Music Reviews: 99 Hits from 1956, and Two Blasts from the Blasters’ Past. Rock and roll was thriving 70 years ago, but that doesn't mean it was dominating the charts. blogcritics.org/music-review... #music #musicreview #theblasters

Theater Review (NYC): ‘Beneath the Ice of the Vistula’ – Worlds Collide in Warsaw as the Nazi Invasion Looms. A secular Jewish composer and cellist clashes with his Polish housekeeper in this fiery world premiere. blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #theater #theatre

Blu-ray Review: ‘Song Sung Blue’ w/Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson—"When its stars sing the Neil Diamond songbook, this #biopic delights. Otherwise, it's a depressing slog." Our full review of the Collector's Edition: blogcritics.org/blu-ray-revi... #moviereview #film #SongSungBlue #NeilDiamond

Book Review: "Pretenders to the Throne of God" – the latest in Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Tyrant Philosophers" series has a lesson for anyone who wants to impose perfection on a society. Richard Marcus has our #bookreview: blogcritics.org/book-review-... #books

‘Disciples: Domination’ Review — A Dark Fantasy Strategy RPG with Royal Ambition blogcritics.org/disciples-do... #RPG #videogame #fantasy #Disciples

Valentine’s Violin: Exclusive Interview with Violinist Esther Yoo on Her New Album ‘Love Symposium’—"an exploration of love in its countless forms...” blogcritics.org/valentines-d... #violin #classicalmusic #Plato #love #LeonardBernstein

Videogame Review: ‘ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN’ – Suda51’s Most Insane and Addictive Trip Yet. "A stylish, blood-soaked & utterly bizarre adventure that rewards exploration and demands your attention." Our review: blogcritics.org/videogame-re... #videogame @romeoisadeadman.bsky.social @sssuda51.bsky.social

Book Review: ‘Your Place in this World’ – American singer/songwriter/actor and author Jake La Botz has published his first book of collected fiction. Richard Marcus has our #bookreview: blogcritics.org/book-review-... #books @jakelabotz.bsky.social #blues

Concert Review: Composer Portraits Presents Andrew McIntosh, with Yarn/Wire – "As tension builds, the instruments seem to take on human personalities in a wordless poetic drama..." Jon Sobel has our full review: blogcritics.org/concert-revi... #music @yarnwire.bsky.social

Opera Review: ‘Manon!’ – From Heartbeat Opera, Massenet’s Tragic Courtesan – "This isn’t your great-great-grandparents’ Massenet. But I’ll bet they would have liked it." Jon Sobel has our review: blogcritics.org/opera-review... #opera #Massenet #Manon

Theater Review: ‘The Honey Trap’—When two off-duty British soldiers meet two pretty Irish women in a pub, things go swimmingly until they don't in Leo McGann's 'The Honey Trap.' blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #irishrep #theater #theatre

Music Reviews: Lucinda Williams’s ‘World’s Gone Wrong,’ plus Dave Miller—"Williams attempts to find solace in music, but can’t forget the world’s troubles..." Jeff Burger has our full review: blogcritics.org/music-review... @lucindawilliams.bsky.social #lucindawilliams #musicreview #music

Theater Review (NYC): The Fire This Time Festival 2026—Six short plays by emerging Black playwrights tackle racism and civil rights, heroes and villains, and family dynamics. blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #theater #superheroes #nyc

Music Reviews: ‘The Complete Trip’ Collects Psychedelia from England’s Orange Bicycle, plus David Huckfelt "To say that Orange Bicycle never established a trademark style would be an understatement..." Jeff Burger has our full review: blogcritics.org/music-review... #psychedelia

RPG Review: ‘Vaesen’ from Free League—"knowledge of the old ways often reveals more secrets than any sane person can comprehend." Jeff Provine has our review: blogcritics.org/rpg-review-v... #rpg #gaming @vaesen-rpg.bsky.social #horror

Theater/Cabaret Review (NYC): ‘Tiergarten’ from Death of Classical and the Prototype Festival—hosted by Kim David Smith, a #cabaret in a church whirled us away from today’s nightmares into gaudy evocations of catastrophes of the past. blogcritics.org/theater-caba... @kimdavidsmith.bsky.social

