389. New Order, Substance (1987) The moment for the titans of college radio to break on through to the mainstream was at hand, or so it seemed. During the spring of 1987, U2 elbowed their way past the likes of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #389 to #387
Texas Could Have Kept the Lights On by Richard Parker Texas Republicans like to obsessively point out problems at the border, but I have a feeling they’ll remain silent about the state line–related emergency pictures above. The middle of the … Continue reading Outside Reading — Lone Star State of Disaster edition
I don’t it’s accurate to say that my immediate affection for Esther Rose’s new track, “Good Time,” can be chalked up to the fact that the song was reportedly inspired by a long, misfortune-laden road trip that originated in my … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Esther Rose, “Good Time”
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. To the degree that … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Yo La Tengo, “Sugarcube”
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. There have been several previous instances when I enthused about What … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — What If? #35 by Frank Miller
Judas and the Black Messiah is a mightily ambitious undertaking. Directed by Shaka King, the film has the dual focus implied by the title. Judas is Bill O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a petty criminal who’s picked up by the authorities after … Continue reading Now Playing — Judas and the Black Messiah
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. He & She is a sitcom … Continue reading Golden Words — He & She, “The Coming-Out Party”
392. R.E.M., Chronic Town (1982) As the nineteen-eighties dawned, R.E.M. couldn’t get a foothold like their fellow acts in Athens, Georgia. Driven in part by the breakout success the B-52’s enjoyed with their 1979 self-titled debut, there was keen interest … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #392 to #390
The Cosmic Journey of Kacey Musgraves by Alex Morris I feel unkind making this admission: I am intensely excited about the next Kacey Musgraves album because it is being written from a place of heartbreak. Dazzling as her two most … Continue reading Outside Reading — Sturm und Twang edition
Sometimes I can be made to believe that there are bands out there capable of reviving the bristling rock that dominated college radio a couple decades back, before the wonders of technology meant everyone could make lush pop and the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Francis of Delirium, “Let It All Go”
