Arts

It’s Only a Reflektor: Arcade Fire Live in Concert

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Image of Arcade Fire Reflektor Tour

Arcade Fire grew to prominence as an indie-band, releasing the critically acclaimed Funeral in late 2004. Since then, they’ve released Neon Bible (2007), Grammy Award-winning The Suburbs (2010), and, most recently, the double album Reflektor (2013). This year, they’ve embarked upon a gargantuan arena tour, recently playing two nights at Chicago’s United Center on August 26th and 27th. Alex and I were lucky enough to find cheap tickets, and attended the concert in all of its stadium-esque glory.

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Talkin’ Softball 22 Years Later: Thoughts from the Dugout

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The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team posing as champions after a series of unfortunate events befell the players

A lot has happened in baseball of late: Mo’ne Davis proving there’s no crying in baseball … except for the kids she strikes out; Jackie Robinson West advancing to the tops of the Little League World Series; and continuing struggles in the race for October. Starting September, I’ll update every week regarding the playoff race. For now, the new TV station FXX is marathoning every episode of The Simpsons, and the baseball/softball tribute/parody “Homer at the Bat” grabbed my attention, if only for the sterling line-up of major league guest stars. The episode aired twenty-two years ago, either two too many or three too few for a proper anniversary tribute, but I wanted to check in on what the Springfield Power Plant softball team stars have been up to.

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Hooked on “Awesome Mix Vol. 1”: Why the “Guardians of the Galaxy” Soundtrack Resonates

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rsz_guardians-of-the-galaxy-prison

They have come to bring us Blue Swede.

Thirty-five years ago, Americans believed a man could fly. Today, they believe a talking raccoon and an anthropomorphic tree can save the universe, and they can accomplish this while listening to songs that ruled the airwaves when Superman was in production.

Guardians of the Galaxy has already become one of 2014’s biggest blockbusters despite being based on Marvel characters almost no one was familiar with except hardcore comics fans. (FYI, a combination of terrific actors, a few stirring emotional moments, and a brilliantly funny script go a long way.) In my opinion, what is even more unexpected than the film’s success is that of its soundtrack. Awesome Mix Vol. 1, the mixtape Peter Quill/Star-Lord constantly listens to as he flies through space, is now in its second week at number one on the Billboard charts. It’s worth exploring both why this success is unusual and why this soundtrack in particular has struck such a chord with people.

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Selfie May be the Most Promising New Sitcom of the Fall

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Selfie ABC Karen Gillan Selfie , a new ABC sitcom that debuts on September 30th, sounds like a disaster of a show. It stars Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillan as a social media-obsessed pharmaceutical sales rep who realizes that her online life has left her lonely and bereft of friends in reality. John Cho, best known for the Harold and Kumar and Star Trek films, plays a marketing genius at her firm who takes her on as the ultimate turn-around project. Aside from the legions of sci-fi geeks thundering around because the presence of those stars the appeal of this seems limited.  It’s a generic romantic comedy set-up that rips off/pays homage to of Pygmalion. Worse, the first trailer made the show look condescending towards the social media generation it aimed to send up. [Read more…]

361 & a Wake Up: a Recap of Gen Con 2014

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“The Best Four Days in Gaming” only ended last week, and I already want to go back.

Addison Recorder editor Karen Martin and I (along with many others) attended this year’s Gen Con, the biggest tabletop gaming convention on this side of the Atlantic. The difficulty in doing a recap of such a huge con is that each attendee will have a unique experience; with over 56,000 people attending four days that pack almost 400 vendors and over 14,000 events into a few city blocks, you almost need to read an aggregate of recaps (including this one from Shut Up & Sit Down) to get the full picture.

Sailor Moon on bassoon, a wizard on mandolin, and Chewbacca on cello. Self-explanatory.

No context needed.

Here is one such recap: My recounting of Gen Con 2014. [Read more…]

“The One I Love” Sneak Preview and Q&A

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Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss in "The One I Love"

Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss in “The One I Love” (Image via)

A special screening of Sundance favorite, “The One I Love,” was offered at Landmark Century Centre Cinema Wednesday night, and a Q&A with director Charlie McDowell and co-star Mark Duplass immediately followed. The event was put together by The Dissolve in partnership with Pitchfork and was offered to a limited audience in anticipation of the film’s Aug. 22 release.

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Damn Good Pie: “Twin Peaks” Available on Blu-Ray

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Image of Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks

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Agent Cooper fans rejoice! The entire series of Twin Peaks is available on Blu-ray at long last. Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery encompasses both the show’s 30-episode run as well as the film prequel, Fire Walk With Me. Special features include a documentary containing cast and crew interviews, 90 minutes of deleted scenes from the film, and episode introductions narrated by the Log Lady.

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The Addison Recorder’s Tribute to Robin Williams

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image of Robin Williams

Robin Williams passed away earlier today at his Tiburon, CA home at the age of 63. The Marin County authorities have ruled his death an apparent suicide by asphyxiation. We’re as saddened by this news as everyone else here at The Addison Recorder, so a tribute to the man and his work is in order. A few of us will share our thoughts and memories. Feel free to leave your own in the comments.

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