Tips from Thelonious Monk.
Archive for September, 2013
Weekend recs
The IT Crowd, written by Graham Linehan 2006-2010 The humor in British TV series The IT Crowd is both ridiculous and exceedingly clever. Richard Ayoade and co-star Chris O’Dowd play incurably dorky computer techs Roy and Moss, managed by computer illiterate Jen (Katherine Parkinson), working in the IT department of a huge multinational corporation. Ayoade […]
One week // one band
I was hankering for The Cure this week and went back to re-read Chris Ott’s terrific posts on the One Week / One Band blog, from about a year ago. Highly recommended for anyone whose emotional life was tied to one or more Cure songs at age 15.
In memoriam: Marshall Berman, 1940-2013
I posted an earlier version of this at ahistoryofnewyork.com. One of the great delights of the decade Cyrus Patell and I spent teaching our Writing New York class was the repeated opportunity to screen clips from Ric Burns’s monumental New York: A Documentary Film. Without a doubt, the highlight of that film is — for […]
Weekend recs
Tracey Thorn, Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star (Virago UK, 2013) Tracey Thorn’s voice: simply sublime. It evokes salted caramels, rainy English afternoons, Dusty Springfield 45s. It can do anything: orchestral pop, trip-hop, house music for grown-ups. So what a treat to discover that she can write, […]
Daddy was a real good dancer
Sure, this is a tearjerker and a pretty good song, too. But I’ll stick with “Surrender,” thanks.
Our stupid awesome inevitable Afterlife
Why do I want to write about Kenneth Goldsmith and Sheila Heti and Social Media and The Afterlife? Cause they all add up to this really hot sweaty tangled love story. With a surprise ending. Here, come with me… I’ve been running along this intellectual trail for a few months. It’s got some awesome leaps […]
Weekend recs
Turn Around Bright Eyes, by Rob Sheffield (2013) Part memoir of sweetness and falling in love, part musing meditation on the cultural relevance of ubergods like Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond, part spelunking exploration of the shimmering psyche of why we Must Sing Karaoke. Nobody remembers every second of pop culture and every conversation he […]
TGW spins: No Age, An Object
Here’s a new old idea: let’s listen to a whole album and talk about it. Most of us belong to or have been guests at record clubs across this great land. Let’s skew the format a little and spend a week talking about a single new release, long-play. I’ve added a new category called “TGW […]
