Deconstructing Pop Culture

Maybe I saw something in her that reminded me of a girl I knew in high school; if not precisely that, then something similar. Gen Y women in the media/pop culture business share several intriguing characteristics – a combination of reticence and availability, subtlety and brashness, carefree yet deadly serious. I had heard of her, [...]

[Read more →]

“The Cube” is an oppressive, claustrophobic movie by the director Vincenzo Natali. It is about the escapades of seven people who are trapped inside of a gigantic cube. The cube comprises 26 equally-sized rooms on each side for a total of 17,576 rooms altogether. Each room is bathed in a different color light. The rooms [...]

[Read more →]

JG and I decided to sample the meatloaf at several local restaurants. Meatloaf, of course, is well known as a “comfort food,” presumably because it elicits visions of home and hearth. It’s not exactly clear why this is so, seeing as how it can be prepared a half dozen different ways. Everybody seems to have [...]

[Read more →]

EMI Records recently released yet another box set on Pink Floyd’s behalf. It’s at least the second of which I’m aware, the first having been released during my tenure at that fine, albeit troubled, concern. Its quixotic descent into the market place stimulated me to think about the greatest Pink Floyd record that never was [...]

[Read more →]

We saw several movies over the holiday season, and I wanted to set forth my opinions about them. Generally speaking I don’t like that many movies, and I have a policy of only going to movies it’s likely I’ll enjoy seeing, based on self-knowledge of my own proclivities and tendencies. While this creates some false [...]

[Read more →]

Every now and then one runs across an album that conveniently reorganizes one’s universe.  This happened to me in 1988 when I heard the album “Starfish” by the Australian band The Church and, in particular, the song “Reptile.”  I long have been a fan of intricate guitar-based psychedelia.  The Church came out of nowhere (in [...]

[Read more →]

We recently acquired the “box set” of all of the Tennessee Williams movies. For a long time I have been a fan of the “Southern Gothic” genre. William Faulkner’s Absalom Absalom is one of my most favorite books ever. So, I waded through the movies with interest. Here is a quick review: 1. Unquestionably “Sweet [...]

[Read more →]