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. After a few long days of driving, it’s nice to settle into the … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Raquette River Brewing Wicked Felina Mexican Lager
164. Billy Bragg, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry (1986) “I’m a firm believer that by the third album, you have to show some signs of progression,” Billy Bragg said. “With the first couple of LPs, you’re just carving out … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #164 to #162
Pete Seeger outlasted the bastards by John Nichols On the occasion of Pete Seeger receiving well-deserved commemoration on a stamp from the U.S. Postal Service, John Nichols writes a celebratory of appraisal of the folk icon’s enduring legacy. Mostly, as … Continue reading Outside Reading — This Stamp Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender edition
When Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson decided to collaborate, they didn’t treat it as a lark, some mere noodling that might provide a B-side or two. They came up with enough material for a full studio album and recorded it … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Plains, “Problem with It”
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. Paper Girls begins in 1988. It doesn’t stay there. Written by … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
FANTASTIC NEGRITO White Jesus Black Problems (Storefront Records) — Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz has a new story to tell on White Jesus Black Problems, his fifth studio album under the name Fantastic Negrito. Some impromptu examination of his family tree yielded … Continue reading Medium Rotation — White Jesus Black Problems; Big Time
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. The way I remember it is this: We needed a special programming feature that could air at … Continue reading Radio Days — College Lunch Blocks
Red-Headed Woman (Jack Conway, 1932). Of all the pre-Code movies I’ve seen, Red-Headed Woman might be the pre-Codiest. The film’s protagonist, Lil Andrews (Jean Harlow), operates with a level of ruthless amorality that would give the gruffest nineteen-seventies antihero pause … Continue reading Then Playing — Red-Headed Woman; The Sunshine Boys; Very Annie Mary
167. Ramones, End of the Century (1980) “This is the best album we’ve done,” Joey Ramone proclaimed of End of the Century on the eve of its release. “It’s so loud that flies were having heart attacks during the playbacks.” … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #167 to #165
Reality Bit, but She Bit Back. by Jason Zinoman Writing for The New York Times, Jason Zinoman considers the defiantly iconoclastic career of Janeane Garofalo. Although he makes his point in part by conveniently eliding an acting career that’s remained … Continue reading Outside Reading — P.S. and By the Way edition
Coffee for Two 