College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #15
15. The Cure, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) Robert Smith had the whole history of the Cure in his head when he started writing songs for the band’s seventh studio album, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #15
Outside Reading — The Legend of Arthaxx d’Cannith edition
The Dungeons & Dragons Players of Death Row by Keri Blakinger Keri Blakinger delivers beautiful, insightful reporting in this story about death row inmates who set some level of escape from their often inhumane circumstances by retreating into the fantastical … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Legend of Arthaxx d’Cannith edition
This Week’s Model — Frida Kill, “Last Ditch Effort”
Some weeks I scour all the new tracks that have been released by an amazing array of artists, agonizing over which song I’ll plop into this weekly feature. Some weeks, the phenomenal Shilpa Ray makes a recommendation on her Instagram, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Frida Kill, “Last Ditch Effort”
The New Releases Shelf — The Window
The background information on The Window, the fifth and latest album by Chicago band Ratboys, suggests they knew they had material that would benefit from an added level of commitment. The quartet broke from the usual practice of recording in … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — The Window
My Misspent Youth — Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers
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. In the late nineteen-eighties, getting the first issue of new comic … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers
Laughing Matters — The Slipnutz Open for Slipknot
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. Many comic performers are … Continue reading Laughing Matters — The Slipnutz Open for Slipknot
Happy Labor Day
Rather than type out a whole bunch of words, I will cede the floor to the Bard of Barking. Continue reading Happy Labor Day
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #16
16. Pretenders, Pretenders (1979) Chrissie Hynde had every reason to believe that a career in rock ‘n’ roll simply wasn’t going to work out for her. The native of Akron, Ohio had kicked around on the fringes of the music … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #16
Outside Reading — Burying the Lead edition
Journalism fails miserably at explaining what is really happening to America by Will Bunch Until the mainstream news media comes to its collective senses and starts reporting with proper alarm on the Republican party’s cult-like adherence to despotic tendencies, writers … Continue reading Outside Reading — Burying the Lead edition
This Week’s Model — Teenage Halloween, “Getting Bitter”
“Getting Bitter,” the new track from New Jersey–based band Teenage Halloween, is a chewy, chunky blast of pop punk. It call to mind the Beths when they’re in a louder mode, and that includes in the way the bouncy music … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Teenage Halloween, “Getting Bitter”
Coffee for Two 