By: Victoria Statz

There is a lot of talk about connection and unity in John Burnside’s “The Glister,” but ultimately the plethora of quasi-intriguing themes are never fully developed, leaving the reader with too many superfluous passages, unoriginal plot ...

By: Dan Sullivan

Today, tomorrow and  Saturday the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will host an event that, despite being an annual occurrence, has a relatively small profile amongst even the film-savviest Madisonians: The Romanian Film Festival. The emergence of ...

By: The Daily Cardinal Cülture Clüb

Their eponymous debut was a rodeo bull bucking at the gates of taboo, thrashing listeners into submission to their unabashed tirade against political injustice. London Calling, their third album, galvanized their socially conscious punk with an onslaught ...

By: Mark Riechers

I haven’t spoiled the crap out of “Lost” here in a while, so commence your groaning and flip to the comics if you’re still back in season three waiting for Sawyer and Kate to get out of the cages....

By: Brandi Stone

“The Runaways, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, tells of the band’sexperiences in the music industry and is likely to be a success with audiences....

By: Justin Stephani

A singer-songwriter, by traditional standards, depicts a bard-like guitar player who can interweave abstract or direct tales of social, personal or political commentary. The most common image behind this phrase has to be a young Bob Dylan, crafted in the ...

By: Anthony Cefali

There are myriad forms of laughter. Laughter can indicate unbridled joy, like the laughter friends share, the kind that is paired with misplaced idioms or flatulence or whatever. Diametrically, laughter can also be the first sign of a mind spiraling downw...

By: Dan Sullivan

The infamous 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner developed the idea of the gesamtkunstwerk (commonly translated as “total work of art”), a multimedia form of artistic production that, he argued, was more effective and affecting than an...

By: Alex Belmonte

French developer Quantic Dream has raised the bar high for what they tout as a new genre of storytelling in their latest PS3 exclusive crime-drama game, “Heavy Rain.” The basic premise is this: As he triangulates the identity and whereabouts o...

By: Todd Stevens

Brits love soccer, at times to an unhealthy degree. They love it so much that they have been known to kill, maim and disembowel each other in the name of football—and that is just the fans. The coaches and players, if anything, are even more vile, v...

By: Mark Riechers

It’s easy to assume that “Bioshock 2,” a sequel that many fans and even original game designer Ken Levine wanted little to do with, is all about the Benjamins—a pointless entry diluting the purity of the original’s story and ...

By: Dan Sullivan

Madison movie theaters are being bum-rushed by recent releases from filmmakers commonly considered to be auteurs—directors whose distinctive artistic personalities are inscribed all over their respective oeuvres. Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lie...

By: Kyle Sparks

“I’m destroying everything that wouldn’t make me more like Bruce Springsteen” If the Hold Steady brought bar rock to the arena, Titus Andronicus brought arena rock to the bar. Their latest, the comically ambitious Civil War-themed ...

By: Matt Beaty

Umphrey’s McGee is a Chicago-based band known for their energetic live shows and impressive improvisation. Since their formation in 1997, they have kept a busy touring schedule, playing over a hundred shows each year. Long sets, stage banter and exc...

By: Joe Bartolone

With soft waves, a gentle breeze and some easy feelings, the introduction track of Gorillaz’ newest album, Plastic Beach, immerses you into a world of tropical peace. The next song, “Welcome to the Plastic Beach,” features Snoop Dogg, an...

By: Alex Kuskowski

On my one-woman march to educate every single living person about the greatest things books contain, I was enlightened by a friend who told me she “didn’t have the time, y’know, to sit and read stuff.” This statement got me thinkin...

By: Ashley Glowinski

Many die-hard Lifehouse fans and music buffs alike remember the 2001 hit single “Hanging by a Moment” from the band’s debut album, No Name Face. Back then, the members of Lifehouse—original members Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. and Jason ...

By: Justin Stephani

Is it so wrong for me to like Beck’s Record Club recording of Oar better than Alex “Skip” Spence’s original cult classic? Well, I’m not willing to make that declaration, and even though that’s not entirely because of th...

By: Justin Stephani

Something must have clicked in the minds of Frightened Rabbit over the last two years, because their latest album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, is one wrecking ball of a challenge compared to their previous two LPs. Only traces of their immature but always...

By: Treena Fischer

Overhyped and over-“Johnny-fied” are the first two words that come to mind after seeing Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” done in collaboration with Disney as a sequel to the original cartoon. After months of anticipation, ...