My Writers — Gillian Flynn
Appropriately, I think, Gillian Flynn locked me in for good when I started reading one of her books in a drug store. I was waiting on a prescription, and I wandered over the the dispiritingly sparse selection of paperbacks. A … Continue reading My Writers — Gillian Flynn
The Art of the Sell — Marvel subscriptions
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. When I first started buying superhero comics, in the early nineteen-eighties, there were a couple ads that … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Marvel subscriptions
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #968 to #965
968. Jorma Kaukonen, Barbecue King (1981) Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen was carrying a sturdy rock legacy with him when he recorded the album Barbecue King. He was also toying with that storied reputation, which might very well have been the album’s … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #968 to #965
From the Archive — Hellboy II: The Golden Army
As means of congratulating the highly deserving winner of this year’s Best Directing Academy Award, I will excavate one this review of an old Guillermo del Toro film, which I believe stands as the final such writerly relic that can … Continue reading From the Archive — Hellboy II: The Golden Army
One for Friday — Concrete Blonde, “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)”
Well before I ever set foot in the city of New Orleans, impressions about its rough, spooky charms were set for me. Movies fed my notions, but a more significant part of the mural was colored in by music. Since … Continue reading One for Friday — Concrete Blonde, “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)”
That Championship Season — Treme, Season One
The premiere episode of Treme begins with white words on a black screen. First, they establish that the series takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then comes the critical information about timing: “Three Months After.” The event that took place … Continue reading That Championship Season — Treme, Season One
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Muddy River” and “Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)
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. Johnny Rivers was born in New York … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Muddy River” and “Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)
Great Moments in Literature
“Lila Mae removed the two suitcases from the back of the pickup truck. The suitcases were new, with a formidable casing of green plastic. Scratchproof, supposedly. Her father had only been able to afford them because they were, manufacturer’s oaths … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
Oscars Gonna Oscar
For the first time in more years than is at all reasonable, I feel like I watched an Oscar telecast that wasn’t constructed by people who were embarrassed about the very concept of the storied ceremony they presided over. That … Continue reading Oscars Gonna Oscar
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #972 to #969
972. Dave Edmunds, Twangin… (1981) Dave Edmunds was already a longterm veteran of the pop music salt mines when he delivered Twangin…, his sixth proper solo album and one more paver stone in a path of rock ‘n’ roll proselytizing that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #972 to #969
Coffee for Two 