36. Adrian Belew, Mr. Music Head Listing off the bands and performers that Adrian Belew has played with during his career is like flipping through a cool kid’s record collection. David Bowie, Talking Headsand Frank Zappa all provided Belew a … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 36 and 35
Usually I’d fill this day with a check of reviews that I posted with Spectrum Culture over the week. Due to my recent travels, I didn’t have anything written in time. So instead, I’ll provide a preview of tomorrow’s post. Continue reading Don’t hold your breath, cuz it’ll make you blue
I would be deeply negligent if I didn’t begin this week by offering up fresh gratitude to Steve, Wayne, Jon, Colin and Andrea for their exemplary efforts filling in for me last week. The array of guest stars exceeded my high expectations, provided a set of completely unique perspectives in this space. These are definitely people who’ve influenced me greatly over the years, and they all managed to do so again with their respective approaches to the feature. That naturally got me thinking about how this weekly feature generated in the first place. At the time I hung an “open … Continue reading One for Friday: Small Factory, “Suggestions”
#41 — Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) In a recent article, Mark Harris argued that he could pinpoint the exact day when movies died, bypassing the arrival of Jaws and Star Wars–benchmarks commonly cited by cineastes dismayed about … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 80s — Number Forty-One
Twenty-eighth in a series. (Due credit.) Continue reading Like a Jesus of the moon, like a Jesus of the planets and the stars
I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. In this history of mass culture, there have been few things … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: The Incredible Hulk #142 by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe
#7 — Brad Pitt as J.D. in Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991) Brad Pitt was an immensely frustrating actor through much of the nineties. He had obvious movie star gifts; not only his looks (on more than one occasion, … Continue reading Greatish Performances #7
38. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Bread and Circus The band Toad the Wet Sprocket doesn’t actually have a lead electric triangle player named Rick Stardust who had to have his elbow removed, although anyone who listened to the sketch “Rock … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 38 and 37
While I abandoned the Interweb all this week, I still had a couple fingerprints show up here and there. My one contribution that landed at Spectrum Culture was a review of 3 Backyards, the long-gestating follow-up to the fine Judy Berlin from writer-director Eric Mendelsohn. Sadly, I didn’t have many kind things to share, but it did provide further proof for the theory that Edie Falco is always worth watching. I was supposed to contribute to the the feature on the country’s best microbreweries, but in my rush to leave last week, I goofed up in submitting my piece. It … Continue reading Spectrum Check
Andrea Keller is a pro at guest blogging, a phenomenal photographer and plainly my favorite person in the world to spend time with. I’ve learned a lot over the years from everyone I’ve shared this space with this week, but none more than her. She’s top-notch in every way, and I’m not just typing that because I’m sure she’s spent the week I’ve been gone both fixing a toilet and watching more episodes of I Love Lucy than she’d probably care to count. She probably liked the toilet work far more. Hopefully, her fellow Cakers will reward her accordingly and … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: I Am the World Trade Center, “Big Star”
Coffee for Two 