One for Friday — Hunters & Collectors, “You Can Have It All”
Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1988, Hunters & Collectors released the U.S. edition of their fifth studio album. The Australian band was a reasonable commercial force in their homeland, routinely delivering albums that charted in the Top 20 and singles that made — or at least approached — the Top 40. Stateside, they had recently signed with I.R.S. Records, the independent label that made dominance on college radio their model through much of the nineteen-eighties. The album What’s a Few Men?, released in Australia in 1987, was determined by the executives to have too strong of a Down … Continue reading One for Friday — Hunters & Collectors, “You Can Have It All”
Greatish Performances #38
#38 — Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis, 1988) Bob Hoskins had to invent an entirely new style of acting when he was recruited to play the lead in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The … Continue reading Greatish Performances #38
Bait Taken — The Academy Awards Shake-Up
Not that long ago, the Academy Awards spent one of their annual ceremonies giving practically every trophy they could to The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film was the concluding feature in a trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus. It won in every category in which it was nominated, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Directing, and — the top prize — Best Picture. It became one of three films in Academy Awards history to tally eleven total wins. It was also the highest grossing film of the year, by … Continue reading Bait Taken — The Academy Awards Shake-Up
Great Moments in Literature
“Anna drew on the cigarette, enjoying the dry heat inside her mouth, and let the smoke scatter into the wind. It was dirty, but a dirtiness she liked — akin to the girl welders eating their lunches sitting on the … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
Now Playing — The Spy Who Dumped Me
If the main problem with modern studio comedies is a tendency towards unwieldy narrative sprawl in the name of cramming in every mildly amusing aside captured on set, director Susanna Fogel should first be credited for her uncommon discipline with … Continue reading Now Playing — The Spy Who Dumped Me
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #884 to #881
884. Del Fuegos, Stand Up (1987) Time was running out for the Del Fuegos. Signed by the Warner Bros. subsidiary Slash Records, the Boston band were fully expected to inspire the same fervor from a national audience as they generated … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #884 to #881
From the Archive — Stranger Than Fiction
On the occasion of Marc Forster ushering into theaters a new film that plays with the idea of famed fictional characters intermingling with the real world, I’ll rustle up my old review for this earlier effort with some superficial similarities. … Continue reading From the Archive — Stranger Than Fiction
One for Friday — Reckless Sleepers, “Tried to Please Her”
Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1988, Reckless Sleepers released their first and only album, Big Boss Sounds. The band’s label, college radio mainstay I.R.S. Records, concentrated the promotional push on the band’s lead singer and chief songwriter, Jules … Continue reading One for Friday — Reckless Sleepers, “Tried to Please Her”
Now Playing — Mission: Impossible — Fallout
Since launching as a fairly conventional action series with a couple gimmicky elements primarily included as a nod to its original network television source material, the Mission: Impossible series of films have progressed as an escalating dare. Over six films, … Continue reading Now Playing — Mission: Impossible — Fallout
The Art of the Sell — “I Want My MTV”
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. “Just moments ago, all of the VJs and the crew here at MTV collectively hit our executive … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — “I Want My MTV”
Coffee for Two 