Crampsy and She’s Kooky

Was never a giant fan of the band myself, but I have to believe the Cramps, of all people, would appreciate the idea of their gravest hit being exhumed zombie-like from the rock’n’roll cemetery to become a smash for teenage googoomucks the world over four decades later — especially when they had exhumed the song…

Democratic Field, Mid ’19

The two highest-polling Democratic candidates are still the two oldest are still the two hardest to watch. Hope one of those variables changes soon. Anybody who’s not noticing how flat and clueless Joe Biden seems in the debates either doesn’t want to notice, or isn’t paying attention. He doesn’t look like he’s having much fun…

How British is Kate Bush?

Chris Molanphy had a fascinating, typically deep-researched piece up on Slate today about Kate Bush’s four-decade road to a sizable U.S. pop hit, thanks finally to being heard on Stranger Things, one of my favorite TV shows though I’ve still yet to start the new season with “Running Up That Hill” in it. But I…

What’s So Dramatic About 21st Century TV?

I’m not one of those people who thinks The Sopranos wrecked television, though I kind of get where they’re coming from. Tom Carson:  “I may be alone in this, but I could make a good argument that The Sopranos RUINED TV. The medium was a lot more original when it wasn’t ‘art.’ And I’d rather…

What’s So Awful About 21st Century TV?

Asked which highly regarded and/or acclaimed TV shows of relatively recent vintage I felt deserved to do poorly an ILX poll, I answered: Family Guy definitely, above all. House MD, if it even has any chance. And 30 Rock‘s pretty much left me cold since the pilot, and I hated Wonder Showzen the one time…

What’s So Funny About 21st Century TV?

Surprised not to see anybody take the clickbait and post about the NY Times‘s 21 best TV comedies of the first 21 years of the 21st Century thing a few days ago, but what the heck. Pretty sure my three favorites, none of which got mentioned, are The I.T. Crowd, Kim’s Convenience and the revamped/updated…

’90s and ’00s TV I Like(d)

20 Favorite TV shows of the ’90s (from a fall 2009 ILX poll) 1. Northern Exposure2. My So-Called Life3. Freaks and Geeks 4. The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd5. Seinfeld6. The Wonder Years7. Roseanne8. The Simpsons9. Caroline in the City10. The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air11. Blossom12. The Critic13. King of the Hill14. Quantum Leap15.…

Freaks and Geeks vs. My (Own) So-Called Life

I never even HEARD of matheletes back then. They definitely never had them at my school; I don’t think any other suburban Michigan schools had them then (because if they did, I’m sure West Bloomfield would have, too), though I could be wrong. (Either way, am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that…

How Old Are Mix Tapes?

In this week’s episode of Mrs. America (spoiler alert), the Phyllis Schlafly character opens her adolescent daughter’s mail and finds a mix cassette from a boy, which when Schlafly slides it into the tape recorder turns out to begin, shockingly (for her) and hilariously (for us) enough, with “Cherry Bomb.” Later Schlafly explains to some…

Videos I’ve Loved Before

I didn’t notice until today, but last week Alfred Soto posted a list of his favorite music videos ever, after participating in an I Love Music poll calculating the top picks of lots of other folks. Realized I’ve never put together such a list, and I’m not sure how feasible it would be — my…