Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship
These instrumental studies of electronic sounds and evolving melodies find a voice in the organic movements of their structure, yielding the character and depth vocals can often provide, without straying from Tortoise's established sound. [Michael Merline]
Birds of Avalon: Uncanny Valley
Recorded entirely on analog equipment, the Raleigh, North Carolina quintet's sophomore Uncanny Valley is a record whose pleasures aren't necessarily obvious on the first listen. Keep listening. [Chris Middleman]
Future of the Left: Travels with Myself and Another
FOL's second album, Travels with Myself and Another, is everything you could possibly want from the latter-day project of your now defunct favorite band. It's similar enough to the core aesthetic of Mclusky without sounding redundant, but it also offers up enough change and potential to suggest that this might just be the group to succeed on a wider scale than Falkous'sprevious outfit. [Morgan Davis]
Rediscover: Tom Lehrer Songs and More Songs by Tom Lehrer
There are actually some people who will feverishly argue that Tom Lehrer is the best musical satirist to ever walk this mortal coil. These people are, of course, completely right. [Eric Dennis]
FILM
Reviews
The Windmill Movie The Windmill Movie pulls no punches in laying its subject bare. That all of this footage exists and that the revealing insights it offers were the creation of its subject is both precisely and beside the point. [Andrei Alupului]
Cheri Cheri is a story quickly told by trading depth for visual beauty. There is nothing unique or wholly interesting about this period piece though it did make another rainy afternoon more bearable. [Jane Hruska]
Afghan Star
Like those films it follows a competition, in this case Afghan Star, a popular television show that is Afghanistan's equivalent of American Idol. We're so inured to bad news out of that war-ravaged country, that there is some novelty to a film that presents ordinary Afghanis trying to win a singing contest. [Lukas Sherman]
Features
Music on DVD: Jeff Buckley: Grace Around The World Grace Around The World is a collection of remarkable footage about one of the great losses of the '90s, a musical decade already steeped in tragedy. However, it reveals a character more layered than idolization or mythology would lead one to believe. [Nathan Kamal]
The Reagan Era
Through the power of the internet, you can avoid being pantywaisted by the films that the left forces on our collective conscience. We present to you, five of the most awesomely bad-ass movies from the most awesomely bad-ass decade: the Reagan era. [Lisa Bahr]
Oddfellows Cafe & Bar: Seattle, WA
On a sunny afternoon, Oddfellows is at its picturesque peak, bright and brimming with stylish clientele. This is the sort of place filled raucous lunch parties, quiet couples and lone diners casually flipping through profound works of fiction. [Nicola Fairhead]
Mercato: Philadelphia, PA
Mercato is a cozy cash-only BYOB that cranks out tasty, upscale Italian dishes in a space that could just as easily be in New York's East Village. [Tara Pierson Hoey]
Anchovies: Boston, MA
With the look and feel of a dark, seedy tavern, Anchovies serves up homey pastas, tasty pizzas and other Italian-American dishes rather than the standard pub fare. [Tara Pierson Hoey]
Recipes
Spicy Italian Sausage Casserole
Serve it in front a black and white TV, '50s style, or out in the garden with a glass of mild Chianti. Either way, it's a casserole and it's delicious. [Nathan Kamal]
Peach Dump Cake
If consumed past its expiration date it also just might wreak havoc on your bowels. It's called dump cake for a few reasons, you see. [Eric Dennis]
Balsamic Marinated Strawberries
This is an easy, no-cooking dessert that can either serve as its own dish or as an ingredient. It's simple, quick and makes you seem way classier than you are. And remember, just like any wine, the better the vinegar, the better the dish. [Nathan Kamal]
