ALLISON RUSSELL The Returner (Fantasy/Concord) — It’s phenomenally fitting that Joni Mitchell inspired the title of Allison Russell’s sophomore full-length, The Returner. After being a firsthand witness to Mitchell’s transcendent 2022 comeback performance as one of the musicians onstage, Russell … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Returner; Hox; Careful!
7. Rolling Stones, Tattoo You (1981) The Rolling Stones were in a precarious place. Commercially, they were as strong as ever. The 1978 album Some Girls was their biggest-selling album to that point in the U.S., and its follow-up, Emotional … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #7
The Crucible of History Surrenders To the Furnace by Erin Thompson Writing for The New York Times, Erin Thompson details efforts to destroy the various Confederate statues and other tributes to white supremacy that have been justly removed from public … Continue reading Outside Reading — Melt It All Down edition
“Sweet Stripe!,” the new single from Brooklyn-based band Stay Inside, feels like it starts in midstream. The guitars are already churning, the beat is already pulsing, the very thought of the song is fully formed. From there, it’s a roaring … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Stay Inside, “Sweet Stripe!”
Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. Plain and simple, Taylor … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Taylor Tomlinson, “Straight Dudes”
David Grann’s book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is the rare example of a bestseller that inspires outrage, at least if read properly. Although I suspect a significant number of copies … Continue reading Now Playing — Killers of the Flower Moon
Talk to Me (Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, 2023). This horror film, the feature debut by twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, employs the sturdy concept of a cursed object that wreaks deadly havoc on a group of foolhardy souls … Continue reading Then Playing — Talk to Me; Scream; Messiah of Evil
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. The British government was concerned about an uptick in the number of children dying in drowning accidents. … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water
8. R.E.M., Document (1987) R.E.M. had a message to convey and, more than was previously the case, they wanted to ensure they were understood. Across their first four studio albums, the immediate icons of college rock established and cultivated a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #8
‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’: A Hit That Initially Unnerved Disney by Carlos Aguilar I was managing a movie theater when A Nightmare Before Christmas was initially released, in the fall of 1993. Among my brethren, anticipation was high, but actual … Continue reading Outside Reading — Instead of Screams, I Swear I Can Hear Music in the Air edition
Coffee for Two 