This Week’s Model — Sleigh Bells, “Locust Laced”
The quality of the new cut from Sleigh Bells that I admire most is the way it take the tried-and-true tricks the band has been plying since the jump and gives them a winning spruce-up. On “Locust Laced,” the jackhammer-burst … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sleigh Bells, “Locust Laced”
The New Releases Shelf — Dark in Here
It’s reasonable to surmise that no modern musician with an already well-stocked discography was better prepared to persist in their creativity through an extended lockdown than John Darnielle. The frontman of the Mountain Goats started his now-lengthy tenure as a … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Dark in Here
Radio Days — Programming Clocks
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. General programming was taken seriously at the college radio station where I spent the bulk of my … Continue reading Radio Days — Programming Clocks
The New Releases Shelf — I Know I’m Funny haha
For at least a little while longer, every new album is going to feel like it carries the woozy hangover of the lockdown times. I don’t know anything about the genesis of Faye Webster’s new album, I Know I’m Funny … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — I Know I’m Funny haha
Laughing Matters — LeVar Burton on Community
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. TV Workplaces for $200: … Continue reading Laughing Matters — LeVar Burton on Community
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #323 to #321
323. Peter Murphy, Love Hysteria (1988) Following the dissolution of the landmark band Bauhaus, it took Peter Murphy some time to find the track he wanted to ride on. Following his time as the frontman for the goth rock pioneers, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #323 to #321
Outside Reading — Bulletproof Memorial Sign edition
THE BARN ON DREW RULEVILLE ROAD by Wright Thompson This powerhouse piece, published by The Atlantic, considers the enduring shadow on the nation’s soul of condoned bigotry and connected cruelty as exemplified by the torture and murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett … Continue reading Outside Reading — Bulletproof Memorial Sign edition
This Week’s Model — The Linda Lindas, “Oh!”
Just like that, we have new music from the punk rock find of 2021. A mere two months after their ferocious performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” at the Los Angeles Public Library went viral, leading to network television appearances and … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Linda Lindas, “Oh!”
My Misspent Youth — Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18 by Tom DeFalco, Stan Lee, Ron Frenz, Bob Layton, and Jackson Guice
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. Stan Lee was no longer writing superhero sagas when I started … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18 by Tom DeFalco, Stan Lee, Ron Frenz, Bob Layton, and Jackson Guice
The New Releases Shelf — Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, the new album from Marina, opens with its title cut. An electrified drum beat and burbling synths are soon joined by Marina’s rich, low-tone vocals declaring “Our ancestors had to fight to survive/ Just … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Coffee for Two 