Thirty years ago, in the late summer of 1988, Sam Phillips released her debut album, The Indescribable Wow. That’s an accurate statement and yet not entirely true. Under her given name of Leslie Phillips, she released a series of albums … Continue reading One for Friday — Sam Phillips, “I Don’t Want to Fall in Love”
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 younger, so much younger than today, I … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Mockingbird by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemcyk
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. In between answering to Steven Demetre Georgiou … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Banapple Gas”
Mitski’s new album, Be the Cowboy, is the white flowers that freckle up on scorched earth. It is beauty and anger and disappointment and resilience. It is a tremor that signals life in a wounded form. It is a mural … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Be the Cowboy
Crime of Passion (Gerd Oswald, 1957). This sordid little number casts Barbara Stanwyck as Kathy Ferguson, a San Francisco advice columnist who abandons her career after falling love with and marrying a Los Angeles police lieutenant (Sterling Hayden). It turns … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Crime of Passion; They Live By Night; The V.I.P.s
860. Faith No More, Introduce Yourself (1987) Faith No More formed in San Francisco in the mid-nineteen-eighties, essentially as an offshoot of another group called Faith No Man. Three of the band members jumped ship and gave their new outfit … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #860 to #857
On the occasion of Nicole Holofcener’s latest film making its debut in theaters and on Netflix this weekend, I’ll reach back to the review I wrote of her third feature. Friends with Money is arguably the writer-director’s weakest film, and … Continue reading From the Archive — Friends with Money
Thirty years ago, in 1988, the Sicilian Vespers released their self-titled debut LP. Comprised of Pittsburgh brothers David and Francis Rifugiato, the band delivered bouncily jagged punk pop music with notably off-kilter lead vocals. I take great delight in imagining … Continue reading One for Friday — The Sicilian Vespers, “Baccala”
Before Raising Hope, Greg Garcia was the credited creator or co-creator on two series that had multi-season runs. Yes, Dear was a CBS family sitcom that was painfully conventional. Accordingly, it was a clear commercial success, running six seasons and … Continue reading That Championship Season — Raising Hope, Season Three
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. Taxi, season 4, episode 20: “Elegant … Continue reading Golden Words — “Elegant Iggy”
Coffee for Two 