by Markos Papadatos in Knight Life
Melinda Doolittle, 29, from Brentwood, Tenn., has been the front-runner to win season six of American Idol ever since the semifinal rounds. Even the toughest judge on Idol, Simon Cowell, has found it difficult to criticize this diva. According to all three American Idol judges, her rendition of the jazz classic "My Funny Valentine" was one of the best vocals of the year's competition.
by Jonathan Zuckerman in Knight Life
Kristoffer Ragnstam might just have the least rock 'n' roll name of all time. I confess I have no clue how his last name is pronounced. I just know that it's Swedish. A stage name doesn't really seem necessary, though. His debut album Sweet Bills is still quite good
Ragnstam has a very distinct sound and yet it's hard to describe it.
by Jonathan Zuckerman in Knight Life
The best concerts are the ones that you find out about the day before. This has happened to me quite a few times. The most recent was The Killers' show at Madison Square Garden on April 28. My feelings about the show closely reflect my feelings about The Killers in general.
by Markos Papadatos in Knight Life
Waking Up Laughing marks country music sensation Martina McBride's ninth album release. Martina McBride, a Kansas beauty, has been a veteran RCA recording artist since 1992. She is the four-time recipient of the coveted CMA Female Vocalist of the Year award.
by Eric Blattberg in Knight Life
In the grand tradition of The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and even The Servant, we have a new British export to get out knickers up in a bunch about. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you … Spooky? WTF?!!
Now I don't want to completely rag on something that utterly abysmal, but Open, the new CD from Charlie May and Duncan Forbes (a.
by Eric Copeli in Knight Life
After roughly three years of silence after 2004's Medulla, Bjork has finally come back with a world tour, promoting her new album Volta, first at the Coachella festival and now here, at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Starting an 18- month tour, Bjork comes with seizure-inducing flashiness and imaginative re-tunings of old hits in what is possibly her most commercial undertaking yet.
by Stephen Bronner in Knight Life
There's something to be said about a pop-punk band who can write consistently catchy hooks without straying too far away from either the pop or the punk. Long Beach's Project 27 is currently on that route with their Next September EP, the follow-up to 2004's Time to Fold EP.
Love the Planet or Leave It
by Eric Blattberg in Knight Life
We all know that celebrities are not only considered royalty here in the states, but across the pond in Europe as well, they are held in high regard. Now with benefit concerts, speaking to heads of state, and charitable organizations, I think the important questions needs to be asked - can celebrity power change the world? Are fans really listening? Is buying a bracelet, a ribbon or a shirt enough to help?
On July 13, 1985, Bob Geldof staged Live Aid at Pennsylvania's JFK Stadium and the United Kingdom's Wembley Stadium.
by Siddharth Watal in Knight Life
Reviewing movies that are based on actual events is always an iffy proposition. There is very little you can judge the movie on. Just about the only two things you can judge the movie on are how good the script translates to the screen and the quality of the acting.
by Mikhail Shklyarevsky in Knight Life
For many film audiences, very rarely does a movie that's third in the franchise surpass its prequel in experience. But the Spider-Man series is an exception among comic-book adapted movies. Not only has it received Oscars for special effects, but it also gets raves from its fans.
by Ari Goldstein in Knight Life
After three years of hype-filled waiting and a budget of over $250 million, Spider-Man 3 was supposed to kick off the summer of sequels with a bang.
Unfortunately, it brought new meaning to the word 'underwhelming.'
Don't get me wrong, some people will love it.
by Markos Papadatos in Knight Life
Letters From Iwo Jima
The movie: Letters from Iwo Jima comes out on DVD on May 22, 2007. This epic film was directed by veteran actor and film producer Clint Eastwood. It is the Japanese counterpart of the relatively unpopular Flag of Our Fathers, which was directed by Eastwood as well.
by in Knight Life
Vendela Vida is the really nice author of the really great Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. While reading it we began to wonder, 'Yes she's a great author, but what does she do in her free time?' So we asked her a bunch of questions, but we forget to include the one about what she does in her free time.
Cross-X by Joe Miller
by Annemarie Taddeucci in Knight Life
In Cross-X, Joe Miller chronicles the struggles and triumphs of an inner-city high school debate in Kansas City, Mo. The documentary-style nonfiction invests the reader in the stories of the African-American youths who have been disenfranchised by the remnants of segregation, corruption and the ongoing realities of racism.
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
by Kate Schnur in Knight Life
If I told you that after this review was written, the reviewer, the editors and everyone else involved in the publishing of the article mysteriously disappeared, would you keep reading it? (After mourning the tragic loss of the reviewer, of course.)
If you do continue reading, Scarlett Thomas may reward your curiosity with a bizarre trip into your own mind.
by Alexandrea Bowman in Knight Life
Alright, who didn't see The Departed here? That's what we thought. Turns out, The Departed is actually somewhat based on a true story. South Boston, where the movie took place, really was a hotbed of crime and gang-activity, run by an Irish gangster named Whitey Bulger (played by the excellent Jack Nicholson in the film).
by in Knight Life
We all read Huckleberry Finn and so did Jon Clinch. In fact, he liked it so much he wrote a book about it. His debut novel, Finn, set in the world of Huckleberry Finn, explores the sordid life and times of Huckleberry's father.
Q: So, first-off, what gave you the idea to write a book about Huck's father?
A: That floating house in Huckleberry Finn - the one Jim and Huck find drifting down the Mississippi with a man upstairs lying naked on a bed with a bullet in his back.
The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander
by S. Nadata in Knight Life
A great first act is a tough act to follow. Such is the burden on Nathan Englander, author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, a collection of stories so poignant, funny, bitter and ultimately generous that they took the publishing world by storm, earned him international credence with both critics and fans, and kept him shut up in a hole, refraining from publishing his first novel, for nearly eight years.
by Linda Hakim in Knight Life
The words of the Grease song "Summer Nights" have been echoing in my head since the sun has come out. Looking around the stores and runways you may have noticed that the romantic theme is in for clothing this summer. For those of you who may be scratching your heads right now just start thinking about the lyrics "Summer lovin' had me a blast," while you read the rest of this article.
by George Smolar in Knight Life
This issue I want to discuss the new GPS craze. For all who don't know, GPS (Global Positioning System), is a device that tells you where you are, where you're going, and how you can get there. Recently I decided Mapquest wasn't good enough for me so I got a GPS and now you get to reap the benefits of knowing whether it is worth it or not.
by Erik Copeli in Knight Life
On April 24th, John Edgar Wideman, a recipient of a MacArthur genius grant and of 2 PEN Faulkner awards, came in last minute to replace an ill Jamaica Kincaid for the last Evening Reading of the semester. The idea of prevailing over limited opportunities and discrimination against African-Americans pervaded the atmosphere of the Readings as Wideman read his short stories.
