Outside Reading — As American as the Fourth of July edition
Guns on Parade by Henry GrabarMuch as I think it’s broadly acknowledged that the constant cycle of gun violence, especially as perpetrated against average people simply going about their days, is dispiriting and exhausting, I sometimes do think enough attention … Continue reading Outside Reading — As American as the Fourth of July edition
This Week’s Model — Rat Tally, “Longshot”
Look, I am who I am. Much as I earnestly strive to diversify my musical tastes, becoming genuinely enraptured by blipping, blooping tunes I would have been quick to disregard in the past, there are certain sounds that are going … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Rat Tally, “Longshot”
My Misspent Youth — Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee
I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. I get that Chris Hemsworth (with a key, late-breaking assist from … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee
Medium Rotation — Portrait of a Lady; Endless Rooms; A Bit of Previous
SHILPA RAY Portrait of a Lady (Northern Spy) — Now seems like the ideal time for a take-no-shit woman howling lyrics of feminist dissatisfaction, doesn’t it? If Shilpa Ray doesn’t quite go full riot grrrl on Portrait of a Lady, … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Portrait of a Lady; Endless Rooms; A Bit of Previous
Laughing Matters — The Ben Stiller Show, “Skank Goes Blind”
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. Because even Skank got … Continue reading Laughing Matters — The Ben Stiller Show, “Skank Goes Blind”
That Championship Season — America to Me, Season One
The July 1936 issue of Esquire magazine included a poem by Langston Hughes titled “Let America be America Again.” A meaty treatise on how the most treasured principles of the American dream are forever out of reach to certain citizens … Continue reading That Championship Season — America to Me, Season One
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #176 to #174
176. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Goodbye Cruel World (1984) Elvis Costello was through with the Attractions. The relationship between Costello and his backing back had been souring for some time, and he reached the conclusion that continuing on was … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #176 to #174
Outside Reading — The World We Are Fighting For Is Already Here edition
As Federal Climate-Fighting Tools Are Taken Away, Cities and States Step Up by Maggie Astor As the conservative majority of the Supreme Court of the United States claps their soot-stained hands with satisfaction at the completion of a term where … Continue reading Outside Reading — The World We Are Fighting For Is Already Here edition
This Week’s Model — NNAMDï, “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous”
NNAMDï is a force. The Chicago-based musician has put out a slew of solo records, played in multiple bands, and co-founded a label, Sooper Records, that is dedicated to showcasing artists whose hail-Mary commercial prospects make them unlikely to get … Continue reading This Week’s Model — NNAMDï, “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous”
Medium Rotation — We; We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
ARCADE FIRE We (Columbia) — The first impression of We, the new album from Arcade Fire, is that the rock gods of Montreal are circling back to their foundational sounds after a couple albums tinkering with some electroclash of the … Continue reading Medium Rotation — We; We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
Coffee for Two 