Flipping through the channels late at night or on a lazy weekend afternoon, you may be lucky enough to come across what my parents called a “coup” movie -  a small, little seen gem, usually some kind of thriller, that can keep you up past midnight or inside on a sunny day. The Small Back Room, premiering on DVD today from The Criterion Collection, is one such coup movie. The creators, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, shared writing, producing and directing credits on a string of expressionistic Technicolor masterpieces through the 1940s and 50’s in Great Britain. After The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, and The Red Shoes, the team turned to this moody, low key war time thriller-cum-character study.  It tells of a physically impaired, self-destructive weapons analyst named Sammy Rice (brilliantly played by David Farrar), who slowly and reluctantly pulls himself together to help the British Army diffuse Nazi bombs dropped on British coastal towns. We’re never sure exactly why Sammy hates himself so much: he has a steady, minorly-important  job leading a loyal band of likeable military research misfits; and a beautiful Army secretary girlfriend who keeps him out of trouble. But he’s a tragic alcoholic, with a metal leg of unknown cause that tortures his body and his mind.  Sammy battles his own worst instincts, the cynical military bureaucracy, and his lust for the bottle, breathlessly reaching a climax that is at once thrilling and spare: Sammy all alone on a shifting, pebble strewn beach, trying to diffuse a booby-trapped bomb ready to go off and give him the out he thinks he longs for.

Hearing Michael Phelps is a University of Michigan student, I was thinking that this would be the first time the “football school” would have a BMOC who doesn’t wear a helmet or is part of the Fab 5. I simply typed in to a Google search: Michael+Phelps+Michigan, and two stories down this 2007 USA Today piece told me that “Phelps enrolled as a student at Michigan — he can't swim for the school because he's a pro — and has taken classes toward a degree in sports management. Last fall, as his training, media and endorsement commitments ramped up, he dropped his courses and for now is a full-time swimmer.” 

But the curious thing was the first entry that appeared in Google’s results was: “Michael Phelps (734) 369-8024 428 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.” I consulted the USA Today article again and read, “He lives on Ann Arbor's main street.”  

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Whoever does building maintenance at The Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood might want to have someone inspect the ceiling and walls for damage. The Faint nearly blew the roof off last week while touring to support new album, Fasciination, released on August 5th. The band, led by the goggle-wearing Todd Fink, hit the crowd with an arsenal of classic tracks as well as plenty of new material. The house rumbled and the balcony above felt like it was going to collapse as fans gyrated to energetic sounds of the electro, synth-pop rockers. When it was all over, the crowd stomped for more. We managed to catch up with lead singer Todd Fink and talk to him about the new album and the future of The Faint. 

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If you’re a Gen Xer or just a fan of Reagan-era music, the Regeneration Tour 2008 is your summer pass to new wave nirvana. Now crisscrossing the country for the remainder of August, Regeneration brings together several classic ‘80s artists—The Human League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Naked Eyes and, on some dates, Flock of Seagulls—and gives each of them about 30-to-45 minutes of stage time to play their greatest hits. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for filler or obscure tracks, which will make those only interested in a nostalgia trip feel, like, totally rad.

This editor—a certified Atari-age wonder—caught the summer tour at the Gibson Theater at Universal Studios near Los Angeles and is still “feeling fascination,” as The Human League might say. I’ll be the first to admit that openers Naked Eyes didn’t need a full 30 minutes to cover their only two U.S. hits—“Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises”—but they still set the tubular tone. ABC had a longer lifespan on American radio, and the largely thirtysomething crowd swayed along as lead singer Martin Fry crooned “Be Near Me,” “The Look of Love” and “When Smokey Sings.” Next up was Go-Go’s vocalist and August 2001 Playboy cover model Belinda Carlisle who is not only looking hot (living in France does the body good) but is sounding stronger and more confident than ever. Belinda doesn’t perform her solo material like “Mad About You” and “Heaven is a Place on Earth” too often in the States anymore, but they worked well balanced with classic Go-Go’s songs like “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “Vacation.” Finishing off the flashback were The Human League, who are officially new wave royalty and have been together in various incarnations since 1977. Lead singer Philip Oakley along with backing vocalists Susan Anne Sulley and Joanne Catherall delivered pitch-perfect renditions of their most memorable hits, including “Human,” “Don’t You Want Me Baby,” “Tell Me When” and “Keep Feeling Fascination.” More importantly, the group seemed completely contemporary with urgent, poignant songs like “Lebanon” and “Seconds” that resonate even more today then when they were released. Moments like these jar nostalgia nuts into remembering that there was sometimes substance behind the music of the Me Generation—something any generation can appreciate.