College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #122 to #120
122. Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) “There’s no way I was going to allow just free jazz,” Sting said of his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. “There’s a discipline to pop music that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #122 to #120
Outside Reading — A Festival About Desire and Desperation edition
the smallest and most important pair of shorts by Helena Fitzgerald Look, I am inclined by my own cinematic indoctrination to be helplessly susceptible to a personal essay that sets its foundation with conflicted affection for Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 comic … Continue reading Outside Reading — A Festival About Desire and Desperation edition
This Week’s Model — Yo La Tengo, “Fallout”
In this week’s news, a great band remains great. This Stupid World, the next album from Yo La Tengo, is scheduled for release in February. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Yo La Tengo, “Fallout”
Beers I Have Known — Harp Lager
This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. Because tonight I have cause to have Ireland on my mind. Previous entries … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Harp Lager
The Art of the Sell — Jeno’s Pizza Rolls
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Stan Freberg had already achieved significant success with his comedy records on the pop charts — not … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Jeno’s Pizza Rolls
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee”
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. Jerry Lee Lewis wasn’t so sure about … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee”
Then Playing — The Slumber Party Massacre; The Fog; Barbarian
The Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Holden Jones, 1982). Released in the heady days after John Carpenter’s Halloween made studios decide that the surest bet for quick cash was conveyor-belting out films featuring weapon-wielding maniac picking off teens one by one, … Continue reading Then Playing — The Slumber Party Massacre; The Fog; Barbarian
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #125 to #123
125. Pretenders, Pretenders II (1981) No one expected the Pretenders self-titled debut album to be a hit, or at least not a hit at the level it reached. The Pretenders only produced one Top 40 single in the U.S., the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #125 to #123
Outside Reading —Lessons edition
I’m a Teacher in Florida. The Anti-LGBTQ Rules Are Making the Job Nearly Impossible. by Abigail McLeod Writing for Slate, Florida teacher Abigail McLeod details the challenges she and her colleagues face in adhering to the vague, cruel, and unpredictably … Continue reading Outside Reading —Lessons edition
This Week’s Model — Suzie True, “Backburner”
That guitar. It snarls to life so beautifully. Then the bass and drums join in, like nineteen-fifties hoodlums falling in line for a strut down the city block to signal neighborhood sovereignty. By the time Lexi McCoy starts in with … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Suzie True, “Backburner”
