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”
My Misspent Youth — Marvel Treasury Edition #28 by Jim Shooter and John Buscema
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. Through a good chunk of the nineteen-seventies and -eighties, Marvel Comics … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Marvel Treasury Edition #28 by Jim Shooter and John Buscema
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Tried To Love”
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. When Peter Frampton released I’m in You, … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Tried To Love”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #888 to #885
888. She’s Having a Baby soundtrack (1988) The nineteen-eighties was the era of soundtracks, and John Hughes was one of the great impresarios of the form. Despite the accuracy of that statement, Hughes didn’t actually preside over all that many … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #888 to #885
From the Archive — Primeval and Bats
Sometimes I wish I’d had a silly online outlet for tapping out my impressions of visual entertainment back in the days when my household regularly hosted small, snarky crowds for double features of cinematic misfortune. Sadly, I have no old … Continue reading From the Archive — Primeval and Bats
One for Friday — Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, “I’m Not Your Man”
Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1988, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers released their major label debut, Rumble. Local heroes on the Philadelphia rock scene, Conwell and his cohorts were so popular that a 1987 contest pitched at … Continue reading One for Friday — Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, “I’m Not Your Man”
