May 31, 2012
Music
Issue #41 - Yeasayer
It’s been three years since Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros carved out an interesting creative niche with their 2009 debut album, Up From Below. In the ‘60s, three years could mean everything to a folk-oriented act, though the lofty pursuits of artists like Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs are leagues away from those of The Magnetic Zeros.
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DC
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Ian Churchill
May 30, 2012
Comic Books
DC New 52
The Ravagers #1 from DC Comics is one of the more disappointing books I’ve read since the “New 52” relaunch, even coming in with staggeringly low expectations. The Ravagers is marred by generic ideas and confusing visual storytelling, and only slightly counterbalanced by a nice panel here or there.
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May 30, 2012
Music
Web Exclusive
It’s been five years since El-P released his last full-length, the impressive I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead.
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May 29, 2012
Music
The Walkmen
For their seventh album, Heaven, The Walkmen hired Phil Ek (Built To Spill, The Shins, Modest Mouse, Les Savy Fav, etc.) to handle production duties. It’s safe to assume this choice had something to do with The Walkmen opening for Fleet Foxes last year, as Ek produced both of Fleet Foxes’ LPs.
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DC
Written by Grant Morrison; Pencilled, Inked, & Colored by Christopher Burnham; Cover Color by Nathan Fairbairn; Lettered by DC Lettering
May 29, 2012
Comic Books
DC New 52
Grant Morrison’s Batman, Incorporated returned last week with a bloody and action-packed debut issue. It’s essentially the crown jewel of DC’s “Second Wave” of New 52 titles in terms of writing, but artist Christopher Burnham is no slouch either.
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May 29, 2012
Music
Web Exclusive
On what’s about the 200th release from this psych duo, Matt Valentine and Erika Elder provide more of what they do best.
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Vertigo/DC
Writer (original story): Neil Gaiman; Annotator: Leslie S. Klinger
May 28, 2012
Comic Books
DC Comics
In theory, treating the first 20 issues of The Sandman as an object of literature seems a fine idea. After all, it’s a fantastic read, and Neil Gaiman’s stories are steeped in mythology and history that has come before (as is most of the best literature). But the flip side of an annotation is that the focus is taken off the art and put on to the process and the surrounding ephemera. Seeing some of how the sausage is made, as it were.
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May 28, 2012
Music
Web Exclusive
The year 2000, when Bright Eyes’ Fevers and Mirrors was initially released, was, in retrospect, the final vestige of an era of mystery, soon to be supplanted by Internet message board inundation and Twitter ubiquity.
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May 26, 2012
DVDs
Web Exclusive
By now, virtually of the major directors recognized in the 20th century pantheon have gotten the Blu-ray treatment, save Woody Allen. Now, the Blu-ray edition of Allen’s Annie Hall has arrived at last.
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Studio: The Weinstein Company
May 26, 2012
Cinema
Issue #41 - Yeasayer
One of the highest grossing French films of all time, The Intouchables is a broad-stroked portrait of the development of an unlikely friendship between the aristocratic paraplegic Philippe (François Cluzet) and his reluctant Senegalese caregiver Driss (Omar Sy).
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