Update

Indiana Jones tops the box office charts at $150 million...

The radio and online media is abuzz with excitement for Weezer's latest CD, due out Tuesday (so am I)

And Culture Clique staffers are hard at work on the new interface. Look for a brighter, easier, user-friendly model coming soon! (We're all very excited.)

Death Cab

Death Cab for Cutie! You can hear the new CD, Narrow Stairs, for free this week on Spinner.com's CD Listening Party.

As for the delightful, professional review from The Gazette below, be a player- not a spectator. Submit your own review at CultureClique.com

CD review: Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie

Songs still pretty, but now with bite

T'CHA DUNLEVY, Gazette Music Critic

Published: 8 hours ago

Death Cab for Cutie
Narrow Stairs
Atlantic/Warner
Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Ben Gibbard has one of the purest voices in indie-pop. And it was put to the prettiest of uses on Death Cab for Cutie's sixth album, and major label debut, 2005's Plans. Those songs were spiritual hymns, deeply stirring and life-affirming in their weightless expanse.

This follow-up starts with a trick. The first song, Bixby Canyon Bridge, finds Gibbard singing with characteristic innocence over a lilting backdrop of shimmering and plucked guitars, before the power chords and drums kick in.

Not content to rest on its laurels, the Seattle band goes for grit here, both musical and lyrical. There is menace in the bleeding distortion at song's end. It is at once a relief and the breaking of a spell - a reminder to one and all that this is a rock group, and sometimes life is messy.

There is no about-face. Gibbard remains a poet; but his heart is heavy. These tales of miscommunications, failed relationships and abandoned dreams are given appropriate layers of nuance. Even in the darkest moments, there is a familiar, soaring grace. Yet at strategic intervals, the band lets 'er rip. And therein lies the difference.

The 81/2-minute first single, I Will Possess Your Heart, begins with a five-minute instrumental passage, a slow-building, drifting expanse that gives way to a soft-sung stalker anthem, with the opening lines: "How I wish you could see the potential / The potential of you and me. ... You gotta spend some time, love / You gotta spend some time with me."

He could be speaking about the very song on which he's singing, and the album it accompanies. Traditional pop formats are resisted, but kept within reach as the band flexes its intuitive muscle. These songs were recorded live off the floor. They are alive and unpredictable, in contrast to Plans' post-production perfection.

There are up-tempo numbers. The backbeat-driven No Sunlight, the breakup song Long Division and the second half of Pity and Fear all forge ahead on crests of energy, and provide rough-and-tumble rebuttal to any O.C.-assisted sellout accusations.

This disc is not a knee-jerk reaction, but rather an awakening. It is uplifting, despite its solemn subject matter; but its real strength - like the band's - resides between the lines. There is no black and white. There are beautiful sad songs with jagged edges, soft landings, swelling surges and intimate asides. It's pretty as ever, but with more bite.

Podworthy: Your New Twin Sized Bed

Just This Once...

Was sitting on a plane last night, minding my own business, waiting for takeoff when the music overhead switched on. To my delight, they were playing "Falling Slowly" from the independent film Once, which I'm sure you've heard of by now.

One of the great things about Culture Clique is when you love something and other people love it too and you all get to talk about it ad nauseaum until it turns into a disgusting love fest. It reinstates your faith in humanity.

Doritt Diamond wrote:
I thought this movie was near perfect... it showed the true power of music and what the belief in that power can create. The characters and story were wonderful and the genuine beauty of the devotion to the art was incredible. The fact that it did not deteriote into a romance made it better and stronger. it was really just about the music... and the story of the actor, writer and director of the film is a story in itself.

Ryan Downe wrote:

Crazy good. Saw last night and now added to one of my favorite movies. Lead singer/songwriter also in band The Frames. If you haven't heard of them they are worth checking out as well.

Nicole Tisue wrote:

A must see! I LOVED IT and I want to buy the sound track. Great songs!

Craig Diamond wrote:

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I really liked this one too! Musical, artsy, inde. A really raw, authentic vibe and inspiring music to boot. Definitely worth checking out!

