Ooh, SNAP!Mess Up the Mess, You Remind Me of Summer Vacation, ParoxysmMy friends say you're cuteYou're just my styleYou've got a cherry scooter and a winning smileYou've got rave reviews, but I don't believe the hypeHoney, you're not my Myers-Briggs Type!-- "You're Not My (Myers-Briggs) Type"Mess Up the Mess is an appropriate name for this DC quartet's smart alecky punk-pop. Not that they sound messy--loose is a better word--but their name brings to mind the B-52s ("Dance This Mess Around"), and there's just as much "bounce to their ounce," to paraphrase Zapp (although I think Roger Troutman may have had something more salacious in mind). Further comp

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The Tortoise and the HareThe Chinese Stars, Listen to Your Left Brain, Three One g/Skingraft [3/20/07]Christened after the "Chinese Star Epidemic" of the early '80s which found legions of grade school kids across America armed with "shrunken" throwing stars, the band vowed to reinvent what they have already invented in their previous bands. -- From the Chinese Stars biography *****I'm fascinated by CD art, because it's one of the ways a band presents themselves to the world, along with posters, handbills, and the like. The music may be of greater significance, but that doesn't mean the packaging is irrelevant. So, the first thing I noticed about this

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The Treasures of the InternetEvery few months, I search Google to see where my reviews are ending up. Here are some of the more interesting results.*****Answers.com:AMG review of Craig Armstrong - The Quiet AmericanCartype:Amazon review of Who Killed the Electric Car?GreenCine: "It's hard to be objective when a film features all my favoritestuff," writes Kathy Fennessy at the Siffblog. "The Treasures of Long Gone John concerns art, music and cats. Mostly, itconcerns Long Gone John, founder of inimitable indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry."It's My Heart:Amazon review of Something the Lord MadeK Blog - All About Kieslowski:Siffblog review of t

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What He Is To MeBill Withers, Just As I Am/Still Bill, Raven [Australia]***** ***** ***** ***** Ain't No SunshineAin't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's away. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone And she's always gone too long anytime she goes away. Wonder this time where she's gone, Wonder if she's gone to stay Ain't no sunshine when she's gone And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away. And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.Hey, I ought to leave the you

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Children of MenVarious, The World Is Gone, XL RecordingsI like the style of the pen and ink drawings that decorate this debut, but I find illustrator David Bray's imagery kind of, well, icky, i.e. topless women battling forest creatures. Perhaps, if he'd rendered them with some degree of humor, but no, it's all pretty po-faced, expect for the sleepy-eyed lass on the back, gratefully accepting a cherry from a bird. The woman on the front [right] is wreaking havoc on an elk's antlers (the beast's intricately-rendered form is depicted on the second panel). The woman inside appears to be pleasuring herself with one hand while a wolf devours the other [bel

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My Funny ValentineThese are the reviews (and other assignments) I'm working on this month.Amazon CDs: Belinda Carlisle - Voilà (Go-Go's front woman takes on the chanson), Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch (Lerche goes power-pop), Fall Out Boy - In-finity on High, Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel as School Children(dig that Supertramp sample), Hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, and Matt Wertz - Everything in Between.Amazon DVDs: The Cuban Masterworks Collection (Viva La Revolución!) [five-disc set], Beauty and the Beast - The First Season [six-disc set] [Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman], The Rockford Files - Season Three [five-disc set] (click

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Inspiration InformationShortly after reviewing the Criterion Collection edition of Border Radio, her first film (directed with Kurt Voss and Dean Lent), I stumbled across Allison Anders' list of her top 10 Criterion Collection DVDs. Sure, I'm a fan, but I took a look out of curiosity more than anything else. Her explanations behind the choices, however, are much richer than I had any right to expect. I mean, this is pretty much her history as both filmgoer and filmmaker (the two are indivisible).Here's the introduction. Click here for thoughts on her selections.Wow, this assignment kicked my ass in a glorious way! As with everyone before me, picking j

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