Graphic Novel Review: 'Cornelius: The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog' by Marc Torices, from Drawn+Quarterly —Torices explores artistic styles while Cornelius searches for meaning. blogcritics.org/graphic-nove... @dandq.bsky.social #graphicnovel #bookreview #books #dogs

Theater Review (NYC): ‘Dream Feed’ by The HawtPlates is "a beautiful and surreal, visceral and unconventionally spiritual, and literally earthy musical-theatrical show that defies easy categorization..." Our full review: blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #music #theater #nyc

Charlie Doherty’s Top 20 Albums of 2025 (Brandi Carlile, Wet Leg, The Freight, Bruce Springsteen & More) We look forward to Charlie's top albums list every year, and this one's full of winners. Take a peek! blogcritics.org/charlie-dohe...

Music Reviews: Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lester Young, Anthologies of Rockabilly and Appalachian Music blogcritics.org/music-review... #blues #bluesrock #jazz #LesterYoung #rockabilly #FabulousThunderbirds #music #musicreview

Theater Review: Carrie Coon, Namir Smallwood in the Terrifying ‘Bug’—"a cocktail waitress and a Gulf War vet develop an unforgettable relationship in Tracy Letts’ comedic, compelling psychological drama." Full review: blogcritics.org/theater-revi... @carriecoon.bsky.social #theaterreview #theater

Opera Review: ‘Hildegard’ by Sarah Kirkland Snider – "On the wings of Snider’s gorgeous music, it’s one of the most enthralling theatrical experiences I can remember." Our full review: blogcritics.org/opera-review... #opera #Hildegard

Videogame Review: ‘Echoes of the End: Enhanced Edition’ – a ‘God of War’ Clone with Icelandic Soul blogcritics.org/videogame-re... #myrkurgames #myrkur #videogame #echoesoftheend #Iceland

RPG Review: ‘Rapscallion’ from Magpie Games sends players on high-seas adventures in a table-top #roleplaying game with magical #pirates. Our review: blogcritics.org/rpg-review-r... #games #gamereview #gaming @magpiegames.bsky.social

Chopin, Liszt, and a world premiere from pianist Chengcheng Ma, tonight at Merkin Hall, #NYC! Our exclusive Interview: blogcritics.org/exclusive-in... #classicalmusic #pianist #piano

Comic Review: ‘Reel Politik’ by Nathan Gelgud, from Drawn+Quarterly – "establishes an iconic cast to trade jabs and make puns as they go on outlandish adventures." blogcritics.org/comic-review... @dandq.bsky.social #comic @nathangelgud.bsky.social

Music Reviews: An Anthology of #Beatles Covers; Ward Hayden does #Springsteen; a Record about Records. Winners include "soulful renditions of 'Let It Be' by Aretha Franklin & 'Hey, Jude' by Wilson Pickett" blogcritics.org/music-review... @brucespringsteen.net @wardhayden.bsky.social #musicreview

New #Broadway reviews: 'Marjorie Prime' w/Danny Burstein, Cynthia Nixon; 'Oedipus' w/Mark Strong, Lesley Manville: "...In our new #AI age "the sci-fi aspect of 'Marjorie Prime,' so striking before, has diminished...the...performances outshine the themes..." blogcritics.org/author/merce... #theater

Music Reviews: Boxing Up the Bangles; ‘Rock the Plaza’; Kim Wilson’s ‘Slow Burn’—"It's about time we had a box set from the Bangles, who provided some of the brightest moments on Top 40 radio in the 1980s..." More: blogcritics.org/music-review... @thebangles.bsky.social #music #blues

The 43-Day Shutdown That Nearly Broke the Federal Criminal Justice System blogcritics.org/the-43-day-s... #criminaljustice #shutdown #governmentshutdown

Federal Prison Healthcare in Crisis: DOJ Inspector General Uncovers Alarming Conditions at Seattle Detention Facility—"The Bureau of Prisons faces a fundamental resource problem that no single facility can solve on its own..." Read more: blogcritics.org/federal-pris... #prison #prisonhealthcare

Theater Review: A Stunning Laurie Metcalf in ‘Little Bear Ridge Road’ blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #broadway #littlebearridgeroad #theater #theatre

Comic Review: ‘Physics for Cats’ by Tom Gauld, from Drawn+Quarterly—Gauld "stands today among the greatest 'nerd humorists' with his ongoing twists on practice, theory, and the straight-up weird." Full review: blogcritics.org/comic-review... @dandq.bsky.social @tomgauld.bsky.social #humor #science

