Short Takes
May 9, 2011
‘Old School, baby, like Frank and Sammy Davis’
I have seen Movits, and you didn’t, and boy, did you miss a great one. These are Swedes who used to rap, but then heard ‘30s swing and combined the two. The leader is the Philip Seymour Hoffman of Scandinavian music, the sax player thinks he’s backing Springsteen, the mixmaster is a paler blonde than Anita Ekberg. The show flies by — these guys could auction tobacco if music fails them. I understand not a word of Swedish, but it didn’t hardly matter, because Movits makes exciting music, like nothing you’ve ever heard or seen. A legendary show. Console yourself with the CD.
May 3, 2011
Alexander McQueen: Only those who go too far know how far they can go
I want to see Jerusalem. And The Normal Heart. I’m on my way to both plays — as soon as I recover from the vast, unsettling, brutal and beautiful Alexander McQueen retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fashion? Oh, it’s so much more. Sculpture, obviously; these clothes start with a passionate concern with fit and form, and then come materials never used in fashion. But also theater: a breeze blows a dress made of silk parachute cloth. After a while, a line of Yeats lodged in my head — “A terrible beauty is born” — and that, plus the sadness of McQueen’s suicide, had me near tears for the rest of the show. “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” is at the Met until July 31. Go early in the day, if possible – this show will be mobbed. Here are some more videos. And, if you can’t get to New York, here’s a fine book about this show.
May 2, 2011
‘One Day’ — Will this movie be the grownup hit of the summer?
Anne Hathaway stars in the film adaptation of One Day, the insanely popular novel about friends who resist becoming lovers. The movie opens in mid-August. Already, English fans of the book have their doubts that it can measure up to the novel. Watch the trailer, read the book, have a semi-informed opinion.
April 30, 2011
Summer! And our thoughts turn to…Sally Hansen Leg Spray
Pants? Not quite banished. But skirts and dresses are ascendant. As is the golden glow of a healthy tan. And that is why God made Sally Hansen Airbrush Leg Spray.
April 24, 2011
Ladies & Gents: Lori Lieberman, NYC, May 1
When we last left Lori Lieberman, a LA-based singer-songwriter of Mack truck intensity and crystalline delivery, I had become a big fan of her CD, Gun Metal Sky, and was off to see her in a rare New York appearance. Now she’s recorded an even more personal CD, Bend Like Steel. Here’s a song. And here’s the ticket information about her return to New York: Joe’s Pub, Sunday, May 1, at 7:30. I’ll be the guy at the bar, looking very impressed.
