January 2012
19 posts
“It’s exactly the kind of thing we’d expect from someone who just covered the...”
– Yo Idolator, I know it’s probably in your stylebook never to pass up any opportunity to link shamelessly to your former posts, relevance be damned, but you are talking about a penis-shaped cake. This is like comparing apples to cherry bombs. (via katherinestasaph)
Also, Bob Dylan is 70 years old...
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areyouasardine:
I like it when I can correctly answer a question on University Challenge with the words “Jacques Derrida”. Thank you Scritti Politti.
I did Quiz Bowl in college. You’d be surprised how many times I got “Gang of Four” as the right answer. (Needless to say, I never studied Chinese history.)
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My Week in Movies #3
017) The Good Soldier Schweik (Karel Steklý, 1957) Sun, Jan 15 / Netflix DVD
I read Jaroslav Hašek’s novel (or really, four novels) The Good Soldier Švejk last year, so I was curious to check out the pre-New Wave classic of Czech cinema it inspired. (The Facets DVD titles the film after the German spelling of Švejk’s name, for some reason.) And it’s … OK. It’s a...
“One evening “Stanny” gave Evelyn a thorough tour of his married man’s bachelor...”
– The Awl
This is a really disturbing story, but maybe I’m just partly reacting to the fact that I AM LESS THAN A BLOCK AWAY FROM THIS PLACE RIGHT NOW. (The building collapsed a few years ago, apparently.)
*****
I can’t just tell people I live in Chelsea anymore. From now on, it’s...
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My Week in Movies #2
This week: Olivier does Shakespeare; Bresson gets soapy; James Mason really needs to see a doctor; an ape becomes human-ish; a human becomes human-ish; a Belgian kid is (sorta) alright; and Sherlock Holmes fights baddies in slow-mo.
010) Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (Robert Bresson, 1945) Sun, Jan 8 / Film Forum, NYC
There’s a Robert Bresson retrospective on at the Film Forum, and somehow this...
pinstripehourglass asked: Have you heard Bryan Ferry's glammed up Vegas-rock cover of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", a la Do The Strand or Virginia Plain? You wouldn't think it would work, but it really does. Brilliant stuff.
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Luxuria - “She’s Your Lover Now”...
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Anonymous asked: FYI Teti is actually reviewing PR: All Stars.
pinstripehourglass asked: I was wondering, as someone who spends a lot of time analyzing the charts - which do you think are more reflective of the popular musical culture of an era, the album charts or the singles charts? Or is it more complicated than that? Just curious as to your thoughts.
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“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to place...”
– Documentaries, Oscar, and Michael Moore : Lawyers, Guns & Money
This will probably hurt so many independent and low budget documentaries. Also, it sounds like a media lobby to enforce the relevance of the LA Times and the New York Times. But then again, the Academy is also struggling for...
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My Week in Movies #1
I watched 401 (!) movies in 2011. This year, I’m keeping a weekly log of everything I watch.
001) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011) Sun, Jan 1 / Regal Citiplace 11, Baton Rouge, LA 003) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) Mon, Jan 2 / Netflix Watch Instantly 004) The Girl Who Played With Fire (Daniel Alfredson, 2009) Tues, Jan 3 / Netflix Watch...
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On last night's Project Runway All Stars
posted a day late, on a site where no one I know watches the show
-How am I gonna get through this season without John Teti’s genius AV Club recaps? :( :( :(
-I’m kind of glad for the shake-up in judges. Heidi/Nina/The Braying Tangerine clearly don’t care anymore and take too much delight in mean-girling some of the weaker designers. Tim Gunn will be sorely missed, but it will be a delight to...
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10 Movies I Really Liked in 2011
01) Cave of Forgotten Dreams 02) Weekend 03) Rubber 04) The Tree of Life 05) Bill Cunningham New York 06) Mysteries of Lisbon 07) Le Havre 08) Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey 09) Tomboy 10) The Trip
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20 Songs I Really Liked in 2011
aka my belated go at a Poptimists ballot
01) Tove Styrke - “High and Low” (album version) 02) Metronomy - “The Bay” 03) tUnE-yArDs - “Bizness” 04) Wild Flag - “Future Crimes” (album version) 05) PJ Harvey - “The Words That Maketh Murder” 06) Gotye ft Kimbra - “Somebody That I Used to Know” 07) Nadia Oh - “Taking Over...
