The Album Leaf:
A Chorus of Storytellers
One would hope that the next time the Album Leaf takes three years off between albums to focus on songwriting, the result contains a more substantial story.
[Kyle Wall]

Scout Niblett:
The Calcination of Scout Niblett
Niblett creates middle of the night music: both surreal and hyper-real, blurring the line between victim and victor.
[Barbara Mitchell]

Aziz Ansari:
Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
Far too frequently, Ansari repeats himself and/or drags things out vastly longer than necessary.
[Aaron Passman]

Concert Review: Wolfmother
Roseland Theater, Portland, OR 11/19/09
[David Harris]

Concert Review: The Rural Alberta Advantage
Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO, 12/9/09
[Eric Dennis]

Interview: Franz Nicolay
"We had a big spread on the cover of the Times arts section talking about the band and talking about the record. It really felt like that, that night, we were playing the biggest show in New York."
[David Harris]

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
There is much to learn from The Most Dangerous Man in America that is still applicable today, or at least until our country ceases beginning conflicts on false pretense.
[David Harris]

Ajami
Directors Shani and Copti themselves are respectively Israeli and Palestinian, and their combined direction and portrayal of day-to-day life and attitudes is nothing short of astonishing.
[Nathan Kamal]

Saint John of Las Vegas
Saint John is never boring as a film, but it's also a slowly paced, frequently frustrating one.
[Nathan Kamal]

Year by Year: Bitches, Bastards and Badasses (Part Four)
In this fourth of seven parts, members of our staff put together a list which picks the best baddies from 1939-2009, year by year.

Oeuvre: Richard Linklater
Before Sunrise
Featuring a day where the young Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), two perfect strangers, jump off a train together to stroll the streets of Vienna, Before Sunrise may be one of the few perfect romantic films ever created.
[David Harris]

Film Dunce: Saturday Night Fever
"No, Tony! You can't fuck the future. The future fucks you! It catches up with you and it fucks you if you ain't planned for it!"
[Jesse Cataldo]

Outerlands
San Francisco's Outerlands is the Nick Drake of restaurants. Not famously known and artistry one must actively seek out in order to add to their collection and enjoy.
[KayJay]

Broiled Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese
Don't mess with tradition. Do it mom's way and save a few bucks.
[Lauren Westerfield]

Terroni:
Toronto, ON
The customer-is-always-right knee jerk response is predictable and undoubtedly responsible for the scattered trash reviews of Terroni's service.
[Brady Baker]

R.I.P.: Howard Zinn (1922-2010)
Howard Zinn provided an opportunity to relearn US history from the perspective of the underdog.
[Jessica Bari]

R.I.P.: J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)
When J.D. Salinger died last week at 91, it marked the passing of one of the 20th century's most influential, beloved and fiercely private authors.
[Lukas Sherman]

Revisit: Couples
by John Updike
Couples functions as a prescient indictment of the still incipient sexual revolution, as well as a withering piece of suburban satire.
[Jesse Cataldo]