CD
NEIL YOUNG: CHROME DREAMS II
(Reprise)
Bay Area legend Neil Young’s latest CD proves that he’s still full of curveballs. The title, for instance, alludes to a 1977 album he never released. (Many of its best songs, such as “Pocahontas” and “Powderfinger,” were cannibalized for later records.) He’s included three unreleased tracks from the 1980s, one of which—“Ordinary People,” a raucous 18-minute sprawler—sounds as depressingly topical as it did back then. But the big shocker is the surfeit of spiritual imagery. Young never seemed to embrace a higher power, and he doesn’t, exactly, on this LP. In fact, “The Way” could be perceived as a sly critique of George Bush–style fundamentalism, with its creepy choral vocals and stanzas like, “When faceless and anonymous / Come to beat down your door / And say you’re all washed up and done / You can just say they have nothing in store.” But in “Shining Light” and “The Believer,” Young looks to someone—a lover or a lord—to ease his worried mind; while in “Ever After,” he goes prayin’ amongst the trees. True, there aren’t many musical surprises, as Young oscillates between his usual wistful acoustic numbers and raging, ragged glories. But while it may not be as inspired as his classic ’70s work, this is one of his most compelling records in ages. B+
DAN STRACHOTA

MOVIE
THE KITE RUNNER
(Opens in Bay Area theaters Dec. 14)
Fans of Khaled Hosseini’s still-bestselling 2003 novel—about an Afghan boy who betrays his only friend, escapes to the Bay Area when the USSR invades Afghanistan, and later returns to make amends—have been waiting eagerly to see it brought to life on the big screen. Unfortunately, director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) has created a shallow adaptation for an even more mainstream audience. The first half, centering on the friendship between the spoiled Amir and his young servant, Hassan, races from scene to scene, hardly allowing the last one time to sink in. There are some subtle, telling moments: seeing Amir’s Pashtun playboy father in a dapper striped suit, greeting a woman in a low-cut jersey dress at Amir’s birthday party, is a poignant reminder of Afghanistan’s lost modernity post-Taliban. And when Amir goes back to his country in 2001, we get breathtakingly stark landscapes (western China substituting for Afghanistan) and a tauter story line. But it’s still more photo album than heartfelt narrative. The movie is most alive in the Bay Area scenes—for instance, with the palpable regret and sadness of the displaced generals and businessmen trying to eke out a living at the San Jose swap meet. That’s when you finally feel a little empathy. C
SARAH MUELLER BOSSENBROEK

BOOK
PAULA KAMEN: FINDING IRIS CHANG