They climbed off their pedestals and then they sang this song

As I noted recently, I’m charged with contributing to various year-end assessments over at Spectrum Culture, including the list we came up with of the Top 25 Songs of 2011. Last year, my preferences were solitary enough that some of my personal picks for the best single songs didn’t make the final tally, so I made a point of highlighting a few of them in a separate post in this space. As I sat down to revive the tradition, I realized that I had far more in common with my colleagues this year and eight of my top ten made … Continue reading They climbed off their pedestals and then they sang this song

One for Friday: Iam Siam, “Talk to Me (Can You Hear Me Now)”

If my rough tally is correct, this is the 150th installment of the One for Friday feature in this space, including the spectacular “Week of Fridays” event in the spring. The name of this weekly exercise in music sharing doesn’t necessarily make all that much sense now. It was a riff on the Friday distraction I used to deploy over on my LiveJournal site. “Five for Friday” made a little more sense, what with that alliterative ring to it. I’d come up with some fairly broad prompt for a music-based list, pop up the five best examples that sprung to … Continue reading One for Friday: Iam Siam, “Talk to Me (Can You Hear Me Now)”

I never thought I would come of age, let alone on a moldy page

Young Adult reunites director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody four years after their shared breakthrough with Juno. In different ways, to different degrees, both creators come into the movie with a little something to prove. Despite an even better follow-up film, Reitman still has his vocal detractors, those who find his efforts a little too slick and glib. Cody, though an enthusiastic Oscar winner for her Juno efforts, faced an even sterner backlash, largely on the basis of another produced screenplay that was smothered into lifelessness by the same sort of dialogue of inventive slang that gained her attention … Continue reading I never thought I would come of age, let alone on a moldy page

Top 40 Smash Taps: “The Alvin Twist”

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. Ross Bagdasarian famously stumbled upon the the notion of a singing group comprises of small furry mammals by playing around with tape speed in the studio. He was already a relatively successful figure in the entertainment industry, having appeared on Broadway and in several films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. he also co-wrote the hit song “Come On-A My House” with his famed … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “The Alvin Twist”

Spectrum Check

Once I started writing music reviews for Spectrum Culture, one of my goals was to eventually branch out and try to cover material that’s somewhat outside of my normal range. So for my last album review of the year, I made a point of grabbing a hip hop release. Lucky for me, it just so happens to be one of the best records of the year. I did the best I could, but I wish I’d had a little more concentrated time with the album before I wrote on it. I have a feeling this one is going to age … Continue reading Spectrum Check