For Lily and Generoso, 2023 was a fantastic year at the cinema! They select and review their ten favorite films, six supplemental features, and one extraordinary repertory release seen at microcinemas, archives, and festivals.

Night Owls (Wicked Cool Records). Review by Steven Cruse.

The hidden gem of the French New Wave, Le Combat Dans L’île gets a lovely Blu-ray from Radiance Films.

This fall, Ani DiFranco brought new Righteous Babe labelmate Kristen Ford to Iowa City, where Jeremy Glazier enjoyed an incredible evening of artistry.

This week Christopher Long grabs a bag of bargain vinyl from a flea market in Mount Dora, Florida — including You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, the classic 1979 LP from Ian Hunter.

Bob Pomeroy gets into four Radio Rarities from producer Zev Feldman for Record Store Day with great jazz recordings from Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Cal Tjader, and Ahmad Jamal.

Bob Pomeroy digs into Un “Sung Stories” (1986, Liberation Hall), Blasters’ frontman Phil Alvin’s American Roots collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and New Orleans saxman Lee Allen.

Roi J. Tamkin reviews A Darker Shade of Noir, fifteen new stories from women writers completely familiar with the horrors of owning a body in a patriarchal society, edited by Joyce Carol Oates.

Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters (Liberation Hall). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Feeling funky this week, Christopher Long gets his groove on while discovering a well-cared-for used vinyl copy of one of his all-time R&B faves: Ice Cream Castle, the classic 1984 LP from The Time, for just a couple of bucks.

During AFI Fest 2023, Lily and Generoso interviewed director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, whose impressive debut feature, City of Wind, carefully examines the juxtaposition between the identity of place and tradition against the powers of modernity in contemporary Mongolia.

Bombay Rickey (Cowboys and Indian). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO (American Laundromat Records). Review by Laura Pontillo.

Grit & Grace (Sunnyside). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Bring Back the Weekend (Pirate Press Records). Review by Bob Pomeroy.

Ever-focused on finding (affordable) vinyl treasures, Christopher Long returns this week with his latest gem — a reasonably well-cared-for LP copy of The Glow, the 1979 studio classic from Bonnie Raitt.

Sonic Mojo (Foghat Records). Review by Christopher Long.

Carl F. Gauze reviews The Spider Queen at Fringe Art Space.

Since 2015, Lily and Generoso have reviewed the offerings from the American Film Institute’s annual festival. With AFI Fest 2023 in the books, they are here to present their top ten favorite features from this year’s impressive slate of 140 films!

Art Dealers (Missing Piece). Review by Joe Frietze.