Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:41:02 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Matthew Oshinsky :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Matthew+Oshinsky istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/spreading-scarlett-fever/76692/ Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 EST As Scarlett Johansson's first album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," arrives in stores today, the suits over at Rhino Records are hoping they can channel their star's hipster eminence and box-office drawing power into something more than a novelty item in the class of Scott Baio's 1982 eponymous debut. It won't be easy. Whether or not Ms. Johansson's collection of Tom Waits covers is any good (and the exit polls don't bode well), the number of mainstream actors who have become mainstream musicians... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/black-keys-turn-the-page/73924/ Tue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Had Ike Turner's life force not vanished up his own 76-year-old nose a few months ago, there wouldn't be a new Black Keys album to enjoy today. That's probably not how the Ohio-based blues-rock duo will market its fifth full-length record, "Attack & Release" (Nonesuch Records), but it should say something, to the devoted and uninitiated alike, about where the band has been and where it's going. The Keys might sport a combined age of 56, but after seven years and four albums, their desire to... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/buddy-miles-drummer-for-hendrix-dies-at-60/72043/ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST The great rock drummer Buddy Miles, who was best known as the backbone of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys but also enjoyed a long and fruitful solo career, has died at the age of 60. The cause was congestive heart failure, according to his publicist, Duane Lee. Miles was widely recognized for his forceful yet dexterous style of drumming, which was ideal for laying the rhythmic foundation beneath virtuosic guitar players such as Hendrix and Carlos Santana. For Miles, every seemingly subtle shift... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/england-falls-to-the-melody-makers/67028/ Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In the early 1980s, as the punk rock revolution hurtled helplessly into the "die young" portion of its "live fast, die young" credo, a generation of musicians decided to drop the razor blades, grow back its hair, and devise a way to alchemize the musical enema that was punk rock and the multi-hued acid trip that had characterized the pop music of the 1960s. For all its artistic upheaval and critical respect, punk had for the most part failed to alter the mainstream blueprint of what made a hit... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/between-nirvana-and-hell/63862/ Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The songs, the band, and the fame were mere facets of Kurt Cobain's complicated story. They were not the essence of it, or even the center of his very brief and twisted life. Cobain's greatest enduring struggle, before he shot himself in 1994 at 27, was with the person he was, or wanted to be, or more important, wanted not to be. What finally led him to do it, after years, decades, of contemplating it for all sorts of different reasons, might have been the sudden and outrageous insistence of... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/flowery-cult-of-personality/61687/ Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST "We want things a certain way, and we're going to have it," says a self-possessed and zonked-out Donovan near the end of "All My Loving," Tony Palmer's 1968 documentary about the nascent pop movement and its startling grip on the youth of the period. "The pop music is changing the whole scene. Fashion will change, architecture will change, eating, everything." For those who were watching when the film made its television debut on the BBC 39 years ago, this young folk singer's arrogance might... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/rilo-kiley-gets-even-more-adventurous/60892/ Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST The best song on Rilo Kiley's fourth studio album, "Under the Blacklight," is a simmering plateful of Southern soul called "15." It's a delightfully crass little yarn with a stately horn arrangement, about a lonesome teenager and the "spider on the Web" who coaxes her from her keyboard. It's not exactly what you'd call "classic" Rilo Kiley, since the foursome from the moneyed slums of Los Angeles only started doing its best "Dusty in Memphis" impression on 2005's slickly produced "More... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/saved-in-sin-city-when-elvis-went-west/60357/ Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST On July 26, 1969, 34-year-old Elvis Presley took the stage at the brand new International Hotel in Las Vegas for his first live concert in seven years. Crowding the massive stage behind him were a 35-piece orchestra, a five-piece rock band, and two gospel groups — a far cry from the three-piece rock band by which the world had come to know him. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he told the sold-out crowd with that legendary hellcat grin. "Welcome to the big, freaky International Hotel, with... