The various promotional efforts for Judd Apatow’s new film, This is 40, position it as the “sort-of sequel to Knocked Up.” The reasoning behind this is simple enough, reflecting the fairly unique creative starting point of drawing a couple of … Continue reading Many will see, many will see and fear
16. “Is It Really So Strange?” by the SmithsAs previously noted, the Smiths released Strangeways, Here We Come, their final studio album, in 1987. That same year also brought Louder Than Bombs, a double album compilation consisting almost entirely of singles and other songs that hadn’t yet been released in the United States. “Is It Really Strange?” is the track that leads off the album, and it also appeared as the B-side to the “Sheila Take a Bow” single. The version that appears on Louder Than Bombs was recorded as part of the band’s fourth and final John Peel session … Continue reading College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 16 and 15
And so we come to the end of another calendar year of reviews for Spectrum Culture. The site is already in the process of downshifting ahead of the holidays, so there was a little less new content going up this week. I still took my turn in the film review rotation, however, with an evaluation of a new drama that got wobbly wheels but is finally made steady by a couple of very fine performances. Most of my words this week were expended on our various “end of the year” lists. For the Favorite Books feature, I wrote about Richard … Continue reading Spectrum Check
I didn’t used to be a Scrooge. When I was a little kid–like most little kids, I’d wager–I was delighted when the calender finally reached the point when it was acceptable to pull the well-worn Christmas albums out of storage and start playing them non-stop. I’m sure it’s some sort of karmic balance for all the Chipmunks songs with which I unwittingly persecuted the adults in my household that I now find the endless barrage of chipper or sentimental yuletide cheer piped in over store sound systems to be like claws raked against the inside of my brain. Consequently, it’s … Continue reading One for Friday: Grandaddy, “Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland”
#12 — Thandie Newton as Regina Lambert in the The Truth About Charlie (Jonathan Demme, 2002) There are probably faster, more decisive ways to quash a film career than to take on a role originally played by Audrey Hepburn, but … Continue reading Greatish Performances #12
#2 — Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) When Robert De Niro played Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, he borrowed the clothing of screenwriter Paul Schrader to start shaping the character. Schrader, putting it simply, was a twisted dude. He has a … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 70s — Number Two
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. Some beers I know well. Some beers, on the other hand, I’ve seen the twisted metal and cracked pavement they inflict in the delectable car crash of their consumption. My friend Scott was ahead of his time, an erudite connoisseur of the vast spectrum of high-quality beer well before the craft brewing boom. At our urging, he once provided a list of his ten favorite beers of all time, and I remember puzzling … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Skull Splitter
I understand and accept that I offer nothing strikingly unique to literary discourse by noting that the first Zadie Smith novel that knocked me out was White Teeth. The British author’s 2000 debut novel was one of those vivid pop … Continue reading My Writers: Zadie Smith
18. “The Sweetest Thing” by U2 Having the natural contrarian spirit of a teenager, I was somewhat dismissive of U2’s The Joshua Tree at first. For one thing, my sensibility was well into the process of being shaped by the cranky irony of David Letterman’s late night endeavor, so the thudding sincerity of Bono and the boys instinctively rankled me. There was a point when even I had to concede that the record was exceptional, though. The thing that finally broke my defiant stance was “The Sweetest Thing.” The track was originally released as one of the B-sides on “Where … Continue reading College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 18 and 17
Like everyone else, my mind is elsewhere today, so I’ll keep this brief. I’m sure you understand. I reviewed two things for Spectrum Culture this week. On the film side, I reviewed a documentary about the Lovings, the perfectly named couple whose court case against the state of Virginia ended anti-miscegenation laws across the land. On the music side, I reviewed the new album from a band called Night Moves, which I primarily chose because I was amused by the peripheral Bob Seger connection. Lest I confuse anyone, the band’s music sounds absolutely nothing like anything ever cooked up by … Continue reading Spectrum Check
