Stories by Elliot Alpern
Elliot Alpern: The alternative to obscurity
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
My interests reside with the normally unsung alternative hits, the catchy-yet-overlooked successes that rarely crack the highest 50 on the Billboard 200, and almost never the Top 10.
Music Video Review: The Lumineers light up SNL with 'Ho Hey'
- Dualtone
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
The complete takeaway of the Lumineers’ performance of “Ho Hey” this past night could be appropriately summed up in one word: deceptive.
Elliot Alpern: Unsung heroes of 2012
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
The Daily’s “Best Of” edition in the B-side has come and gone, and with it our official judgment of this year’s musical harvest. In the future, we’ll look back on our top-10 list as a snapshot of our collective perception of the music industry at large, wondering why some were ever favored and others were never picked.
Notebook: Kendrick Lamar pens a Compton tragedy
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
The lines could’ve appropriately fallen on the lips of many of literature’s classic characters: Hamlet, contemplating the nature of destiny, or Romeo petitioning for fortune.
Elliot Alpern: TV theme songs bring the personality
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
Throughout history, TV show theme songs have themselves become representative of the respective shows. One cannot simply think of “Happy Days” and resist the ditty from creeping into their thoughts — “Sunday, Monday, happy days!”
Elliot Alpern: Lamenting the loss of a physical collection
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
Ironically, the tragedy in the absence of physical music isn’t the lack of physical copies, so much as the lack of physical collections. I admit that mobile libraries are vastly superior; there’s no question — I just have a soft spot for the once-treasured “record collection.”
Trailer Review: Where are the zombies in 'World War Z'?
- Paramount
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
Unfortunately, “World War Z” suffers from a fairly predictable flaw that may doom the entire movie. As the clips continue, and we see civilization overrun with fast, speedy zombies, a concern grows: What do the zombies even look like?
Single Review: 'Global Concepts' different enough to change perceptions
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
Along came “Global Concepts,” Robert DeLong’s first single off his first ever EP. The song begins modestly, seemingly an intro to a catchy, upbeat alternative hit.
Elliot Alpern: When does someone sell out?
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
We throw around the term “selling out” as if it’s not just a label, but an eventuality — that all good music must come to rest in the graveyard of mainstream compromise. If you have an artist that’s still making great music, you better enjoy the few years you have left, before the “sell-out” expiration date makes the music go stale and bland.
Step into the Salon: Is 'Bride' marriage of humor and nostalgia?
- 20th Century Fox
BY ELLIOT ALPERN
"The Princess Bride" is almost universally adored; of that, there is no argument. But two writers wonder about the cause of that — be it storytelling, nostalgia or comedy — and debate if "The Princess Bride" is truly a classic piece of cinema.
