Great Moments in Literature
“Back at the beach, Doc collapsed on his couch and drifted toward sleep, but scarcely had he penetrated the surface tension and sunk into REM than the phone began a god-awful clanging. Last year a crazed teenage doper of Doc’s acquaintance had stolen a fire bell from his high school as part of a vandalism spree, and next morning the youth, overcome with remorse and having no idea what to do with the bell, came to Doc and offered it for sale. Downstairs Eddie, who had put in some time with the phone company and was handy with a soldering … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 58 and 57
58. Various Artists, Brain Candy soundtrack I saw Brain Candy, the sole feature film offering from the fantastic Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall, in an otherwise empty theater at the old University Square 4 in Madison, Wisconsin. The … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 58 and 57
Spectrum Check
The holiday led to slightly shortened week at Spectrum Culture, but I got a few words up. First off, I contributes a new film review, covering a documentary about the process behind being dubbed a Master Sommerlier. As usual, any time my interest drifts towards win, I have one person to thank. I also contributed to our list of the best albums of the year, so far, a practice that has apparently become a requirement for all review sites. As this little corner of the web regularly attests, I’ve no problem making lists, but I do think the midpoint tallies … Continue reading Spectrum Check
One for Friday: Bonnie Dobson, “Good Morning Rain”
Usually, I reserve this weekly feature to pine nostalgically over some song that held special prominence during my college radio days or maybe to wax rhapsodic over a track I discovered in the wilds of the interweb, exposing me to an artist who’d evading my notice up until the digital windfall came my way. Today’s offering theoretically qualifies as the former, although I can’t say that stumbling upon this particular song from Canadian singer-songwriter Bonnie Dobson made me into an obsessively hunt for more of the sweet, sentimental folk music she plied back in the late-sixties and early-seventies, when this … Continue reading One for Friday: Bonnie Dobson, “Good Morning Rain”
The fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Happy 4th of July! Continue reading The fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Top Fifty Films of the 60s — Number Twenty-Six
#26 — Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969) I had the misfortune of starting in completely the wrong place with Greek-born, French resident director Costa-Gavras. By the time I was properly paying attention, Costa-Gavras was mired in heavy Hollywood dramas that were deadened … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 60s — Number Twenty-Six
Greatish Performances #13
#13 — Danny Glover as Simon in Grand Canyon (Lawrence Kasdan, 1991) In Grand Canyon, Danny Glover plays Simon, first arriving in the film by driving to the rescue of Kevin Kline’s Mac. Simon drives a tow truck and has … Continue reading Greatish Performances #13
Duke, Hitchcock, Lang, Lorenz, Rees
Trouble with the Curve (Robert Lorenz, 2012). A longtime Clint Eastwood collaborator–multiple credits as a producer and assistant director–makes his feature directorial debut, and it predictably looks like one of his pal’s stodgier efforts, right down to the venerable actor doing a variation of his Gran Torino gravel-voiced grump complaining about the kids these days. In Trouble with the Curve, Eastwood plays a old baseball scout who’s disparaged by the moneyball adherents in the deluxe offices, even though there’s some things you just can’t tell about a prospect from looking at a computer screen. The film is painfully simplistic, setting … Continue reading Duke, Hitchcock, Lang, Lorenz, Rees
College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 60 and 59
60. Ween, 12 Golden Country Greats Of all the band that cycled through 90FM when I was a devoted student, I may have tagged Ween as the least likely to succeed, or at least to achieve any sort of sustained … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1996, 60 and 59
Spectrum Check
I’ve had a couple jumbled weeks with Spectrum Culture with some odd happenstances causing different pieces to get moved around in different ways. I was supposed to have more this week, but it turned out the only full-length piece of mine that went up was a review of the new solo effort by the drummer of the band Real Estate. It was all music for me–and apparently all solo projects week too–as my contribution to the Monthly Mixtape feature entailed writing on a track from the top-notch new Eleanor Friedberger album. Of course I had to write about the song … Continue reading Spectrum Check