Meara Demko wrote:

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A love story between I rogue Irish street musician/hoover repairman & a Czechoslovakian immigrant. The film is kind of one long music video of their fabulous musical collaboration...Amazing lyrics, empassioned singing...quirky frienship that is so moving and inspiring...Loved it!

Four Stars for Grand Theft Auto IV

See more real reviews and submit your own on Culture Clique!

Grand Theft Auto IV
M. Berkz writes:

Grand Theft Auto IV (which is really GTA IX if you count all the GTA games for all the platforms) is a blast!

The best thing about the game is the attention to detail, everything from the radio DJs blathering between songs, the fake ads, the television shows, references to other games and movies, and secret stuff to discover.

Some of the cut scenes are entertaining, and the character development overall is interesting, but there are some huge leaps in logic. For example, one of the first bosses you have to kill in the game is depicted as gay, yet you kill him for dating your cousin's girlfriend?!

There's bound to be something offensive to everyone in this game, but it's so over the top that it's laughable.

The gameplay itself is enjoyable. The driving takes a little getting used to in the congested streets of Liberty City. There's a little bit of fantasy physics at play which makes it fun, as well as the detailed damage models. Death animations are brutally entertaining too!

Hand to hand combat is an exercise in button mashing, and even though the weapon targetting system is quite comprehensive, it's easy to get overwhelmed in a shoot-out when the un-intuitive camera conspires against you too.

I picked the 360 version over the PS3's mainly because of XBox Live Achievement Points, and the episodic downloadable content.

What the "Experts" are saying:

WIRED: Online Play Kicks Grand Theft Auto IV into Overdrive
Chicago Tribune: Gamemaker sues to lift CTA's ban on ads for GTA IV
Seattle PI: Grand Theft Auto IV XBox 360 vs Playstation

Baby Mama

Meh. "Baby Mama" is cute and fun to watch but definitely not the gutbuster it's so desperately trying to be. Now does this mean when Oxygen plays it seven times a day, I will not watch it while folding my laundry? No, I will. I mean I've seen "What a Girl Wants" so many times on cable now that I know better than that.

TIna Fey places Kate, a VP of a natural foods company who wants a baby. The PC guy tells her it's impossible for her to conceive naturally, landing her on Sigourney Weaver's doorstep and with a trashy surrogate named Angie, played by Amy Poehler.

There are some cute moments here, some genuinely funny moments but the movie feels a bit amateurish, a little flat. In more important news, when did I start thinking Greg Kinnear is so attractive? That's the real story. Talk about a surprise ending.

Great Review

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Call Me Irresponsible (2007)

Michael's champagne like voice takes you back to a more simpler time. While Everything tends to be the popular favorite on this album, The Best is Yet to Come, offers a surprising twist on this old standard.


I suggest putting this CD on the stereo, dimming the lights, and sipping a nice glass of wine. Let his voice melt the stresses of everyday life away.

What is Going On?

Mariah Carey reportedly engaged to new beau

Friend of music diva confirms news to Access Hollywood

	Mariah Carey is engaged to new boyfriend, Nick Cannon, a friend of the singer's has confirmed to Access Hollywood. View related photos
Peter Foley / EPA; Scott Gries /

Access Hollywood

updated 11:34 a.m. PT, Wed., April. 30, 2008

NEW YORK - It appears Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are ready to make beautiful music together.

A source close to Carey has confirmed to Access Hollywood that the music diva is engaged to Nick Cannon.

Reps for both singers were unavailable for comment.

The couple sent the rumor mill into overdrive when 38-year-old Carey (with Cannon on her arm) was seen sporting a dazzling new piece of bling on her ring finger at the after party for her Tribeca film, “Tennessee,” in New York.

When asked at the party what he loved about Mariah, 27-year-old Cannon gave a one-word answer.

“Everything,” he told People.

Up until recently, Carey had been romantically linked to music executive Mark Sudack. However, she never confirmed the romance.

Carey was previously married to record executive Tommy Mottola from 1993 to 1998.

Cannon was previously engaged to Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks in 2007. However, the couple called off the engagement that same year.

This will be the first marriage for the “Drumline” star.

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