College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #30 and #29
30. The Clash, London Calling (1979) “I remember that things were so up in the air, and there was quite a good feeling of us against the world,” Joe Strummer, guitarist and co-frontman of the Clash, told Rolling Stone several … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #30 and #29
Outside Reading — The Dark Side of the Trousers edition
Pink Floyd, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and Me by Charlie Savage Charlie Savage, who’s now a well-regarded political journalist with a Pulitzer Prize on his shelf, recounts his experience a cub reporter when a human interest piece about stoners syncing … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Dark Side of the Trousers edition
This Week’s Model — Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
This week brought an uncommonly large batch of the new tracks that tugged at my music-loving soul and demanded placement in this weekly spot. At different points, I was sure this week’s model was a recently unearthed gem from the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
Now Playing — Asteroid City
Wes Anderson knows who he is. it’s not as if he’s oblivious to his own artistic peculiarities: the mix of bone-dry humor and cartoonish tomfoolery, the characterizations so broad they actually feel more authentic than more restrained renderings, and, above … Continue reading Now Playing — Asteroid City
Then Playing — Farewell, My Lovely; Carefree; Yes, God, Yes
Farewell, My Lovely (Dick Richards, 1975). As nineteen-seventies New Hollywood was peaking, Robert Mitchum returned to his natural habitat. Mitchum stars as Philip Marlowe in an adaption of Raymond Chandler’s 1940 novel, Farewell, My Lovely, which had gotten a couple … Continue reading Then Playing — Farewell, My Lovely; Carefree; Yes, God, Yes
Medium Rotation — All of This Will End; The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
INDIGO DE SOUZA All of This Will End (Saddle Creek) — All of This Will End, the third album from Asheville, North Carolina resident Indigo De Souza, is effusive in its caustic cacophonies. De Souza is relentlessly candid in her … Continue reading Medium Rotation — All of This Will End; The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
The Art of the Sell — Magnolia teaser trailer
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Sometimes I think every movie trailer should introduce close-ups of all the actors introducing themselves in character. … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Magnolia teaser trailer
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #32 and #31
32. The Cure, The Head on the Door (1985) It seemed the Cure were at an end. Post-punk upstarts on their 1979 debut, Three Imaginary Boys, the band rapidly evolved into trailblazers of goth rock on subsequent albums. That process … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #32 and #31
Outside Reading — Louis, I Think This Is the End of a Beautiful Friendship edition
TCM Fans Are Right to Worry by Josef Adalian It was probably inevitable that the rampage of the wrecking ball serving as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO would eventually reach Turner Classic Movies, the one network that deserves to be part … Continue reading Outside Reading — Louis, I Think This Is the End of a Beautiful Friendship edition
This Week’s Model — Guided By Voices, “Meet the Star”
The next Guided by Voices album, Welshpool Frillies, is scheduled for release in July. It is their second full-length album this year. They also released two studio albums last year and two the year before that. They released three studio … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Guided By Voices, “Meet the Star”