Elsewhere, 1/9
Pitchfork reviews Club 8’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming: “…it’s a warm, tender-hearted acoustic pop record, one that emotes through simplicity and gut-punching melodic turns rather than stagy histrionics.” You can listen to the album, in its entirety, here.
Jeffrey Overstreet lists his favorite films of 2007: “I’ll revisit them because they’ve made me think. They’ve challenged me with mysteries and questions and provocative metaphors. They’ve taught me to consider how the world looks to my neighbors. They’ve expanded my understanding of the power of art. And they’ve caused me to reflect on my own life and how much I have to learn. They’ve brought me joy, they awakened my conscience, and they broke my heart.”
10 Things Christians and Atheists Can (And Must) Agree On: “The war that’s coming between the fundamentalist Christians and the hard-core Atheists probably won’t be the most violent of the holy wars. But it has the potential to be the most annoying. Make sure to pay attention to the little graphics strewn throughout, especially the one concerning Catholics and exorcisms.”
Azure Flame Reloaded reviews Mamoru Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time: “If the first half of the movie was enjoyable for its light-hearted comedy, then the second half rounds it out with this more thoughtful and poignant style, illustrated by the changing relationships between the characters, and rounded off with an interesting twist.” Bandai will be releasing the film here in the States, though no release date has been announced.
You might have seen this article on Pitchfork concerning Son Lux, the latest signing to Anticon: Andy Whitman has more.
And speaking of Whitman, “TTL SHT and Human Beings of Infinite Worth”: “There is, in fact, a not-so-subtle competition at work among many reviewers to write the snarkiest, most biting reviews. It’s virtually the first and only commandment of the music website Pitchfork. But it’s hardly limited to Pitchfork. It’s everywhere. It’s the basis for most standup comedy. It’s what often establishes ‘hip cred.’ It’s snobbery as an art form, and when it’s done well, there is an undeniably delicious appeal. Who doesn’t like to feel superior to somebody else? And wittily superior at that? …There’s only one problem: as a Christian, I’m not supposed to behave that way.”
Saint Etienne have a new song on their MySpace page entitled “This Is Tomorrow”, and it’s as lovely as you’d expect. Stereogum has more…
Let’s see… head down to SXSW to meet up with the EllisLab gang and see a preview of ExpressionEngine 2.0 firsthand… or stay in Lincoln to see the birth of my son. Ah, the choices we all face…
I always love the designs that Garrett Murray does for his blog, Maniacal Rage, but I think the latest is one of the best. I love the color scheme, the icons, the typography — everything, really.
Apple has just released a new version of the Mac Pro that packs eight processor cores, up to 3.2 GHz. Some are conjecturing that this means even bigger things for the upcoming Macworld Conference & Expo.