Playing Catch-Up — The Best Years of Our Lives; The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography; Truth
The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946). My overwhelming reaction to this drama of post-war turmoil in the lives of U.S. fighting men and their families is a dumbstruck marveling that it was released just one year after … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — The Best Years of Our Lives; The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography; Truth
My Misspent Youth — The Fourth World saga by Jack Kirby
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. I hold a certain piece of comic book publishing in my … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — The Fourth World saga by Jack Kirby
College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 7
7. Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Peek-A-Boo” One of the biggest hits ever crafted by Siouxsie and the Banshees began as a mistake. Following a string of splendid studio efforts through the the late-nineteen-seventies and the first half of the eighties, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 7
From the Archive — Me and You and Everyone We Know
Until very recently, I forgot I wrote a longer review on Miranda July’s feature directorial debut. Back when I first posted this, it was rare I went longer on films that weren’t actively playing in theaters, and I sadly didn’t … Continue reading From the Archive — Me and You and Everyone We Know
One for Friday — Brian Ritchie, “Religion Ruined My Life”
Some songs that arrived at my college radio station had a remarkable number of attributes, all converging to make it nearly irresistible to the eager young music fans that took turns on the airwaves. “Religion Ruined My Life,” from the … Continue reading One for Friday — Brian Ritchie, “Religion Ruined My Life”
Now Playing: Logan Lucky
No matter how vociferously the retirement was emphasized and how many venomous arrows were projected in the general direction of the modern movie industry, there was little doubt Steven Soderbergh would eventually find his way back to the big screen … Continue reading Now Playing: Logan Lucky
Programming Note
This image is my blogging equivalent of tipping over the king. Words offered tomorrow. Continue reading Programming Note
Laughing Matters — Bloom County: Hunting Wild Liberals
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. When I was still … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Bloom County: Hunting Wild Liberals
The New Releases Shelf: Everything Now
When I first heard songs from Reflektor, the fourth album from Arcade Fire, I was left a little cold. The long run-up to that album, the Montreal band’s follow-up to the surprise Grammy winner The Suburbs, doled out songs one … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Everything Now
College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 8
8. Thomas Dolby, “She Blinded Me with Science” Ray Milton Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1933. A sound engineer by training and by trade, Dolby spent the early nineteen-sixties working as a technical advisor for the United Nations, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 8
