Fresh from a well-received full-length debut, singer-songwriter Andrew Belle was less on top of the world and more lost at sea. What felt like a lifetime of personal maturity and artistic growth left the wholesome folk-pop approach carried into Ladders feeling tiresome. But for all the Chicago-based performer’s frustrations, a new direction wasn’t making itself […]
belle
Posted inMusic
Leaf Hands — Your Imagination
The lazy guitar and the clickity-clack percussion loom like the bastard child of Jandek and Belle and Sebastian, grown up and obsessed with mild folktronica. It’s ominous, comforting and beautifully introspective. This bleeds nicely into “Drift,” which takes that sullen ambiance and swirls it left to right with singer Cooper Whitson’s off-kilter voice acting as […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Aroused
For the film, Anderson interviews 16 female porn stars — including Alexis Texas, Asphyxia Noir and other obviously invented names — about what got them into the business, what they get from it, and what misconceptions they’d like to clear up. In other words, she gives them the opportunity to appear human. In doing so, […]
Posted inMusic
Jump street
Photo: Clayton Elder Electronic bands face an uphill climb in the Sooner State, which boasts a proud musical heritage long defined by the obvious (country), the unassuming (folk rock) and, more recently, the brash (garage and punk). Oklahomans like their guitars — for good reason — and the instrument’s reign atop the state is unlikely […]
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Perfect situation
Haters will hate, but of bands established in the 1990s, Weezer remains one of the most recognizable due to its sound: wailing guitar solos, harmonies owing as much to The Beach Boys as punk rock, and lyrics dripping with all the nostalgia and self-obsession teenagers could possibly muster. If fans, however, would rather not drop […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Be their guest
The year 1991 was good for yellow dresses. That was when Disney released the film “Beauty and the Beast,” and little girls everywhere began asking not to be a princess, but to be Belle — this once-little girl included. The Academy Award-winning movie spawned the Tony Award-winning Broadway production, one that played for more than […]