Music Reviews

Albert King’s ‘In Session’ Offers a Master Class in Mutual Respect

In Session documents the night a one-time blues jam between guitarists Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan turned into a legendary moment.

Loose Cattle Scare the Herd with ‘Someone’s Monster’

Strangerfamiliar’s ‘La Pena’ Is a Haunting Ode to Trauma

Meryl Streek Is Still Angry in ‘Songs for the Deceased’

Tribute LP Shines Light on the Underappreciated David Olney

Ross Goldstein Signals a Creative Rebirth with ‘Blunders’

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2024

David Gilmour Shines in Halloween Finale at the Hollywood Bowl

Luke Wyland Creates Deep, Dreamy Soundscapes on ‘Kuma Cove’

Music Features

Warhaus Is the Music of Maarten Devoldere’s Subconscious

For Warhaus’ latest LP, Karaoke Moon, Belgian songwriter Maarten Devoldere (Balthazar) delved into his subconscious with some hypnotic assistance.

Carminho Expresses Her Passion for Life Through Song

20 Music Videos of the 1980s That Have Aged Well

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2024

The Blood Brothers’ ‘Crimes’ Retains Its Malevolent Relevance

The Dismemberment Plan’s Pre-millennial Tension: ‘Emergency & I’ at 25

Digging Deeper with Denver Emo Band A Place For Owls

Film

Wherever You Go, There You Are: ‘Interstellar’ at 10 Resonates

Although it aims to portray humanity’s future, sci-fi film Interstellar‘s message – that our greatest asset and liability is ourselves – resonates in our times.

Bruce Springsteen Documentary ‘Road Diary’ Takes a Familiar Route

When Sessue Hayakawa Took Hollywood by Smoldering Storm

Fascism Bares Its German Shepherd Teeth in Two Post-Franco Films

Rom-Communism: ‘Ted Lasso’ and the Future of the Romantic Comedy

A Tribute to Teri Garr: A Comic Genius

Masahiro Shinoda’s ‘Demon Pond’ Ripples Through Japan’s New Wave

Books

Fembot Despair in Olivia Gatwood’s ‘Whoever You Are, Honey’

Olivia Gatwood’s women struggle with feeling that their lives are over after a trauma to their bodies. The fembot in Whoever You Are, Honey despairs there are none.

Music in Haruki Murakami’s ‘The City and Its Uncertain Walls’

Anders Nilsen’s ‘Tongues’ and the Nature of God

Graeme Thomson’s Revised ‘Under the Ivy’ Captures Kate Bush’s Complexity

You Could Have Written Alex Van Halen’s ‘Brothers’

Games

Phoenix Springs’ Journey to Nowhere Is Worth It

Phoenix Springs‘ streamlined gameplay and inventive point-and-click adventure has the pacing of an art-house psychological drama.

‘Silent Hill 2 Remake’ Is a Dark Gem in the Horror Game Renaissance

Neva’s Emotion-Engine Gameplay Is a Beautiful Crowd-Pleaser

Video Games Set in the 19th Century and Their Literary Allusions

‘Five Years Old Memories’ and Naïve Art in Video Games

Interviews

Warhaus Is the Music of Maarten Devoldere’s Subconscious

For Warhaus’ latest LP, Karaoke Moon, Belgian songwriter Maarten Devoldere (Balthazar) delved into his subconscious with some hypnotic assistance.

Carminho Expresses Her Passion for Life Through Song

Digging Deeper with Denver Emo Band A Place For Owls

The Rhythmic Remembrances of Fred Thomas

‘The Theatrical Adventures of Edward Gorey’ Is Spectacular

Lists

20 Music Videos of the 1980s That Have Aged Well

In this installment of our retrospective of 1980s music videos, we focus on 20 promos that have, remarkably, stood the test of time.

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2024

When the 1950s Met the 1960s via LSD TV

20 Music Videos of the 1980s That Have Aged Terribly

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of October 2024

Television

‘Slow Horses: Season Four’ Subverts the Spy Genre

The good, the bad, and the ugly dance to Slow Horses‘ strange game, which reminds viewers that solidarity is essential to fighting oppression.

When the 1950s Met the 1960s via LSD TV

Rom-Communism: ‘Ted Lasso’ and the Future of the Romantic Comedy

The Top 10 Episodes of ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’

Deadwood’s Moral Optimism

PopMatters Picks

Phoenix Springs’ Journey to Nowhere Is Worth It

Phoenix Springs‘ streamlined gameplay and inventive point-and-click adventure has the pacing of an art-house psychological drama.

Albert King’s ‘In Session’ Offers a Master Class in Mutual Respect

Meryl Streek Is Still Angry in ‘Songs for the Deceased’

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2024

Talk Talk Brought Fire and Negative Space to ‘It’s My Life’