New York singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson may be familiar to many, seeing as her existing infamy is based on being one half of acerbic so-called 'anti-folk' duo The Moldy Peaches who made ripples around the turn of the century with taboo-provoking pared-down romps against this, that and the other. It might be a surprise to find her ramshackle and largely solo performances heading up a film ...
Disney has struck platinum with High School Musical, a made-for-cable movie that was mega-popular on the Disney Channel before spawning a mega-popular soundtrack. Echoing Grease, the plot involves two students (Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hutchinson) who fall for eath other while on vacation, only to realize they go to the same high school though they belong to different ...
Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic-born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard (the film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group). The trick here is that Irglová and Hansard also play the leads; because their characters are shown busking, writing music, or rehearsing, the ...
Fans of High School Musical can breathe easy: Based on this soundtrack, the sequel is just as good, and perhaps even better. Though its trailer asked "Are you ready for the start of something new?" HSM2 isn't turning the franchise into The Wire, and really is more of the same--which is, of course, totally fine by us. One of the most energetic tracks is Chad and Ryan's ...