#40 — Coherence (James Ward Byrkit, 2014) Of all the recurring quandaries of modern fiction, one of the most consistently compelling seeks to determine how human beings will handle themselves when everything starts to fall apart. If a couple globe-spanning … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Forty
The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957). It’s like A Star is Born if the venerable tale of showbiz melodrama was overtly based on a true story. Helen Morgan (played by Ann Blyth) was a singer and actress who made … Continue reading Then Playing — The Helen Morgan Story; Cabin in the Sky; Jimmy the Gent
#41 — The Martian (Ridley Scott, 2015) An earnestly ambitious actor, Damon is at his best when he hews closely to his established public persona, that of a mildly doltish yet laudably competent individual. That’s why he was so well-suited … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Forty-One
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. When I showed up at my college radio station, the music was still predominantly played off of … Continue reading Radio Days — CMJ Reviews
536. The Psychedelic Furs, The Psychedelic Furs (1980) When Richard Butler started seriously making music with his brother, Tim, the original band names adopted glancingly referred to the long history of recorded music. First known and RKO and Radio, the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #536 to #533
Land-grab universities by Robert Lee and Tristan Ahtone In an amazing piece of investigative journalism and historical research, Robert Lee and Tristan Ahtone (and a team credited at the end of the article) detail the theft of Indigenous land that … Continue reading Outside Reading — Purloined Pedagogy Premises edition
In the photo, team members for the Chicago-based organization My Block, My Hood, My City are with a truck newly loaded with more than fifty boxes of supplies that will be taken to elderly residents as part of their Senior … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Mavis Staples, “All In It Together”
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. When I was a puffed-up, opinionated kid, I was a purist … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl
Doctor Sleep (Mike Flanagan, 2019). This long-gestated sequel to The Shining is an odd mash-up of Stephen King’s typical narrative tricks and a lavish tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s relentlessly examined 1980 film. Taking place a little more than thirty years … Continue reading Then Playing — Doctor Sleep; On the Basis of Sex; The White Ribbon
#42 — We Are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson, 2013) “Hate the Sport,” the signature song from Sweden’s finest teen punk trio, properly carries the rebellion of rock ‘n’ roll inside it. Written as a direct challenge to the bullying, patriarchal … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Forty-Two
