|
__________S__A__L__O__N____S__A__L__U__T__E__S In Salon Salutes, each week you'll find a list of books, music, movies, articles and other cultural stuff that our editors and contributors enjoyed but that haven't been written about in Salon Magazine. In the rest of Salon Recommends you'll find links to favorable Salon reviews in each category listed. - MOVIES "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" Karan Johar's "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (translated as "Something in the Heart"), starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, is the new Bombay musical that flaunts bad hip-hop dancing, "Grease"-like singing, drop-dead edible beautiful people and an extravaganza of color, romance and moral dilemmas the likes of which haven't been seen in American cinema in a long, long time. If you've never indulged in a bit of Bollywood, this is a delicious way to experience this contemporary musical form that mixes the insane optimism and giddy morality of old American musicals and the sensual excesses of MTV. - MUSIC "SacreBleu" Dimitri From Paris (Atlantic Recording Corp., 1998) Perhaps no statement better sums up DJ Dimitri from Paris' release "SacreBlue" than "Shagadelic, baby!" Dimitri's work spans more than three decades with its mix of retro '60s lounge, disco, jazz, house and funky downbeats -- with spoken clips (from swank films such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "The Party") and "Franglais" interspersed playfully throughout. The result is an evocation of Paris' oft-overlooked whimsical side. Dimitri pokes fun while celebrating French lounge acts like Claudine Longet and Serge Gainsbourg and pays tribute to the cheesy sides of Paris fashion, romance and culture. An all-around, easy-listening pleasure. - BOOKS Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks: 14 stories By Calef Brown Most illustrators at some point ply their craft in the boundless open space of children's books: To paint with sweet abandon in a riotous landscape of one's own making, free of the restraints of querulous art direction, is a creative exercise without equal. In "Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks," Calef Brown effortlessly conducts an aria of color and texture, filling the air with sing-song nonsense verse in perfect accompaniment to the disjointed rhythm of his bilious, angular people. Long known for his matchless palette, Brown liberally flings his paint across this new canvas with practiced ease, the sweep of his brush carrying the reader from glorious monochrome through a veritable rainbow of pigment. And from the panoply of characters tumbling out of his imagination, we uncover napping fruit, insect pies with antennae and legs sticking out from the pastry, and a one-legged duck named Alphonso. A kid's book? I took it to bed last night. - ARTICLES "Murder Inc." by Katha Pollitt (The Nation, Nov. 16, 1998) Katha Pollitt's recent column is a lucid take on the current abortion wars and why the pro-life contingent is winning the war despite the fact that they represent only a small minority of the American public. Last week's Salute - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Books - Movies - Music - New Media - Top 10 articles - Salon Salutes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21ST |
BLUE
GLOW |
BOOKS |
COLUMNISTS
|
COMICS
|
ENTERTAINMENT
|
FEATURE
|