Coming off a lengthy hiatus, the band’s passionate take on rock music (lining up neatly alongside acts like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and Manchester Orchestra) is back in vogue, thanks to the “emo revival” now in full swing. Black Cloud brings most of the same touchstones found in its 2010 release, The Golden Land, […]
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Takeoff Eyeslow — The Prescription
So if Kanye wants to go off on his Alan Vega/Suicide jag, let him. We have a homegrown replacement right here in Takeoff Eyeslow, dropping an album that is a better follow-up to Graduation than anything West has done since. On The Prescription, the Norman rapper exudes sleepy passion. The first track, “Papa Robert,” doesn’t […]
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Kanye West — Yeezus
Ego alone isn’t what makes Mr. West such a fascinating figure; any other schmo with a head his size would be scoffed and discarded as parody. There’s actually a certain degree of legitimacy that keeps his maniacal sense of self-importance from devolving into full-scale megalomania: that Kanye’s vision and production chops are currently unmatched in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
How the West was 10
Over the past decade, Adelante! Gallery has built a reputation — in its Paseo Arts District home and beyond — for fine Southwest, Western and contemporary art. For its 10th-anniversary exhibit, gallery owner Cynthia Daniel Wolf said she is excited to continue that tradition with Art of the West, which opens with free receptions Friday and […]
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‘Side’ effects
So renowned is the Broadway musical West Side Story that, unlike its leading man, there’s a good chance you haven’t just met a girl named Maria. You likely know her very well, thanks to the ever-popular movie adaptation. That film won 10 Academy Awards in 1961 and hasn’t left living rooms since. However, the national […]
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West of Memphis
It says something about the horrific saga of the West Memphis Three that their experience still manages to be so shocking. One might have thought that three HBO documentaries, the Paradise Lost films of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, would have been sufficient to tell this story. But West of Memphis, which opens Friday exclusively […]
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Funny or Die Presents: The Complete Second Season
Played with flawless deadpan by Steve Tom as an ersatz Leslie Nielsen, Haligan is the host of Funny or Die Presents, but also the Head of West Coast Sales & Marketing for the fictional Funny or Die Network, programming from which this sketch series is built. For season two, Haligan may have traded his sterile-white […]
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Kendrick Lamar — good kid, m.A.A.d City
The album, which Lamar labeled as a “short film,” tells the story of his life as a good kid in the mad city of Compton, Calif. He raps about trying to avoid temptations, including women, drugs, alcohol, violence and revenge. However, even the good kids succumb to temptation from time to time. The disc twists […]
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Haunting 101
Built on 111,000 acres in 1879 by Col. George W. Miller, the 101 Ranch once hosted one heckuva wild west show that rivaled Buffalo Bill’s. According to author Matthew Mayo, after Miller died in 1903, his three sons took over the sprawling operation, only to see tragedy after tragedy follow. First, in 1927, Joe Miller, […]
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G.O.O.D. Music — Cruel Summer
With outstanding talent like Kanye, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Common and Mos Def on the G.O.O.D. label, there’s no reason that Cruel Summer shouldn’t be near-perfect, but that is far from the case. Too much input from 2 Chainz and Big Sean — each of whom has his bright points, but often comes […]