As Ryan Gosling blasts into theaters as Neil Armstrong, I’ll take advantage of this space to look back to when he was still venturing on occasion into a different kind of character role. I think this might still represent his … Continue reading From the Archive — Lars and the Real Girl
Thirty years ago, in 1988. Fairground Attraction released their debut album, The First of a Million Kisses. The band hailed from the U.K., where they managed to top the charts with the very first single they released, the aptly titled … Continue reading One for Friday — Fairground Attraction, “Perfect”
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. As much as I’m … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Jake Johannsen, in 1989
I haven’t dug into any interviews with Tamara Jenkins to learn the insider story of why over a decade passed between her last film and her latest, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find the reason serves as … Continue reading Now Playing — Private Life
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. I am a mediocre beer hunter. Much as I value expertly brewed concoctions, I am highly limited in my ability to keep all the revered and coveted craft beer offerings in my head so I can make expert selections at remote liquor stores. Confronted by walls of strangers, I grab with almost random recklessness, stocking up with no assurance that I’m doing so wisely. At any given point, I’m likely to pass up … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Zero Gravity Craft Brewery Keller Dry-Hopped Lager
It is now almost quaint to think of A Star is Born as a signature example of Hollywood’s tendency to repeat itself, and yet that’s exactly the status bestowed upon the showbiz tale by the time Barbra Streisand and Kris … Continue reading Now Playing — A Star is Born
848. The Fall, This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985) Although the classic college rock era covered by this particular Countdown partially tracks the journey from outsider obscurity to a wary mainstream for several artists — and, to a degree, the whole … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #848 to #845
I’m always pleased when I discover something in one of these old reviews that carbon dates it to the era in which is was written. I think the reference to Blockbuster in the lengthy opening paragraph accomplishes that feat nicely. … Continue reading From the Archive — The Savages
Thirty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, Huxton Creepers released the album Keep to the Beat. It was the second full-length release for the Australian band, and the alternate title used in their homeland developed a running joke. The … Continue reading One for Friday — Huxton Creepers,”This Day is Mine”
It’s no shock that first Jennifer Egan book I read was A Visit from the Goon Squad. Her previous three novels had their fans, of course, but Goon Squad was something of a sensation, a must-read even before it won … Continue reading My Writers — Jennifer Egan
Coffee for Two 