PROVIDENCE

Review: The White Ribbon

Children of the götterdämmerung: Shades of gray in Michael Haneke's White Ribbon
The White Ribbon starts with a black screen and an old man's voice (Ernst Jacobi, who played Hitler in Jan Troell's Hamsun and in a BBC mini-series) relating a series of mysterious accidents and crimes that occurred in the German village where he was a schoolteacher the year before the outbreak of World War I.

By PETER KEOUGH | January 13, 2010

Review: The Lovely Bones

This Salmon won't spawn
When it comes to immortality and the afterlife, movies tend to get sticky.

By PETER KEOUGH | January 13, 2010

Coolzey | The Honey

Public School Records (2010)
Coolzey is not the next big thing. Or even the next medium thing.

By CHRIS FARAONE | January 14, 2010

RJD2 | The Colossus

RJ's Electrical Connections (2010)
RJD2 has fallen prey to self-doubt — having decided, it would seem, that sample-based music lacks authenticity, he's embarked on an ill-advised attempt to become a "performer."

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | January 13, 2010

Spoon | Transference

Merge (2010)
Any year now, Spoon will release an album consisting of one 35-minute unfailing groove anchored by bass and peppered with erratic guitar-chord grunts and Britt Daniel's wordless exclamations ("Awright!") — an idealized endgame that distills the band's reductive technique to its purest state.

By ZETH LUNDY | January 13, 2010

Super 8-Bit Brothers | Brawl

The End (2010)
It's easy to forget how annoying certain pop-culture artifacts were in their heyday.

By BARRY THOMPSON | January 13, 2010

Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps

Self-released (2010)
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.

By DAVID BOFFA | January 13, 2010

Bob Blank | The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975 - 1985

Strut (2010)
These days, Bob Blank spends his time in his Connecticut studio, producing profitable music for ads and ringtones for the likes of Susan Boyle.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | January 14, 2010

Making a beautiful racket

RHD-RI presents Thunder In the Bucket
Where else could you see the Blizzard of '78 and I, Destroyer share the same stage?

By CHRIS CONTI | January 13, 2010

Cries and whispers

The Gamm finds the balance in 4:48 Psychosis
Mental illness is a touchy subject, one that needs to be handled sensitively on stage or not at all.

By BILL RODRIGUEZ | January 13, 2010

Visions of hope

‘Coming Out’ at Firehouse 13; Dery and Easton at 5 Traverse
Shannon Heuklom of Providence spent the past two summers helping at a rural clinic, serving some 2000 HIV-positive patients, that is run by the nonprofit Hope Through Health in the West African nation of Togo.

By GREG COOK | January 13, 2010

Finally, a GOP gubernatorial contender!

Robitaille gives it a go. Plus, voter unrest, Reid puts his foot in it, and more.
Speaking of the GOP, it appears the party has a candidate — at last! — for the gubernatorial race, provided he doesn't wimp out like Rory Smith did when he realized he was in a no-win, not-ever situation.

By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | January 13, 2010