From the Archive: Little Miss Sunshine
As Battle of the Sexes makes its initial, limited-engagement foray into theaters this weekend, I double-checked the filmography of co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, figuring that I’d been largely tuning out their work since their feature debut, Little Miss Sunshine, … Continue reading From the Archive: Little Miss Sunshine
One for Friday — The Magic Numbers, “This Love”
When I spent time in the broadcast booth at various college radio stations, one of the finest gifts that came with it was the chance to flip through the ever-changing batch of new music that sat on the shelf. It … Continue reading One for Friday — The Magic Numbers, “This Love”
The New Releases Shelf: Painted Ruins
In the best way, Grizzly Bear makes music that nags at me. Although there’s the occasional track that is immediately arresting — “Yet Again,” from 2012’s Shields, for example — but my predominant experience with the group’s music is one … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Painted Ruins
Playing Catch-Up — Wind River; Ship of Fools; Demolition
Wind River (Taylor Sheridan, 2017). With just a handful of credits for major creative roles behind the camera, Taylor Sheridan is already establishing a pretty compelling philosophical thesis about the way the world works. In Wind River, those who exist … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Wind River; Ship of Fools; Demolition
Now Playing — mother!
I have my own theory about the genesis of mother!, the new film from Darren Aronofsky. My supposition is supported by no investigative evidence, and it surely isn’t accurate. But it helps me make sense of the sprawling madness that … Continue reading Now Playing — mother!
Beers I Have Known — 3 Sheeps Brewing Fresh Coast
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. As summer slowly wobbles to its inevitable topple and stillness, I’ve been thinking … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — 3 Sheeps Brewing Fresh Coast
College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 4
4. Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House” The highest-charting single of the Talking Heads’ career came about because drummer Chris Frantz attended a Parliament-Funkadelic show at Madison Square Garden. Energized by the propulsive sound he heard coming from the stage … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 4
From the Archive — The Fountain
On the occasion of a new film from Darren Aronofsky arriving to acclaim and debate, and as I eagerly await my opportunity to screen said film and join in the carousing argument, it’s perhaps worth remembering that most of the … Continue reading From the Archive — The Fountain
One for Friday — Grant Hart, “2541”
During my first academic year at my college radio station, from the fall of 1988 through the spring of 1989, there was one song I was desperate to hear, even as it remained agonizingly elusive. Before I showed up at … Continue reading One for Friday — Grant Hart, “2541”
Greatish Performances #31
#31 — Jennifer Lopez as Karen Sisco in Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh, 1998) When Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight was released, in 1998, it was revelatory in about a half-dozen different ways. It introduced the artful showman side of … Continue reading Greatish Performances #31
Coffee for Two 