This Week’s Model — VIAL, “falling short”
Sometimes I want a track that absolutely pummels me. Don’t we all? Continue reading This Week’s Model — VIAL, “falling short”
Then Playing — Stamped from the Beginning; Bell, Book and Candle; Rustin
Stamped from the Beginning (Roger Ross Williams, 2023). Somewhat adapted from and somewhat inspired by Ibram X Kendi’s book of the same name, this documentary by Roger Ross Williams pointedly traces the creation and enforcement of racial identity as a … Continue reading Then Playing — Stamped from the Beginning; Bell, Book and Candle; Rustin
Golden Words — Abbott Elementary, “Pilot”
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. “Philadelphia gets a bad rap,” Quinta … Continue reading Golden Words — Abbott Elementary, “Pilot”
Outside Reading — Huddled Masses edition
The Democrats Are Falling Into a Trap on Immigration Again by Pedro Gerson Another election year, another cycle of Democrats cravenly acquiescing to the fear-mongering of the right. Same as it ever was. Of course, the media is culpable, too. … Continue reading Outside Reading — Huddled Masses edition
This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Right Back to It”
It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since the last proper studio album from Waxahatchee, but it has. The sterling Saint Cloud was released on the last week of March 2020, which placed it directly into the COVID time … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Right Back to It”
Medium Rotation — Cartwheel; Spiritual Cramp
HOTLINE TNT Cartwheel (Third Man) — The second album from Brooklyn-based band Hotline TNT is a ravishing mudslide of revival shoegaze. Largely the brainchild of Will Anderson, a transplanted Midwesterner who wears the influence of the many Minneapolis maestros of … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Cartwheel; Spiritual Cramp
Now Playing — Society of the Snow
J.A. Bayona’s first full-length outing as a director was a horror movie. I thought of that film factoid quite often when watching the Spanish-born director’s latest, the docudrama Society of the Snow. Yes, Bayona builds the narrative (working with three … Continue reading Now Playing — Society of the Snow
Then Playing — The Killer; Maestro; Poor Things
The Killer (David Fincher, 2023). Following the prestige passion project Mank, David Fincher returns to the sort of glossy pulp that seems to most stir his cinematic heart. The Killer focuses on a hitman (Michael Fassbender) whose previously perfect professional … Continue reading Then Playing — The Killer; Maestro; Poor Things
Outside Reading — Veritas edition
What Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me by Claudine Gay The New York Times got played by right-wing muckrakers. The most important newspaper in the country drastically over-covered the ginned up controversies around Claudine Gay, which led directly to … Continue reading Outside Reading — Veritas edition
This Week’s Model — Sprints, “Heavy”
“Heavy,” the new single from Dublin-based band Sprints, is about being wracked with anxiety, which seems like one of sanest topics for a powerful rock band to howl about in this age and day. The deadpan singsong of Karla Chubb’s … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sprints, “Heavy”
Coffee for Two 