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
Now Playing — The Holdovers
I’m sure it’s not solely that The Holdovers is set during the holiday season of 1970 that prompts director Alexander Payne to open his new movie with deliberate evocations of the U.S. cinema of that bygone era, beginning with an … Continue reading Now Playing — The Holdovers
Then Playing — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Days of Wine and Roses; The Terminal Man
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (James Gunn, 2023). Writer-director James Gunn officially concludes his run with the star-spanning, misfit heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the few filmmakers who was able to prevent his creative sensibility … Continue reading Then Playing — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Days of Wine and Roses; The Terminal Man
Medium Rotation — Yard; Bury the Lede
SLOW PULP Yard (Anti-) — Slow Pulp might be the only act that actively tried to preserve some of the limitations they endured during the era of COVID lockdowns. The band that originated in Madison, Wisconsin before setting up shop … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Yard; Bury the Lede
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #5
5. Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (1983) Nearly three full years passed between the release of Talking Heads’ fourth album, Remain in Light, and its proper studio follow-up, Speaking in Tongues. The span of time was long enough during that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #5
Coffee for Two 