Snark, Sarcasm, and Sobriety Keeps ‘Ghost World’ Relevant
Tales of summer classes, spineless parents, and an eternal curiosity about the wild, weird, and woebegotten in Criterion's edition of Ghost World.
Evan Sawdey
Evan Sawdey started contributing to PopMatters in late 2005, and has also had his work featured in publications such as Entertainment Weekly, SLUG Magazine, YardBarker, The Daily Dot, and many more. He has been a guest on HuffPost Live, RevotTV's "Revolt Live!", and WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album ( available for free), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records), the 2012 re-release of 'Til Tuesday's 1985 debut Voices Carry (Hot Shot Records), among others. He is the co-founder and host of The Chartographers, a podcast for pop music nerds, and previously hosted PopTalk for PopMatters. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.
20 Questions: Kasey Chambers
Australia's country great Kasey Chambers embraced her ambition on a new double-album, but still wants to be remembered as "being real in a very fake world."
White Sea: Tropical Odds
White Sea's debut separated her sound from her previous work with M83, but the lush, morose dance-pop of her piecemeal sophomore effort paints her as a truly compelling pop figure.
Katy Perry: Witness
Who's going to bear Witness? The listeners, of course, because this album, unfortunately, proves to be one hell of a burden.
20 Questions: Doctors of Madness’ Richard Strange
The Sex Pistols once opened for them, and are cited as the missing link between glam and punk. At long last, their music is available again, and frontman/erstwhile Death Eater Richard Strange reflects on it all.
Linklater’s “Before” Trilogy Is About So Much More Than Romantic Love
Across three films and 18 years, the characters of Jesse and Céline have endured in the hearts of cinephiles everywhere, but their journey remains more complex than you remembered.
Now Hear This!: Hoops
The guitars ring with lo-fi charm and some would easily compare Hoops to the basement pop madness of Ariel Pink. This band has something to say and one of the catchiest albums of the year.
Ruby Bones Share Stream of Their Self-Titled Debut (premiere)
Out of the pastel ashes of party-rockers Boxed Wine comes Chris Nova's newest incarnation: a Springsteen-worshiping, Pixies-loving rock incarnation that feels like a blast from the past.
Mac DeMarco: This Old Dog
Don't let its modest exterior fool you: DeMarco's latest has a rich emotional life that will reveal itself over time. This Old Dog indeed has some new tricks in it.
Mack Keane ‘2107’ EP (premiere)
You can hear a bit of Jamie Lidell and even Bruno Mars in Mack Keane's soul-pop sound, but it's clear from his debut effort he's carving out a sound all his own.
20 Questions: Beans
The prolific ex-Antipop Consortium rapper is releasing three full-length albums and his debut novel on the same day, and shares his loves and influences in depth with PopMatters.
Martin Scorsese Gives His Own Voice to ‘Silence’
Martin Scorsese’s quiet religious epic Silence gives a definitive take on a book that thrives in its ambiguity.