College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #185 to #183
185. Big Country, Steeltown (1984) Big Country has the kind of debut album a rock act longs for. Boosted in part by the surging influence of the new cable network MTV, The Crossing and its single “In a Big Country” … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #185 to #183
Outside Reading — Anger Is an Energy edition
Stay Furious by Jessica Valenti Going all the way back to the time the George W. Bush administration was in power, I believed the most long-lasting damage exacted by that particular crew of amoral miscreants would be the following: A … Continue reading Outside Reading — Anger Is an Energy edition
This Week’s Model — Laura Veirs, “Eucalyptus”
For music fans with a long enough memory, I think there’s probably no way for the new Laura Veris single, “Eucalyptus,” to avoid comparisons to Suzanne Vega. A lilting female voice engaged in plain, crisp storytelling using a staccato rhythm … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Laura Veirs, “Eucalyptus”
The Art of the Sell — General Electric “College Roommate” print ad
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. In 1957, General Electric pitched their line of radios by noting that they made perfect companions for … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — General Electric “College Roommate” print ad
My Misspent Youth — Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
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. When the comic book series Ms. Marvel debuted with an issue … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
My Misspent Youth — Ms. Marvel by Gerry Conway and John Buscema
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. The late nineteen-seventies were boom years for fabulous female characters walking … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Ms. Marvel by Gerry Conway and John Buscema
Medium Rotation — Second Nature; Growing Up
LUCIUS Second Nature (Mom + Pop) — To the legions who’ve been longing for the next great record that’s suited to be accompaniment for a tearful backwards skate after a roller-rink break-up, Lucius is here for you. Six long years … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Second Nature; Growing Up
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #188 to #186
188. The Jam, The Gift (1982) “For me, the songs on The Gift have less stops and starts,” Rick Buckler, drummer of the Jam, observed several years after the release of the band’s final album. “This is what I’m getting … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #188 to #186
Outside Reading — Your Best American Grrrl edition
Kathleen Hanna Won’t Save You, So Stop Asking Her To by Laura Wynne This week brought the unlikely return of Creem. The brattier counterpoint to Rolling Stone in the nineteen-seventies and nineteen-eighties relaunched as a robustly updated website and a … Continue reading Outside Reading — Your Best American Grrrl edition
This Week’s Model — Pinkshift, “Nothing (In My Head)”
“Nothing (In My Head),” the new track from the Baltimore band Pinkshift, is a bazooka. In press material accompanying the release, the band explains that the song is about feeling trapping and longing for escape. The annotation is hardly necessary, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Pinkshift, “Nothing (In My Head)”
Coffee for Two 