeply atmospheric ghost story in The Lodgers. Creepy, isolationist twins Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) live in...