Playing Catch-Up — The Endless; Crazy Rich Asians; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
The Endless (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, 2018). The directing team behind the cleverly subversive horror film Spring train their storytelling on a strange commune in the hills that beckons back a pair of brothers (as if not busy enough, Justin … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — The Endless; Crazy Rich Asians; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Five Songs from 2018
As usual, the final reflection on a calendar year’s worth of music comes in the form of a quintet of songs. I’m not offering these as my personal choice for the best five tracks of 2018. Instead, these are just … Continue reading Five Songs from 2018
Top Ten Albums of 2018
As a rule, I acknowledge trends in music only grudgingly, believing the creative process is ultimately far more elusive — and operating on chronologies likely quite different from that suggested by the release schedules — than perception bias allows. The … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2018
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #800 to #797
800. Cindy Bullens, Desire Wire (1978) There was a lot of slow build music business background preceding Desire Wire, the debut album by Cidny Bullens, then performing as “Cindy” while living apart from his true gender identity. Bullens was a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #800 to #797
From the Archive — Ben Folds Five
The airing of the Kennedy Center Honors this week kicked up all sorts of online enthusiasm for Adam Lambert singing Cher’s “Believe” and Kelly Clarkson paying tribute to Reba McEntire by belting out “Fancy” (which strikes me as more of … Continue reading From the Archive — Ben Folds Five
One for Friday — Was (Not Was), “Somewhere in America There’s a Street Named After My Dad”
Thirty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, Was (Not Was) released the album What Up, Dog? Officially the third full-length from the group, the album showed up just as one of the two individuals who adopted the last name Was … Continue reading One for Friday — Was (Not Was), “Somewhere in America There’s a Street Named After My Dad”
Now Playing — Mary Queen of Scots
Much as the wholly understandable current cineaste lament centers on eager franchise chasing and pursuit of brand recognition that limits originality in the various major studio’s dwindling slates, it’s worth remembering the retreat to the tried and true is hardly … Continue reading Now Playing — Mary Queen of Scots
Playing Catch-Up — Winter Light; Blockers; Eighth Grade
Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman, 1963). I’m not sure where the stereotype about smothering Swedish gloom originated, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover the precise genesis point resides somewhere within the frames of Winter Light. In the characteristically … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Winter Light; Blockers; Eighth Grade
Now Playing — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Nearly thirty years after Tim Burton’s Batman became a box office behemoth, around fifteen years after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man set a proper template for big screen superhero adventures, and ten years after Jon Favreau’s Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, … Continue reading Now Playing — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
And to all a good night
Happy holidays, all! Continue reading And to all a good night
