Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Dance Naked”
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. After releasing a string of hit singles … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Dance Naked”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #191 to #189
191. X, See How We Are (1987) The sixth X record, See How We Are, found the Los Angeles band in transition. On their previous studio outing, Ain’t Love Grand, they undertook a shift that proved faulty. They parted ways … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #191 to #189
Outside Reading — Safety Last edition
What It’s Like Here by Albert Burneko I’ve had such a difficult time processing the events of this week, including the steady revelations of how abominably law enforcement and other officials in Texas responded to the shooting at Robb Elementary … Continue reading Outside Reading — Safety Last edition
This Week’s Model — Suede, “She Still Leads Me”
I don’t know I can be expected to resist this. Suede’s new single, “She Still Leads Me,” moves with a swoop and dramatic grandeur that evokes the nineteen-nineties heyday of Britpop overstaters, such as Pulp, Oasis, and, um, themselves, I … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Suede, “She Still Leads Me”
Greatish Performances #54
#54 — Ray Liotta as Ray Sinclair in Something Wild (Jonathan Demme, 1986) More than anything else, it’s the sense of calm that I remember. When Ray Liotta shows up on screen as Ray Sinclair, he slow plays the character’s … Continue reading Greatish Performances #54
Medium Rotation — Wild Loneliness; Painless
SUPERCHUNK Wild Loneliness (Merge) — It should not be said that time has mellowed Superchunk. Sure, it’s been more than thirty years since “Slack Motherfucker,” their official debut single after a release under the name Chunk, but the nail-spitting rage … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Wild Loneliness; Painless
Programming Note
I am compulsive about putting a new post in this space every day, but my frivolous preoccupations strike me as inappropriate in the moment. Instead, I’ll share this five-year-old graphic from The New York Times that tragically hasn’t lost its … Continue reading Programming Note
Laughing Matters — Saturday Night Live, “Apple Picking Ad”
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. I’ve been watching Saturday … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Saturday Night Live, “Apple Picking Ad”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #194 to #192
194. Big Audio Dynamite, This is Big Audio Dynamite (1985) “We put on a great show, unless you turn up hoping to see the old Clash,” Mick Jones explained as his band Big Audio Dynamite embarked on a tour to … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #194 to #192
Outside Reading — Once More Around the Park edition
I’ve written abut Roger Angell before, inadequately. Dumbstruck with administration when considering the legendary writer’s prose, how could my words be anything other than inadequate? I stood before a monolith with a handful of scuffed dominos. On the occasion of … Continue reading Outside Reading — Once More Around the Park edition
Coffee for Two 