Outside Reading — The Orr Stratagem edition
The cleverness of stupidity by Tom Whyman Drawing a few sharp illustrative examples from classic literature (including a ruse that leads to escape from the military for Orr in Catch-22), Tom Whyman shows how defiant rejection of learning is a … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Orr Stratagem edition
This Week’s Model — Omni, “Courtesy Call”
Hailing from Atlanta, the band Omni plays in a style that leaves me fairly helpless. In the most succinct description, Omni plays post-punk, placing their retro sound quite squarely in the chronological territory that loomed very large — and was … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Omni, “Courtesy Call”
The Unwatchables — Welcome to Marwen
I assume the creative team behind Welcome to Marwen operated with the best intentions. The 2018 film is adapted from Jeff Malmberg’s well-respected 2010 documentary, Marwencol, which centered on Mark Hogancamp and the therapeutic value he derived from developing a … Continue reading The Unwatchables — Welcome to Marwen
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Back Up Train”
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Palmer James and Curtis Rodgers were high … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Back Up Train”
My Writers — Molly Young
Despite the fact that I myself chose to sling my words around in the echoing void of the web wide enough to engulf the whole world, it took me a remarkably long time to land on the revelation that I … Continue reading My Writers — Molly Young
The Art of the Sell — Alien movie poster
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. When it came time to create a poster for its strange new horror film in space, 20th … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Alien movie poster
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #640 to #637
640. Yes, Drama (1980) Drama, the tenth studio album from Yes, was aptly named. Already icons of prog rock and mainstays of FM radio, the English band was coming off a commercial and critical disappointment with 1978’s Tormato. The fallout … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #640 to #637
Outside Reading — Profound-Other-Fascination edition
Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction by Zadie Smith Zadie Smith’s consideration of the broad field of fiction storytelling, published recently in The New York Review of Books is dazzling, provocative, cerebral, emotional, and deep as the ocean. Smith … Continue reading Outside Reading — Profound-Other-Fascination edition
This Week’s Model — The Who, “All This Music Must Fade”
I am more skeptical than most about the prospect of a new music released by the Who. I’ve long operated with an instinctual suspicion about the merits of reunited bands, and I defer to my fine friend’s judgment that it … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Who, “All This Music Must Fade”
Radio Days — Soundstreams
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. When I first toured the university campus that would soon serve as my higher education home, I … Continue reading Radio Days — Soundstreams
