Slate put me onto Snarksmith, a book-reader's blog, which led me to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, starring Robert Downey Jr. as an inversion of Chandler's Marlowe, and Val Kilmer as the gay LAPI who "shows him the ropes." The concept is clever, but moment by moment it's blisteringly funny. Still can't decide whether my favorite part was Downey slam-dunking his "audition," pissing on a corpse, or watching his finger get eaten by a dog. In the end, it was the ringtone: lying next to Kilmer, presumed dead, the cell goes off, prompting Downey to finish off … [Read more...]

Story airs TODAY on HERE AND NOW, between 12-1pm EST on WBUR-FM Boston. Click here for the live stream, audio will get posted as soon as it's up. RILEY ROCK INDEX The Index is now in official hardcore soft-beta, including a new weekly features page for groovy updates. Click on "grapevine," spread the word. … [Read more...]

FEY ON TOP "I hear Aaron Sorkin is in Los Angeles wearing the same dress - but longer, and not funny." … [Read more...]

DAVID THOMSON Reviewers couldn't get past the conceit of his Kidman crush, which motors his prose beyond devotional. Eccentric, over-the-top, and compulsively readable, in sections earning its analogies and fantasy roles, as Bee Wilson notes in LRB. LESLIE SAVAN The NYTimes especially seemed bent on turning this into skeet, when a close read reveals a mind humming with insight. Turns out "casual" slang is weightier, more poetic than it seems, and Savan has more to say about it than anybody else. Now in paperback. … [Read more...]

PULL QUOTE "A composer whose core work represents brevity carried almost past its logical conclusion..." --Bernard Holland on Webern How many aesthetic distinctions get coiled up in that word "almost"? Discuss. … [Read more...]

Gian Carlo Menotti 1911-2007 Along with all the other Amahls out there, a salute to Gian Carlo. Everybody should have such a regret in their obit: "I used it as an excuse to work less. Now I regret it bitterly." He was 95, and the Spoleto Festival he founded and ran for over fifty years made him feel as though he never had enough time. Telegraph Bernard Holland, NYTimes John Francis Lane, Guardian BBC News G. Schirmer … [Read more...]

File under: "My daughter's not gay so I have to find another way to be massively hypocritical..." "America's corporate boardrooms must step up to their responsibilities," he said. "You need to pay attention to the executive compensation packages that you approve." George Bush to the New York Stock Exchange, January 31st, 2007. … [Read more...]