More Than Shakespeare Slash: Q&A With Author Myrlin Hermes

By Jemiah Jefferson

The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet, the new novel by Portland, Oregon author Myrlin A. Hermes, dismantles some of the best-known works of literature in the English language—the plays and sonnets of good ol’ Willie Shakespeare, most particularly Hamlet—and builds from their parts a unique, steamy, bisexual love triangle between three famous characters.
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The Remakening: Movies That Should Be Remade

Intro by Less Lee Moore

A February article on Horrornews.net proposed a list of 13 movies that need to be remade. While I didn’t agree with all of the films listed, it got me thinking.
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Leading Men Have No Character

By Less Lee Moore

Cillian Murphy

Recently, the media announced that the latest Cillian Murphy film, Peacock, would not be released in theaters but would go straight to DVD. Another recent Murphy film, Watching The Detectives, suffered a similar fate; in addition, Hippie Hippie Shake, starring Murphy and Sienna Miller, was completed almost three years ago and has yet to find distribution. A commenter on ONTD noted that, “[Cillian Murphy] really used to excite me, then too many of his movies went straight to DVD and I lost interest.” Ouch.

An online friend of my own framed the news in a less harsh, but more problematic way, saying that Cillian Murphy looks to be on his way to being a character actor. The contradictory nature of the term “character actor” suddenly seemed frustratingly inappropriate, particularly to an actor of Murphy’s caliber.
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Shouting Birds Into Existence: Yoko Ono/The Plastic Ono Band

By Matt Keeley

Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Brooklyn NY
February 15, 2010

Every music geek has a list of bands that they’re certain they’ll never see live, but would just about kill to get the chance. For me, that includes Kraftwerk (seen once), DEVO (seen three times), and The Residents (seen twice). And Yoko Ono (now seen). And not one person killed or even maimed.
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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll: The First Ten Years

By Noreen Sobczyk

Jon Spencer is a man of many faces. He is a crazed preacher proselytizing the electric gospel. He is a musical ringmaster with Tourette’s Syndrome repeatedly proclaiming, “the blues is number one.” He is the majestic mumbling Boomhauer of rock and roll. He and the Blues Explosion are here for one reason: to save rock and roll. And they do it repeatedly, as though it simply flows from their veins; as if they were born to do it. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know two things for certain: they take no prisoners and they are not fucking around.
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From Page To Screen: Shutter Island

By Maureen

When I saw the trailer for Shutter Island, I was instantly intrigued. My first celebrity crush, Leonardo DiCaprio, delving into my current career field, mental health? Seemed too good to be true.
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The T.A.M.I. Show, Collector’s Edition DVD

By Noreen Sobczyk

Perhaps you’ve seen some incarnation of this historic program via bootlegs, but this is the first time The T.A.M.I. Show (Teenage Awards Music International) has seen an official release. Little Steven has been quoted as saying “It’s the greatest rock movie you’ve never seen.” That may be debatable, but The T.A.M.I. Show sure is a treasure.
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Blank Generation On DVD

By Less Lee Moore

Richard Hell got me my first paying job in the music industry. Sort of.
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Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, I Learned The Hard Way

By Noreen Sobczyk

Every music lover has undoubtedly been asked the same question at some point: “So what kind of music do you like?” It’s one of those tricky questions that sometimes results in a snarky answer, such as “the kind with melody and rhythm.”
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Béla Fleck, Throw Down Your Heart, Africa Sessions Part Two

By Lisa Anderson

Many people may not know this, but the roots of banjo music actually go back to Africa. Eclectic American banjo player Béla Fleck traveled to Africa to explore this history and learn from African musicians. The result was the 2008 documentary Throw Down your Heart, and the 2009 album Throw Down Your Heart, Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Africa Sessions. Part two of the album was released early this year.
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