Much of the fun of Ramy comes from its deadpan embrace of heightened absurdity.
Review
Jazz Album Reviews: Matthew Shipp and Whit Dickey — Unrepentant Proponents of Free Jazz
Decades on, Matthew Shipp and Whit Dickey have grown into mature models of how to keep the faith when following an idiosyncratic muse.
Book Review: “The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien” — Ignoring the Poetry
This is a beautifully produced book, replete with illustrations. Full-page photos of evocative landscapes are supplemented by both maps and smaller shots detailing architectural features.
Jazz EP Review: Esperanza Spalding and Fred Hersch: Live at the Village Vanguard — A Divine Duo
Yes, purchasing this EP will help out a good cause, but the musical value of this fabulous duo’s performance is priceless.
Pop Album Review: “how i’m feeling now” by Charli XCX — What Life is Like, Sheltering in Place
Charli has successfully dramatized her impatiently jagged state of mind, supplying an emotionally honest stream of consciousness that suggests what she (and no doubt many others of her generation) is feeling and thinking in quarantine.
Book Review: “Immigrant Architect — Rafael Guastavino and the American Dream,” a Splendid Book about Design for all Ages
A book to cheer you in these challenging times, providing destinations to explore when this pandemic is over, and a story to inspire the more inventive young among us.
Film Review: “The High Note” — Too Many False Notes
This is a feminist battle where all participants wear marshmallow boxing gloves.
Book Commentary: “Pandemic!” by Slavoj Žižek — Choosing Reality and Survival Over Panic and Barbarism
“In a crisis we are all Socialists,” goes an old adage. But can that instinct be trusted in an increasingly barbaric world?
Jazz CD Review: John Scofield’s “Swallow Tales” — Steve Swallow’s Quirky Romanticism
This is an intelligent, inventively performed, be-boppish tribute to a composer I now know better than ever.
Classical CD Reviews: Thomas Adès’ Piano Works, “Ecstatic Science,” and Michael Gordon’s “Anonymous Man”
Thomas Adès is a formidable pianist and his output for his native instrument is fundamentally gripping; yMusic’s new album is a spectacularly-played and -recorded disc; Michael Gordon’s Anonymous Man is undeniably hypnotic but gets stuck in a loop that goes on for a mite too long.