Medium Rotation — Lucifer on the Sofa; Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You; Life on Earth
SPOON Lucifer on the Sofa (Matador) — Ten albums deep, there’s only so much boat rocking Spoon is likely to do at this point. They can change recording locales and approaches, layer on different sonic techniques, and try to tap … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Lucifer on the Sofa; Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You; Life on Earth
The Art of the Sell — Kenzo World
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Spike Jonze directs the hell out of this ad, and Margaret Qualley similarly gives it her. I … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Kenzo World
Then Playing — High Anxiety; To Sleep with Anger; The Professionals
High Anxiety (Mel Brooks, 1977). Following hits spoofing Westerns, classic horror, and silent movies, Mel Brooks turned his attention to the oeuvre of Alfred Hitchcock, even consulting with the master himself on the screenplay. In its first half or so, … Continue reading Then Playing — High Anxiety; To Sleep with Anger; The Professionals
Now Playing — Everything Everywhere All at Once
I have rarely encountered a film more aptly titled than Everything Everywhere All at Once. The second feature film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (cheekily billed as “The Daniels”) earns that accuracy through its densely complicated … Continue reading Now Playing — Everything Everywhere All at Once
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #206 to #204
206. Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985) After releasing four studio albums in the span from 1978 to 1982, Kate Bush was conspicuously absent. Following the release of her 1982 album, The Dreaming, Bush retreated to the countryside, in part, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #206 to #204
Outside Reading — Cabin Pressure edition
Whoops of selfish delight by Robin Givhan Set aside for a moment that the federal mask mandate for airplane and other mass transit was struck down through legal reasoning of questionable merit by an unqualified judge given her position because … Continue reading Outside Reading — Cabin Pressure edition
This Week’s Model — Linqua Franqa, “Oh Fxck”
I come by the selections for this weekly feature in a variety of ways, but I think this is the first time the cut in question first found my earholes because it was lobbed into my social media feeds by … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Linqua Franqa, “Oh Fxck”
Laughing Matters — Mr. Show, “Lie Detector”
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. A few days ago, … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Mr. Show, “Lie Detector”
Then Playing — The Ex-Mrs. Bradford; Death on the Nile; Moonfall
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (Stephen Roberts, 1936). No one played a well-to-do gent dapperly cavorting through a murder mystery like William Powell. In between turns as Nick Charles, he plays Dr. Lawrence Bradford in this spiked trifle, reuniting with his ex-wife … Continue reading Then Playing — The Ex-Mrs. Bradford; Death on the Nile; Moonfall
Medium Rotation — Ants From Up There; Pompeii; Lighten Up
BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD Ants from Up There (Ninja Tune) — If Ants from Up There must be the valedictory statement from this particular lineup of Black Country, New Road, at least it’s a bold, bristling farewell. Just days before … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Ants From Up There; Pompeii; Lighten Up
