From the Archive — The Squid and the Whale
I’m entirely sincere when I note it’s pleasing that so many media outlets reported on the surprise arrival of the first child of a movie biz power couple by neglecting the papa. In a culture that still routinely refers to … Continue reading From the Archive — The Squid and the Whale
This Week’s Model — An Horse, “This is a Song”
In my music fandom, I have a few clear weaknesses, sounds and conceits before which I am utterly helpless. One of chief bits that gets me almost every time is a song that is about being a song, calling attention … Continue reading This Week’s Model — An Horse, “This is a Song”
The New Releases Shelf — When I Get Home
The baby sister in the intimidatingly talented Knowles clan, Solange faced a monumental task in following up 2016’s A Seat at the Table, which was widely and justly celebrated as an elegant reinvention of classic soul music. Blazingly smart and … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — When I Get Home
Laughing Matters — Key and Peele, “Non-Scary Movie”
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. As Jordan Peele continues … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Key and Peele, “Non-Scary Movie”
My Misspent Youth — What If? #30 by Bill Flanagan and Rich Buckler
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. Starting to read superhero comics in the early nineteen-eighties posed a … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — What If? #30 by Bill Flanagan and Rich Buckler
Playing Catch-Up — Skyscraper; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?; Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
Skyscraper (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2018). A combat veteran and former hostage rescue team operative, Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) is working as a security expert when he’s recruited to identify the shortcomings in a state of the art building in Hong … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Skyscraper; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?; Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #756 to #753
756. Malcolm McLaren, Fans (1984) Malcolm McLaren’s career as a musical provocateur took a strange turn in the nineteen-eighties, when he moved from behind the scenes promotional manipulations for the likes of the Sex Pistols, Adam Ant, and Bow Wow … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #756 to #753
From the Archive — Transamerica
I’m not sure I’ve watched more than a couple minutes of Transamerica since my first viewing, and I’m skeptical about how well it holds up. If nothing else, it’s clearer by now that casting a cisgendered actress in a transgendered … Continue reading From the Archive — Transamerica
This Week’s Model — Karen O and Danger Mouse, “Turn the Light”
It’s perhaps not surprising that a performer as iconoclastic as Karen O might have difficulty finding her footing in the current music industry. All sharp edges at a time when the strong preference is for sleek, prefab figures, the frontwoman … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Karen O and Danger Mouse, “Turn the Light”
Golden Words — Arrested Development, “Pilot”
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. In my memory, Arrested Development was … Continue reading Golden Words — Arrested Development, “Pilot”
