Laughing Matters — Jerry Seinfeld, on 1981 HBO Young Comedian’s Special
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. When I was younger, … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Jerry Seinfeld, on 1981 HBO Young Comedian’s Special
Now Playing — Captain Marvel
As a longtime (if occasionally lapsed) fan of superhero comic books, I’ve had mixed emotions about the mighty Marvel age of cinema. Close as it has sometimes come, the Marvel Studios machine hasn’t yet made a wholly satisfying movie, in part … Continue reading Now Playing — Captain Marvel
The Art of the Sell — “The Limey” 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. Determining the ownership of the vision behind movie advertising is tricky. There are some filmmakers who have … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — “The Limey” movie poster
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #760 to #757
760. George Harrison, George Harrison (1979) By the end of the nineteen-seventies, George Harrison didn’t seem all that interested in making new records. Certainly, anyone who was one-quarter of the most important combo in pop music history earned the right … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #760 to #757
From the Archive: 90FM’s Top Ten Albums, Mid-March 1989
Thirty years ago this week, I know what was being played at my college radio station. Or at least I know the ten albums that were being played more than any others. I’ve been sitting on this particular list for … Continue reading From the Archive: 90FM’s Top Ten Albums, Mid-March 1989
This Week’s Model — The National, “You Had Your Soul with You”
With about two decades of recorded music and seven full-length studio efforts behind them, the National are somewhat burdened by their most distinctive elements. Barring a massive, likely fan-alienating reinvention, a new National song is going to exist in the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The National, “You Had Your Soul with You”
Greatish Performances #41
#41 — Brie Larson as Grace Howard in Short Term 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2013) Written and directed by Destin Danile Cretton, Short Term 12 is intensely focused in portraying the tender existences of people connected to a group home … Continue reading Greatish Performances #41
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Good Times Roll,” “It’s All I Can Do,” and “Since You’re Gone”
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. The Cars registered thirteen Top 40 singles … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Good Times Roll,” “It’s All I Can Do,” and “Since You’re Gone”
Playing Catch-Up —Cloud Atlas; Margaret; Venom
Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, and Lilly Wachowski, 2012). Based on the dense, woven basket David Mitchell novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is an escalating dare as cinema. The film freely intercuts between six different plots, spanning … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up —Cloud Atlas; Margaret; Venom
Now Playing — Fighting with My Family
When expressing admiration for an actor’s talents, it’s common — even hackneyed — to note a willingness to follow them anywhere. I’ve made this pledge, but I’ve rarely honored it. There was a time when I was prepared to make … Continue reading Now Playing — Fighting with My Family
