Well before I ever set foot in the city of New Orleans, impressions about its rough, spooky charms were set for me. Movies fed my notions, but a more significant part of the mural was colored in by music. Since … Continue reading One for Friday — Concrete Blonde, “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)”
The premiere episode of Treme begins with white words on a black screen. First, they establish that the series takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then comes the critical information about timing: “Three Months After.” The event that took place … Continue reading That Championship Season — Treme, Season One
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. Johnny Rivers was born in New York … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Muddy River” and “Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)
“Lila Mae removed the two suitcases from the back of the pickup truck. The suitcases were new, with a formidable casing of green plastic. Scratchproof, supposedly. Her father had only been able to afford them because they were, manufacturer’s oaths … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
For the first time in more years than is at all reasonable, I feel like I watched an Oscar telecast that wasn’t constructed by people who were embarrassed about the very concept of the storied ceremony they presided over. That … Continue reading Oscars Gonna Oscar
972. Dave Edmunds, Twangin… (1981) Dave Edmunds was already a longterm veteran of the pop music salt mines when he delivered Twangin…, his sixth proper solo album and one more paver stone in a path of rock ‘n’ roll proselytizing that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #972 to #969
In the corner of the multiverse where I preside over the Academy Awards like a benevolent despot, every one of the performers pictured above received an acting nomination for their roles in No Country for Old Men. Also, Seth MacFarlane … Continue reading From The Archive — My Ballot, 2007
When it came time to hand out Oscar nominations for the 1988 movie year, Academy members were so dismayed by the compositions eligible for the Best Original Song category that they reduced the number of contenders by forty percent. Only … Continue reading One for Friday — Rachel Sweet, “Hairspray”
Now I’ve completed the process of listing my ten best films of the cinematic year not-so-recently-completed, I have one more bit of annual business to take care ahead of this Sunday’s trophy ceremony. As usual, I share the Actors Branch … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or Bird is the Word
As filmmaking — U.S. filmmaking, anyway — becomes more and more entrenched in an era of high-concept spectacle, in which every new offering must have a big, shimmering storytelling hook, Greta Gerwig’s debut as the solely credited director offers the … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number One
Coffee for Two 