The Democrats Are Falling Into a Trap on Immigration Again by Pedro Gerson Another election year, another cycle of Democrats cravenly acquiescing to the fear-mongering of the right. Same as it ever was. Of course, the media is culpable, too. … Continue reading Outside Reading — Huddled Masses edition
It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since the last proper studio album from Waxahatchee, but it has. The sterling Saint Cloud was released on the last week of March 2020, which placed it directly into the COVID time … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Right Back to It”
HOTLINE TNT Cartwheel (Third Man) — The second album from Brooklyn-based band Hotline TNT is a ravishing mudslide of revival shoegaze. Largely the brainchild of Will Anderson, a transplanted Midwesterner who wears the influence of the many Minneapolis maestros of … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Cartwheel; Spiritual Cramp
J.A. Bayona’s first full-length outing as a director was a horror movie. I thought of that film factoid quite often when watching the Spanish-born director’s latest, the docudrama Society of the Snow. Yes, Bayona builds the narrative (working with three … Continue reading Now Playing — Society of the Snow
The Killer (David Fincher, 2023). Following the prestige passion project Mank, David Fincher returns to the sort of glossy pulp that seems to most stir his cinematic heart. The Killer focuses on a hitman (Michael Fassbender) whose previously perfect professional … Continue reading Then Playing — The Killer; Maestro; Poor Things
What Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me by Claudine Gay The New York Times got played by right-wing muckrakers. The most important newspaper in the country drastically over-covered the ginned up controversies around Claudine Gay, which led directly to … Continue reading Outside Reading — Veritas edition
“Heavy,” the new single from Dublin-based band Sprints, is about being wracked with anxiety, which seems like one of sanest topics for a powerful rock band to howl about in this age and day. The deadpan singsong of Karla Chubb’s … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sprints, “Heavy”
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Sam Fell, 2023). The first Chicken Run, which was also the first feature-length outing for Aardman Animation, was released almost a quarter-century ago. Of course, clay doesn’t really age, so, sure, why not circle … Continue reading Then Playing — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; American Symphony; I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes
In handing out plaudits around these here digital parts, the rundown of favored albums is typically followed by a set of similarly beloved tracks from the year just past. Unlike yesterday’s top ten assemblage, what follows here is not ranked, … Continue reading Five Songs from 2023
Taking one calendar off the wall to replace it with a new stapled-together procession of gridded-off months brings us back to this annual venture. I have no overarching observations about the year in music to tap out in this cursory … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2023
Coffee for Two 