By Lisa Anderson

With vampires still abundant in popular culture, it’s hard to do anything new with the concept. Nashville Writer A. Jay Lee has managed to do so, however, with his Holy Damned series. The first book, Grace Through Blood, finds young Jamie Grace newly arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, where she finds new love and becomes embroiled in a very unusual community of vampires. The vampires are not the only supernatural beings in the story, either: Jamie herself can see people’s auras, and she and her new boyfriend Grant encounter shapeshifters and battle a vengeful demon as their pasts intersect in Charleston.
Lee has written an innovative, compelling book with a strong sense of place. He sat down recently to chat with me about the premise of the series, its future, and his inspirations.
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By now, you’ve probably heard about Ridley Scott’s latest sci-fi epic, Prometheus, and possibly even seen it. Hopefully, you have not based your enjoyment of the film on what critics are saying. Although there are several who have embraced Prometheus, flaws and all (Roger Ebert, The Guardian, HuffPo, The New Yorker, Screen Rant, and David Chen from /Film), there seems to be an overwhelming majority who are trashing every aspect of the movie.


Screencap from Miami Vice Fashion
New this week on Popshifter: a SpaceX celebration mix; reviews of The dB’s Falling Off The Sky, Jherek Bishoff’s Composed; John Singer Sergeant from John Dufilho; and a new band to watch: Sad Baby Wolf.

Holy Motors, 2012
New on Popshifter this week: a review of Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life and the highly anticipated Prometheus. There are also fifteen (!) new articles from our May/June issue, True Patriot Love.
By Paul Casey

You will see Prometheus. Of course you will. If you have even a modicum of space knowledge of Ridley Scott, you will. Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus. Even if this is a space version of Robin Hood, you have to see it. Ridley Scott is as important to science fiction cinema as Stanley Kubrick. We all know this. In spite of the cynicism and waiting Internet doom machine, you have no choice but to see this movie. And when you do, you need to see it in 3D.

The Great Gatsby, 2012
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
New this week on Popshifter: The Monks; reviews of The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall, Max Payne 3, Ernie Kovacs: Percy Dovetonsils . . . thpeaks, and The Lowbrow Reader Reader; plus When Community Is A Commodity

Donna Summer, 1948 – 2012
New on Popshifter this week: Reviews of the remastered reissues of The Bill Evans Trio’s Moon Beams and Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso

Livide
New on Popshifter this week: Reviews of Turing Machine’s latest release What is the Meaning of What, the remastered reissue of Hey Little Richard, and You and I in Heaven, the new EP from Tyburn Saints.

Velvet Goldmine, 1998
New on Popshifter this week: reviews of the recently reissued Beginnings, Rick Springfield’s 1972 US debut album; Theresa Andersson’s latest album Street Parade; Beatles documentary Strange Fruit; The Apples in stereo’s Chris McDuffie’s solo release as Whitejacket, titled Hollows and Rounds; and The Ian Hunter Band’s Rockaplast concert on DVD.
By Lisa Anderson

Do you love the horror genre, but feel like it’s in a rut? Do you like rooting for main characters in a terrifying situation, but find that in recent movies, they’re often one-dimensional or unlikable? Do you enjoy the exquisite treat of being confronted with a Big Bad that’s been built up for over an hour . . . but wish that could happen without a lot of sexism or torture porn?
If, so, fortunately, Joss Whedon agrees with you.
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