Film Review: Passing Strange
Stew's semi-autobiographical narrative skirts the pitfalls of conventional coming-of-age material by harnessing the boisterous energy of the endlessly inventive musical numbers

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Soul
Is there such a thing as being too smooth? Seal's David Foster-produced tribute to classic soul is a figure skater of a collection, all elegance and grace.
Beyond the Horizon
BBC Radio DJ Charlie Gillett offers a generous sampling of outstanding world music on this double-disc set: 34 tunes by 34 artists from 28 countries.
Souled Out
With 13 albums and 20 years of recording behind them, Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Crusade have grown from a group of exuberant Brooklyn teenagers into one of gospel's most acclaimed ensembles.
What Am I Waiting For
After spending 10 years as lead vocalist for Trick Pony, Heidi Newfield successfully broke out with top 15 country hit "Johnny & June."
Broken
Lifehouse maintains a long string of fast-rising adult top 40 hits with "Broken," the third single from album "Who We Are" and the band's third consecutive top 10 single at the format from the set.
Blood on the Steps
North Hollywood, Calif., quartet the Yelling is making a racket within Los Angeles' club scene that's led LA Weekly to call the band "high-impact, blues-informed rock fiends."
Our Bright Future
Twenty years after her self-titled debut, Tracy Chapman remains true to her musical calling: soul-rich folk melodies around a voice of honesty and nuance that nails ambivalence like no other.
One on One
Former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen's solo debut walks a fine line that will please both Alabama faithful and new fans.
Sycamore Meadows
When we last heard Butch Walker the artist, he was banging out gleeful glam-rock with his Let's Go Out Tonites.
Live at Newport
Trumpeter Christian Scott leads a fine sextet on this live recording, from an August performance at the Newport Jazz Festival.
Concert Review: The Who
The Who has no new material to support, but it's almost as if Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey feel like they have something to prove.
Concert Review: Rachel Fuller In the Attic With Pete Townshend and Friends
It wasn't as monumental as the Who "Live at Leeds." The special-guest Dylan was Jakob, not Bob, and the Who frontman Roger Daltrey was nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, Townshend at the Troub was pretty damn special.
Slime and Reason
Roots Manuva's proper English dialect, fierce, street-smart microphone skills and undying love for dub-reggae are part of a unique sound that has inspired everyone from Dizzee Rascal to These New Puritans.
Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo
On its sophomore album "Residente o Visitante," Puerto Rican rap duo Calle 13 veered from sophomoric humor to outright perversion, an explosive combination that raised more than one eyebrow.
Everything Is Borrowed
"Just when I discover the meaning of life they change it," Mike Skinner raps with typically uneasy, endearing coordination on his fourth album's opening title track, but those aren't the gutter scribblings of the desperately hungover—they're a swelling carpe diem with a soaring hook (as soaring as you can get via Skinner's keyboard-in-the-bedroom-closet vibe, anyway).
Resurrection Letters, Vol. II
Andrew Peterson has always been one of Christian music's most literate singer/songwriters, and his first album for Centricity Records is filled with the kind of soul-stirring, thought-provoking songs that fans have come to expect.
Ode to J Smith
To the "less is more" adage, add the idea that quicker is better—particularly in the case of Travis' sixth album. The British quartet wrote the exceptional "Ode to J Smith" in just five weeks and recorded it in two.
Little Joy
A new Los Angeles-based trio featuring Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Little Joy plays a laid-back brand of indie pop that reflects the outfit's easygoing West Coast environment in the same way that the Strokes' caffeinated jangle depicts the hustle-and-bustle of Manhattan.
Cada dia un regalo
Sol y Canto is Rosi and Brian Amador, backed by a group of extraordinary players, including Nando Michelin (piano), Jorge Roeder (contrabass) and Bernardo Monk (saxophone, flute).
Forever
In This Moment shifts a few degrees away from its metalcore foundation on sophomore album "The Dream," opting to dress its enjoyable melodies with a mass-appeal production courtesy of Kevin Churko.
Bust Your Windows
Philly newcomer Jazmine Sullivan is the first female in two years to top Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with a debut—"Need U Bad"—not to mention No. 1 R&B album "Fearless.
Random Album Title
Context is everything.
A Change Is Gonna Come
Any time Seal decides to offer new material is a homecoming for fans of majestic, cultured melodies. How about the fact that "Crazy" became his first top 10, egads, 18 years ago? Seventh studio album "Soul," due Nov.
Lost+
The best thing about a collaboration between Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jay-Z (see "Beach Chair" from the latter's 2006 set "Kingdom Come") is that the artists remain themselves.
Broadcast Sessions 1958-59
As the album title states, these unreleased tracks were originally recorded during radio and TV appearances in the late '50s.
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Music Reviews
Albums Reviews
  • The Century of Self
    After severing ties with Interscope following one masterpiece ("Source Tags & Codes") and two uneven follow-ups ("Worlds Apart," "So Divided"), this Texas rock combo returns to form on "The Century of Self," with producer Chris Coady stepping in for longtime collaborator Mike McCarthy.
  • Habeas Corpus
    When it comes to the current geopolitical situation, Living Things' mantra is closer to "Maybe we can." On their first album in four years, the St.
  • Hush
    On their third album as Asobi Seksu, Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna seem perfectly content polishing their pair of secret weapons: her trebly little-girl warble and his gauzy neo-shoegaze guitar.
Singles Reviews
  • 100 Yard Dash
    "100 Yard Dash" is recorded in the classic tradition of short R&B songs: It leaves listeners wanting more, so they play the record again and again.
  • The Rebel
    CurT@!n$ (pronounced "curtains") is exactly what hip-hop needs: an MC who's not afraid to break the mold.
  • Dirt Room
    Blue October made impressive headway with 2006's "Foiled," which spawned the touching apology "Hate Me" and the more lighthearted "Into the Ocean" on the way to achieving platinum sales.
Concerts Reviews
  • Film Review: Soul Power
    There's surely never been a more exhaustively chronicled sporting event than the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, but lively documentary "Soul Power" manages to find a fresh new angle on an event that's become such a nostalgic landmark in popular culture.
  • Concert Review: Katy Perry
    She opened the set to the pre-recorded strains of Queen's "Killer Queen" and covered that band's "Don't Stop Me Now" as an encore. During her Saturday night set at the Wiltern, Katy Perry revealed that she's also royalty of some sort: She's the queen of putdown pop.
  • Concert Review: Kings of Leon
    It was Southern-style rock night Thursday at Madison Square Garden as Tennessee's Kings of Leon made their local arena debut as a headliner with a performance that demonstrated that the band definitely is ready for the big time.

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