December 2011
12 posts
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The Auteurs - “Future Generation” from...
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1 Song A Day: Dawes - 'If I Wanted Someone' →
o-song:
Another piece for 1 Song A Day…this time I’m thinking about critical thinking and pop together, and one of my favourite songs of the year. Oh, and by the way, I signed the acceptance page of a job offer yesterday, so I’m now a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. (For US audiences, Lecturer in Australia is, I think equivalent to something like Assistant...
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“Not every man can have wisdom, sir,” said Švejk convincingly....”
– Jaroslav Hašek, The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War (1923)
Tom's final Poptimist column →
tomewing:
dubdobdee:
Plus his useful three-part FE guide to how and why (1, 2 and 3): exemplary exploration of tactics, strategy, aims achieved and (occasionally) not, in all an opportunity seized and very well used first to last.
And yes, after 5 years this is my last column (obviously, I finished on No.45) - Mark very kindly links above to the appendices I’ve put up on Freaky Trigger...
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very filled with dreams: Another favorite pastime... →
popca:
dumbthingswhitepplsay:
super-eklectic1:
dumbthingswhitepplsay:
notforyoutobreak:
scar-lip:
notforyoutobreak:
POP.
That will never be as bad as calling it ‘lemonade’. Ever.
…lemonade? Like as in calling pop/coke/soda lemonade?
s’cool, imma…
I’m from Louisiana. It’s all Coke. What kinda Coke yaw like? We got Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr Pepper,...
Don't forget....
thesinglesjukebox:
Don’t forget you guys, you only have until the END OF THIS WEEKEND to take part in our splendiferous competition. Win the new Da Capo Best Music Writing book and an Amazon voucher! It’s free to enter and may not require much more than a minute of your time.
Re-blog this post and tell your friends. Winning is quite good, you know.
November 2011
10 posts
20,000: alternative →
the20000:
”And yet for several months in the spring and summer of ’98, “Closing Time” was everywhere in a way that songs would soon never be again.”
The Simmonization of Steven Hyden is nearly complete. Even though towards the end of the piece he acknowledges that “Someone Like You” is, indeed,…
I enjoyed “Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation?” but I’ve been...
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We are having a competition.
thesinglesjukebox:
The headline does not lie! We are having a competition!
The winner of this competition will score a copy of the latest Da Capo Best Music Writing and a US$50 (or equivalent) Amazon gift card. You can read some great music writing and then purchase some great music — or, if you prefer, movies, Kindle books or apps.
Read the details on our website, and reblog this post to let...
badcake:
Ben Clancy - Two Characters (a Magnetic...
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Jamieson Cox: A thought inspired by having spent... →
screwrocknroll:
jamiesoncox:
Jonathan cuts through my Beach Boys sentimentality and reminds me that maybe things aren’t so bad. Two notes:
I took the #1 hit fact from the Billboard website. I sincerely hope their own site has the right information.
Regardless of what you think about the contemporary pop world (and I understand the Rihanna/Britney/Gaga/Beyoncé point but damn, the current top...
October 2011
8 posts
“Slate: What’s been on your playlist?
Waits: Oh uh, you know—Bill Brassiere and...”
– “Tom Waits on His Grandma’s Pistol, His New Record, and Keith Richards,” Slate, Oct. 25, 2011
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Watchjonathanbogart:
4-5. Tove Styrke “High and Low” and Metronomy “The Bay” (suggested by Sally)
One of the most interesting things about listening to a mix like this is getting hints of the personalities behind the picks — inhabiting, at least imaginatively (I don’t claim psychic powers) the ears of a particular, not-mine sensibility. Both of these are songs I’d heard before (they came up on the...
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katherinestasaph:
Throwing Muses, “Green”...
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September 2011
9 posts
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therichgirlsareweeping:
oldiesforyounguns:
...