When I delved in devotedly to superhero sagas, many Marvel Comics Calendars ago, it was generally understood that the publisher of Spider-Man’s super stories was able to maintain a more coherent continuity because they hadn’t tinkered around in alternate universes … Continue reading Now Playing — Spider-Man: No Way Home
257. Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes (1983) The beloved legend isn’t quite true. The story goes that Violent Femmes were propelled to a record deal and national cult hero status when a lucky break came their way while they were busking … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #257 to #255
JOAN DIDION WAS OUR BARD OF DISENCHANTMENT by Megan Garber The piece linked above is published by The Atlantic. The rest of this space is ceded to Joan Didion’s words. Continue reading Outside Reading — Let Her Tell You What She Means edition
I’m not quite sure how the cultural tectonic plates shifted enough to make an LCD Soundsystem holiday special a viable endeavor for corporate investment, but here we are. A portion of the act’s yuletide cheer was delivered as the gleaming … Continue reading This Week’s Model — LCD Soundsystem, “Christmas Will Break Your Heart”
Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. It is clear to … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Carrot in a Box
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. From the network’s nineteen-eighties heyday into the first few years of the nineteen-nineties, MTV made stars in … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — The Ref teaser trailer
I was skeptical about Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. That was probably unwise. Although he has his fair share of missteps in his filmography, Spielberg has an almost unparalleled mastery of the traditional film narrative structure, and the famed musical … Continue reading Now Playing — West Side Story
Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman, 2021). Written and directed by Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby locks its gaze on Danielle (Rachel Sennott), an emotionally careening college student whose various tribulations converge at a shiva observance she attends with her parents (Polly Draper … Continue reading Then Playing — Shiva Baby; The Velvet Underground; Nightmare Alley
260. David Bowie, Scary Monsters (1980) As the nineteen-eighties dawned, David Bowie was arguably the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll artiste. Bowie was coming off a trio of studio albums — Low, “Heroes,” and Lodger, which he had taken to referring … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #260 to #258
What’s in a Name? If It’s Omicron, a Minor Marketing Challenge. by Shane O’Neill Writing for The New York Times, Shane O’Neil offers a wry survey of the various businesses and organizations that have run into headaches as COVID-19 variant … Continue reading Outside Reading — I Am Lrrr, Ruler of the Planet Omicron Persei 8
Coffee for Two 