The Tyranny of Measurable Outcomes
by Peter Lawlerversus my BIG THOUGHTS. . . . . Continue Reading »
Carl’s Rock Songbook #51: Simon Reynolds and Kurt Andersen on Our Cultural Cul-de-sac
by Carl ScottPop music critic Simon Reynolds, in his book Retromania , and style-writer Kurt Andersen, in his “You Say You Want a Devolution” essay, have their finger upon a certain pattern in our contemporary cultural scenes of recyle-ment, repetition, and lack of forward motion. To be more specific, . . . . Continue Reading »
Reminescence
by John PresnallI want to say no, but Uncle John was there where you wanted to him to be and no one else was. I was twelve years old and he was on his own trip. Uncle John grew his own marijuana, and his parents took it as something he was willing to do. In fact, when my grandmother brought a tree doctor to save a . . . . Continue Reading »
AMAZING GRACE! Two Different Sounds
by Peter LawlerSo last night we went to see WILLIE NELSON at Chastain in Atlanta (outdoors, perfect weather, amazingly good acoustics). The opening performer—who was not listed anywhere and a surprise to me—was Jamey Johnson. He has to be the very best of the new country performers. He has that manly . . . . Continue Reading »
The Sociopath and the Man-Child
by Pete SpiliakosQuick summary of Andreas Papandreou. He was the son of Greek Prime Minster George Papandreou. He was the founder of Greece’s socialist PASOK party that dominated Greek politics from 1981 until last year. He was Prime Minister of Greece from 1981-1989 and 1990-1993. The . . . . Continue Reading »
The Marines Hit Cleveland
by Kate PitroneWe are celebrating Marines Week in Cleveland. There are activities all week and Public Square, Voinovich Park, Burke Lakefront Airport, are all full of sights like this. Welcome to America, where ordnance in the streets is a celebration that brings out the day tourists. . . . . Continue Reading »
The Very White Self-Indulgence of Wes Anderson Studies
by Peter LawlerHere is a challenging and disturbing—if of course quite one-sided—review of MOONRISE KINGDOM. Well, I’ve also discovered that liking Wes Anderson movies ranking very high on the famous list of things white people like. White people show their sophistication and sensitivity by . . . . Continue Reading »
All Obama Really Needed to Know He Learned from His Composites
by Carl ScottThe new Obama biography by David Maraniss finds still more composites haunting the pages of Dreams of My Father . That “still more” is not surprising, as Dreams says up front that some composites have been employed, but the importance of them to the narrative, and the lengths to which the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Soundtrack of MOONRISE KINGDOM
by Peter Lawler. . . has been dug out by my student assistant Jacob Stubbs. Let me know what you think. Three Hank Williams tunes! And I’ve been misunderstanding that Indian’s name for years. I know little about Benjamin Britten, but 20 minutes of googling taught me that he’s quite the . . . . Continue Reading »
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