http://www.nypress.com/blogs.engine.php The drummer John Densmore, of The Doors fame, speaks of a prophecy that someday, one man will be able to create any type of music using one machine. The documentary RE:GENERATION shows us not one, but six such men in Mark Ronson, Skrillex, duo The Crystal Method, DJ Premier and Pretty Lights. In the film, these six electro-based producers are faced with the challenge of working with genres outside their comfort zone, in the hopes of producing]]> When Irish playwright Samuel Beckett turned 80, his peers observed that gone was the moody depressive youth that they had known; in his place was an old man who had come to grips with the rancor of life. --- The songwriter Bill Callahan, much younger than Beckett at 45, seems to have learned that lesson early. At last night’s intimate set at Lincoln Center, he relied heavily on songs from last year’s stunning Apocalypse, reple]]> I first heard Theophilus London on Peruvian MTV. I was in a dingy little hotel room, packing to hike Machu Pichu, with the TV on for background sound, when I heard a steady beat drop. The rhythm was grounded and smooth, with a chiming ring at the end of each count. I stopped what I was doing and looked up to see a tall, stylish kid, walking the shores of a retro music video, rapping about “Flying Overseas.” I watched the video through]]> Walter Easterbrook does not make drinks. He creates them. He’s been working behind a bar since he was a little kid, and has perched leg after leg on rung after rung. Working the slop nests. The tourist traps. The denizen lounges. The swanky hotel bars. He knows the customers that walk in, and knows exactly what and how much to serve them.--- It’s been a big year for him. He had a baby girl over the summer. Recently quit his night]]> @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; }p.MsoBodyText2, li.MsoBodyText2, div.MsoBodyText2 { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: ]]> Another Super bowl has come and gone with the Giants taking Lombardi home. Going off of last year’s record breaking notch of 111 million viewers, and America’s “just keep gettin’ better” mentality, it's likely that an astronomical number of people sat down and tuned in last night. At least they better have. Advertisers were charged a cool $3.5 million for a 30-second spot of ad space. Compare that to the $]]> The invite was black and red. It had been delivered by hand that day. “I apologize,” the RSVP said. “No guests allowed.” Meaning no plus ones. Meaning that the next part, instructing me to be at the WESC store in Soho at 10 p.m. sharp, where “you will be blindfolded and taken to the party location,” made me feel a bit uneasy. I’m all for a little kink every now and then, but blindfolding and secret locat]]> I’ve never watched Grey’s Anatomy, but I think I get it—there’s some guy called McDreamy and some other guy who’s like, McLovesy or something, and McDoeEyes can’t chose between them. And in between it all there’s McCheatsy, McDies, McLetsJustBeFriends and McDoctor. I mean, that’s close enough right? But here’s the thing—I’m pretty sure there’s no character called McScary (apo]]> In a small town, dark secrets sure do have a way of getting out, don’t they? Such is the case in Secrets of Eden, premiering on the Lifetime network tomorrow night. --- Based on the Chris Bohjalian best-seller, Eden stars Uncle Jesse—er, John Stamos, as Reverend Stephen Drew, a beloved Vermont minister whose world is rocked by the shocking murder-suicide of locals Alice and George Hayward (Sonya Salomaa and Graham Abbey). Though t]]> While most prognosticators are sharpening their knives in anticipation of this year’s upcoming Oscars, some of the darker, more indie prospects for next year’s awards have already emerged, courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival. --- Jurors in the documentary categories were Fenton Bailey, Heather Croall, Charles Ferguson, Tia Lessin and Kim Roberts. Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In, about the war on drugs, took t]]> It was about this time last year that the Goth phase began its renaissance. The once colorful city of Manhattan took on a dark suiting of black. It was drapey. It was moody. It led to a ton of unfortunate “synth-wave.” Siouxsie and the Banshees' “Dazzle,” headlining a number of fashion industry friendly shows, definitely had something to do with it. God bless Siouxsie’s soul, she’s a phenomenal musician, bu]]> Jai Lennard is a photographer based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But more than that, he’s a prime raconteur. A connoisseur of sexual identity, one might say. There’s an ease to him that is non-threatening, no matter the conversation point, which makes it easy for him to plop himself down with a stranger and go from, “Hey, what’s up, I’m Jai,” to questions pertaining to that stranger’s boudoir. There isn]]> With just under a month to go until the Oscars, the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild awards presentation solidified the conventional wisdom as to who the front-runners are in this year’s Best Picture and four acting categories – or at least, in three of ‘em. --- Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer continued to dominate the supporting actor categories for their work in Beginners and The Help, respectively. Meanwhil]]> Young Heel is a young band, with a lot of promise. Having started a couple of years ago as a one man set, by Clay Bassford, the band expanded from one to four, first adding JT Norton on vocals, then Matt Arbeiter on drums and finally Pete Smith on guitar. Their mellow electro songs are comparable to New Zealand’s The Naked & The Famous and Sweden’s Miike Snow. They’ll be self-releasing their EP Falls next week, and celeb]]> Jonas Elrod is a filmmaker in New York who woke up one day to discover that he was having visions and could see angels, demons, ghosts and auras. “My first vision was pretty personal,” he said. “I was in San Francisco working on a film when I woke up in my hotel room and started seeing energy and feeling energy. I saw these geometric figures and shapes—it was all very overwhelming and I didn’t understand what]]> “Monday, Monday,” by The Mamas & The Papas: Ahhh…. It’s Monday morning. The sky is blue. It’s the beginning of the week. Your emotional state is analogous to fresh laundry. You feel Downy soft and lovely. Work is work, how could you possibly feel anything but mellow love on this Indian summer day? --- “Baby I Love Your Way,” by Peter Frampton: On your way to the train stati]]> George Lucas’ sales tactics for Red Tails, his $93 million production about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots in the armed forces, make a bigger bang than the film itself. On the publicity rounds, Lucas has talked about the dearth of movies with African-American heroes, promising that Red Tails will give black teens the kinds of on-screen heroes and patriotic good feeling they’ve been denied. Apparently, Lu]]> As anyone with a Twitter account is likely well aware of, the 2012 Oscar Nominations were announced this past Tuesday morning. New York Press Film and Television writer Doug Strassler and Managing Editor Amy Michelle Smith, both die-hard awards season junkies, discuss their picks for the winners and losers of the 84th Annual Academy Awards. --- Best Picture:Amy’s Take: When it comes down to personal preference, the lists of films selec]]> Fans of experimental filmmaker Bill Morrison will have plenty of opportunity to enjoy his work this winter. In addition to The Miners’ Hymns at Film Forum Feb. 8–14, this year’s Silent Films/Live Music series (Jan. 31–Feb. 3) at the World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St., will feature four Morrison films: The Miners’ Hymns, Decasia, Spark of Being and The Great Flood. --- “I’d done Miners&r]]> Kiefer Sutherland returns to FOX in another heavy show “I’m 4,161 days old,” says Jake the young protagonist of the new FOX series Touch, which just screened the series pilot prior to a proper March 19 premiere. Jake (David Mazouz) is obsessed with numbers, and uses them to find ways to bring people together. A numismatist like this suggests that Jake is autistic, although the show doesn’t necessary classify him as such]]>