Eddie's Attic Open Mic Night
I'm wired with a sometimes inexplicable optimism. It's what makes me check what's on the radio before popping in a CD in my car or visiting some band's MySpace page if the press release they emailed me looks interesting enough. So, from time to time, I enjoy a good open mic night, and in Atlanta, that means Eddie's Attic. I went last night to support my friend and Paste's books editor Charles McNair. Dressed in all black he sang his pair of literate, heartbreaking songs with all the passion and intensity an arena performance might have warranted. So did many... read more
TV Detail: Heroes review. Episode 304 "I Am Become Death"
The star of Season 3 definitely seems to be the hubris of our heroes. First Hiro, bored without a mission, creates one of his own by ignoring his father's single command as clearly as Adam in the garden of Eden. Now, it's Peter Petrelli's turn to play Anakin Skywalker. With all his constant whining, I'd always figured him for a Luke. But in Epsiode 304, he recklessly veers towards the dark side in an effort to save the world. Like Henry Paulson or Ben Bernanke, when catastrophe looms, the hero urge makes "doing something" irresistable, even if the cure might... read more
Paste-apalooza: Recent performances at the Paste Studios
Today, Matt Morris stopped by the studio at our Paste headquarters here in Decatur, Ga., around 11 a.m., followed an hour later by Joan Osborne (above), who played a powerful rendition of The Grateful Dead's "Brokedown Palace" as well as three of her originals. This feels about par for the course over the past few weeks, as our multi-media producer Kevin Keller has been working like a madman.... read more
TV Detail: True Blood review. Episode 5 "Sparks Fly Out"
After an uneven start, True Blood's fifth episode is the best yet. Bill Compton's (Stephen Moyer) talk to a gathering of the Daughters of the Confederacy (along with the rest of the town's most curious citizens) stirs up old memories, and a flashback reveals his vampiric origins. When his Louisiana regiment was broken up during the Civil War, Compton struck through the woods to return to Bon Temps and his wife and two children. But after proving his fidelity in the shack of a beautiful young widow, he's rewarded with a bite to the neck.... read more
TV Detail: Sanctuary review—Series premiere
Science fiction used to be nothing more than a novelty on Television, making periodical appearances in each decade since Buck Roger and Flash Gordon debuted in the 1950s. Not so much, anymore. Tonight, two sci-fi series premiered head-to-head, The Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Sci-Fi's Sanctuary. Both shows promised unique visuals: the video-game interstitial cut-scene feel of The Clone Wars and the CGI environments of Sanctuary. The latter was filmed almost entirely on green screen with the scenery added in afterwards. The strategy allows for a show that was originally designed for the Internet boast a setting... read more
Biden vs. Palin in Kung-Fu Election!
Just in time for tonight's debate between Sen. Joe Biden (D) and Gov. Sarah Palin, Atom.com has added the vice-presidential candidates to Kung-Fu Election. Having played as Biden, I can only tell the senator that ducking and upper-cuts seemed to work best. His super-gabbing mouth wasn't all that effective. And watch out for the governor's hockey blade and moose-hunting gun. Alas, all that wasn't enough as the Barracuda took me down in two rounds. Democrats better hope that the real Biden fares better tonight. ... read more
Reeperbahn Festival Wrap-Up: TVOTR, The Constantines & Lykke Li
In Hamburg, the yardstick for conquering the Reeperbahn is concluding your Saturday night with a trip down to the Fish Market after it opens at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. So when I began walking through the stalls of vendors selling rows of eels, fruit baskets and St. Pauli soccer T-shirts, it was with a feeling of accomplishment. Credit my body's complete confusion about time zones, comraderie among foreign journalists or the knowledge that if I went back to my hotel room, I never would have made it back up for our final tour in the German city.... read more
TV Detail: Heroes review. Episode 3.2—"One of Us, One of Them"
In the third season of Heroes, everything is changing. Hiro has gone from savior of the world to comically inept. Nathan Petrelli has turned from a womanizing hypocrite to a good-hearted devout believer. The innocent cheerleader Claire is now angry and vengeful. Nikki is dead, but her twin lives. And the psychotic Syler is now Mr. Hornrim's new partner trying to catch the rest of the villains. Only Peter Petrelli is the same mix of naive good guy and annoying ball of angst, but those two mood swings have been split into two people—present Peter and future Peter.... read more
TV Detail: Fringe review. Episode 4—The Arrival
Fringe needed its enigmatic figure, and The Observer (Michael Cerveris) fits that bill quite nicely. Bald with no eyebrows. Impeccably dressed. Likes his roast beef sandwiches with precisely 11 jalepeños, though claims he wouldn't much be able to taste Dr. Bishop's rootbeer float. Present at three dozen instances of the pattern. Doesn't seem to age. Oh, and he can read Peter Bishop's thoughts.... read more
Reeperbahn Festival Day 2: Bon Iver follows The Beatles to Hamburg
