AltWeeklies Wire
A Cultural Stewnew
Algerian singer/songwriter Souad Massi -- with her soft-focus beauty and acoustic guitar-based songs -- may, at first impression, seem like a sort of Middle Eastern Sarah McLachlan.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
12-01-2005 |
Reviews
Another Kind of Dissatisfactionnew
If there's such a thing as laissez-faire funk, this reissue of Hot Chip's 2004 album proves that these London electro-weirdos excel at it.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
12-01-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Hot Chip, Coming On Strong
Turkish Undergroundnew
If you've heard of Turkey's psychedelic rock scene, you might think that Erkin Koray was its alpha and omega.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
12-01-2005 |
Reviews
Glass Gets Emotionalnew
Ten years ago, the world from American eyes seemed prosperous and peaceful; to revisit the potential of nuclear horror via an Allen Ginsberg poem would have been nothing more than a reminder of how scary things had been.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
An Adventurous Voyagenew
There's absolutely no need for contemporary reggae artists to be making songs with titles like "Dread Inna Babylon" or "Sensimellia," unless, of course, they're updating one of the dozens of earlier songs that carried those exact titles.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Dr. Israel, Patterns of War
Can You Dig It?new
Yes, this disc has just been reissued, to coincide with the recent director's cut DVD and the completely awesome video game. Now, granted, The Warriors was no Fast Times, but it was a fairly dark movie. And, unsurprisingly, this soundtrack -- remastered or not -- still sounds as inappropriate as it sounds out-of-date.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
Sonic Window Dressingnew
Don't be unduly burdened with some concern about "authenticity" when it comes to the contemporary electronic lusciousness of the tracks on Putumayo's Lounge series.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Various Artists, Asian Lounge
Full Speed Aheadnew
It starts out innocently enough. A radio announcer introduces the band, which then eases into a spry and full-bodied improvisation; the tune is built upon a quick-moving bass line and tonal structures reminiscent of the group's previous work.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
Soul-Thumping Dubnew
Listening to Prince Far I is like listening to reggae with your head wrapped in cheesecloth.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-17-2005 |
Reviews
Resurrectionnew
A new, single-disc compilation from Dead Can Dance is not exactly a stop-the-presses moment, but Memento is nonetheless an interesting document.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-11-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Dead Can Dance, Memento
Being Arab in an Increasingly Hostile Worldnew
Infusing the personal into the political (or vice-versa), Ahdaf Soueif dances through the minefield of "Arab" identity in this remarkable collection of essays written over the past 20-plus years.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
A Mystifying Failurenew
Cleverly titled, interestingly premised and poorly written, Small Mediums at Large is as promising as it is frustrating.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
The Damage Donenew
Sex, drugs, murder, suicide ... the diary of this Hungarian author is a tale so sordid and depraved it seems very nearly a concoction of the writer's imagination.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
The Strangeness of the Sunshine Statenew
If you think Northerners believe Florida is fucked-up now, wait until you read a late 19th-century journalist's wide-eyed tales of alligator-hunting, "music-loving cows" and "weak-kneed Democrats."
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
The Global Villagenew
The delicious irony of this wonderful compilation of anti-globalism music and texts is that, without the acceleration of globalization over the past decade, the very logistics of uniting artists and writers from first- and third-world countries would have been nearly insurmountable.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
11-05-2005 |
Reviews
