#10 — Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016) Part of the progression of cinema during the twenty-tens involved an ongoing discussion — and corresponding recalibration — of who gets to tell which stories. Cultural appropriation wasn’t an entirely novel concept ahead of the … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Ten
Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson, 2016). A reminiscence in the form of a cinematic scrapbook, Kristen Johnson assembles footage that represents her work across a couple decades as a cinematographer for documentaries. Less a greatest-hits clip show than a procession of moments … Continue reading Then Playing — Cameraperson, Wild Rose, Women Who Loved Cinema
446. Neil Young, Trans (1982) Neil Young was living through a strange time in the early nineteen-eighties, so it makes sense that he made some strange records. A cranky iconoclast often misconstrued as a folksy troubadour, Young simultaneously came upon … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #446 to #444
Voter Fraud Is a Right-Wing Fiction by John Nichols It can’t be put much plainer — or more accurately — than it is in the headline to this article by John Nichols, published by The Nation. The cheap hand-wringing of … Continue reading Outside Reading — Postmarked Democracy edition
“Stupid boys with broken hearts/ Love to watch you fall apart” is a pretty irresistible chorus, especially when delivered with the bright brio Bleached bring to their songs as a default. There are more tumultuous undercurrents to the sentiment, though. … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bleached, “Stupid Boys”
#11 — Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik, 2010) In the society where Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) grew up and still persists, the rules are tricky and unyielding. Ree is a teenager residing in the Ozarks. Family woes mean she is charged … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Eleven
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. Look, there are reasons to be happy that it’s fall. Previous entries in … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — New Glarus Brewing Co. Staghorn Octoberfest
Dick Johnson made his movie debut in Cameraperson, the exceptional documentary directed by his daughter, Kirsten Johnson. The earlier feature is a memoir rendered through spare footage, mostly material Johnson shoot in her capacity as a cinematographer on dozens of … Continue reading Now Playing — Dick Johnson is Dead
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. The Kinks always felt like the underdogs … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” and “Do It Again”
449. The Allman Brothers Band, Enlightened Rogues (1979) Enlightened Rogues is one of the clearest examples in nineteen-seventies rock of a band rising from the ashes of their own self-destruction. The infighting after the Allman Brothers Band’s 1975 album Win, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #449 to #447
