With Popstar, spoof music group The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) do what they do best and mix comedy with music in a mockumentary format. However, is Popstar a good movie, or a comedy sketch stretched too far? Continue reading
Writer-Director John Carney, the filmmaker behind Once and Begin Again, is back with Sing Street. Is it another successful marriage of music and film or does it hit a sour note? Continue reading
With Miles Ahead, Co-Writer-Director and star Don Cheadle finally brings his Miles Davis passion project to the screen. However, is it a compelling film or just a vanity project gone awry? Continue reading
Trying something a little new, especially since The Hodgepodge Podcast now has a Facebook Page (be sure to Like us over there if you haven’t already – Thanks!). While driving around today, Kylie Minogue‘s fantastic 2010 song “Aphrodite” popped up on my iPod from her album of the same name and I decided to start sharing videos for songs that the Hodgepodge are fans of. Y’know kind of expand our “Listen to This” series. So, check out Kylie’s best song of the last 13 years easily, “Aphrodite.” – Doug Continue reading
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. embraces his teenage son, echoing back to the covers of Boy and War
And lo, it came to pass that U2 and Apple shocked the world by not only announcing the long-awaited U2 album, but releasing it on the same day for free to all iTunes users. Then, an uproar rose up from both those who do not like U2 and those who clearly do not understand how the cloud works. What’s been lost in all this hullabaloo is whether or not Songs Of Innocence is any good or not. The answer is yes, yes it is. Continue reading
Beck plays his latest, “Blue Moon,” in Raleigh, NC
I was lucky enough to see Beck when he rolled through Raleigh two weeks ago on his tour supporting his latest album, Morning Phase. I’d never seen him live before, so I was pretty excited. Of course, my only fear was that the show would end up being an all-acoustic set or something considering that Morning Phase is sort of like the spiritual sequel to 2002’s Sea Change. Both the albums are great, but when I’m seeing Beck for the first time, I want to see Beck. Thankfully, he did not disappoint. Continue reading
Begin Again is the latest film from Writer-Director John Carney, the man behind 2007’s Once. It’s a fun, light movie that is really enjoyable, but could have benefitted from a little more plotting towards the end. Continue reading
The Broadway smash hit Jersey Boys has hit theaters by way of Director Clint Eastwood and the results are decidedly mixed. Part of that stems from the source material and part of it comes from the way Eastwood attacked the material. Continue reading
Depeche Mode 101 (Clockwise from Top Left): Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder, Andy Fletcher
Once again, The Retroist has published one of Doug‘s essays! This one is a (black) celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Depeche Mode’s double live album and documentary, 101! Take a look!
XSCAPE is the second posthumous album release from Michael Jackson featuring previously unreleased tracks that Jackson had worked on over the years prior to his death in 2009. The bittersweet verdict is that XSCAPE is really, really good. Continue reading
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