Artsweek

January 27, 2005

Ani DiFranco | Knuckle Down | Righteous Babe Records

By Jory Dominguez

It is always striking how deftly attuned Ani DiFranco is to her own psychology, as well as her ability to write unreservedly with objective accordance and poetic simplicity.

January 27, 2005

Simple Plan | Still Not Getting Any | Attacked by Plastic

By Aaron Marienthal

If you feel like you are stuck in the 7th grade these days, Simple Plan's new album, Still Not Getting Any, would be an appropriate choice of music.

January 20, 2005

O, Superwoman

By Brenna Boyce

Laurie Anderson, one of the premiere artists, musicians and minds of our time is suspiciously inconspicuous. Her clothes are dark and plain, her hair short and nondescript, her voice soft, low and soothing enough to lull...

January 20, 2005

Bringing the Office Home

By Harrison Coltun

"In Good Company" is mediocrity at best. The comedy is too "PG," the acting is lukewarm and the story is too frivolous to really get the audience involved. Writer and director Paul Weitz does a fine job at the helm.

January 20, 2005

The Hives Bring the Rock ‘n’ Roll to the Happiest Place on Earth

By Brad Vargyas

The Hives are something of the musical equivalent of Muhammad Ali, full of a sort of arrogance and swagger that lets everyone know that they distinguish themselves from the crowd. The Hives had the chance to go a full tw...

January 20, 2005

An Evening of Hapa Shorts

By Lindsey Miller

The Hapa Project, which began three years ago, is a collection of about 800 photographs of people with Hapa roots and their answers to the question, "What are you?"

January 20, 2005

Heroin? No Thanks I’m Full

By Alexia Ferracuti

Though entirely barren of religious sanctimony, "Maria Full of Grace" deigns the prayer from which its title derives, designating it as one whispered from the present day underworld of international heroin smuggling.

January 20, 2005

Low | The Great Destroyer | SubPop

By Brad Vargyas

Low, a slow core band hailing from the frigid icy tundra known to Westerners as Minnesota, have been around since 1994, formed as a sort of alternative to grunge. To date, they have achieved their biggest success when th...

January 20, 2005

William Shatner | Has Been | Shout! Factory

By Mark Batalla

For the hesitant listener, just pretend this album doesn't have Shatner at all. You'll soon realize the collaboration with Ben Folds allows for an eclectic offering in both tone and genre.

January 13, 2005

Santa Barbara in the Spotlight

By Brenna Boyce

What was once a small, overlooked film festival forced to the outskirts by behemoths like Cannes and Sundance, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) has grown into an impressive and star-studded nine-day ...

January 13, 2005

A Very Long Engagement | Tautou Engaging in Jeunet’s WWI Romance

By Aly Comingore

Set amid the Great War, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's latest effort, "Un long dimanche de fian

January 13, 2005

Assasination of Character

By Drew Reed

As "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" opens, we see would-be assassin Sam Bicke (Sean Penn) dictating a letter to composer Leonard Bernstein. By the end of the film we realize that we are effectively in Bernstein's sho...

January 13, 2005

Coach Carter | Demanding the Best

By Patrick Brogan

Coach Ken Carter tells his players that "average is just not good enough, period," referring to his newly acquired basketball team's performance, both on and off the court.

January 13, 2005

Gimme My Blood and Gore

By Drew Mackie

During my freshman year of high school, I snuck into "Scream" when it hit theatres in late 1996. Between the bouts of graphic violence, I remember a frank discussion between Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich's characters ab...

January 13, 2005

Social Distortion | Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll | Time Bomb

By Matt Cappiello

Sensitive men love to sing the blues. However, they don't often sing about much else. Mike Ness, the singer and songwriter behind weathered punk trio Social Distortion, always embraced macho endurance on earlier albums.

January 13, 2005

Handsome Boy Modeling School | White People | Elektra

By Aaron Marienthal

Most people associate Handsome Boy Modeling School with their cameo in Jack Johnson's new song "Breakdown." White People, the band's latest album, however, has much more to offer than this catchy tune.