A decade on, the Coen brothers' woefully underrated
O Brother, Where Art Thou? [alt] is remembered for
a lot of things: its sun-drenched, sepia-rich
cinematography (a pioneer of
digital color grading), its
whimsical humor,
fluid vernacular, and
many subtle references to Homer's
Odyssey. But one part of its legacy truly stands out:
the music.
Assembled by
T-Bone Burnett, the soundtrack is a cornucopia of American folk music, exhibiting everything from
cheery ballads and
angelic hymns to
wistful blues and
chain-gang anthems. Woven into the plot of the film through radio and live performances, the songs lent the story a
heartfelt, homespun feel that echoed its cultural heritage,
a paean and uchronia of the Old South.
Though the multiplatinum album was recently
reissued, the movie's medley is best heard via famed documentarian
D. A. Pennebaker's
Down from the Mountain, an
extraordinary yet
intimate concert film focused on a night of live music by the soundtrack's stars (among them
Gillian Welch,
Emmylou Harris,
Chris Thomas King, bluegrass legend
Dr. Ralph Stanley) and wryly hosted by
John Hartford, an accomplished
fiddler,
riverboat captain, and
raconteur whose struggle with terminal cancer made this his last major performance. The film is free in its entirety on
Hulu and
YouTube -- click inside for individual clips, song links, and breakdowns of
the set list's fascinating history.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 22, 2011 -
107 comments
Popular internet streaming service, Hulu has
announced its long-anticipated premium offering, which will allow users to stream shows to their TVs and iOS devices. The catch? You still have to watch the ads.
posted by schmod
on Jun 29, 2010 -
102 comments
Clicker is a site that collects all available streaming videos, movies and television shows and gathers them all up in one nice neat little bundle for your searching and viewing pleasure.
[more inside]
posted by willmize
on Nov 13, 2009 -
8 comments
Boxee is a free media-center program (currently only for Mac and Linux), that, in addition to playing most multimedia formats, provides a
portal for many popular internet streaming channels. Its interface enabled folks who used Apple Tv, or who had connected their computer to their television, to browse and watch this content much like they would a regular television broadcast. But yesterday, NBC's popular
(in the US) Hulu
announced that it would be pulling its programs from Boxee at the request of its content providers. While the move
puzzled and angered many Boxee users, who pointed out that they still saw the same advertisements that they would see on Hulu's site,
some speculate that the large media companies saw Boxee as a threat to the cable delivery system. In other words, Hulu is for laptops, not for televisions, an auxiliary instead of an alternative to traditional tv.
posted by bibliowench
on Feb 19, 2009 -
77 comments
OPENhulu has copied many of the shows featured on
hulu, the NBC/Fox joint internet television service that is still in closed beta. While it lasts, watch all of
Firefly, the first seasons of
Buffy and
Arrested Development, and the second season of
Heroes. There are also several recent episodes of
The Office,
Family Guy,
House,
30 Rock,
The Simpsons, and more, plus new shows from hulu's list will apparently soon be added. For bonus points, compare the
original Battlestar Galactica to
the new series, or just watch every darn
first season A-Team episode.
posted by blahblahblah
on Dec 17, 2007 -
26 comments
