Trivia Answer of the Day — All I Want
This coming weekend, I’ll participate in The World’s Largest Trivia ContestTM. As per tradition, this week is filled with idle reminiscing about memorable answers in past years. This time around, I’m focusing on the Music Question, which asks teams to … Continue reading Trivia Answer of the Day — All I Want
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #368 to #366
368. Ian Hunter, Short Back n’ Sides (1981) Chrysalis Records execs were sure Ian Hunter was on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough. The former Mott the Hoople frontman had been knocking out solo albums with regularity since the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #368 to #366
Outside Reading — Criminal Insurrection edition
The Storm by Luke Mogelson It is three months since the U.S. Capitol was assaulted by frothing zealots in red caps and t-shirts with slogans of proud bigotry. It was a criminal act and an affront on the very principle … Continue reading Outside Reading — Criminal Insurrection edition
This Week’s Model — Taylor Swift, “Mr. Perfectly Fine”
I have no interest in any guessing games around the subject — or is that target — of “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” one of the songs Taylor Swift recently dug out of her stash of previously unreleased material. Nor am I … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Taylor Swift, “Mr. Perfectly Fine”
Twenty Performances, or Precious Metal
In this Oscar year with a calendar that has been understandably scrambled, it’s been especially difficult to undertake my usual process of selecting the twenty performances I would submit to the Academy were I gifted with an Actors Branch nominating … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or Precious Metal
The Art of the Sell — American Express, “One Hour Photo”
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. There are a lot of ills and injustices perpetrated by modern-day capitalism. I am aware of this. … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — American Express, “One Hour Photo”
My Misspent Youth — Astonishing Tales by Larry Lieber and Wally Wood
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. There were all sorts of comic books that I doggedly pursued … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Astonishing Tales by Larry Lieber and Wally Wood
Now Playing — Godzilla vs. Kong
I fully understand the wisdom in adjusting expectations ahead of a viewing of Godzilla vs. Kong. No matter how gleefully retrospective analyzers of film can employ weighty themes of nuclear proliferation and malicious colonialism onto the inaugural screen appearance of … Continue reading Now Playing — Godzilla vs. Kong
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #371 to #369
371. The Chameleons U.K., Strange Times (1986) Manchester band the Chameleons were poised for quick success. After earning the enthusiastic support of influential British DJ John Peel, the band was signed to Epic Records, and their 1982 debut single, “In … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #371 to #369
Outside Reading — Tripping Halls edition
If Y2K-Era Movie Theater Carpets Could Talk by Foster Kamer Now this is the sort of narrow-niche article that I crave. Writing for the blog of independent film distributor A24, Foster Kamer offers an appreciation for the garish aesthetic of … Continue reading Outside Reading — Tripping Halls edition
Coffee for Two 