Outside Reading — Past-Life Arsonists edition
We Three Kings: boygenius On Their Breakout Year by Brady Gerber Even those who engage in only casual perusals of my little corner of the digital world are undoubtedly clear that I wholeheartedly hopped on the boygenius bandwagon at the … Continue reading Outside Reading — Past-Life Arsonists edition
This Week’s Model — Glitterer, “Just a Place”
“Just a Place,” the new single from Glitterer, opens with an enticing tuneful cascade of the sort that the Ocean Blue used to dispense like candy from their pockets. As the track moves on, it toughens up just a bit, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Glitterer, “Just a Place”
Shane MacGowan, 1957 – 2023
Midway through the day and into early evening, none of the festival attendees knew if Shane MacGowan was going to show up for his scheduled set. There were all sorts of reasons to surmise that the onetime Pogues frontman would … Continue reading Shane MacGowan, 1957 – 2023
Book Report — The Stone Sky; Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin Fiction, 2017 But there are none so frightened, or so strange in their fear, as conquerors. They conjure phantoms endlessly, terrified that their victims will someday do back what was done to them—even if, … Continue reading Book Report — The Stone Sky; Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Laughing Matters — Albert Brooks and Danny
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. Although I have mostly … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Albert Brooks and Danny
Then Playing — Albert Brooks: Defending My Life; Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.; Blue Jean
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (Rob Reiner, 2023). This documentary on the life and career of Albert Brooks includes enough clips of his remarkable work in comedy and filmmaking to ensure a suitable level of entertainment. In nearly every other … Continue reading Then Playing — Albert Brooks: Defending My Life; Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.; Blue Jean
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #4
4. The Clash, Combat Rock (1982) “This time we wanted to cut it down a bit,” said guitarist Mick Jones, who shared frontman duties in the Clash with Joe Strummer, of the band’s fifth studio album, Combat Rock. “It was … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #4
Outside Reading — Graveyards of Broken Images edition
What you feel in the void is kenopsia by Christian Näthler Writing for his own lol/sos Substack, Christian Näthler writes about the very modern sensation that accompanies coming upon spaces — especially digital spaces — that were once booming but … Continue reading Outside Reading — Graveyards of Broken Images edition
This Week’s Model — Sleaford Mods, “West End Girls”
It never would have occurred to me that that Sleaford Mods would be an ideal match for one of the most iconic synth-pop singles of the nineteen-eighties, but here we are. That’s clearly my shortcoming of imagination. The opening lyrics … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sleaford Mods, “West End Girls”
The Art of the Sell — Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Zenith
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Sadly, I suspect that most people who earlier today enjoyed a seasonally appropriate viewing John Hughes’s 1987 … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Zenith
Coffee for Two 