218. Golden Palominos, Visions of Excess (1985) “Everybody on the record is a favorite musician of mine, and they also happen to be my friends” Anton Fier said of the fluctuating Golden Palominos lineup on the album Visions of Excess. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #218 to #216
The Story Behind That Photo of Ketanji Brown Jackson and Her Daughter by Gina Cherelus In the interest of focusing on the positive, I am setting aside the instinct to engage with arguments made in bad faith to instead celebrate … Continue reading Outside Reading — Through Sarahbeth Maney’s Lens edition
When the COVID-19 pandemic roared into destructive dominance in the spring of 2020, there was a lot of discussion online and elsewhere of the way it was upended the music industry. When venues shut down and acts couldn’t tour or … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Adia Victoria, “Ain’t Killed Me Yet”
We come to another tradition of mine. The last day before the Oscars that isn’t claimed by other recurring business, I offer the names that I would have scratched out on an Actors Branch nominating ballot had I the privilege … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or Tick, Tick… Nom!
A middle-aged person who’s thoroughly accustomed to their life of relative solitude is called upon, briefly or maybe for an indeterminate period of time, to caretake a child. That’s the animating premise of countless movies, and it is the basic … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2021 — Number One
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson could have made a straightforward concert film with the footage he was given, and the finished product could have still been one of the highlights of the cinematic year. With hours upon hours of footage from the … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2021 — Number Two
Writer-director Ti West has a clear, abiding affection for bygone eras when certain film genres were afforded the space to exist in their own dark ecosystem. He is an expert explicator of templates and tropes, slyly operating on the borderline … Continue reading Now Playing — X
221. UB40, Labour of Love (1983) “The area we all come from is a slum — southeast Birmingham,” UB40 guitarist Robin Campbell told Spin in 1985. “The farther out you get from the city, the nicer it gets. But towards … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #221 to #219
I Know What It’s Like to Be a Florida Teen Who Can’t Say Gay. I Was One by Kristen Arnett This is an entirely appropriate response to the hideous, hateful Florida law that effectively bars the acknowledgement of anyone who … Continue reading Outside Reading — Unsaid edition
Following up last year’s splendid attention-getter “Silk Chiffon” is no small task. MUNA is up to it, though. On the trio’s new single, “Anything But Me,” they tap into that sweet vein of Haimian pop, all eighties-sunshine gleam. It’s a … Continue reading This Week’s Model — MUNA, “Anything But Me”
Coffee for Two 