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/soul-men/59505/ Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST The best music, regardless of its type or its hometown, is usually created by the musician who is not known by many people to be one, for whom being artistically expressive is an escape from the daily grind rather than the grind itself. For this artist, and for those who love his art, a dream is more fruitful than a dream come true. This idea is rooted especially deep in American popular music because so much of it has blossomed from the black music made in the early-to-mid 20th century South... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/earning-their-arena-stripes/59219/ Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST "I don't believe we've played this bar before," Jack White, leader of garage blues revivalists the White Stripes, cheekily told a swaying sea of 18,000 devotees at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. It's not that Mr. White and his ex-wife and drummer, Meg White, haven't been around the block — after 10 years of touring and six studio albums under their candy-coated belts, the twosome's minimalist brand of power chords, roadhouse melodies, and school yard sing-alongs has led them around the... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/writings-on-the-wall/58979/ Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST Only five minutes into last night's premiere episode of TNT's new series, "Saving Grace," a character named Earl (Leon Rippy) sprouted cherubic wings and declared in no uncertain terms that he was a messenger of God. If that seemed like a hasty thematic development, well, detective Grace Hanadarko (Holly Hunter) only needed the first four minutes of the show to have the most graphic sex you'll ever see on basic cable (with her married partner, no less), chase some pills with a whole lot of... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/last-exit-in-brooklyn/58124/ Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST On a broiling Sunday in the summer of 1953, Father Herbert Redmond of Brooklyn's St. Francis Roman Catholic Church took his place at the pulpit. Before his schvitzing congregation, he spoke a few deliberate words. There was no air conditioning today, he said, and there would be no sermon. Go home, keep your 10 commandments, and pray for Gil Hodges. Hodges was one of the Boys of Summer, as the Brooklyn Dodgers of those days would come to be known (though most preferred to call them "da bums"). A... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/spoon-feeds-delicious-nutrition/58034/ Mon, 9 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST A handful of Monday nights ago at the Bowery Ballroom, the band Spoon was playing selections from its forthcoming studio album, the unfortunately titled "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," when a strange clicking noise came spilling off the stage into the front row. After a few moments, the conspicuous absence of a sound tech bounding from the wings to fiddle with the band's equipment led those who could hear this noise to believe it wasn't a malfunction or a mistake. As it turned out, it was drummer Jim Eno's... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/stuck-in-the-middle-with-the-stripes/56870/ Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST When the first single from the White Stripes' new record, "Icky Thump," landed in the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 last week, those anticipating the Detroit band's sixth studio album had to scratch their heads. Hmm, that had never happened before. Could it be a coincidence that the Stripes' first release for a major label after 10 years of grassroots stewardship was making its way around Top 40 radio before the album even came out? A powerhouse like Warner Bros., whatever its artist-friendly... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/no-end-in-this-end-to-the-sopranos/56293/ Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST After eight years and 86 episodes, "The Sopranos" creator David Chase can't be accused of being explicit. Sure, the Brooklyn boss Phil Leotardo stopped a moving car with his skull in the series' finale last night, thereby freeing Tony Soprano from the expectation that he would be hit next. But little else was settled with any certainty. Those viewers who have remained loyal to Tony Soprano and his crew through the years have come to expect a heavy dose of symbolism, metaphor, and other dramatic... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/eight-years-on-tony-soprano-has-his-gun/56187/ Fri, 8 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST After eight years, HBO's "The Sopranos" will come to an end Sunday, and Tony Soprano has finally gotten himself a gun — a birthday present from his brother-in-law, who didn't live to see him use it. Now Tony is holed up in a safe house, lying in bed, and hugging the AR-10 automatic rifle to his chest, his finger on the trigger. But what end awaits New Jersey's most notorious crime boss? Death before dishonor? Or will it be dishonor instead of death? Like fans around water coolers across... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/walking-on-water/56147/ Fri, 8 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST An ocean wave, many physicists will tell you, is the perfect illustration of how nature — or God, if they are adaptable physicists — holds everything together. Surfing, by extension, is our own meek attempt to manage something we know we cannot control. Atop the violent unpredictability of a wave, an absolutely precise balance of energy and resistance allows us to skim the surface, channeling the force of nature through our bodies and on to safe harbor. So if God had a metaphorical bent and... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/wilcos-big-sky-country/54376/ Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 EST The merits of sobriety in rock 'n' roll are long debated — better for the artist, sure, but for the art? When your favorite songwriter announces that, at long last and after many a broken-down stupor, erratic performance, fight with the wife, or 4 a.m. joyride over the neighbor's mailbox, he's finally kicking the bottle and the smokes in order to straighten up and fly right, you have every reason to be nervous. When Jeff Tweedy, the 39-year-old frontman and mastermind behind the Chicago... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/boy-wonders/53063/ Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST If rock 'n' roll is a religion, then Britain's New Musical Express magazine is positioned as a high priest. Chief among its duties is to announce the coming of the next messiah, which arrive once or twice a decade to save us all from pop dreck. From time to time, the magazine has correctly identified its marks (the Smiths in the early 1980s, the Stone Roses in the late '80s, Blur and Oasis in the 1990s), but agnostics counter with a "chicken and egg" argument against Britain's most notorious... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/history-of-violence/51251/ Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST As March Madness enters its final phase and office pools go up for grabs, pundits and fans across the land are asking, "Who will take the last shot?" Meanwhile, TV land is beginning to hear rumblings of the same question as HBO's acclaimed mob series "The Sopranos" gets set to return for its final nine episodes on April 8. DiMeo crime family boss Tony Soprano survived a brush with death last season when his senile uncle Junior mistook him for a former rival and shot him in the stomach. But club... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/sopranos-on-location/51265/ Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST Northern New Jersey is one of the most crowded areas in America, which is why almost every memorable event that occurs in "The Sopranos" happens within a few miles of the last one. Here's a look at some of the major spots in series creator David Chase's gang land. 1) The Bada Bing Lodi, N.J. This strip bar in Lodi is owned and chiefly operated by Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano's consigliere. Tony's office is in the back room of the Bing, where the Soprano Family often conducts business, leaving the... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/five-to-be-enshrined-in-rock-hall/46326/ Tue, 9 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST It may be the most un-rock 'n' roll thing on earth, but the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland is gradually claiming the legacy of its field one act at a time. Five more inductees were announced yesterday as the class of 2007. A panel of 600 industry figures selected the acts, who will be inducted at the annual ceremony on March 12 in New York. To be eligible, artists must have issued a first single or album at least 25 years before nomination. In addition to the nominees, the... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/lovesick-italian-turns-iraq-into-his-own-war/45876/ Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST The Italian filmmaker Roberto Benigni took quite a gamble when he decided to set his Oscar-winning 1998 comedy "Life Is Beautiful" amid the horrors of the Holocaust. Playing a jovial Jewish waiter named Guido, Mr. Benigni cast himself more as a luckless victim of circumstance — that is, one of many Jews trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time — than as one of Italy's Fascists or even the broader villain of ethnic hatred. The movie worked because Guido transformed his natural goofiness and... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/year-of-the-chanteuse/45366/ Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST THE CAGEY VETERANS: The first pop gems of 2006 emerged with the spring thaw, as old friends like Mission of Burma and Built To Spill invited the indie-rock schoolkids out to play with richly textured, self-assured new albums. "The Obliterati" marked just the third album in more than 20 years for Mission of Burma (and the second in three), but where Sonic Youth and Built To Spill betrayed the subtleties that come with age on their new offerings, the Boston foursome proved they had plenty of... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/blues-in-the-white-house/45233/ Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST The blues guitarist Riley "B.B." King, who rose from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the pantheon of 20th-century musicians, will appear at the White House December 15 to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Bush also named nine other recipients of America's highest civilian honor, including the historian and author David McCullough and ex-Soviet dissident and human rights activist Natan Sharansky. The baseball great John "Buck" O'Neil, a batting champion in the Negro... MATTHEW OSHINSKY http://www.nysun.com/arts/living-on-blues-power/39416/ Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:00:00 EST Dan Auerbach, the unassuming front man and resident snake charmer of the Akron, Ohio-based blues titans the Black Keys, must be some kind of savant. Had the authority of rock myth not died away decades ago, it would be easy to convince people that he sold his soul to the devil around the turn of the century somewhere near Cleveland. How else could a white, 20-something college dropout from the Midwest channel the grizzled souls of some of the hardest black troubadours ever to walk the delta? Mr...