The Art of the Sell — Sammy Davis Jr. for Suntory Whisky
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. If an advertisement is measured by how much it makes a person crave the product peddled, I … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Sammy Davis Jr. for Suntory Whisky
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #134 to #132
134. Fine Young Cannibals, Fine Young Cannibals (1985) Guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele didn’t know their band the Beat was breaking up. Vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger had already decided they were moving and started recording their … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #134 to #132
Outside Reading — Unsettled Law edition
The Supreme Court Is Blowing Up Law School, Too by Mark Joseph Stern My master’s degree program included a class in constitutional law. It didn’t really make sense that it did, but I greatly enjoyed the class. In his lectures, … Continue reading Outside Reading — Unsettled Law edition
This Week’s Model — Carly Rae Jepsen (feat. Rufus Wainwright), “The Loneliest Time”
“Should be easy to remember cuz it’s the same day Taylor Swift is putting out her album,” Carly Rae Jepsen joked from the Radio City Music Hall stage recently when reminding fans of when her newest full-length studio effort will … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Carly Rae Jepsen (feat. Rufus Wainwright), “The Loneliest Time”
Radio Days — WPRK’s Top 30 for October 7, 2002
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. Several years after I hung up the studio headphones for the last time as an undergraduate student … Continue reading Radio Days — WPRK’s Top 30 for October 7, 2002
Laughing Matters — Julie Brown, “I Like ‘Em Big and Stupid”
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. Back in my college … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Julie Brown, “I Like ‘Em Big and Stupid”
Loretta Lynn, 1932 – 2022
A good amount of my time growing up was spent in a house that had country music playing all the time. This was in the nineteen-seventies and the first part of the nineteen-eighties, and while a poppier brand of country … Continue reading Loretta Lynn, 1932 – 2022
Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “In Your Eyes”
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Cameron Crowe was trying to crack a … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “In Your Eyes”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #137 to #135
137. The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs (1987) Because of the uncertain approach Sire Records took to releasing music from the Smiths in U.S., there was a lot of material that hadn’t been pressed on LP, Yanks’ preferred format for record … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #137 to #135
Outside Reading — Fellowship edition
Guess Who’s Coming to Mordor by James Poniewozik When considering the flood of sewage deliberately pumped into the public discourse by right-wing cads, it’s practically impossible to determine which infraction against basic decency is most egregious. That, too, is part … Continue reading Outside Reading — Fellowship edition
Coffee for Two 