Category Archives: Uncategorized

This year’s nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame came out a few weeks ago. Dionne Warwick wasn’t on the list, which is puzzling–she was on last year’s, when I was certain she’d finally be voted in. She wasn’t. Her qualifications did not get appreciably better or worse since then, so I’m notContinue reading ““Walk On By,” Dionne Warwick (1964; directed by Claude Lelouch) / “Paperback Writer,” the Beatles (1966; directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg) / “I Feel Free,” Cream (1966; director uncredited) / “Sweet Hitch-Hiker,” Creedence Clearwater Revival (1971; director uncredited) / “Rocks Off,” the Rolling Stones (1972; directed by Robert Frank & Nuno Monteiro)”

Among the hundreds and hundreds of YouTube clips I played for my grade school students over the years, two of my favourites were documentary footage of famous painters: Pablo Picasso from Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Mystery of Picasso (the entire film was on there for years, but it’s only available as a rental now) and JacksonContinue reading ““I Found It Not So,” Dean & Britta (1966/2010; directed by Andy Warhol) / “I’m Not Sayin’,” Nico (1965; directed by Peter Whitehead) / “We All Go Back to Where We Belong,” R.E.M. (2011; directed by Dominic J. DeJoseph & Michael Stipe)”

I continue to keep an eye on the news and post accordingly whenever possible. A few weeks ago I ordered a Beat Happening T-shirt (cover of their first album) from TeePublic; it arrived last week, and I’ve been wearing it every other day since. I’m not sure if that counts as news. I’m a littleContinue reading ““Safety Net,” the Shop Assistants (1986; director uncredited) / “Indian Summer,” Beat Happening (1988; directed by Patrick Maley) / “Streets of Your Town,” the Go-Betweens (1988; directed by Antony Clare & Kriv Stenders)”

People were posting about Liz Phair on the I Love Music message board a couple of weeks ago. Whenever a name from the past resurfaces on ILM, it’s almost always attributable to one of three reasons: 1) new music from someone in whom interest has declined enough that an old thread is resurrected because noContinue reading ““Divorce Song,” Liz Phair (1993; directed by David Speranza) / “Doo Wop (That Thing),” Lauryn Hill (1998; directed by Monty Whitebloom & Andy Delaney)”

Did you know that Arthur Russell (avant-garde cellist, mastermind behind esoteric disco creations such as Dinosaur L’s “Go Bang,” dead at the age of 40 due to AIDS) and Arthur Baker (hugely successful pop-disco remix producer of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and many other ‘80s mega-hits, wrote New Order’s “Confusion”) are not the sameContinue reading ““Something on Your Mind,” Karen Dalton (1971/2010; directed by Phil Bebbington) / “Nothing Is Real,” Boards of Canada (2013; directed by Scott Shepard)”

Headline of a New York Times Saturday profile from a few weeks ago: “Post-Punk Legend Leads Fight for Clean Water as Britain’s ‘Sewage Czar.’” Feargal Sharkey, erstwhile lead singer of Ireland’s the Undertones, now a senior-citizen environmental activist, was the post-punk legend being profiled. It’s going to happen. Happens all the time. Let’s nudge theContinue reading ““It’s Going to Happen!” the Undertones (1981; directed by Julien Temple) / “Save It for Later,” the Beat (1982; directed by Julien Temple) / “Whenever You’re on My Mind,” Marshall Crenshaw (1983; directed by Chris Gabrin)”

“A blog about videos”–Jesus, doesn’t this guy know videos are supposed to be fun? In the first few years of music video, “fun”–I don’t use the quotes sarcastically, but rather to acknowledge that it’s a word that means a million different things to a million different people–did indeed seem to be the guiding principle moreContinue reading ““The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize,” Devo (1979; directed by Chuck Statler) / “Life Begins at the Hop,” XTC (1979; directed by Russell Mulcahy)”

I was going to start this post with the death of Bob Barker a couple of weeks ago–explanation forthcoming–but I found a much better stepping-off point sitting in my inbox the other day, Greil Marcus’s “Real Life Top 10” column for August 2023. His 10th and final entry was about a new Pet Shop BoysContinue reading ““Like a Rolling Stone,” Bob Dylan (1965/2013; directed by Vania Heymann)”

Social media’s thriving obituary industry–I’m not blameless–was in overdrive a few weeks ago with Sinéad O’Connor’s death. Among pop musicians, I think I saw more Facebook posts, message-board threads, and general commentary than for anyone since Tom Petty in 2017 or, just prior to that, Prince in 2016. When Michael Jackson died on June 25,Continue reading ““The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Sinéad O’Connor (1990; directed by John Maybury)”

The Out There for today is the today that never ends, the today that stretches into eternity: Donald Trump. It’s a week after his latest indictment as I write, one that–it’s embarrassing to formulate this thought, more so to give voice to it–does feel different than the indictments, impeachments, scandals, and meltdowns that have precededContinue reading ““Lookout,” the Julie Ruin (2013; directed by the Julie Ruin/Stanley Donen) / “Ima Read,” Zebra Katz & Njena Reddd Foxxx (2013; directed by Ruben Levi)”