Programming Note
As must happen from time to time, I’m going to briefly step away from my self-set obligation to sling new words at my little corner of the digital world on a daily basis. We’ll turn the lights down here until Sunday, when the College Countdown brings us back to grind. Continue reading Programming Note
Outside Reading — Deep Normalcy Inflected By Sharp Stabs of Strangeness edition
The Shapeshifter by Sam Anderson I played music from a multitude of artists during my long-ago tenure as a student programmer in college radio. Many of those performers were clearly talented, and developed their gifts with commitment and craft. Those … Continue reading Outside Reading — Deep Normalcy Inflected By Sharp Stabs of Strangeness edition
Beers I Have Known — Toppling Waters Barrel-Aged Stout
This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. When I moved back to the Upper Midwest, there were several breweries I … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Toppling Waters Barrel-Aged Stout
Then Playing — The Ascent; Love Field; Dune
The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko, 1977). The fourth and final feature from Soviet director Larisa Shepitko is a powerhouse drama set during World War II. After Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) are dispatched from their unit to seek desperately … Continue reading Then Playing — The Ascent; Love Field; Dune
Outside Reading — A Record Record Record? edition
Pure Nostalgia: The Oral History of ‘That Thing You Do!’ by Jake Kring-Schreifels Jake Kring-Schreifels draws a dream assignment: gathering reminiscences about Tom Hanks’s directorial debut, That Thing You Do! The considerable charm of the feature comes through in the … Continue reading Outside Reading — A Record Record Record? edition
My Misspent Youth — Wednesday Comics: Wonder Woman by Ben Caldwell
I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. At a time when comic books from the major two publishers … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Wednesday Comics: Wonder Woman by Ben Caldwell
Radio Days — Rediscovering the Jazz Butcher
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. There are many enormous pleasures to returning with some frequency to my college radio alma mater to … Continue reading Radio Days — Rediscovering the Jazz Butcher
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “I Need to Know”
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “I Need to Know”
The Art of the Sell — That Thing You Do trailer
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. For a few weeks in the late summer and early fall of 1996, nothing made me happier … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — That Thing You Do trailer
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #293 to #291
293. Cocteau Twins, Blue Bell Knoll (1988) After Cocteau Twins were given their U.S. coming-out party with the release of the 1985 compilation The Pink Opaque, fans had to wait a long time for a proper new studio album from … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #293 to #291