When I think of the Beatles, I usually don't think of Hamburg, but that's apparently due to my own ignorance. After my Beatles tour today (complete with ukulele covers of "My Life" and "Shake it Up Baby" by our guide Stephanie), I know better. The Fab Four played their first gig as "The Beatles" at The Indra, a tiny club along The Reeperbahn, Hamburg's Red Light District. They weren't any good, but after playing well over 100 shows at Kaiser Keller and The Star Club, sometimes until 7 a.m., they learned how to entertain. The area is still a mix... read more
Sacred Harp in a strange setting
No one has done more to help revive Sacred Harp singing among a younger generation than two of the men at the Earl in East Atlanta this past Monday night—filmmaker Matt Hinton and musician Tim Eriksen. Hinton's film Awake, My Soul traces the history of America's oldest original musical tradition and the way it's thriving in pockets of the South. The original soundtrack features traditional renditions of old Sacred Harp (also called Shape-Note) tunes. But the Earl showcase was a release party for the second album associated with the film, this one featuring a variety of artists (Richard Buckner, Doc... read more
Reeperbahn Festival Day 1: Sleepless in Hamburg
I was born in Munich back when it was still called West Germany, just after Kraftwerk had released their first album. My dad had taken a job there, but we moved back to the States before my second birthday. The only things that hinted at a European genesis for me were an early love of Gummi Bears, a set of rubber Schlumpf figurines before friends had ever heard of Smurfs, and later on, a hatred for crappy American beer. It took me more than 30 years to return to the country of my birth.... read more
TV Detail: Fringe review. Episode 3—The Ghost Network
Fox has paired its new show Fringe on Tuesday nights with House, and each show's best character is a somewhat misanthropic doctor. Both are played by foreign actors—Dr. House by Englishman Hugh Laurie and Dr. Bishop by Australian John Noble. Laurie's character is among the surliest anti-heroes on TV since E.R.'s Dr. Rocket Romano was abusing everyone he came in contact with. His bedside manner can best be summed up by words like "mocking," "cruel" and "uncaring." But even he never implanted human test subjects' blood with a metallic compound that would years later intercept transmissions through a biological communications... read more
TV Detail: Heroes Review. Season 3 Premiere "Villains"
Heroes looked to put its sophomore slump behind it and return to its first season greatness last night. Aside from last year’s additions of Maya (Dania Ramzírez) and Elle (Kristen Bell), it also looked like a return to the original cast and, to some extent, the original plot (save the planet from a future giant explosion). Despite the fact that the first half of the new season is called “Villains,” the two episodes that aired back-to-back last night, “The Second Coming” and “The Butterfly Effect” relied on Sylar as the bad guy until the jailbreak towards the end.But even with... read more
TV Detail: True Blood review. Episode 3—Mine
In the second episode of True Blood, our hero Sookie (Anna Paquin) was visiting her friend Bill the Vampire’s house at night. The show ended with a trio of vampires greeting her at the door, baring their fangs and looking ready to bite. I was all prepared for Episode Three to open with Sookie holding her ground and the vampires having a good laugh and backing off. In other words, I expected them to be wicked, but much more complicated than just pure evil. I was hoping the story would once again mess with stereotypes and reveal nuance and complexity.... read more
10 Best Saturday Night Live Female Cast Members (#6-10)
We recently looked at the 10 best male cast members of Saturday Night Live. Now it's time to look at the show's funniest women. 10 Best Saturday Night Live Female Cast Members (#6-10)10. Ana Gasteyer (1996 - 2002) “Oh, I’m so sorry! If I wasn't such a nice person, I’d think I was a showoff!” The Groundlings alum was at her best as a talk show hostess, both with her fictional creations like Margaret Jo McCullen of NPR’s Delicious Dish, Gayle Gleeson of Pretty Living or MTV VJ Kinkaid, and impersonating actual TV celebs, Martha Stewart, Joan Rivers or Sally... read more
10 Best Saturday Night Live Female Cast Members (#1-5)
10 Best Saturday Night Live Female Cast Members (#1-5)... read more
TV Detail: Fringe review. Episode 2—The Same Old Story
Maybe it was that the most enigmatic elements of Lost were doled out slowly after characters were more fully developed, and after much more familiar, but still extraordinary, crises were faced—a plane crash, kidnappings, even the unseen creature. The most unbelievable aspects and plot twists were doled out over several seasons after I was already hooked.But already in Fringe, it’s less the events making up the Pattern that seem implausible—it's a sci-fi show, so I’m will to suspend disbelief that the bad guys could have developed a toxin that turns the flesh translucent or a growth accelerator that causes a... read more
10 Best Saturday Night Live Male Cast Members
After the brutally unfunny debut of Saturday Night Live last weekend, we thought it was a good time to remember that this show has wavered between periods of greatness and painful droughts throughout its 33 years. To commemorate the men and women responsible for the former, the staff at Paste voted on the 10 Best Male and Female Saturday Night Live Cast Members. First the men...10 Best Saturday Night Live Male Cast Members... read more
10 Best Saturday Night Live Male Cast Members (#1-5)
10 Best Saturday Night Live Male Cast Members ... read more
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