I thought I wanted to see this movie in theatres. Watching it on the small screen, I think I’m okay with not seeing it in theatres. I’m not sure I would have been able to watch some of it in theatres because I have a fear of heights. SPOILERS if you don’t know anything at …
Breakfast in America (1979) by Supertramp
I grew up listening to Oldies Radio when that meant music from the 1960s and, occasionally, the late ’50s. Especially as I got older, the station I used to listen to would make exceptions for some music from the 1970s, usually MOR and singer-songwriter stuff. Supertramp was one of the bands that made that cut. …
Overkill (1979) by Motörhead
I have never listened to Motörhead’s debut in part because I have been warned off it by bad reviews. It came out a year and a half before this record but, in the meantime, the much more polished but still fast and relatively rough (for ’70s metal) Stained Class came out. What I’m trying to …
Van Halen II (1979)
I grudgingly gave Van Halen’s debut album a positive rating because, as much as I do not like this band, I must admit that they have a very, very good guitar player they are good at what they do and they have been (unfortunately) very influential. All of that is still true on the second …
Live at the Witch Trials (1979) by The Fall
Debut albums can be quite hit and miss. Most bands do not record their first album with a completely unique sound. The unique debut albums we do remember which stick out do so because they are so rare. Most bands’ debuts are not only not their best albums, but don’t capture them doing something wholly …
Bag Man (2018)
This podcast tells the Watergate-adjacent story of Spiro Agnew’s resignation prior to Nixon’s, a story I was basically entirely unfamiliar with. It’s a story that’s particularly relevant to today, as you might imagine, but it’s even interesting if what is going on with the current Administration wasn’t going on. But I can’t give it a …
Danny Says (2015, Brendan Toller)
This is a fascinating documentary about a journalist/publicist/manager/etc. from New York who was tangentially involved in the careers of a number of major bands, from the Beatles to the Ramones. If you’re interested in the history of popular music, particularly punk, or if you’re interested in New York in the late 1960s and the 1970s, …
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, directed by Ron Howard et al.)
This is an entertaining film that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but still manages to mostly fly by for its absurd run-time.
Coraline (2009, Henry Selick)
This is an inventive, amusing children’s film with an appealingly dark turn, which helps it stand out among so many inventively animated children’s films of this century.
The Misinformation Age (2018, Cailin O’Connor, James Owen Weatherall)
This is a compelling examination of mathematical models about the way beliefs spread through human social networks.
Central Park (1990, Frederick Wiseman)
Wiseman documentaries are a bit of a challenge if you’re in the wrong mood but at least when you’re in a theatre you have no distractions and you must confront the film without focusing on anything else. Watching one at home is a real challenge because it’s so easy to find something else to pay …
Le Cercle Rouge (1970, Jean-Pierre Melville)
Apparently when this film was first released in North America, 41 minutes were cut from it and it was kind of incomprehensible. Fortunately at some point the full version became available. Mild SPOILERS
‘The Hoople’ (1974) by Mott the Hoople
I have long struggled to care about Mott the Hoople. From the first time I learned about David Bowie’s involvement with them to trying to take their record anniversaries seriously enough to discuss on my podcast, I have just never got them. When I did review Mott, the previous record, I didn’t like it. And …
Open Our Eyes (1974) by Earth, Wind and Fire
I had some serious preconceptions about Earth, Wind and Fire but, fortunately for me, I listened to one of their later albums a year or two ago and learned that I was sorely mistaken about this band.
Queen II (1974)
I think it’s safe to say that there’s no other band that sounds like Queen: hard rock plus operatic vocals plus other weird arty or proggy ideas, in a really accessible package, with occasional diversions into other genres that shouldn’t fit – pick a Queen record and there’s usually at least one of these. I …
Kansas
When I was curating albums for the latest episode of my podcast, I glanced and the Wikipedia entry for this album and saw a 5 star review. I sighed and figured “Fine, Kansas it is.” I looked again later and realized that the ranking came from a site I didn’t put much credence in. But, …
Get Your Wings (1974) by Aerosmith
There was a quite a lot of loud blues rock around in the early 1970s. You generally had to do a lot to standout. The thing is, a lot of bands did a lot to stand out, at least at the time. Now, the sheer number of blues rock “classics” from the late ’60s and …
Scott 3 (1969) by Scott Walker
I became a fan of Scott Walker through his later music so listening to his earlier music is always a bit of a challenge for me, both because it’s significantly different to what came later (that’s an understatement) and because it’s not my thing.
Dusty in Memphis (1969) by Dusty Sprinfield
I don’t know anything about Dusty Springfield. I do know a little bit of the legend of this record, but that really doesn’t help me much, because I don’t know what she did before this. If I had heard that music, maybe the legend of the record would resonate more, maybe the music would resonate …
Odessa (1969) by Bee Gees
I mostly know the Bee Gees from their most famous songs. And I can tell you categorically that their most famous songs from the ’70s gave me zero hint of what this record was going to sound like. I had, of course, heard a couple hits of theirs from the ’60s, and that gave me …
Ain’t That Good News (1964) by Sam Cooke
I can understand the reluctance to listen to pre-British Invasion LPs individually. So many of them are scattershot collections of singles, b-sides and filler and you’re often better off listening to a curated greatest hits package, unless you’re a really big fan of the artist, and want to hear them even at their laziest or …
Ritchie Valens (1959)
Released just after his death, Ritchie Valens’ debut is pretty solid second generation rock and roll, occasionally with a Latin twist (depending as well upon which version of the album you listen to, as there are conflicting track listings out there).
Jacques Brel et ses chansons aka Grand Jacques (1954)
I don’t normally listen to foreign language music for my podcast. But for some reason I made an exception this time. Perhaps it’s because Brel is so famous. But I didn’t know what I was in for.
Post-Crash (2018) by Missing Waves
Jazz is at a weird place in the 21st century, like basically every other form of music. Boundaries between jazz and other genres sometimes completely disappear, as they do with this record. At times, I think for sure this is some kind of modern art pop (i.e. not jazz) but then there are tracks when …
Avengers: Infinity War (2018, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Go big or go home, I guess. SPOILERS of course.
Cool It (2010, Ondi Timoner)
Weirdly, this film was recommended to me by a climate change denier. I assume he is now a former climate change denier. I wonder why this film, of all films, convinced him, or whether it’s just been the weather, if you’ll excuse my saying so.
The Hot Rock (1999) by Sleater-Kinney
For a band such as Sleater-Kinney, I guess this record is a pretty radical departure form their previous sound. I mean, normally you do not expect bands like this to change their sound much record to record.
The Slim Shady LP (1999) by Eminem
At this point, having listened to a number of big hip hop records over the last few years, I have two types of reactions to hip hop albums: The first is I admire the production (and/or the musical diversity) and can spend my time focusing on that. The second is, I can’t do that, because …
Keep It Like a Secret (1999) by Built to Spill
I think I am predisposed to like every Built to Spill record. There’s something about a good guitar solo or jam that goes straight to my heart. Martsch is such a compelling player that he long ago overcame whatever aversion I would have to his voice, a voice which is not the kind I normally …
In the Nightside Eclipse (1994) by Emperor
I really enjoyed Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, the follow up to this record, because I really had no idea what I getting into, and figured it was just some run of the mill black metal. I am listening to this one after that one because apparently like to do things out of order.