Jul 21, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

If audiences in 1969 were used to LPs built around 3-minute hit singles, the musical landscape of 2009 is one of dwindling record sales and endlessly shuffling MP3 players. Four decades have passed since its original release, but Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul remains resolutely sui generis. Its four tracks—the longest of which reaches well over 18 minutes—makes for a radical, revolutionary masterpiece.

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Jul 21, 2009 Books Web Exclusive

Robert Dean Lurie may be The Church's biggest fan, and he approaches the task of documenting the band's history from this admittedly biased perspective. Still, No Certainty Attached is a satisfying and informative read filled with more objective fact than subjective feeling. Lurie's writing is filled with anecdotes. The narrative is paced well, balancing the band's early history with its "Under the Milky Way"-era stardom, Kilbey's history with heroin abuse, and The Church's final artistic redemption. More

Jul 21, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

The first song on this compilation is the promising "Here Comes Success." This is no coincidence. Despite their promise and talent, Royal City didn't make it. They skirted the spotlight, never quite connecting with a wide audience for whatever reason. Arcade Fire opened for them. Constantines shared their label. Sufjan Stevens was a fan (as evidenced by his putting out this record). And yet, Royal City didn't find their place. More

Jul 20, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

Brooklyn's Lights certainly concocts a strange sonic stew on its second album. It starts off with the swirling psychedelia of "Heavy Drops," which segues into the jumpy guitar groove of "Can You Hear Me," a track that includes a lazy sax solo that sounds like it was sampled from Billy Joel's The Stranger. More

Jul 20, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

Homecoming provides one valuable lesson: If your boyfriend drives off, leaving you drunk before you've checked into your motel room, break up with him on the spot. More

Jul 20, 2009 TV Web Exclusive

Fans of intelligent and exciting science fiction, and of compelling TV drama in general, will be well rewarded if they tune into BBC America this week for the five part Torchwood miniseries Children of Earth. It will be airing every night this week at 9 p.m. and is certainly the best five hours of science fiction television in recent memory and will also go down as one of 2009's most memorable television events. Even those who have never seen Torchwood before, or who were left unimpressed by the show's early episodes, would do well to tune in. More

Jul 17, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

The debut full-length from Discovery, the long-gestating hipster R&B project from Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend) and Wes Miles (Ra Ra Riot), is a little boring. Listeners need look no further than the cover art, an agreeable, organized grid of Ellsworth Kelly-esque pastel blocks that promise non-threatening, vaguely ironic fun. More

Jul 17, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

Sometimes you've got to loosen your tie and try to remember that not everything is such a rigid business. Hockey's debut album, Mind Chaos, is here to help you out. The tracks freely move through a shortlist of genres: "Too Fake" boasts a dance punk influence, "Song Away" references a New Wave pop sound à la The Cars, and "Four Holy Photos" pops out with its country sauntering and close harmony. More

Jul 17, 2009 DVDs Web Exclusive

Wendy and Lucy is barely a movie. The story? Woman on the outs loses her dog and life sucks, and that’s pretty much it. Kelly Reichardt (director and film teacher at Bard College) has prided herself in making sparse minimalist films (Old Joy) that make critics swoon but leaves this viewer cold. More