Several four and five-star releases already, and a boatload of top artists have releases scheduled for later this year – 2014 might wind up as one of the best years for new music in recent memory. Given how many talented artists there are out there making music, pretty much every year is a good year for new releases. Some years,
Read moreDear Parents: if your son goes to college, joins a fraternity and screws up, you could lose your home. Do I have your attention yet? How many times in my adult life have I heard this? YOU were in a fraternity? Yes I was. Theta Chi, Gamma Omicron chapter, Wake Forest University. I know, I don’t fit the stereotype. Neither
Read moreIABC Communicator of the Year has a pattern of bad behavior. I’m not sure “I’m sorry” is enough. We all screw up. When we do, it’s our responsibility to acknowledge it and apologize to those our mistake in someway damaged, hurt, disadvantaged or inconvenienced. Hopefully we learn and move on, never repeating the mistake. But sometimes … sometimes apologies are
Read moreWomen – and men – in online dating communities are acting like goddamned sociopaths. This needs to stop. Okay, not all of you. But some of you. Men, too – I’m guessing this isn’t just women. See if you recognize yourselves below. On multiple occasions I’ve been talking to women I met through OK Cupid. Things going great, we really
Read moreDid you see Thomas Frank’s column at Salon Today? It’s quite short and, bubbly Facebook memes notwithstanding, it’s rare to see this much wisdom packed in such a tight space. The word is a polite one, but “inequality” is what we say when we mean to describe the ruined downtown of your city,
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Pussy Riot’s commitment to social justice in the motherland is more than admirable. It perhaps merits a spot in Russia’s artistic canon. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia closed today, and if you set aside the homophobia and generally strong-armed approach to governance by the host, one Vladimir Putin, these games were remarkable in just about every way. The
Read moreNormally I try and show you “official” videos when I write about bands, because that’s where you get the best audio fidelity. I think you’re going to see why I opted for the live vid in this case, though. Sweet lord a’mighty.
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Photographers everywhere can identify with William Anders and the crew of Apollo 8. Our friend Frank Dilatush forwarded a YouTube link this morning commemorating the 45th anniversary of what many consider to be the most famous photograph in history: Earthrise, taken December 24, 1968, by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders. As it turns out, the iconic shot almost didn’t happen.
Read moreRush’s decision to license “Working Man” to a company that has declared war on American workers is one of the biggest betrayals of trust in Rock history. Yesterday I offered up a brief post wondering what the folks at Walmart were thinking when they chose to use Rush’s iconic “Working Man” as the soundtrack for their ad on investing more
Read moreAmerican businesses are anti-intellectual. American universities are anti-relevance. The gods help the overeducated schmuck stuck in the middle. Hi. I’m Sam, and I’m a PhD. Hi Sam! For those of you who don’t know me, I have a doctorate. Communication, University of Colorado, 1999. Some days it’s the thing I have done in life that I’m most proud of. Other
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Walmart advertising execs need a lesson in geography. And maybe irony. Have you seen the new Walmart commercial? Pay attention at around the 50 second mark.
Read moreI was never great at love poems, but these two are probably my best. Gravity: Summer Solstice, 1992 – for Mary Go tell it to the sea, how he should let go his moonstruck, his shameless high tides – climbing each day, each night kissing at her cloudless indifference.
Read moreLeBron James is certain that he’s going to be on basketball’s hypothetical Mt. Rushmore someday. Who’s there now – Jordan, Bird, Magic, and who else? King James wants to see his face carved in granite. Hard to blame him for being confident. “I’m going to be one of the top four that’s ever played this game, for sure,” LeBron James
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lullaby pit 