Flash Points

Fear Itself: How Did the Big Screen Become Linked to a Crime Scene?

By Steven Aoun

The social discourse around the Aurora shooting at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises reveals a schizophrenic culture struggling with the issue of its own sanity. With so many different voices vying for attention, it has found itself contending with confusing impulses and messages. [7.Sep.12]

By the Book

A New Kind of Bleak: Journeys Through Urban Britain

By Owen Hatherley

Owen Hatherley writes with unrivalled aggression about the disarray of modern Britain, and yet this remains a book about possibilities remembered, about unlikely successes in the midst of seemingly inexorable failure. [7.Sep.12]

Canon Fodder

A Light-Hearted Romp through John Hustonian Darkness

By Michael Barrett

John Huston understands the crushing success of failure. In the rarely seen films Sinful Davey and Fat City, he observes the self-destructive behaviors and interactions of stunned and blasted losers as closely as Jane Austen would. [7.Sep.12]

Counterbalance No. 97: Neil Young's 'Harvest'

By Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger

The 97th most acclaimed album of all-time packed it in, bought a pick-up truck and took it down to L.A. Neil Young’s 1972 commercial breakthrough is the subject of this week’s Counterbalance. [7.Sep.12]

Back to Before the Beginning: Exclusive Preview of "Superboy #0"

By shathley Q

With the first week of DC's Zero month already concluded, the company once again makes a statement about the role of vitality in popculture. Perhaps nowhere more so than Superboy #0… [7.Sep.12]

Taj Mahal: The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973

This two-disc set offers more than a few revealing studio gems, while the Royal Albert Hall show from 1970 is an absolute knock out, an essential concert from a blues legend.

OMBRE: Believe You Me

OMBRE's Believe You Me is a most lovely palette cleanser that beckons to be experienced.

The Dicks: Kill From the Heart / These People

Reissues of two Reagan-era punk records turn out to be the perfect tonic for 21st century American problems.

Faal: The Clouds Are Burning

Life is difficult, and toil and trouble abound, but Faal's argument that it can always get worse is hard to dispute.

Counterbalance No. 97: Neil Young's 'Harvest'

The 97th most acclaimed album of all-time packed it in, bought a pick-up truck and took it down to L.A. Neil Young’s 1972 commercial breakthrough is the subject of this week’s Counterbalance.

Ungdomskulen - "Facemask" MP3 (PopMatters Premiere)

Ungdomskulen blend hard-charging rock with dance beats and a twist of prog rock to produce songs that have both an experimental edge and frenetic intensity.