Oh! Canada (You Pretty Things)

By Christian Lipski

Nick Gilder and Tal Bachman: Great White Northerners and purveyors of melodic sound since 1975; both are identified by one song, but have equally engaging back catalogs. More popular in Canada than further south, they both suffered from a severe lack of regard by listeners everywhere. Much more than their singles, and at the same time those singles’ very equal.
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The King and (F.B.)I: Elvis Found Alive

By Christian Lipski

Elvis Presley is alive and well and living in Simi Valley. Or at least that’s the claim of Elvis Found Alive, a new faux-documentary from Highway 61 Entertainment, who brought you Paul McCartney Is Really Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (reviewed here). This time around, they’re doing a complete 180, revealing a conspiracy to fake a death instead of a life.

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Expo, 40 Sleeps

By Paul Casey

Full disclosure: John Lane and Christian Lipski are friends of mine. They have both written for this website. This is going to be a fair and biased review.

40 Sleeps is Expo‘s third album and follows the summertime joy of 2010’s She Sells Seashells with a mood far more in keeping with their debut, Playtime. “Dreaming of Bears” and its sleepy textures would have been particularly at home on that earlier album. Although things are on the downbeat, 40 Sleeps is not bleak or self-indulgent. The singer may be sad, but like Elvis Costello, is trying his darnedest to Get Happy!!!

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Ground Control To Major Stardust: Ziggy’s Tale

By Christian Lipski

“I’m just a space cadet. He’s the commander.”
—Bowie fan, 1973

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Scottish Sellout: KT Tunstall

By Christian Lipski
Photos by Deborah Lipski

Aladdin Theater, Portland OR
May 5, 2011

Click for larger image.

Portland’s Aladdin Theater was completely full, with people standing along the walls, pushing the boundaries of its 620-person capacity. The area in front of the stage was filled with chairs, but it was clear from looking at the audience that there wasn’t going to be any moshing anyway. A curious weighting on the older side for some reason, though the show was 21 and over due to alcohol sales. It’s possible that the people who grew up with the acoustic guitar-based singer-songrwiters of the ’70s find KT Tunstall‘s music to be familiar territory.
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The Choir Indivisible: Scala & Kolacny Brothers Live

By Christian Lipski

Roseland Theater, Portland OR
March 9, 2011

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Scala & Kolacny Brothers, a Belgian girls’ choir directed by Stijn Kolacny and accompanied on piano by brother Steven, has made its name by performing haunting covers of popular songs including Radiohead’s “Creep” from The Social Network‘s soundtrack. At the Wonder Ballroom last night, they gave Portland a taste of their European direction.

Even if you’ve heard their self-titled CD, which was recently reviewed in Popshifter, you can’t know what it’s like to hear these songs coming from 23 young women in an enclosed space. It gives the modern listener a glimpse into what early devotional music must have been like for medieval worshipers. Hearing so many human voices at once is incredibly moving, especially when paired with the right songs.
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Let The Kids Dance: Girl Talk

By Christian Lipski

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Roseland Theater, Portland OR
March 17, 2011

Girl Talk played the Roseland Theater on Thursday, a sold-out all-ages show. All Ages meant that the booze was at the bar on the balcony for those with ID. It also meant that the floor was crowded with under-21 girls in fine 80s fashion, and their boys in fine ironicwear. There was a great deal of excited running around and kissing, which reminded me of self-conscious high school dances.
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Scala & Kolacny Brothers, S/T

By Christian Lipski

The Stone Age was followed by the Bronze Age, which was followed by the Iron Age. With every new movie that Hollywood releases, with every mashup video on YouTube or “greatest hits” tour by a reunited band, it becomes more and more clear that we are currently living in the Age of the Remake. This is not always the sign of a lack of ideas, fortunately. Often it’s a way to make people look at something in a whole new light.

Listeners may recognize Scala & Kolacny Brothers from the movie The Social Network, which featured their haunting cover of the Radiohead song “Creep.” Their new self-titled CD is their debut in the US, and they obviously hope to capitalize on the film’s great success here.
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Top Ten Of 2010: Christian Lipski

1. Fear Agent, by Rick Remender, Tony Moore, Jerome Opena

A science fiction comic series that echoes “Mars Attacks!” and other two-fisted adventures, but with a serious emotional core. Drunken space cowboy Heath Huston finds himself pitted against robots with human brains and amoeba creatures. Swashbuckling adventure in space! The art, by Tony Moore and Jerome Opena, is first-class, and Remender’s writing is both fast-paced and deliberately plotted.
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David Bowie: Rare And Unseen

By Christian Lipski

Is it an indication that America’s litigious society has been imported to the UK, or just a production company with a guilty conscience? In addition to excited copy about the disc’s contents, the back cover of David Bowie: Rare and Unseen includes the following definitions: “Unseen: Believed unseen since first broadcast. Rare: Believed never released on DVD.” It’s unknown why they felt it legally prudent to put that text on the case, but at least the viewer knows what they’re getting, which is admirable. Regardless, if you live in the US, most if not all of the material on the 60-minute DVD is both rare and unseen.
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