College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 229 – 227
229. Van Halen, “Jump” Eddie Van Halen wrote “Jump” on the synthesizer. Famously and even a bit notoriously, the song was a significant departure for the band the bore his name, a group that forged a fervent fan base largely through their vaunted lead guitarist’s six-string heroics. When “Jump” arrived as the lead single from Van Halen’s 1984, the divergence from the band’s typical sound was all anyone could talk about, a flurry of chatter which served the song well. Interest in the track was high, and it quickly became the most successful single the band ever released, cruising to the top … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 229 – 227
From the Archive: 90FM’s Top 35, Early September 1989
An old friend of mine has recently been moving heaven, earth, and government agencies to get his hands on as much material from the early years of the college radio trade journal CMJ as he can. Among his bounty is a batch of photocopies of a issue from September of 1989, collecting some of the first reports of stations after the start of the school year. The main album chart has Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Mother’s Milk at the top and includes such left of the dial luminaries as the Sugarcubes, the Cure, and the Pixies. Of greater immediate interest to … Continue reading From the Archive: 90FM’s Top 35, Early September 1989
One for Friday: Jackson Browne, “Chasing You Into the Light”
By the time the late nineteen-eighties had rolled around, college radio largely had its own identity, one that almost entirely eschewed artists that got ample attention from stations in the commercial portions of the dial. That was a significant shift from a decade earlier, when an album by the Who, arguably at the peak of their broader popularity, could top the college charts, albeit charts that in their earliest stages. While some stations still afford these legacy artists at least a modicum of respect around 1989, the general rule was to strongly favor the acts that were starting to be … Continue reading One for Friday: Jackson Browne, “Chasing You Into the Light”
Now Playing: The Witch
The Witch opens on a face. Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), a teen-aged girl is staring forward with a delicate mixture of worry and disbelief as her family is drummed out of a community of the basis of religious views in combat. … Continue reading Now Playing: The Witch
Beers I Have Known: Central Waters Brewing Co. Mudpuppy Porter
As I believe I’ve lamented in this space, I not-so-recently departed the Tar Heel State, more specifically Beer City U.S.A. That meant leaving behind a bounty of frosty favorites, most of which barely travel beyond the borders of their home state, much less journey as far north as I have. I’ve also acknowledged that I have the fresh blessing of constant discovery, finding the abundance of excellent beers that were nonexistent or maybe the merest inklings some fifteen years ago, when I last resided in the state of Wisconsin, and have since become near standards in local watering holes. In … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Central Waters Brewing Co. Mudpuppy Porter
Auer, Bateman, Halperin, Nelson, Newley
Bad Words (Jason Bateman, 2014). The feature directorial debut of Bateman has a nifty story hook and an admirable nasty streak. It’s especially nice to see Bateman fully tap the vein of dark consternation that pulses through his best, smartest comedic work. Unfortunately, the screenplay by Andrew Dodge also relies on a adult-child friendship that feels patently phony and is also fairly hackneyed for this sort of dark comedy. That there are a few slightly more clever notes played between Bateman and Rohan Chand (playing a more appropriately-aged rival in a national spelling bee that Bateman’s disgruntled adult has pushed … Continue reading Auer, Bateman, Halperin, Nelson, Newley
#OscarsSoWhat
At least the Oscars still have a capacity to surprise. Thankfully, those surprises sometimes mean they’re moving in the right direction, that there’s a prevailing need to try and get it right, to make certain that the sheen remains on the most prestigious award in film. Alicia Vikander has the kind of breakout year in which she can make the claim of providing exemplary support in a number of films, so she wins the award the corresponds with that achievement, the title etched on the base of the trophy far less significant than the four digits that place it in … Continue reading #OscarsSoWhat
College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 232 – 230
232. Gary Numan, “Cars” Officially, “Cars” is the debut single of Gary Numan. Born Gary Anthony James Webb, the musician took his stage name as the leader and chief creative force of the U.K. band Tubeway Army. According to Numan, he wanted to formally transition to a solo act fairly early on, but the label felt a band was more likely to crack the charts. Though bassist Paul Gardiner was also part of the Tubeway Army lineup through it’s entire existence, by the time they were making records in the late nineteen-seventies, it was realistically Numan under a different name. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 232 – 230
From the Archive: Capote
The Academy Awards ceremony that took place ten years ago was a mess of mixed emotions. It anointed Crash as Best Picture, which many consider to be one of the worst choices for the Academy’s top prize in recent decades (I maintain the real worst choice in my lifetime is A Beautiful Mind, though The Revenant seems primed to become my new choice for that dubious category) and strained to honor a couple movie stars in the acting categories by awarding George Clooney and Reese Witherspoon Oscars for mediocre work. But then, Ange Lee won his first directing Oscar, entirely … Continue reading From the Archive: Capote
One for Friday: Paul Westerberg and Joan Jett, “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love”
When the annual Academy Awards ceremony is finally upon us, the tendency toward retrospective really kicks in. Sure, it’s about thinking back across the prior year in film, but these awards are so storied, so heavy with the weight of history, that thinking back on past winners and past shows comes automatically. No one gives a damn what happened at the Golden Globes twenty years ago, but Vanity Fair will happily devote a lot of digital ink to the Oscarcast of the same year. Reading through that essay of wistful snark brought a lot to mind, including the that way … Continue reading One for Friday: Paul Westerberg and Joan Jett, “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love”
Coffee for Two 