431. Bow Wow Wow, When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going (1983) The English band Bow Wow Wow were one of the earliest beneficiaries of the upstart cable network MTV. Bolstered by the distinctive look and cool charisma … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #431 to #429
Who Dies by Sarah Jones As the national tragedy of the the COVID-19 pandemic has amassed miseries, it has also exposed a multitude of flaws in our existing systems. Many of these flaws are basically known to the monied individuals … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Care Divide edition
It started with a promise: Well, it really started with a fan who posted a joking rendition of the Goo Goo Dolls hit in the style of Phoebe Bridgers, catching the eye of the artist herself. Then, on Election Day, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers, “Iris”
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953). Widely credited as the only classic Hollywood film noir directed by a woman, The Hitch-Hiker is a nasty hard knot of a movie. Inspired by a real crime spree that took place across the Western … Continue reading Then Playing — The Hitch-Hiker; Shoes; The Way Back
#7 — Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. So begins Little Women, the novel by Louisa May Alcott that was first published in two installments of 1868 and … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Seven
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello, 2020). In adapting Jack London’s 1909 novel, Martin Eden, director Pietro Marcello moves the action from the U.S. to Italy and nudges forward in time to better capture the tumult of the middle, embattled years of … Continue reading Then Playing — Martin Eden; Sea Fever; The Invisible Man
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. Marvel’s man without fear, the costumed do-gooder known as Daredevil, went … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Daredevil #203 by Steven Grant and Geof Isherwood
434. Brian Eno/David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981) In between making the second and third albums by Talking Heads, David Byrne and Brian Eno took a side trip. Two restless explorers, the Talking Heads frontman and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #434 to #432
Biden Wins Presidency, Ending Four Tumultuous Years Under Trump by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns Truly, how could I lead this post with anything else? This has been a rough, rough week, and it didn’t need to be. A nationwide … Continue reading Outside Reading — There’s Nothing We Can’t Do, If We Do It Together edition
This song shouldn’t still be relevant. When Tracy Chapman made a rare television appearance this week, performing on the eve of Election Day for Late Night with Seth Meyers, she selected a song she wrote over thirty years ago and … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Tracy Chapman, “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution”
