An Idle Threat...to Stop Googling

 In February, I threatened to stop running Google on my name every other month, but I haven't been able to stop.

What can I say? I'm addicted. Even if the results look the same every time. Why do I do it? To assuage my ego, naturally. Whether it shows or not, I put a fair amount of work into my reviews, and I'd hate to think no one's reading them.

However illusory, Google makes me feel as if my efforts haven't gone unnoticed. So here are the latest stats: 194,000 hits for my full name, 30,600 hits for the short version (lately the former has been growing, while the latter has been shrinking). These are some of the more interesting sites.

Air America:
Amazon review of Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift

Answers.com:
AMG review of Lida Husik - Bozo

Bickett Gallery:
Amazon review of Style Wars

Chicago Pride:
Amazon review of Latter Days

Iceberg Radio:
AMG bio of Mr. Airplane Man

[Contacted the duo to confirm a few details--nice folks!]

Listal:
Amazon review of House, M.D.

Metacritic:
Amazon review of Huff - The Complete First Season

The Stranger:
Tablet review of Lushy - S/T

Tribe.net:
Amazon review of The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder - Punk & New Wave

[Tom Kipp used the excerpt with Kim Fowley in his fine Pop Studies Conference paper on the thin weird duke's Outrageous. I had no idea this "Plan Nine From Outer Space" of albums was
the source for Sonic Youth's sublime "Bubblegum."]

Twist & Shout:
Amazon review of New York Doll

Note: Images from the AMG, Creem online (it lives!), and
Julian Cope's Head Heritage, which features a fun review.

We All Like Spike

 

I haven't seen either, so I can't vouch for their quality, but I plucked these two back-to-back Tribeca Film Festival reviews from The Village Voice simply because both mention the man of the hour: Spike Lee. More than that, Lee is teamed with Martin Scorsese in the first, with Charles Dickens (!) in the second. The significance? After a few years of bad press and bad reviews, the tide appears to be turning. Inside Man is a hit and Lee is more of an influence than ever before. Also, while I agree with Manohla Dargis that "race matters" (see her review of Inside Man for the details), I like the way Lee is compared to great talents like Scorsese and Dickens--with no mention of race.

Punching at the Sun

A South Asian teen grapples with the loss of his brother on the mean streets of Elmhurst, Queens. Tanuj Chopra's first feature doesn't deviate much from the coming-of-age template, but it has a tenderness and intimacy that recall recent small-scale NYC triumphs like Our Song and Raising Victor Vargas, not to mention a dazed summer-in-the-city energy proudly lifted from early Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese. Dennis Lim

Shoot the Messenger

An acerbic identity-politics analysis served up in a contemporary picaresque, Ngozi Onwurah's sprightly satire combines wry, dark humor with TV-movie style melodrama. "I hate black people," soliloquizes protag Joe. "I hate being black. Being black feels like a curse." Cursed he may be: Joe's fortunes propel him from hardnosed schoolteacher to homeless beggar, mental patient, Christian charity case, job placement officer, and cocktail partygoer. The film travels through these numerous pockets of black British culture with an eye for social detail that's equal parts Spike Lee and Charles Dickens. Ed Halter

Note: For my tribute to Spike Lee, click here. Punching the Sun image from Film Freak Central (which panned the film) and Shoot the Messenger (featuring David Oyelowo) from Africultures.