This Week’s Model — The Blue Stones, “Let It Ride”
Two guys. Drums. A guitar. And a song that is just right, that roars, that grinds, that slinks, that practically flecks sweat with every sonic bend. Sometimes, that’s all you need. This week, the Blue Stones’ “Let It Ride” is … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Blue Stones, “Let It Ride”
Golden Words — Fleabag, “Episode 1”
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. A familiar woman stands before one … Continue reading Golden Words — Fleabag, “Episode 1”
The Art of the Sell — They Might Be Giants, Lincoln
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. I can assure you that college radio programmers required no heavy-handed promotional coercion when They Might Be … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — They Might Be Giants, Lincoln
Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Fifteen
#15 — Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) If George Miller was going to go back the Wasteland, he was going to get everything he could out the post-apocalyptic landscape. Mad Max: Fury Road was released thirty years after … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Fifteen
Laughing Matters — Saturday Night Live, “White Like Me”
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 years ago, … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Saturday Night Live, “White Like Me”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #458 to #456
458. Beat Farmers, Tales of the New West (1985) Drummer Country Dick Montana and and Jerry Raney kicked around in various San Diego bands for years before they started playing together. They recruited guitarist Buddy Blue and bassist Rolle Dexter … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #458 to #456
Outside Reading — The Brain Likes Crazy edition
How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election—and Shaking the Foundation of American Democracy by Charlotte Alter Admitting that there is no shortage of social-breakdown symptoms to fret about right now, I’m beginning to believe that the mainstreaming of nonsensical … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Brain Likes Crazy edition
This Week’s Model — Janelle Monáe, “Turntables”
Janelle Monáe does not stand down. Throughout this tumultuous year, she has taken her prominent platform as a responsibility. She may be on the entertainment talk circuit to promote an Amazon series or a psychological horror film, but she takes … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Janelle Monáe, “Turntables”
Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Sixteen
#16 — Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014) Ava DuVernay’s Selma is a proper history lesson. Attaching that description to a film usually signifies dreary dryness and a plodding pace as the filmmakers labor to impart lessons more than shape action or … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Sixteen
Then Playing — Je Tu Il Elle; Dark Places; The Decline of Western Civilization
Je Tu Il Elle (Chantal Akerman, 1974). Esoteric and aloof, Chantal Akerman’s early feature is exactly what I thought all French cinema was like until I actually, you know, watched some of it. Je Tu Il Elle is almost amusing … Continue reading Then Playing — Je Tu Il Elle; Dark Places; The Decline of Western Civilization
Coffee for Two 