Concert Review: Isidore String Quartet, Anthony McGill – Beethoven, Brahms, and a James Lee III World Premiere blogcritics.org/concert-revi... #classicalmusic #clarinet #Brahms #Beethoven

New reviews of contemporary music from New Focus Recordings: cimbalom, string quintets, music in 1,024 parts, and far beyond! blogcritics.org/tag/new-focu... @scottwollschleger.bsky.social @stevenricks.bsky.social #musicreview #music @newfocuslabel.bsky.social

Music Review: Sokratis Sinopoulos, Yann Keerim – ‘Topos,’ 6 arrangements for Greek lyra and piano based on the “Romanian Folk Dances” of Béla Bartók, + 4 original compositions—"When the two instruments coalesce...they create an almost ineffably rich texture." blogcritics.org/music-review... #music

Music Reviews: The Beatles’ ‘Anthology Collection,’ plus Concert Albums from Warren Zevon and Roland Kirk blogcritics.org/music-review... #beatles #thebeatles #music #WarrenZevon @warrenzevon.bsky.social #jazz

Theater Review: ‘Art’ with Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris: A modernist white canvas capsizes the equilibrium among three longtime friends. Is it art? Our review: blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #broadway #BobbyCannavale #NeilPatrickHarris #JamesCorden #theater #theatre

Theater Review: "Kyoto" "reveals how the U.S. representative and American oil lobbyist Don Pearlman continually opposed any movement to pin down timetables or targets for emissions..." Our review: blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #theater #theatre #Kyoto

Music Reviews: ‘The Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story,’ plus Willie Nelson, Jeb Loy Nichols, and Jonathan Richman blogcritics.org/music-review... @willienelsonmusic.bsky.social #musicreview #WillieNelson #JonathanRichman

Videogame Review: ‘Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault’ Early Access – A Must-Play Roguelite That Makes Shopkeeping Fun blogcritics.org/videogame-re... #videogame #moonlighter #moonlighter2 @digitalsungames.com

MIGS25 Interview: Capturing Performance, Elevating Story – A conversation with Rouge Studios’ Jenna Melfi on the evolving arts of performance capture, cinematics, and storytelling in modern #videogames. blogcritics.org/migs25-inter... #gaming #migs #MIGS25

Music Reviews: Jimi Hendrix’s ‘The Axis: Bold as Love Sessions,’ plus Bobby Charles, Dr. John, and Nina Simone blogcritics.org/music-review... #jimihendrix #ninasimone #musicreview

MIGS25 Interview: Steering a Galactic Phenomenon – A Conversation with Arrowhead Game Studios' Linda Tiger. After the release of 'Helldivers 2,' Tiger "found herself helping to steer a live-service title unlike anything she had worked on before." blogcritics.org/migs25-inter... #videogames

New York Film Festival Review: ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ from Jim Jarmusch is "a quiet, seemingly unadventurous film that nevertheless packs a punch." Our full #moviereview: blogcritics.org/new-york-fil... #nyff #movies @jimjarmusch.bsky.social #JimJarmusch

New York Film Festival Review: Bradley Cooper’s ‘Is This Thing On?’ "Cooper’s third film as a director adds meaning to the notion that misery loves comedy." Our #moviereview: blogcritics.org/new-york-fil... #BradleyCooper #newyorkfilmfestival #movies

Theater Review: ‘The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire’—"The actors are spot-on and the puppetry engages [but] director Steve Cosson’s opaque dramatization of Washburn’s use of metaphor, poetry and song makes the play sometimes confusing." Full review: blogcritics.org/theater-revi... #theater #theatre

Videogame Review: 'Demonschool' – A Kooky 'Persona'-Like Tactics RPG That Needs More Depth blogcritics.org/videogame-re... #demonschool #videogame @necrosoftgames.com

BC's Michael Prince brings you the highlights of #MIGS25 – the longest-running game summit in #Canada. blogcritics.org?s=migs25 #MIGS #gaming #videogames

Book Review: ‘The Rose Field’ – The Book of Dust Vol. 3 by Philip Pullman—"Knowledge and awareness are two of the most dangerous things for autocrats. The Magisterium are well aware of this..." blogcritics.org/book-review-... @philippullmanreal.bsky.social #hisdarkmaterials #bookreview #books