The New Releases Shelf — 7
In writing about recent albums, I can sometimes lose sight of the simple fact that new bands aren’t always that new. (Unless the band has been around for ages, of course.) I go through a litany of comparisons to other … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — 7
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Till”
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. In 1956, the French singer Lucien Lupi … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Till”
Now Playing — Incredibles 2
Incredibles 2 essentially begins at the precise point its exemplary predecessor ends. The Parr family, super-powered individuals who have largely refrained from costumed heroism because of legal prohibitions, spring into action against the villainous Underminer (voiced by John Ratzenberger), who … Continue reading Now Playing — Incredibles 2
The Art of the Sell — “The Player” 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. In the early nineteen-nineties, movie poster design was increasingly dominated by incredibly dull images. As movie star … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — “The Player” movie poster
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #912 to #909
912. Robert Palmer, Clues (1980) Emerging as a solo performer in the midst of the nineteen-seventies, Robert Palmer was one of the British singers touted for his soulful vocalizations. Arguably, there was no better path to U.S. commercial success for … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #912 to #909
From the Archive — WALL-E
Although I’m optimistic about Incredibles 2, I long for the days that Pixar evinced nothing but the barest interest in sequels. With rare exceptions, the studio consistently strove for vivid inventiveness with each new effort, as if the especially lengthy … Continue reading From the Archive — WALL-E
One for Friday — Soul Asylum, “Sometime to Return”
Thirty years ago, in the spring of 1988, Soul Asylum released the album Hang Time. In the Minneapolis regional of the nineteen-eighties tourney for the hearts and minds of college radio kids, Soul Asylum was doomed to never finish better than … Continue reading One for Friday — Soul Asylum, “Sometime to Return”
Beers I Have Known — Bad Weather Brewing Company Munich Helles
This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. I’ve previously acknowledged the unique prominence of Minnesota’s Bad Weather Brewing Company in … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Bad Weather Brewing Company Munich Helles
Laughing Matters — Robin Williams, “Come Inside My Mind”
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. Lately I’ve been reading … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Robin Williams, “Come Inside My Mind”
Now Playing — Hereditary
There are plenty of gruesome elements to go around in Hereditary, the feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster. As the title implies, though, the most unsettling portions of the film center on the way family can weigh on a … Continue reading Now Playing — Hereditary
Coffee for Two 