Recommendations and reviews written for Alter-Na’Zine between 2001 and 2003: records, films, books, and periodicals worth your attention, chosen for what they have to say rather than how they sold.
Manufacturing Consent: Thought Control In A Democratic Society, and Necessary Illusions (Two VHS videotapes totaling 3-1/2 hours) One of the most profoundly intellectual films…
Mindwalk (VHS videotape 1:52) MINDWALK is a wonderful stroll for anyone who has struggled to bridge the apparent intellectual chasms between Science/Industry, Art/Philosophy and…
KOYAANISQATSI (VHS videotape 1:27)Can you imagine a film which tells a deep, far-ranging and powerfully compelling story, rich in metaphor and pogniant commentary, using…
Cirque Du Soleil "Nouvelle Experience"(VHS videotape 1:12) For the non-French speaker, Cirque Du Soleil translates as "Circus of the Sun", while Nouvelle Experience…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH Rage Against The Machine: "Rage Against The Machine" Check out the critically-acclaimed 1995 debut CD which pioneered the rock-rap…
The (Truly) Alternative Press A Sampling of Periodicals Which Dare To Challenge The Status Quo With nine massive transnational corporations owning over 90% of…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH The Eagles, "Hotel California" One of the best albums of the 1970's, "Hotel California" combines beautiful melodies, rich harmonies,…
ADBUSTERS! "Culture Jammers" creating Un-commericials and Design Anarchy With nine massive transnational corporations owning over 90% of all media distribution world-wide, we should expect…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon" Billboard magazine is THE word on the music business: What is being…
Bob Roberts Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon Bite The Hands That Feed Us Bull Like most politicians, Bob Roberts is a figment of our…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH Genesis, "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" In 1974, amidst massive economic recession and post-Vietnam depression, 5 well-educated…
Bulworth Warren Beatty'sterminally hipSenatorialcomedy noir Warren Beatty writes, directs, produces and stars in this insightful yet hilariously entertaining movie (1999) which portrays the fantasy…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH Radiohead: "OK Computer" If you were LUCKY enough (in 1997) to be THE TOURIST who was CLIMBING UP…
Life of Brian Another Gem from Britain's 'Monty Python' Troupe On a cold, starry night in Bethlehem just more than 2,000 years ago, in…
MUSIC TIP OF THE MONTH YES: "The Revealing Science of God" The art-rock group YES released their "Tales from Topographic Oceans" album…
Toward The WithinDead Can Dance Live In Concert According to founding members Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, "Dead Can Dance" was thus named for…
BOOK TIP OF THE MONTH Fritjof Capra: "The Tao of Physics" The very title of physicist Fritjof Capra's book, "The Tao of Physics", begs…
The Princess Bride An 'Instant Classic' by Rob Reiner Alter-Nation is about nothing if it is not about love! So this month we are…
MUSICAL TIP OF THE MONTH Miles Davis: "Kind of Blue" Stroll into a New York jazz club in 1958, just before you are…
Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner take us on... The Search for Signsof Intelligent Life in the Universe "Tour de Force" is a term often…
MUSICAL THEATER TIP OF THE MONTH Philip Glass, David Henry Hwang & Jerome Sirlin 1000 Airplanes on the Roof The music of Philip…
Independant film-maker John Sayles' "City of Hope" & "Men With Guns" Schenectady, New York, native John Sayles, has compiled an impressively prolific…
BOOKWORM TIP OF THE MONTH John Robbins' "Diet For A New America" John Robbins' 1987 classic, "Diet For A New America", was indeed nominated…
BOOKWORM TIP OF THE MONTH John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" is a classic so 'What are you waiting for?'…
"Billions for the Bankers, Debts for the People" If this 40-page booklet doesn't wake you up and make you angry then check your pulse,…
MULTIMEDIA BONUS Pink Floyd and Alan Parker: "The Wall" "The Wall", an introspective tapestry woven from colorful threads of social commentary by Pink Floyd's…
Two Classic Books by George Orwell "1984"and"Animal Farm" If you read Orwell's classics years ago then they are well worth another reading... and if…
MUSICAL BONUS Elton John, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) is not only the definitive work of Elton John's long musical…
The Awesome Animation and Ideas of "Waking Life" Waking Life is the hippest, most intellectual and mind-expanding animated film ever created. Fortunately, for those…
MUSICAL BONUS Marillion - "Misplaced Childhood" In the grand (yet grossly under-utilized) tradition of rock opera, this now-defunct Scottish band specialized in concept albums.…
"Chinatown" In Los Angeles' Chinatown, circa 1940, you can hide anything... even depravity which would still be shocking today. Thus it was, and is,…
"The Songlines" Bruce Chatwin mixes equal parts anthropology, real-life adventurer and captivating storytelling in this compelling exploration of the fascinating culture of Australia's Aboriginals.…
"The World's Wasted Wealth 2" Since this book shares the same initials ("WWW") as those associated with the recently imploded stock values of the…
Michelangelo's"Slaves" Michelangelo (circa 1500), sculptor, painter, architect and poet, is perhaps the most prolific and renowned artist of all Western history. He was also,…