82. Phish, Billy Breathes Honestly, I’m surprised this one isn’t higher. It’s not that I remember 90FM as having a particularly strong jam band bent back in the day (although, there was a fairly unfortunate early championing of the Spin … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 82 and 81
After the previous week’s logjam of reviews, I only had one piece go up at Spectrum Culture since the last “Spectrum Check.” Luckily, it was for a very good film, easily one of the best of the year thus far. Gimme the Loot is an exceptional feature debut from writer-director Adam Leon. I intentionally decided to avoid comparisons in the review, but I will note that I kept thinking it was exactly the sort of film Spike Lee might have made had he decided to follow his own debut, She’s Gotta Have It, by doggedly pursuing authenticity rather than opting … Continue reading Spectrum Check
I’m going to break one of my chief rules for One for Friday today, so let’s start with a modified version of the regular disclaimer. The track I post today seems to be available for purchase as a physical item, although its unlikely to be stocked as a matter of course in your favorite local, independently-owned record store. Instead, I humbly suggest that you consider contacting the proprietor of said store and asking if Home by Hothouse Flowers can be ordered. Perhaps you’ll be able to pick it up two weeks from tomorrow when there will be a lot of … Continue reading One for Friday: Hothouse Flowers, “Movies”
I watch movies the way I do because of Roger Ebert. I started watching the venerable Chicago Sun-Times film critic verbally spar with Gene Siskel, his counterpart at crosstown paper the Chicago Tribune, when the two were hosts of the PBS program Sneak Previews. This was before the direction each of their thumbs pointed was keenly watched by studios, before the breadth of their influence reached a level that arguably exceeded that of any film critics that came before. These were simply two guys–equally passionate, equally smart, equally committed to exploring the value of cinema in all its forms–talking about … Continue reading Roger Ebert, 1942 – 2013
#40 — In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, 1967) It can be tricky to watch older films, especially those that claim to deliver enlightened social commentary. The intervening years can impose a mustiness on the politics, the once … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 60s — Number Forty
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. The Delfonics formed in Philadelphia, where the original band members met as students at Overbrook High School in the nineteen-sixties. They operated around the fringes of the music industry before coming to the attention of Stan Watson, the owner of the Philly Groove record label. The Delfonics were teamed with producer Thom Bell (who’d previously worked with them at Cameo Records) and they … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “You Got Yours and I’ll Get Mine” and “Trying to Make a Fool of Me”
“Back when he was a boy, there used to be a gentleman named Joseph Charles, man would stand out every day at the corner of Oregon and Grove wearing a pair of dazzling yellow gloves. Waving to every car that passed him, extending to the driver, regardless of race, creed, or receptivity, one (1) genuine, heartfelt greeting. Mr. Charles’s manner bold and cheerful but a touch formal, hinting, though not in any unkind way, at the impersonal. No intention of greeting you in particular; simply reminding you that, like all humans, you partook in the noble human capacity for being … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
84. The Cranberries, To the Faithful Departed And now we come to what is arguably the “lingering goodwill” portion of the chart, with a couple of albums that a reasonable observer may conclude garnered airplay less on their own individual … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 84 and 83
I had a lot of stuff go up at Spectrum Culture this week, so let’s just tick them off: –It’s fairly rare that I write for the book section, but it occurred to me late last fall that I just might be able to get myself a review copy of the massive, intimidating and universally adored new outing from Chris Ware, Building Stories. Evidently, I made my request right before our editor-in-chief, inspiring at least a bit of envy. That’s the proper reaction on his part, by the way. This thing is spectacular. In my many reviews for Spectrum, this … Continue reading Spectrum Check
Not to upset any lingering, devoted fan base the band might have, but I feel obligated to admit that the main reason I have affection for the band the Buck Pets is that I once knew a lovely young woman who appropriated their band name so she would have something to call me. She just liked the way it sounded, I think. When she was on the air, she’d play a song from the album and backsell it by sharing, “That one goes out to my little Buck Pet.” We never figured out what “Buck Pet” really meant, what the … Continue reading One for Friday: Buck Pets, “A Little Murder”
Coffee for Two 