36. R.E.M., Murmur (1983) I.R.S. Records was keen to have a full-length R.E.M. studio effort to peddle. The Georgia band’s debut EP, Chronic Town, had been a hit, at least on college radio. Label representatives were confident enough in the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #36 and #35
What Top Chef loses when it loses Padma by Christina Izzo Our household has watched Top Chef from the beginning, even in the false start year hosted by the glob of charisma antimatter that was married to Billy Joel for … Continue reading Outside Reading — Knives Packed edition
On “Build a Bridge,” the new track from Chicago band Deeper, sometimes I swear I hear a Minutemen influence coming through. Then I become convinced that I’m hearing some of the slicked up authority that distinguished the first album by … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Deeper, “Build a Bridge”
If the largely shared enhanced abilities of the majority of the characters populating the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse can be tidily summed up as allowing them to do whatever a spider can, the film itself has its own startling … Continue reading Now Playing — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
ESTHER ROSE Safe to Run (New West) — Esther Rose has done some roving. A Michigan native, Rose spent about a decade plying her musical trade with the city of New Orleans as her home base, putting out a trio … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Safe to Run; Fuse
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. And here’s one of the jingles that has taken up permanent residence in my brain. Other entries … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Lite Brite commercial
The Frisco Kid (Robert Aldrich, 1979). Although clearly designed as a star vehicle for Gene Wilder, The Frisco Kid is Ford is primarily interesting because it catches Harrison Ford in the netherworld between Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost … Continue reading Then Playing — The Frisco Kid; Being Mary Tyler Moore; A Little Princess
38. R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) When it was time to record their third album, R.E.M. were worried about meeting expectations. That doesn’t mean there was record company pressure to generate chart-topping hits or a sense that they might not … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #38 and #37
Searching for Meg White by Melissa Giannini Melissa Giannini writes about her recent attempts to secure an interview with drummer Meg White, a journalistic task that’s always been difficult but has been essentially impossible in the decade-plus since the White … Continue reading Outside Reading — A Conductor of Acoustical Resonance edition
“Save the World,” the new single from Jason Isbell and his backing band, the 400 Unit, is laudably blunt in addressing the scourge of gun violence in the United States. Even as it’s clear that the lyrics are directly inspired … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, “Save the World”
Coffee for Two 