Chris Willman

Chris Willman

‘One of the Good Ones’ Review: Pasadena Playhouse’s Cross-Cultural Comedy Brings a Norman Lear Sensibility to the Stage

Does “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” count as a genre unto itself, given how many plotlines in the last half-century have relied on the suitor-out-of-water supper guest as a linchpin? That trope seemed to have reached its furthest, most subversive extreme with “Get Out,” but there are still writers who are drawn to the trope […]

Olivia Rodrigo Debuts ‘Obsessed’ Video, Plus Lovestruck New ‘So American’ Track, as Deluxe ‘Guts’ Reaches Fans

Six months after her “Guts” album came out, Olivia Rodrigo is offering fans a refresher, with a new video — for the song “Obsessed” — and a previously unheard track, “So American,” drawing eyes and ears to the “Guts (Spilled)” deluxe edition. Both the music video and the expanded digital version of the album were […]

Angela McCluskey, Singer for the Wild Colonials, Dies at 64

Angela McCluskey, the Scottish-born, L.A.-based frontwoman for the popular ’90s band the Wild Colonials, died Thursday at age 64. The singer died after being in a coma following emergency surgery for an arterial tear. The death was announced in a post on McCluskey’s Instagram account Thursday night. “We are devastated to tell you that our […]

Kacey Musgraves Finds an Alluring Wellspring of Finger-Picking and Hard-Fought Bliss in ‘Deeper Well’: Album Review

The Grammy-winning “Golden Hour” was Kacey Musgraves’ honeymoon album, flush with love and promise in 2018. Its more dramatic followup, 2021’s “Star-Crossed,” turned out to be her divorce album, for most intents and purposes. So what’s a singer-songwriter do for an encore, after having pretty effectively covered the twin poles of serenity and severance? The […]

‘This Is a Film About the Black Keys’ Review: The Duo That Rocks Together Stays Together, Even Amid Escalating Communication Breakdowns

The Black Keys named one of their most popular albums “Brothers,” which seems on the face of it to be a positive statement of purpose and, obviously, fraternalism between the rock duo’s two members, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. But the question remains: what kind of brothers? Like, Oasis’ battling Gallaghers, or some gentler brand […]