College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 4
4. Radiohead, The Bends In 1995, Radiohead wasn’t yet Radiohead. Yes, it was absolutely comprised of the exact same five members who persist in the lineup to this day, and any cursory listen to their earliest albums indicates that they were already engaged in some of the same sonic explorations that would define them in years to come, although it was definitely in a nascent version. That noted, the band wasn’t yet burdened by the stultifying reputation for modern pop distilled down to high art that began a couple years later, with 1997’s excellent OK Computer, and proceeded with a … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 4
From the Archive: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
With all my papers still packed up for transit, I’m still relying on my former online home for this weekly dive into the archive. And we’ll use this week’s release schedule to help narrow down what’s selected. The first portion … Continue reading From the Archive: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
One for Friday: Dan Rousseau, “Good Morning Swannanoa”
A little more than eight years ago, I began working at a unique little college nestled in the Swannanoa Valley in Western North Carolina. Surrounded by mountains, equipped with a full working farm, and populated by students who came to the place knowing full well that their education was going to necessarily include fifteen hours each week devoted to keeping the operations of the college going, in every facet from office work to heavy-duty landscaping to cleaning floors and toilets. I’d come from an institution of higher learning with a fair number of enrollees who were just checking boxes in … Continue reading One for Friday: Dan Rousseau, “Good Morning Swannanoa”
She says Jesus has a twin who don’t know nothing about sin
Sixtieth in a series… Continue reading She says Jesus has a twin who don’t know nothing about sin
My Misspent Youth: Fantastic Four #176 by Roy Thomas and George Perez
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. When I committed to superhero comics, I was all in. I was even proud to put aside the childish comics that had previously commanded my attention, believing that my newfound preference for spandex-clad do-gooders represented a version of growing up. And yet I wasn’t fully able to turn my tiny back on the sort of loose-limbed high jinks that once enthralled me so. Sometimes I wanted something a little wacky, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Fantastic Four #176 by Roy Thomas and George Perez
Top 40 Smash Taps: “We’re Free”
These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. Beverly Bremers began her music career early, appearing on television programs and recording her first singles when still a teenager. She experience only the mildest success until she found herself in the middle of a sensation, joining the cast of Hair during its original Broadway run. That led to other stage work, including a featured role in the Tony-nominated musical The Me Nobody … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “We’re Free”
Tomorrow’s sun with buildings scrape the sky
For a sizable portion of his career — at least since Back to the Future first positioned him to be able to take pricey risks in his projects — director Robert Zemeckis has been most enlivened by material that allows him some opportunity to bend the latest cinematic technology to the needs of classic Hollywood narrative. At its best, this has led to films where the exuberance of Zemeckis’s relentless invention gave truth to the overused term movie magic. It also led to an unfortunate stretch of years that found him stuck in the Uncanny Valley. Even at the most dire, the … Continue reading Tomorrow’s sun with buildings scrape the sky
College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 5
5. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Brainbloodvolume As happens from time to time in this crazy endeavor of mine, I find myself downright startled by the high placement of an album on the chart being scaled through. The U.K. band Ned’s Atomic Dustbin had a couple of enormous hits on 90Fm during my time there. The band released their debut album, God Fodder, in 1991, and the singles “Kill Your Television” and “Grey Cell Green” were as constant of a presence on our Central Wisconsin airwaves as station policy would allow. Their follow-up, Are You Normal?, also did well, though I don’t recall … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 5
From the Archive: Into the Wild
This review was first posted at my original online home. As I’ve since established in this space, Jon Krakauer is among my favorite writers, and his intricate, methodical, deeply felt Into the Wild was the instigator of that. I may have come … Continue reading From the Archive: Into the Wild
One for Friday: Fire Town, “Turn To Me”
When I was a teenager, just starting to hone my musical taste into something respectable, I wanted to believe in a local music scene. As I read through my biweekly subscription copies of Rolling Stone with the sort of intense scrutiny others save for the Bible, I became enamored with any write-up about a town that was exploding with an influx of great new bands that were garnering national attention. The mixture of civic pride and being ahead of the curve was potently appealing to me for reasons I still can’t quite identify. Of course, I couldn’t truly take advantage … Continue reading One for Friday: Fire Town, “Turn To Me”
Coffee for Two 