Laughing Matters — What If Wes Anderson Directed X-Men?
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. In the past couple … Continue reading Laughing Matters — What If Wes Anderson Directed X-Men?
Then Playing — Children of a Lesser God; 5 Against the House; Personality Crisis: One Night Only
Children of a Lesser God (Randa Haines, 1986). Much as I admired Children of a Lesser God at the time it was originally released, I’ve long mentally consigned it to the category of earnest nineteen-eighties dramas that probably looked fairly … Continue reading Then Playing — Children of a Lesser God; 5 Against the House; Personality Crisis: One Night Only
Golden Words — The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Chuckles Bites the Dust”
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. Jay Sandrich directed 119 episodes of … Continue reading Golden Words — The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Chuckles Bites the Dust”
Beers I Have Known — Smithwick’s Irish Ale
This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. As noted previously, I spent some time roaming these past couple weeks. There … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Smithwick’s Irish Ale
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #44 and #43
44. Genesis, Abacab (1981) In many ways, Abacab, the eleventh studio album by Genesis, was a stern rejection of the band’s legacy. Through the entirety of the nineteen-seventies, the group were stalwarts of progressive rock, releasing studio albums that strung … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #44 and #43
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #46 and #45
46. Men at Work, Business as Usual (1981) Columbia Records executives didn’t think U.S. would warm to Business as Usual, the debut album by the Australian band Men at Work. After rapidly building a reputation as aces live band in … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #46 and #45
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #48 and #47
48. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I Love Rock ‘n Roll (1981) “I feel like I’ve paid a lot of dues,” Joan Jett told an Associated Press reporter when the title cut to her sophomore solo LP — and first … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #48 and #47
Programming Note
For the next two weeks, I’m on vacation. Sometimes in such instances, I still endeavor to keep up with daily updates here. Not this time, friends. Not this time. Normal operations resume on Monday, May 15. The College Countdown is … Continue reading Programming Note
This Week’s Model — Annie Blackman, “The Well”
Annie Blackman does indeed sound like what anyone would reasonably expect from a young, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter. “The Well,” her new single, has a tender, plaintive quality to it, spelling out the challenge of living and loving in the world as … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Annie Blackman, “The Well”
Medium Rotation — Desire, I Want to Turn Into You; in|FLUX
CAROLINE POLACHEK Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (Perpetual Novice) — The first words Caroline Polachek sings on her new album, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, are “Welcome to my island.” Delivered in a tone that bridges … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Desire, I Want to Turn Into You; in|FLUX
Coffee for Two 