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Book Review: “Marking Time” — Documenting the Visual Arts in American Prisons

May 22, 2020
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Marking Time explores how the creation of art in prison can disrupt institutionalized patterns of dehumanization. The book’s larger narrative comes with an overt political aim: “to envision and help create a world without human caging.”

Book Review: “Cleanness” — Eroticism as a State of Being

May 22, 2020
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The embrace of existential uncertainty in Cleanness enhances the reading experience because it helps us to understand what’s vitally important to the narrator.

Pop Album Review: Hayley Williams’s “Petals for Armour” — A Compelling Solo Adventure

May 21, 2020
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On her solo debut, the former Paramore lead singer undergoes a startling transformation.

Jazz Commentary: Sinatra — Myth, Reality, and a Critic Standing in Line at Arby’s

May 21, 2020
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A review of the 60th anniversary reissue of Frank Sinatra’s album Nice ‘n’ Easy. Though not without a few rounds with the Sinatra mythology — not the complicated man, but his music.

Television Review: “Circus of Books” — The Cultural Importance of Adult Bookstores

May 21, 2020
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Circus of Books is a hilarious film about a gay porn book store and its owners, “heartwarming” even, and it’s all true.

Jazz CD Review: “The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi and Mose Allison” — Paying Exciting Homage

May 21, 2020
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The interpretations of the covers in this beautifully realized tribute album will bring back memories of the originals in a way that is enlivening rather than nostalgic.

Theater Commentary: Why Are America’s Stages Afraid of Dealing with the Climate Crisis?

May 20, 2020
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Those who survive the climate crisis will regard American theater’s current indifference with incredulity and disgust.

Arts Remembrance: Lynn Shelton, Rising Star of Independent Film

May 20, 2020
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Lynn Shelton had developed what was becoming her own distinctive blend of comedy and drama, one that drew on strong writing, improvisation, and women characters.

Music Feature: Gideon King & City Blog — Forward Motion in a Backwards Time

May 20, 2020
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“As artists, it’s our obligation to keep going. I really believe we have to push for the world to open up again.”

Television Review: Hulu’s “The Great” — Russian Tyranny for Laughs

May 20, 2020
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In The Great, Tony McNamara proves that period pieces that pit conniving yet sympathetic women against tyrannical men can make for a kind of refreshingly cathartic entertainment.

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