5. Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (1983) Nearly three full years passed between the release of Talking Heads’ fourth album, Remain in Light, and its proper studio follow-up, Speaking in Tongues. The span of time was long enough during that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #5
The Cassette-Tape Revolution by Jon Michaud I am of the exact right age to be enthralled by a brief treatise on the bygone pleasures of the cassette tape, which is exactly what Jon Michaud provides in this piece. Using the … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Compact Audiocassette edition
Tradition holds that the holiday season formally begins with Phoebe Bridgers releasing a cover song as a charity single, but, this year, she’s one of the boys. So Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are present, too. Joining boygenius are the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — boygenius & Ye Vagabonds, “The Parting Glass”
THE NATIONAL Laugh Track (4AD) — Matt Berninger, the frontman and main lyric writer for the National, talked openly about a relatively recent bout with writer’s block that put the future of the band in doubt. He evidently had quite … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Laugh Track; Black Rainbows
More than thirty films deep into the improbable experiment in translating the interconnected storytelling of superhero comic books to the screen, it’s borderline impossible to evaluate a new feature-length entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a single film, judged … Continue reading Now Playing — The Marvels
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Joseph Tucci was a fledging music producer … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Keep On Dancin’”
The Adults (Dustin Guy Defa, 2023). This barbed dramedy settles in with three siblings who muddle through a strained reunion when Eric (Michael Cera) treks to the hometown where his two sisters, Rachel (Hannah Gross) and Maggie (Sophia Lillis), still … Continue reading Then Playing — The Adults; The Cheap Detective; Thief
6. R.E.M., Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) “Lots of kids aren’t willing to listen just to Hall and Oates or whatever,” noted Bill Berry, the drummer of R.E.M., shortly after the release of the band’s third album, Fables of the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #6
‘She never pandered to fashion’: why Kirsty MacColl’s vivid pop career was no fairytale by Alexis Petridis The release of a massive new box set prompts Alexis Petridis to write about the great Kirsty MacColl. The article offers a consideration … Continue reading Outside Reading — And They’ve Never Heard of Love edition
I’m confident that Laura Jane Grace knows a lot. I’m especially confident that Laura Jane Grace knows that a great punk song can get its point across in under two minutes. Leave the sonic epics to other fools. “Hole in … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Laura Jane Grace, “Hole in My Head”
Coffee for Two 