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Monday, December 9th, 2024  

Album Reviews

words from a wishing well

Shower Curtain
words from a wishing well

Dec 09, 2024 Web Exclusive

While it’s rare for the lead-up to a debut album to go this long, the six-year build to Shower Curtain’s first LP has proved worth the wait.

I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair

Christopher Owens
I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair

Dec 06, 2024 Web Exclusive

Over the last seven years, Christopher Owens has endured an unimaginable gauntlet of hardship and tragedy: the end of a longterm relationship, a debilitating motorcycle accident, and the unexpected passing of their primary Girls collaborator, Chet “JR” White.

Living in the Material World (50th Anniversary Edition)

George Harrison
Living in the Material World (50th Anniversary Edition)

Dec 05, 2024 Web Exclusive

George Harrison’s fourth solo album, the deeply spiritual Living in the Material World, straddles hope and the realities of our bloated needs and wants.

Classic Interviews

Noël Wells

Noël Wells
2013 LA Film Fest Interview

Jun 19, 2013 Web Exclusive

For a scene in the romantic road-trip comedy, Forev, Noël Wells re-enacted her second audition ever as an actress, one that she jokingly describes as traumatizing. The audition was for a Hebrew National franks commercial and called for an “all-American” girl to take a bite of a hot dog and savor it. “I was struggling to act like I was really enjoying this hot dog,” Wells remembers. “It lasted for 30 seconds. It was the longest 30 seconds of my life. And when they said, “OK cut, you can spit it out in the trash can,” when I went to spit it out, it was filled with hot-chewed hot dog buns and people’s dreams just in the trash.”

Comic Book Reviews

Second Hand Love

Second Hand Love
Drawn & Quarterly

Sep 06, 2024 Web Exclusive

Yamada Murasaki never received international acclaim during her lifetime. But now, thanks to Drawn & Quarterly’s excellent English language translations of her work, the groundbreaking manga artist is starting to get some of her much deserved recognition. Second Hand Love builds on the outstanding 2022 release, Talk to My Back, and contains two of the author’s most important stories: “A Blue Flame” and “Second Hand Love.”

Book Reviews

Lilly Wave

Brian Blomerth
Lilly Wave

Dec 05, 2024

Brian Blomerth’s Lilly Wave entrances with its spellbinding artwork detailing the life and research of John C. Lilly.

Interviews

Looking Through Glasgow Eyes with The Jesus and Mary Chain

Looking Through Glasgow Eyes with The Jesus and Mary Chain

Dec 04, 2024 Web Exclusive

The Jesus and Mary Chain’s UK tour starts this weekend (Friday 6th December), so Under the Radar caught up with founder member and vocalist Jim Reid

The Future is Female on FX’s “The Old Man”

The Future is Female on FX’s “The Old Man”

Dec 03, 2024 Web Exclusive

In Season Two of The Old Man, ​Alia Shawkat’s Emily Chase comes into her own, and brings with her an authenticity to the Middle Eastern character she plays. The actor, plus the series’ showrunner, Jonathan E. Steinberg, discuss what went into pulling off this sensitive mission.

Lists

Seven Music Documentary Films and Series From 2024 to Watch (and Three to Skip)

Jun 16, 2024

Music documentaries and series are a sure thing, or so it seems. 2024 has seen quite a few of them hit theatres and even more turn up on streamers. Among these are the high-profile ones such as the newly restored 1970 film, The Beatles: Let it Be and Frank Marshall’s The Beach Boys, not to mention Taylor Swift|The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), all on Disney+. Lil Nas X released his interpretation of Madonna’s Truth or Dare with his behind-the-scenes tour film, Long Live Montero (HBO). There is also Eno, the groundbreaking generative documentary feature on Brian Eno. Just as fascinating as the biographical docs are topical ones such as the recently released How Music Got Free (Paramount+).

Coming soon is Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple (HBO), which shines a much deserved spotlight on the multi-hyphenate talent, and I Am: Celine Dion (Prime Movies), which shares the singer’s challenges with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome.

Whether or not you’re into the artists, subjects, or the music, there is a voyeuristic and vicarious thrill in watching musicians, both in their professional setting and personal lives. Music documentary films and series are often worth the time—except when they’re not. Here are seven must-watch music docs and series released in 2024, and three from this year that you can skip.—By Lily Moayeri