Pages tagged “australia”

Black Lips Plot Australia/New Zealand Tour for 2010

As far as most folks are concerned, the best-known rock act from New Zealand is Flight of the Conchords. But with that band’s penchant for folk comedy, it seems the Kiwis could use something a little more rowdy. Enter The Black Lips....  read more

Found in: Music, News

Plans Put on Hold for Gold Statue of Semi-Naked Nick Cave

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Notoriously dark rock crooner Nick Cave has certainly got a recognizable look: caterpillar eyebrows constantly cocked so as to exude that "Yes, I am mysterious" allure; long, slicked-back black hair and, of course, that impossibly angled and well-groomed mustache. You might say his looks were carved from stone. Or even...gold? Turns out, that's not just a turn of phrase. Cave actually has plans to carve his likeness into a large gold statue that was, until today, to be erected in the center of his hometown of Warracknabeal, Australia....  read more

Found in: Culture, News

Brian Eno Lights Up Sydney Opera House

Brian Eno, genius, father of ambient music, producer and self-proclaimed non-musician, can now add another title to his already storied career. As Curator of the Luminious Festival, Eno has created continuously changing layers of abstract art to be projected on the sails of the Opera House during the three-week music, light and art festival, which began yesterday, May 26....  read more

Found in: Culture, News

Oscar Buzz: Who's ahead in this year's key races?

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There's a surprisingly gargantuan Internet faction dedicated to predicting who will be up for film's most coveted prize, the Academy Award. Publications like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times and New York Times all have Oscar blogs that obsessively trail the fluctuations in buzz amongst the year's top films. That's not to mention stand-alone sites like Awards Daily and In Contention, or well-known bloggers like Jeff Wells, Dave Poland and Anne Thompson. Even Roger Ebert has devoted a wealth of recent ink on the subject. But, the truth is, no matter how much someone knows, it's still...  read more

Found in: Blogs, Ctrl-V

Kidman to play transsexual, Theron to play wife

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You have to hand it to Nicole Kidman. In her career, the Aussie actress has juxtaposed standard Hollywood fare (often box-office disasters) with challenging, non-traditional roles in independent films with little to no commercial appeal. For every Cold Mountain, there's a Birth, where she played a woman convinced her dead husband had been reincarnated into the body of a 10-year-old boy; or a Dogville, the Lars Von Trier's three-hour melodrama on human nature at its worst; or a Fur, an "imaginary portrait" of famed photographer Diane Arbus that saw her lover, Robert Downey Jr., covered head-to-toe in hair. Even her...  read more

Found in: Movies, News

Trailer Stash: Australia, Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds

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And now, a brief look at a few of the latest movie trailers to hit the web:AustraliaRelease Date: Nov. 26Director: Baz LuhrmannStarring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham On the surface, Australia seems to radiate quality and prestige. Sumptuous costumes? Check. Gorgeous candy-colored hues? Check. Epic war-time romance? Check. Sure-to-be-terrific performances? Well, maybe. Neither Kidman or Jackman look entirely comfortable, and just because the two hail from down under doesn't guarantee they'll have chemistry on screen. Luhrmann's previous films (Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!) have often leaned a little more toward style than substance. Despite that, the trailer proves...  read more

Found in: Blogs, Ctrl-V

The Kin: Rise and Fall

Australian brothers make nervy, theatrical popThere’s something unsettling about the way the voices of these Australian brothers wrap around each other—they’re urgent and insistent, with close, uncanny harmonies and disembodied sounds that conjure chilly moonscapes and nightmarish slumbers. As disturbing as it is artful, the group’s pristine melodies—all executed with architectural precision, beckon listeners to an alien place Pink Floyd only hinted at on A Saucerful of Secrets. But it’s worth the journey because mysteries are revealed, whether it’s in the arcane language of “Photographs” or in vocals that recall a young, pensive Robert Plant on the romantic obsession of...  read more

Found in: Music, Reviews