AltWeeklies Wire
Personal and Political Conundrumsnew
A selection of fiction that Phoenix reviewers liked this year, including novels by Orhan Pamuk, Philip Roth, Edward St. Aubyn, and Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum.
Boston Phoenix |
Phoenix reviewers |
12-29-2004 |
Fiction
From the Bamboo Grove to W(h)ine Countrynew
The best of 2004 came from all over the cinematic map: foreign films, American independents, and, yes, some big-budget mainstream efforts.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
From the Political to the Personalnew
Politics and music mixed this year in a way that reviewer Matt Ashare hasn't seen since he bought Let Them Eat Jellybeans (Alternative Tentacles) during the Reagan presidency and sang along to "Jesus Entering from the Rear." And against his better judgment, it made him care about the world beyond his iPod headphones in a way that he hasn’t in some time.
Boston Phoenix |
Matt Ashare |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Michael Powell: Unlikely Crusadernew
A notorious moment on television allowed libertarian technocrat and FCC chair Michael Powell to save his career. The Great Deregulator morphed into the Moral Crusader.
Boston Phoenix |
Dan Kennedy |
12-23-2004 |
Media
Merry Christmas, Mr. Rumsfeldnew
The call for Donald Rumsfeld's ouster has become nearly universal. But will the defense secretary's critics cop to being just as guilty as he is for bollixing up Iraq?
Boston Phoenix |
Jason Vest |
12-23-2004 |
War
How Would Jesus Vote?new
All year, questions of spiritual interpretation were inseparable from elections and public policy.
Boston Phoenix |
David S. Bernstein |
12-23-2004 |
Religion
Beyond Morphinenew
Sandbox reveals just how much there was to Mark Sandman -- the full experience included everything from the minimal instrumentation of Morphine to his larger configurations with a full horn section, guitar, four-string bass, and keyboards.
Boston Phoenix |
Matt Ashare |
12-10-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Mark Sandman, Sandbox
A Tale of Two Saintsnew
Boxed CD sets compile the works of two influential trailblazers who died young: jazz-saxophonist Albert Ayler and hipster comic Lenny Bruce.
Boston Phoenix |
Jon Garelick |
12-10-2004 |
Reviews
Legendary Artists' Works Come Out Againnew
With the holiday spirit in mind, we offer a sampling of some of the more interesting sonic and visual treats that are hitting the racks this year.
Boston Phoenix |
Matt Ashare |
12-10-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Various Artists, Various Titles, Crooked Rain Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus Another State of Mind, Join the Dots: B-sides and Rarities The Clash, London Calling Pavement, Matador at Fifteen Old Enough to Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection The Cure
Making Wavesnew
Soderbergh sails on the mainstream appeal of his campy sequel to Ocean's Eleven.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
12-10-2004 |
Reviews
Nirvana-Shaped Boxnew
With the Lights Out gets at the music behind the myth. Not merely a greatest-hits package or retrospective, the new box set is a revealing look inside the musical mess that was Nirvana.
Boston Phoenix |
Matt Ashare |
12-03-2004 |
Music
Tags: Nirvana, With the Lights Out
Faces of Deathnew
That video of a Marine shooting an Iraqi insurgent has already begun to fade. Here's why.
Boston Phoenix |
Dan Kennedy |
12-03-2004 |
Media
MoveOn Confronts the Futurenew
The progressive darling couldn’t put John Kerry over the top. Where does it go now? How does a grassroots power redirect its muscle?
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
12-03-2004 |
Politics
The Man Who Rolled the Beatles' First Jointnew
Al Aronowitz says the '60s wouldn't have been the same without him. Now, as he types away alone in his cluttered New Jersey apartment, the "Blacklisted Journalist" looks back.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
12-03-2004 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Politicized Espionage at the CIAnew
Insiders fear that Director of Central Intelligence Porter J. Goss's restructuring -- and his unflinching support for partisan Capitol Hill imports -- will weaken the agency.
Boston Phoenix |
Jason Vest |
12-02-2004 |
Crime & Justice
