A list like this is virtually impossible to construct and stick to with a straight face – catch me on any given day and one or more of these might saddle down a notch or two to make room for something I am no doubt forgetting at this particular moment. But because I’m a self-important … Continue reading
I tried to hate the West Wing. When my wife started ordering the discs from Netflix about two years ago I ignored them – I wasn’t going to go for anything so overtly ‘Network’. Oh no, not me. I mean, Martin Sheen? Loooong time since Apocalypse Now kids. And the rest of the cast – … Continue reading
Recently I discovered a fascinating topic of discussion over at Alex Cunningham’s website Oddbill*. The topic is Lo Fi Sci Fi and Mr. Cunningham, AKA Oddbill himself, is doing an excellent job of finding, reviewing and contexualizing a sub genre I had little to no inroads with before finding his blog. Until today my first … Continue reading
As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed an interesting relationship with Heavy Metal*. For quite some time in the 90’s I divorced myself from anything that would, in our current vernacular, be classified as heavy metal. What the hell does that mean? It means I’ve never lost my appetite for music that is ‘heavy’ – just … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece about Miles Davis’ album Tutu, essentially the genesis of what is commonly referred to today by a myriad of names including, but not limited to: Smooth Jazz, Elevator Jazz, Crap, Fluff, Not-Jazz, etc. The basic point of the piece was that Tutu, as painful as it … Continue reading
Richard Kelly gets the benefit of the doubt in my book. If you read my rants regularly, you know that Donnie Darko is my favorite film*. Southland Tales perplexed the hell out of me. I watched it once, hated it until about the last thirty minutes, watched it immediately again afterward and felt better about … Continue reading
For the last month every bus stop (and I do mean every freakin’ bus stop) in Southern Los Angeles has had the same ad on it – Ninja Assassin. At first I thought the flick looked like the cover to one of those sci/fi books by Brent Weeks – Way of Shadows, Beyond Shadows, Touched … Continue reading
So it was with bated breath and rabidly clawing fingers I purchased the debut collaboration between Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl the morning it came out. I was at work but the first chance I got I took a spin on that sucker and… Hell Yeah!!! Cheesy reaction? Maybe. But a more … Continue reading
Ahh, it’s that wonderful time of the year again. Mistletoe, fat perverts in beards and if you’re lucky enough to know her, my friend Amy’s amazing Guinness cookies*. Oh yeah, and the ‘cultural’ launch ramp that will send many of us here in the bargain-crazed United States full-on into the tinsel-laden madness that is just … Continue reading
This might be slightly the wrong title for this blog. ‘Universal’, in this context at least, colloquially implies ‘ to all’ and that is most assuredly not the case here. Anyone who likes The Smiths knows they are not for everyone. I myself just did not ‘get‘ the band for a long time. I’ve been … Continue reading