Archive: 2025

Film criticism teaches you to see what others miss. It’s not just about liking or disliking movies. It’s about understanding how visual storytelling works. Media students who develop critical analysis skills stand out. They can break down why a scene works. They spot editing choices that create emotion. They understand how sound design shapes viewer […]

Film studies don’t show old movies just because they’re famous. These films teach specific lessons about how cinema works. You learn to spot techniques that shaped everything you watch today. Classic films show you where modern movies come from. That tracking shot in your favorite action film? Directors were doing that in the 1950s. Once […]

For a special New Year’s Eve edition of Weirdo Wednesday, we’re throwing it all the way back to the dawning of the new millennium with this characteristically uncanny performance of “The Anchor Song” by Bjork from December 31, 1999. While the song has become a bit of a tradition around New Year’s Eve for Bjork […]

Few events in Portland, Oregon feel like as much of a holiday tradition as Jerry Joseph’s annual New Year’s Eve run. Typically taking place at two venues over four nights, the run finds this venerable rocker and his band the Jackmormons giving the Rose City a running party during a time when concerts slow down. […]

Continuing our spotlight on infamous New Year’s Eve gigs from yesteryear, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re serving up the Grateful Dead’s classic 1978 performance that effectively closed out the illustrious Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. After rousing opening sets from the New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Blues Brothers, the Dead didn’t even […]

Meredith Moon’s third album, From Here To The Sea, marks a subtle but confident evolution for the Canadian-born songwriter and instrumentalist. Where its predecessor, Constellations, leaned deeply into Appalachian old-time traditions, From Here To The Sea widens the frame—embracing blues, folk, folk-rock, and even traces of old-time jazz, while placing Moon’s songwriting firmly at the […]

With New Years’s Eve right around the corner, it seems fitting to revisit some classic NYE performances from yesteryear. Kicking things off on the Manic Monday front today, we’re serving up the Ramones legendary concert at the Rainbow Theater in London from December 31, 1977. The show became “It’s Alive” (titled after the 1974 horror […]

On The Map is where we highlight famous, and not as well-known, musical sites that you can visit. This month we check into the newly opened David Bowie Centre in London. Let’s explore! THE SITE On September 13, 2025, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London held the grand opening of the David Bowie Centre […]

There has been a lot of talk about Hip-hop since it dropped from the top of the charts over the past few years. Country music with a pop edge has become the new norm for TikTok trends and the Billboard charts, removing the genre from the monotonous top it had occupied for years. This occurrence […]

Alison Krauss & Union Station had already been together in various forms for more than a decade by the time their Live album was recorded in 2002. Krauss emerged as a prodigy in the bluegrass world, but Union Station became the vehicle that allowed her to broaden that tradition. With Ron Block on banjo, Dan […]

Rhino Records has issued some very expansive archival collections of the Replacements’ music, and, at least in terms of heft, this triple-CD set of Let It Be doesn’t quite measure up to 2019’s Dead Man’s Pop/Don’t Tell a Soul and the next year’s Pleased to Meet Me.  But that’s only because the vinyl iteration of […]

Deluxe reissues give albums back their full story. Let me reiterate. Most people hear classic albums one song at a time, without the liner notes or historical context, or even other accompanying tracks. Reissues exist because that kind of listening strips albums of how and why they were made. Some reissues are a cut above […]

A casino never feels silent. Most people notice the lights first, then the machines, then the movement. Music usually comes last, if it registers at all. Yet it holds everything together. It fills the gaps between noise and anticipation, shaping how the space feels long before anyone thinks about why. Understanding the Basics of Music […]

2025 was a hectic year in many regards. While it is easy to get caught up in our newsfeed and consume whatever is put in front of us, some of life’s magic always seems to be just past people’s perception. Falling victim to the news cycle is no one’s fault; it’s almost an inevitability in […]

Digital culture has always moved quickly, but the shifts happening recently feel unusually deep. Independent artists, musicians, and storytellers are building their own ecosystems rather than waiting for traditional platforms to recognise them. Audiences are discovering work through unexpected spaces, and the mood is less about chasing virality and more about finding communities that actually […]

For many people, attending live music events once seemed effortless. You purchased a ticket, arrived, stood near unfamiliar fans who shared your musical tastes, and let the evening unfold.  Following the pandemic, live performances resumed, yet the atmosphere felt different, not in a single dramatic instance, of course, but through numerous subtle aspects that together […]

Rounding out our ode to Christmas on a decidedly depressing (yet oddly heartwarming) note, on this Christmas Eve we’re showcasing the stop-motion animated adaptation of W.S. Burroughs’ short story “The Junky’s Christmas”. In the Francis Ford Coppola-produced film, we follow a heroin junky named Danny as he navigates a dreary Christmas day looking for his […]

Continuing our seasonal salute to the holidays this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’ve dug up this pure gold Johnny Cash Christmas special from way back in 1970. It’s a solid 40 minutes of hokey holiday goodness that includes a performance of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” with the Carter Family & Statler Bros, “Do […]

Corey Ledet was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and spent his Summers with relatives in small-town Parks, where he was exposed to their Kouri-Veni language and Creole traditions. This molded and shaped Corey’s world in a profound way. This culture has its roots in Louisiana, but eventually spread across the country, including into neighboring […]

With only three more days left until Christmas, chances are you may already be fully into the holiday spirit (or perhaps beyond sick of it) at this point. But whatever your particular disposition around this time of year, this writer is here to help exasperate those feelings one way or the other with a few […]