EclecticAffair WhatLauraSays, BloomCheek,Terp-sikh-ore [6/8/10]It isn't hard to identify the artists this Phoenix five-pieceenjoys the most. I hear echoes of Harry Nilsson and 10CCon some selections, Air, Grizzly Bear, and Devendra Ban-hart on others. Of course, it could always be coinciden-tal; they may simply share similar musical influences. I find the combination of styles appealing, the multi-layeredharmonies, the atmospheric organ work, and the T. Rex-likerhythms. On the whole, their second disc is a pretty eclecticaffair—at times, they even sound like an old funk-rock band.Except for a misguided attempt at reggae stylings and a few

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White Noise: Part FourI have two bookshelves. Both are so overstuffed, I've taken tostoring books in the kitchen and in the hallway. This shot includ-es reference books (A Biographical Dictionary of Film, Film NoirReader, Placing Movies), books I haven't started (I Put a Spellon You, King Suckerman, Union Dues), and book I haven't fin-ished (The Collected Stories of John Cheever, Sirk on Sirk).This shot includes books I've read (Cruel Shoes, Gone with theWind, How the Irish Became White, In the Cut, Monty, NeonAngel: The Cherie Currie Story, Mystery Train, Please KillMe, The Ice Storm, and White Noise). Plus, an assort-ment of nail polish and fragranc

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White Noise: The Complete Book Club List, Part ThreeHere are the titles book club has tackled since 2007. For a history of the club, please click here. For part one of the list (2000-04), click here; for part two (2005-06), click here.** The third link is currently inoperable; I'm hoping to find a way to retrieve it.2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 02/07: Peter Carey - True History of the Kelly Gang[Winner of the Man Booker Prize]05/07: Martin Amis - Money: A Suicide Note07/07: Mike Davis - Dead Cities [I swear I'll finish this...someday]09/07: Cormac McCarthy - The Road [Nice lead-in to No Country for Old Men] 11/07: John Nathan

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Beware the CD Reviews of MarchWet-dog, "Frau-haus!,"Cap-tur-edFrom "Lower Leg" [see below] the first song off their secondalbum, you might think Britain's Wetdog are trying to pickup where Switzerland's Kleenex/LiLiPUT left off in 1983.On that track, in which tribal rhythms meet call-and-responsevocals, you can also hear the Slits and the Raincoats (and on theirMySpace Page, I spotted a picture of head Slit Ari Up, indicatingthat they're either fans, former bill-mates, or both). As compel-ling as those reference points may be, you could always listento the original artists to scratch the same post-punk itch.Fortunately, Wetdog reveals their own unique

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ProperProcedureGil Scott-Heron's I'mNew Herecomes withthe follow-ing advice.I've donemy bestto repro-duce the original formatting, except for the white text-on-black background (it's the first thing you see when you open the CD).***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****There is a proper procedure for taking advantage of any investment. Music, for example. Buying music is an investment. To get the maximum you mustLISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.Not in your car or on a portable player through a headset.Take it home.Get rid of all distractions (even her or him).Turn off your cell phone.Turn off everything that r

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Movie ofthe Month:Part 16I recent-ly review-ed the fol-lowing film forVideoLib-rarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.THE BEACHES OF AGNES [***1/2](Agnès Varda, France, 2009, 110 mins.)To love cinema is to love JacquesDemy, painting, family, and puzzles.-- Agnès Varda, The Beaches of Agnès***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****As French New Wave veteran Agnès Varda (Cléo from5 to 7, The Gleaners and I) explains in her enchanting doc-umentary, she's spent a lifetime filming other people, be-cause "It's others I'm interested in, others I like to film." The Beaches of Agnès, on the other hand, allows theself-described "

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March ReviewsThese are the reviews and other pieces I'm working on this month.Amazon DVDs: Scarecrow and Mrs. King - The Complete First Season (with KateJackson and BruceBoxleitner) [five-discset], Breaking Bad -The Complete Second Season [four-disc set](click here for my re-view of season one),and 44 Inch Chest (with Ray Winstone and John Hurt). Amazon Theatricals: Alice in Wonderland (with John-ny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter), The Runaways (with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning), Remember Me(with Emilie de Ravin and Stewart's Twilight co-star, Rob-ert Pattinson), Diary of a Wimpy Kid (from the book byJeff Kinney), and Please Give (with C

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