ARTS

Kaleidoscope


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Published: Apr 13, 2010

graphic novel

We're not gonna lie: We like Joe Boruchow's black-and-white paper cutouts depicting the Eagles, Mayor Nutter and local cops partly because they're set in Philly. So what? (Isn't that why you watch M. Night Shyamalan movies?) If the Philly thing ever gets old, though, Boruchow's got plenty of talent and wit to keep us smitten. He's throwing a free party for his new graphic novel, Stuffed Animals: A Story in Paper Cutouts , tonight at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (1020 South St., philadelphiasmagicgardens.org). Course, it'll feature Philly-themed music and a Philly-themed slideshow.

—Holly Otterbein

book

When it comes to guidance, there's probably nothing less helpful than You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice (Vintage). Michael Cera, Jim Gaffigan, Samantha Bee, Bob Odenkirk, Lizz Winstead — these people have nothing useful to tell you (or the advice-seekers who supposedly wrote to them) about how to live. But, for a bathroom book, it's pretty damn funny.

—Patrick Rapa

record keeping

Things to do on Record Store Day (Sat., April 17): Head to Manayunk's Main Street Music and catch emergent Brooklyn-via-D.C. electro rock combo Exit Clov. They put out the Coverboy 7" specifically for the occasion, and it's got a killer rendition of Devo's "Mongoloid." Follow them to Johnny Brenda's, and buy some T-shirts from delightfully heady psych dudes The Armchairs, who open — they need funds to get their debut LP, Science and Advice, out on the racks. And stick around for Pepi Ginsberg. Have you heard the Philly expat/current Brooklynite's husky, heartrending "Coca Cola" from this year's East is East? In another generation, it would have been a top-selling soul platter.

—John Vettese

album

With Bowie and Jackson Browne covers already in the Mates of State catalog, you know the synth-pop duo likes to pay tribute to its idols. But what makes their brand-new, self-recorded Crushes (Barsuk) so fresh is how many times they cover their working peers: Vashti Bunyan, Death Cab, Dear Nora, Belle & Sebastian. Their version of "Laura" by Girls translates so slickly to the Mates' keys+beats+twizzlering voices, you'd swear it was there to begin with.