pj harvey: Let England Shake (Vagrant) St. Vincent: Strange Mercy (4AD) Eleventh Dream Day: Riot Now (Thrill Jockey) Nick Lowe: The Old Magic (Yep Roc) Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What (Hear) Black Keys: El Camino (Nonesuch) Chris Thile and Michael Daves: Sleep With One Eye Open (Nonesuch) Ma, Duncan, Meyer, Thile: Goat Rodeo (Sony) Rob Wassermann, Various: Note of Hope, A Celebration of Woody Guthrie (429) Steve Cropper, Various: Dedicated, a Tribute to the Five Royales (429) also: Roots with John Legend … [Read more...]

Ever since Viola Davis stole Doubt from Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman, there have been several looming instances where character actors ingest whole scripts. When moments like this hit, when it's hard to distinguish acting from writing, the effects can dazzle (even if Clive James dismisses). Tim Pigott-Smith has had one of those British careers lost on most Americans, who know him best from The Jewel in The Crown, the lauded Masterpiece Theatre serial from 1984. (Smith also wrote an obscure yet memorable book, Out of … [Read more...]

Obscurantists, shrug with elation: Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet)'s lost moosterpiece, Bat Chain Puller, will finally come out in early 2012 according to the Wire. Related articles An Official Release for Captain Beefheart's 'Bat Chain Puller' (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com) Lost Captain Beefheart album Bat Chain Puller finally due out (guardian.co.uk) Long-Shelved Captain Beefheart Album Set for January Release (rollingstone.com) Bat Chain Puller (greylining.com) … [Read more...]