Playing Catch-Up — Man Hunt; All I Desire; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Man Hunt (Fritz Lang, 1941). Man Hunt was released six months before the U.S. officially entered World War II, making its animating incident fairly remarkable. A British adventurer (Walter Pidgeon) is traveling across the German countryside with his firearms and … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Man Hunt; All I Desire; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Greatish Performances #47
#47 — Delroy Lindo as Rodney Little in Clockers (Spike Lee, 1995) Through the nineteen-nineties, there was no shortage of gangstas and drug dealers in U.S. cinema. It was partially a reflection of the fretful concerns of the time, when the crack … Continue reading Greatish Performances #47
Laughing Matters — Albert Brooks and Buddy
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. Of the many benefits … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Albert Brooks and Buddy
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #644 to #641
644. The Descendents, All (1987) For what was expected to the final album from California punk legends the Descendents, drummer Bill Stevenson introduced a concept he’d co-created which was dubbed “All.” Cooked up on a fishing trip, in 1980, All … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #644 to #641
Outside Reading — Using Words Wisely edition
The “Cancel Culture” Con by Osita Nwanevu Prompted by Dave Chapelle’s wrong-headed defense of Michael Jackson in his new Netflix special and the immediate dismissal of a new Saturday Night Live cast member after the exposure of his blatant, repeated, … Continue reading Outside Reading — Using Words Wisely edition
This Week’s Model — Jennifer Vanilla, “Space Time Motion”
Freewheeling and delightfully loopy, the new single from Jennifer Vanilla (a performing guise of Becca Kauffman, departing member of Ava Luna) is a dance music knuckleball. Sounding like a turbo-holy union of Laurie Anderson and Sparks, “Space Time Motion” is a … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Jennifer Vanilla, “Space Time Motion”
My Misspent Youth — Marvel Team-Up #74 by Chris Claremont and Bob Hall
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 I started collecting Marvel Comics at the dawn of the … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Marvel Team-Up #74 by Chris Claremont and Bob Hall
The New Releases Shelf — Norman Fucking Rockwell
Cat Power convinced me I might be wrong, or maybe just short-sighted. In the past, I’ve enjoyed certain songs from Lana Del Rey (usually the expected culprits), but I didn’t consider her an artist of real significance, someone who demanded … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Norman Fucking Rockwell
Playing Catch-Up — Panic in Year Zero; Searching; Stronger
Panic in Year Zero (Ray Milland, 1962). This Cold War drama, one of a handful of films directed by Ray Milland, takes a fascinating approach to its tale of U.S. society in the immediate aftermath of nuclear weapons leveling a … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Panic in Year Zero; Searching; Stronger
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “But You Know I Love You”
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. Dolly Parton was well-acquainted with the top … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “But You Know I Love You”
