By Simon Lazarus Vasta Read parts one and two The Almost-Best Albums of 2012 (In No Particular Order) Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music R.A.P. Music is one of the most streamlined hip-hop albums of all time. Mike jumps into a track, makes his point, and moves on with intense momentum without ever feeling rushed. El-P’s production 
It’s been forty years since Maureen McGovern launched to pop stardom, the singer admits close to the beginning of “Home for the Holidays,” the seasonal cabaret performance running through Saturday at 54 Below. That was when her first hit, “The Morning After,” the theme from The Poseidon Adventure, won an Oscar and earned her a 
A series of unwanted guests creep into the orbit of Anne and George, a married couple of retired music teachers now in their 80s. There’s the criminal who tries to break into their handsomely lived-in Paris apartment early in Amour, Michael Haneke’s superlative mature new film. And there’s that pesky bird that keeps flying in 
‘Yelling to the Sky’ is a Notable Debut Victoria Mahoney’s debut feature, Yelling to the Sky, updates the literature of writers like Gayl Jones, Alice Walker, Toni Cade Bambara, J. California Cooper and Nella Larsen, yet it isn’t at all literary. It is entirely cinematic, a presentation of emotion and social circumstance that communicates visually more 
Harold Holzer on the 16th POTUS By Elena Oumano Harold Holzer calls himself an “opportunist,” but this is true only in the most positive sense—he embraces all promising opportunities that cross his path. “If a project comes along that sounds exciting, it doesn’t matter how impossible it is,” he says. “I try to dive 
The star of the current ‘Virginia Woolf’ revival opens up about the role of Martha, Edward Albee, and eating Many are familiar with Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, one of the most cutting seminal works of modern theatre. It has been a mainstay of dramatic study since it debuted, with many a 
When Barbra Streisand tied Katharine Hepburn for the 1968 Best Actress Oscar, she became one of the few Jewish film actresses to nab Hollywood’s highest honor, a list that, to this day, numbers only six in Oscar’s 84 years of ceremonies. That she remains the only true star that on that extremely short list makes 
‘Restoration Comedy’ is a fun period party I just made a new friend named Chase. And another named Naomi. And yet another named Michael. They were all hosts of the raucous, rollicking party that is Restoration Comedy, now taking place nightly at the Flea Theater. All of my aforementioned new BFFs are part of the 
By Simon Lazarus Vasta I’m handing out more run-on sentences/awards this week. Miss part one? Read it here. The Peter Gabriel Award for Most Ambitiously Accessible Album of the Year goes to: Liars’ WIXIW While Liars’ sound has changed a lot over the years, they’ve never been known to make an album that’s friendly on 
