Then Playing — Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser; Somewhere; Ladies in Retirement
Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (Charlotte Zwerin, 1988). This documentary was released during that strange stretch when Clint Eastwood admirably leveraged his considerable influence with Warner Bros. to get the studio to make movies about jazz. Eastwood serves as producer … Continue reading Then Playing — Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser; Somewhere; Ladies in Retirement
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #296 to #294
296. Graham Parker and the Rumour, Squeezing Out Sparks (1979) “In the past, I occasionally found the music running away with itself, and I was fighting in the middle of it,” Graham Parker told Rolling Stone not long after the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #296 to #294
Outside Reading — Our Little Group Has Always Been edition
Memoria: The Most Consequential Release Date In Alt-Rock Was 30 Years Ago Today by Michael Tedder This splendid retrospective landed yesterday on Stereogum. With insight and ingenuity, Michael Tedder (who, I should disclose, I know personally, which contributes to my … Continue reading Outside Reading — Our Little Group Has Always Been edition
This Week’s Model — Weakened Friends, “Quitter”
Hailing from Portland (the Maine one, not the Oregon one), Weakened Friends hit that fuzzy-end-of-the-lollipop sweet spot with their new single, “Quitter.” It’s got all the elements that time served in my particular era — or eras, really — of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Weakened Friends, “Quitter”
The New Releases Shelf — Any Shape You Take
Any Shape You Take, the sophomore album by Indigo De Souza, lives up to the generous acceptance of its title. While grounded in R&B-based pop music, De Souza lets her musical muse wander widely. She doesn’t quite reach the wild … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Any Shape You Take
The Art of the Sell — 7-Eleven Burritos… ¡Ole!
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Let us careen back in the time to the prehistoric age that was 1979. Marvel at an … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — 7-Eleven Burritos… ¡Ole!
Now Playing — The Eyes of Tammy Faye
I saw the documentary The Eyes of Tammy Faye upon its release, over twenty years ago. After a couple decades of mental erosion, I remember only one moment, but I remember it quite sharply. Unsurprisingly, it’s that exchange, in which … Continue reading Now Playing — The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Then Playing — Krane’s Confectionery; Freaky; The Bride Came C.O.D.
Krane’s Confectionery (Astrid Henning-Jensen, 1951). Writer-director Astrid Henning-Jensen convincingly conveys the numbing misery of a provincial seamstress (Rønnaug Alten) who’s relied upon and disrespected by nearly everyone in her personal sphere, including her terminally ungrateful teenaged children (Toralv Maurstad and … Continue reading Then Playing — Krane’s Confectionery; Freaky; The Bride Came C.O.D.
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #299 to #297
299. Iggy Pop, Instinct (1988) Iggy Pop was long a revered figure to those who rightly knew him as the Godfather of Punk. Unofficial honorifics don’t necessarily sell records, though. His underwhelming chart performance was enough of a damper on … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #299 to #297
Outside Reading — Outrageous Fortunes edition
Betraying the Victims of the Opioid Crisis by Ryan Hampton In the myriad of legal actions taken against Purdue Pharma, and the Sackler family that profits from it, the spigot drip of half-measure punishments is no less infuriating for being … Continue reading Outside Reading — Outrageous Fortunes edition
Coffee for Two 