Spectrum Culture
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
📤 2021
📥 952
📝 1900
Film, music and book reviews. Proudly based in Portland, OR! www.spectrumculture.com
Nearing 80, pianist Marilyn Crispell is still hungry.
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/j...
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Jason Stein/Marilyn Crispell/Damon Smith/Adam Shead: Live at the Hungry Brain - Spectrum Culture
Crispell has every right to rest on her laurels as one of the most innovative thinkers and technically daring pianists in jazz. But she’s still restless and still going strong, seeking new sounds, pla...
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/jason-stein-marilyn-crispell-damon-smith-adam-shead-live-at-the-hungry-brain-review/
about 6 hours ago
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We are looking for writers to review music, film and/or books. Send us a DM for more info!
about 6 hours ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Bill Cooper
about 6 hours ago
Wrote about Craig Armstrong's Pacific, a conflicting album that some may find too dull and repetitive, whereas others will experience these aspects as cinematically brilliant. Read more on
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
here:
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/c...
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Craig Armstrong: Pacific - Spectrum Culture
Craig Armstrong’s Pacific is a conflicting work—for some, it may be a tedious exercise in repetition, but others will find the piece’s three movements are chock-full of cinematic brilliance.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/craig-armstrong-pacific-review/
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All Waterboys isn't classic Waterboys
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/t...
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The Waterboys: The Waterboys Present: Rips From the Cutting Room Floor - Spectrum Culture
The Waterboys Present: Rips From the Cutting Room Floor contains more scraps of ideas than it does completed pieces, and, as such, is more suited as food for the completist or intense fan than for a c...
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/the-waterboys-the-waterboys-present-rips-from-the-cutting-room-floor-review/
about 7 hours ago
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Have you thought about the Dandy Warhols lately at all?
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/r...
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Revisit: The Dandy Warhols: Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia - Spectrum Culture
At a time when grunge was dying while nu metal and butt rock continued their meteoric rise, the Dandy Warhols made an off-the-wall, countercurrent choice by releasing a throwback ‘70s poppy, feel-good...
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/revisit-the-dandy-warhols-thirteen-tales-from-urban-bohemia/
about 8 hours ago
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A lot of folks loved this film. Our critic didn't. Do you agree with her? (Even a little?)
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No Other Choice - Spectrum Culture
Park Chan-wook employs stylistic tricks to both success and failure in No Other Choice.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/06/no-other-choice-review/
about 8 hours ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Martin Seay
about 9 hours ago
Don’t shleep on Wyatt, y’all
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Today’s vibe:
about 22 hours ago
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Criminally underrated: Robert Wyatt
1 day ago
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@hlllyh.bsky.social
1 day ago
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Scene Report: High on Fire rock with me
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/c...
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Concert Review: High on Fire - Spectrum Culture
High on Fire’s performance was a celebration of the liberatory power of live music, of connection and the transcendent power of the riff.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/concert-review-high-on-fire/
1 day ago
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Kind of Blue Diamond
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/s...
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Song Sung Blue - Spectrum Culture
Both Jackman and Hudson are capable of carrying the dramatic weight of the story, but Song Sung Blue only goes so deep before reverting to playing the hits.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/song-sung-blue-review/
1 day ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Bill Cooper
1 day ago
"Shay Hazan is a talented multi-instrumentalist and producer, but his latest work suffers from too many ideas and a lack of consistency." Read my review on
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
here:
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/s...
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Shay Hazan: When It Rains It Pours - Spectrum Culture
Shay Hazan is a talented multi-instrumentalist and producer, but his latest work suffers from too many ideas and a lack of consistency.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/shay-hazan-when-it-rains-it-pours-review/
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We ranked the Top 10 Albums of 2020 as if they came out today. See what we came up with. Agree? What did we leave out?
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Five Years Later: The Best Music of 2020 - Spectrum Culture
Five years is a long time in the life of an album.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/five-years-later-the-best-music-of-2020/
1 day ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Alan Zilberman
1 day ago
Released one month before Ocean's 11 and The Royal Tenenbaums, David Mamet's HEIST often gets overlooked. But it is a terrific old-school thriller where many seasoned actors are at the height of their seemingly effortless credibility. My
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
case for revisiting it.
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Rediscover: Heist - Spectrum Culture
Heist does not require deep familiarity with Mamet’s work, but it certainly helps: his film is a riff on his repeated themes, so the pleasure is in the variations.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/05/rediscover-heist/
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Scene report: Gogol Bordello shakes Vermont on New Year's Day.
