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’m quick to heap scorn upon those who ignore the time-tested adage “Life’s … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Blatz
Sleuth (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1972). This first film version of Anthony Shaffer’s play made it to screens a mere two years after the original work’s New York premiere. Given the cunning narrative duplicity at work in the story, it’s no wonder there was a rush to adapt it before the many secrets contained therein could ripple too far from the theatrical community. But deceptions that work onstage don’t necessarily bear up to the closer scrutiny of the camera, and that itself can intrude upon the necessary suspension of disbelief given the characters are able to investigate with even greater intimacy. … Continue reading Cromwell, Helgeland, LeRoy, Lupino, Mankiewicz
19. That Petrol Emotion, End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues In my memory, End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues sounds a little different. That’s because I have one particular track off the album that I faultily use to define the … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 19
There was talk about a Sin City sequel after from the very moment of its release. Much as I loved the original film, I never thought returning to the stylized world was a good idea. I’m somewhat surprised anyone still maintained there was any wisdom in the idea after Frank Miller delivered a colossal bomb with the de facto sequel found in his official directing debut, the film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. This piece was included in my year-end countdown after I’d started writing film reviews again at my original online home. As the first sentence notes, I … Continue reading From the Archive: Sin City
I have my prejudices when it comes to music. For one thing, I’ve long resisted any reunions of bands, even those who I once loved. I still stand by my aversion in many cases, especially in those instances when the reunion is basically in name only. I’m not quite sure why anyone musters up overt excitement about what is essentially a new Frank Black solo album just because he’s worked it out to stamp the name “Pixies” on the front. There are plenty of instances where bands have gotten back together for drab efforts after solo projects and spinoff bands … Continue reading One for Friday: The Go-Betweens, “Surfing Magazines”
It has been this sort of week: I haven’t figured out if I’m the kid or the dragon yet. Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Continue reading Programming Note
These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. This is what Billboard wrote about Kay Starr’s “Second Fiddle” upon its release in May of 1956: “Miss Starr renders a poignant ballad in a warm and fetching style. The tune itself has much of the of ‘Tennessee Waltz’ and ‘Rock and Roll Waltz,’ and figures to be a highly successful follow-up to the latter.” “The Rock and Roll Waltz” (which sounds like … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Second Fiddle”
#20 — The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) There are gateway films for everyone, those features that unlock something inside that inspires a previously absent appreciation for, say, foreign cinema or art house fare. I can’t actually pinpoint what opened … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 50s — Number Twenty
Fifty-fourth in a series… (Via) Continue reading But Jesus hurt me when He deserted me
20. Joy Division, Substance In the fall of 1987, New Order released a compilation entitled Substance. Designed as a collection of all of the band’s singles up to that point, including the B-sides, the album served as a means for the band to provide greater distribution for some tracks that were fairly hard to get, especially on this side of the Atlantic. It also provided an opportunity for some light revisionism, with the band remixing or even full-on rerecording several of the songs, making the album a different sort of “greatest hits” release. It wasn’t merely an appraisal of who … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 20
Coffee for Two 