Boyz II Men – Twenty (Koch) Has it really been 20 years since “Motownphilly?” Apparently, it’s been that long, and the best-selling R&B group Boyz II Men are reminding us of their staying power and their ability to live up to their name. No longer boyz but grown men, their aptly entitled anniversary album, Twenty, is a very pleasant jaunt … Continue reading
STEP UP 3D (2010) Starring Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Keith “Remedy” Stallworth, Kendra Andrews, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Martín Lombard, Facundo Lombard, Oren ‘Flearock’ Michaeli, Joe Slaughter, Daniel ‘Cloud’ Campos, Harry Shum Jr., Jason Etter and Kathy Najimy. Screenplay by Amy Andelson & Emily Meyer. Directed by Jon M. Chu. Distributed … Continue reading
Justin Currie Fighting the Great War by Jay S. Jacobs Justin Currie is in the midst of a somewhat common predicament for the former lead singers of popular bands. Is it possible to create intriguing, challenging music without riding the coattails of the old band or recreating the old sound? Also, as an older, more … Continue reading
Norah Jones – The Fall (Blue Note) Norah Jones has performed several types of music over the years since her breakthrough album Come Away With Me. In that album and her two follow-up CDs (three if you count her gig with the alt.country supergroup The Little Willies) she has worked in jazz, country, folk, pop and R&B – … Continue reading
Nickelback, Seether & Saving Abel – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA – March 9, 2009 It’s sometimes a little easy to forget how many Nickelback songs you know and how ubiquitous their music has been on the radio for the last several years, simply because so many of their songs kind of sound alike. However … Continue reading
Emily Deschanel The Doctor Is In by Jay S. Jacobs In the second season finale of the popular series Bones, the main characters Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) ended a couple of years of flirtation standing together at a wedding altar in front of a clergyman and a … Continue reading
Fountains of Wayne – The Trocodero – Philadelphia PA – April 28, 2007 The best live rock band in the world – Fountains of Wayne? It’s not so far-fetched. The Fountains rocked the joint recently in this gig, a show which only benefited by the venue’s colorful history (it was a burlesque joint in the 1920s). This … Continue reading
Rosanne Cash – Black Cadillac (Capitol) The past few years, since the release of Rosanne Cash’s last album Rules of Travel, have been hard ones for the singer. Not only did she lose her legendary father (Johnny Cash died in September 2003), but she also lost her mother (Vivian Liberto Cash Distin), her beloved step-mother (June Carter … Continue reading
DAVID CRONENBERG A DIRECTOR LOOKS AT VIOLENT AMERICA by Brad Balfour Now transformed from a horror genre master (Rabid, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome) to a full-blown, critically acclaimed and analyzed auteur, Toronto-based director David Cronenberg finally has made A History of Violence – the film that may be the Oscar-garnering capper of his career. With Cronenberg having … Continue reading
Cowboy Junkies-One Soul Now (Zoë/Latent) It’s hard to believe that it has been sixteen years since Cowboy Junkies’ second album, the sparse and lovely The Trinity Sessions, became a surprise success and helped to pave the road for alt-country and triple-A radio. That album was recorded live in one night at an abandoned church and mixed blues, … Continue reading
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