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Concert Review: Gogol Bordello/Puzzled Panther/Genre is Death - Spectrum Culture
By the end of Gogol Bordello’s New Year’s Day show, audience members likely felt that they were part of a greater whole.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/concert-review-gogol-bordello-puzzled-panther-genre-is-death/
2 days ago
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Today’s vibe:
2 days ago
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Folks who grew up in the '90s - what sort of emotional response do you have when you hear Natalie Merchant sing?
2 days ago
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R.E.M. fans! These new reissues sound really, really good.
@remhq.bsky.social
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R.E.M.: Chronic Town/Murmur - Spectrum Culture
These versions were mastered from the very original analog master tapes and are limited to a one-time pressing of 3,000 numbered copies.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/r-e-m-chronic-town-murmur/
2 days ago
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Hollow night: A dark ambient touchstone gets a reissue.
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/r...
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Raison D’être: The Empty Hollow Unfolds – Spectrum Culture
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/raison-detre-the-empty-hollow-unfolds/
2 days ago
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Happy New Year! We're looking for writers to review music, film and/or books. Drop a DM if you want more info!
2 days ago
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Scene Report: Get Som!
spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/c...
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Concert Review: Jay Som – Spectrum Culture
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/concert-review-jay-som/
2 days ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Charles Johnston
2 days ago
2020 was a weird year and the movies released went through a strange prism before they hit us.
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
looks back at the best of the bunch and how they feel now.
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Five Years Later: The Best Films of 2020 - Spectrum Culture
Five years is an eternity in the life of a film.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/five-years-later-the-best-films-of-2020/
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Alan Zilberman
2 days ago
After a holiday break,
@spectrumculture.bsky.social
is back with my Marty Supreme review. I am glad I saw it twice before filing, as there are layers of subtext I missed because I was first reeling from the sheer anxiety nightmare of it all.
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Marty Supreme - Spectrum Culture
Timothée Chalamet has never been better than in this period sports drama from Josh Safdie, an anxiety-fueled nightmare buoyed by a singular cast and rich subtext.
https://spectrumculture.com/2026/01/04/marty-supreme-review/
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Today’s vibe:
3 days ago
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Without looking - how many movies can you name that came out in 2020?
3 days ago
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Keep or ditch?
3 days ago
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Look, it has long been moribund but there is something sad about the shuttering of MTV, especially for someone who came of age in the '80s and '90s. RIP MTV.
4 days ago
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Today’s vibe:
4 days ago
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2025 is the best movie year in a long time.
5 days ago
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We are back with new content on Monday!
5 days ago
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6 days ago
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6 days ago
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The Portland Critics Association announces it year-end awards!!
portlandcritics.com/awards/2025-2/
@portlandcritics.bsky.social
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2025
Best Picture WINNER: One Battle After Another RUNNER-UP: Sinners Best Director WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another RUNNER-UP: Ryan Coogler, Sinners Best Lead Performance WINNERS:…
https://portlandcritics.com/awards/2025-2/
7 days ago
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Sums up 2025
7 days ago
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Today’s vibe:
7 days ago
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Happy New Years to those who celebrate.
7 days ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Mark Harris
9 days ago
A lady in her eighties who lives in my building asked me if she should see Marty Supreme, or as she put it, "the one about the pisher who thinks he's a big shot," and I don't think this movie has anything to teach her that she doesn't already know.
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Paring down collection a bit! Ditch or keep!?
9 days ago
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THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE is everything that HAMNET could/should have been.
10 days ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
I Heart Noise
10 days ago
50+ tickets sold to our Boston gig. Crazy to think about it given how many of our early shows had no one there and/or had people calling me and
@petridisch.bsky.social
clueless idiots.
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Listening to THE '59 SOUND by the Gaslight Anthem is like playing spot-the-influence. Barely a moment goes by without a reference to Springsteen, Waits, even Counting Crows. Who else is in there?
10 days ago
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Today’s vibe:
10 days ago
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Wake Up Dead Man feels like a 2.5 hour episode of Scooby Doo.
11 days ago
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Portland Critics nominations are up! Voting this weekend!
portlandcritics.com/awards/2025-2/
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2025
This year’s nominations are below. Winners will be announced on December 31st. Best Picture Marty Supreme No Other Choice One Battle After Another Sinners Sorry, Baby Train Dreams Best Direct…
https://portlandcritics.com/awards/2025-2/
11 days ago
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Today’s vibe:
11 days ago
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We have openings for writers to review music, film and/or books. Send us a DM for more info!
12 days ago
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My
@themountaingoats.bsky.social
Xmas continues….
13 days ago
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How many other households the same thing? Will help make it through 2026. Thanks
@themountaingoats.bsky.social
13 days ago
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reposted by
Spectrum Culture
Nate Chinen
14 days ago
Nothing better late on Christmas Eve
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