Last night’s viewing of The Darjeeling Limited left me with only an empty feeling and a rather tidy paradox: Rarely have I been more excited upon entering a film, and rarely have I been more disappointed upon exiting one.

Once upon a time, Wes Anderson was among my favorite directors. Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) are, after a decade of cultish scrutiny, both still note-perfect films, and 2001’s painterly The Royal Tenenbaums offers plenty of pleasures — particularly in the supreme visual flair and wicked Read the rest of this entry »

Flying Burrito Brother and legendary Emmylou Harris collaborator Gram Parsons was the twangy, mellow-voiced crooner and guitarist/pianist credited with bringing the sounds of the South to the West Coast for the hippie generation, steering the psychedelic-folkie Byrds into Nudie suits for the landmark album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Inadvertently, by doing a lot of hanging out with people like David Crosby, Parsons helped invent the Laurel Canyon hipster country rock that dominated L.A. throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s. (Pro: he’s generally accepted as an influence on Mick and Keith. Con: The Eagles.)

Had he not died in 1973, he would have been 61 years old today. Fans who want to mark the day can visit him in Metairie (scroll to the very bottom). The less morbidly inclined might want instead to head down to the Kerry Irish Pub on Decatur Street tonight about 10 p.m., where Les Poissons Rouges and the Balsa Wood Flyers will be playing an all-Gram tribute set.

by Sam Winston

The Saints are back to .500, the Tigers win a heart-breaker in Tuscaloosa, Eddie Jordan is no longer the District Attorney of New Orleans, and Una Anderson becomes the latest subject of a federal probe. A lot can happen in a week.

The most troubling news in quite some time, however, was Read the rest of this entry »

This is a tough predicament. You have a great new CD out, as reviewed here a couple of weeks ago, but your core audience can’t attend. Not only that, but those that will be going to your show are at least three to four, perhaps even 10, times as old as who the record was aimed at. Picture Spoon playing at a nursing home. Read the rest of this entry »