Most Popular
-
How Progressive insurance lost what made it progressive
-
An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry
-
Joe Cimperman hopes to tear down his former hero, Dennis Kucinich
-
Justice Maureen O’Connor says campaign money doesn’t affect her
-
At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters
-
How Progressive insurance lost what made it progressive (33)
-
At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters (22)
-
$100 Bounty on That Kid (19)
Copley-Fairlawn finds a way to keep the impostors out.
-
Dennis Kucinich’s brave talk about working and fighting — from the safety of the officer’s tent (10)
-
An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry (4)
-
Marvin Gaye’s divorce album tops this week’s pop-culture picks
-
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ill-fated Street Survivors tops this week’s pop-culture picks
-
A bounty of Bootsy Collins tops this week’s pop-culture picks
-
Elvis Costello’s greatest album tops this week’s pop-culture picks
-
Thinning Crowds
It's always dead at The Club.
-
Get country with Lawless at Brooklyn's Hall of Fame tonight
02:01PM 03/26/08 -
Countdown to Opening Day: An alarmingly long interview with Tom Hamilton, voice of the Indians and guy we’re sorta obsessed with
01:32PM 03/26/08 -
WTF?: 20 years later, Sam Miller finally gets his wish
01:23PM 03/26/08 -
Rover explains Morning Glory's move to WMMS
12:08PM 03/26/08 -
R&B songstress Conya Doss to promote record on WVIZ’s Applause, at Borders and the Beachland
11:54AM 03/26/08
What we are writing about
- alt-country
- alt-rock
- Blame the (blank)!
- blues
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- country
- Dennis Kucinich
- great documentaries
- great video games
- hip-hop
- hot venues
- indie-rock
- indie pop
- indie rock
- jazz
- legal eagles
- metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- political clap-trap
- pop
- punk
- R&B
- read your music
- rock
- singer-songwriter
- sporting life
- Wii
Recent Articles By Michael Gallucci
-
Jail, drugs, booze — not even rock and roll could kill the Pagans’ Mike Hudson
-
Shelby Lynne
Sunday, March 30, at the Beachland Ballroom.
-
Dengue Fever
Venus on Earth (M80)
-
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ill-fated Street Survivors tops this week’s pop-culture picks
-
From R.E.M. to Kimya Dawson, South by Southwest 2008 celebrated indie legends past and future
National Features
-
Village Voice
A Long Way Wrong?
Another celebrated memoir threatens to blow into a million little pieces.
By Graham Rayman -
LA Weekly
Hoop Dawg
Billionaire Donald T. Sterling owns the L.A. Clippers and loves the ladies. And those are just two of his problems.
By Patrick Range McDonald -
The Pitch
Children of the Porn
Elvin Boone's sex-shop empire crumbles as his offspring feud.
By Justin Kendall -
Westword
The Good Soldier
When the Army tried to take down Andrew Pogany, they messed with the wrong coward.
By Joel Warner
The drum-loving warriors of Patapon top this week’s pop-culture picks
By Michael Gallucci
Published: March 26, 2008
Subject(s): soul music, great video games, read your music, great animated films
TOP PICK — Patapon (Sony)
This terrific video game features a tribe made up of critters who sport one giant eye and four stick appendages. They wield spears, arrows, and a bunch of other weapons as they take on neighboring warriors. Gamers lead attacks by drumming battle beats. Part rhythm game, part action game, and part strategy game, the thoroughly original Patapon ranks as one of the PSP's best-ever outings.
BOOK — Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd (Da Capo)
Mark Blake's bio of the venerable British band covers all the bases: original frontman Syd Barrett's drug-propelled breakdown, Dark Side of the Moon-fueled superstardom, and the ugly breakup. But unlike most other Floyd books, this one looks at the story from all the members' perspectives, giving as much weight to Nick Mason's drumming as it does Roger Waters' brain-damaged lyrics.
VIDEO GAME — Frontlines: Fuel of War (THQ)
This first-person shooter (for the Xbox 360 and PC) is set in the very near future, when only one oil reserve remains in the entire world. The good-guy Western Coalition Army and evil Red Star Alliance duke it out for control. Like last year's Call of Duty 4, the action here takes place in sandy wastelands and feels eerily timely. Plus, the futuristic tanks and jets are pretty cool.
DVD — 101 Dalmatians Platinum Edition (Walt Disney)
One of Disney's best-looking animated movies gets the two-disc special treatment — complete with deleted songs, behind-the-scenes docs, and a Virtual Dalmatian game with, natch, 101 different doggies. The restored 1961 film now looks flawless: Not only can you pick out all the pups' spots, but villain Cruella De Vil's wickedness has never been so gloriously vivid.
CD — The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits; Conquer the World: The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records (Philadelphia International/Legacy)
Philadelphia International was to soul music in the '70s what Motown was to it in the '60s: a hit-making machine that appealed to both black and white listeners. The Sound of Philadelphia includes 16 of the label's biggest hits — like the O'Jays' "Love Train" and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me by Now" — penned by ace songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff; Conquer the World features 16 obscure cuts by lesser-know artists. All are fantastic.
