According to the Associated Press: “Police are investigating reports that James Blunt ran over someone’s foot as he was leaving a party, then drove off.” The injured pedestrian had to be rolled away on a gurney. Apparently Blunt and his date, supermodel Petra Nemcova, were attempting to flee a throng of paparazzi, although I prefer to think that they were just trying to get away from an autograph-seeking fan.

Blunt being a celebrity, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be charged with anything. But if he is, can they throw the book at him for “You’re Beautiful” while they’re at it?

So last night, in case you were busy watching Without a Trace or Crossing Jordan, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences threw its 79th annual bash, an almost four-hour-long marathon of long-winded speeches, staged entertainments and self-aggrandizement known as the Oscars. Between all the back-slapping and red carpet gushing, some good films and great performances were celebrated. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider was the No. 1 movie in the country — for the second week in a row. (more…)

Explosions In The Sky: All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
Temporary Residence, 2007
Rating: 3.8

The bread and butter of the genre known as post-rock is the loud-soft dynamic, or rather the instantaneous shift from one volume to the other. There have been many post-rock bands, all of which have carved their own niches within the genre, yet this one characteristic ties them together. Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Mogwai, Slint, Sigur Ros, Do Make Say Think, et al., have all periodically whipped out this trick to make an emotional point. It’s one of the great flags of the genre, a clue for those who are uncertain of just what they are hearing. (more…)

Note to Britney Spears: Next time you’re going to shave your head, could you maybe do it before I publish a column that slaps us all on the wrist for taking such delight in your downward spiral?

Seriously, girlfriend: How can I help you regain the sympathy of the pop-cultural masses if you’re going to go and pull a bizarre move like this every time I suggest we should cut you some slack?

I’m just sayin’.

Ghost Rider
Mark Steven Johnson, USA, 2007
Rating: 2.7

In Neil Peart’s recent book Roadshow, there’s a scene in which the Rush drummer encounters Nicolas Cage during a rare celebrity-filled after-party following one of the band’s shows. Cage confides in Peart that he’s struggling a bit in his career: blowing lines, things like that. In all his years as an actor he’s never had this problem before and he doesn’t know what to do about it.

Neil’s too kind to say so (or maybe it doesn’t occur to him), but the solution seems obvious: Maybe if Cage chose his roles with a little more discretion, he’d find himself more personally invested in his work. “Hey, Nick,” you want to shout, “how about ix-naying crap like The Ant Bully or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin or that Wicker Man remake? How about a few more World Trade Centers mixed in with pay-the-mortgage projects like the upcoming National Treasure sequel? And for goodness’ sake, if you’re going to do a comic-book movie, how about you choose a project worthy of your talents?”

Ghost Rider, it should go without saying, is not that project. The character, a motorcycle-riding spirit of vengeance most notable for its flaming skull, has always been one of Marvel Comics’ B- or C-list properties, one that several creative teams haven’t been able to figure out what to do with. The character gets a new book every few years to keep the trademark viable, and it inevitably flames out. His love for motorcycles notwithstanding (and unflattering parallels to his recent career slide aside), Ghost Rider makes you think “Nic Cage” as much as Russell Crowe begs to be cast in a Gandhi remake. (more…)

Lucinda Williams: West
Lost Highway, 2007
Rating: 3.8

Lucinda Williams isn’t an artist likely to be accused of not singing from the heart. She seems physically incapable of phoning in a performance. Her life is inextricably wrapped up in her art. Relationships, triumphs, disappointments — it all comes pouring out in her songs. Even the buffed-clean production of West, her eighth studio release, can’t completely sand the jagged emotional textures from Williams’ wounded soul of a voice. Co-producer Hal Willner seems determined to craft an adult-contemporary-friendly work despite the pointedly barbed edges of Williams’ words. It’s a tug-of-war that creates a negative tension, pulling West in opposite directions and dampening the album’s cumulative impact. (more…)

It’s kind of weird being the lone voice of moral outrage on behalf of Britney Spears. Still, to quote Faith No More: It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it. Below is this week’s installment of my regular “Critical Mass” column for my day job at an Atlanta weekly called The Sunday Paper:

Well, that didn’t take long.

Britney Spears’ latest ex-boyfriend, a funny-looking nobody named Isaac Cohen, recently gushed to News of the World about the high esteem in which he holds the ubiquitous pop starlet. “I adore Britney and in a different place at a different time we might have stood a chance,” he told the British tabloid, adding his sincere hope that “she does not give up now. She is too special for that.” (more…)