Sex: the filmmaker's dilemma
The results of the recent presidential election have redrawn the United States map into clusters of red regions (conservative) and blue regions (liberal). If we accept a color-coded America as true, are there also such things as red cinemas, those that show only the most popular, moneymaking films, and blue cinemas, those with a diverse calendar of movies?

Ask any American filmmaker about the state of things -- meaning the climate of the surrounding world receiving their films -- and they'll point to a society more conservative than they could ever imagine. The filmmaker's dilemma is this: Can you tell the adult story you want, one with kisses and embraces, betrayals and tears? And if you do, will anyone have the chance to see it?

Talk about moral values makes the subject of sex in the movies all the more significant. People used to go to the movies to get turned on. Stripped of so much erotic content, the sexiness of movie watching is in crisis. (Steve Ramos)

The year in music, 2004-style
When we remember this year in music generations from now, the one word that will instantly jump to everyone's mind is "Crunk."

Yes, Crunk -- the rowdy, over-the-top brand of Rap characterized by sizzled beats, boisterous shouts, a Lil Jon cameo and rhetorical questions ("What?!") -- was the token, one-word musical genre that exploded in 2004, like "Screamo" last year and "Grunge" all those years ago.

OK, so, despite being the crunkiest year ever, 2004 did have a lot of other things going on, though trends and touchstone moments were fleeting. Despite being broken up for quite a while, Talking Heads deserve to be "Band of the Year" for their broad influence on breakthrough "Indie" bands like Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, The Arcade Fire and even the Indie/Dance sound that continues to emerge. David Byrne is owed some serious royalties for the success of "Float On" and "Take Me Out" alone. No coincidence that the re-issue of the old-school live album, The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, was one of the best releases of the year.

Mainstream popular music seemed to be mired in insignificance and controversy. From boob flashing to lip syncing, the Pop twits provided Extra and Entertainment Tonight with fodder for a lifetime. But back to actual music, 2004 was a banner year for some vets (Loretta Lynn and Brian Wilson, to name a couple), while underground music thrived with the unexpected but welcome rise of experimental "Noise" music (Wolf Eyes, Animal Collective, Lightning Bolt), the eccentric acoustic movement (Devendra Banhart, the Moldy Peaches kids) and dynamic and adventurous Electronica. Kanye West became one of Hip Hop first "socially conscious" superstars, though, by year's end, some were questioning if it was his "social concious" that came up with the lyrics on his breakthrough release (rumors swirl that the album was largely ghost-written). And iPods became omnipresent, putting the future of record stores in serious doubt. When you can't physically hold a new release in your hands, the value of music decreases inherently.

On the local front, it was a stellar year for local CD releases. Culture Queer, The Wolverton Brothers, Big Joe Duskin, Baoku Moses and several others released albums that bested much of what the national acts spewed forth. But local music also suffered from the loss of some longtime supporters (independent radio station WOXY left the terrestrial airwaves and Enquirer music critic Larry Nager lost his gig at the daily newspaper), plus a few key bands and venues. But rebalance that with things like the MidPoint Music Festival, the Cincy Blues Fest and the Rivertown Breakdown concert and all is right in the local music universe.

Much of this is covered in the following pages. We asked our music staff (and a few musician friends) to do Top 10 lists again this year, but, in a somewhat mediocre year for national releases (and to stir the pot a little), we encouraged everyone to not limit themselves to just the top albums. So what you get is a broad representation of what happened in 2004, from concerts you missed to losses we'll all miss to recordings you should have heard. A little silly, a little insightful, a lot of fun. And absolutely, 100-percent Crunk-free! Enjoy. (Mike Breen)