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]
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]
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]
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]
FOOD
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]
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]
PRINT
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]