At once a chanteur and dance club diva, Jessie Ware has recorded some of the most ebullient music of the last 15 years. Happy birthday. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2021/10/15/d...

I wrote about D’Angelo: the new funk he pioneered over three albums, the scratchy whisper of his falsetto, the remarkable bands he led. What will his fourth album sound like? humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/15/t...

Cate Blanchett's Oscar win in 2013 was among the least deserved in Best Actress history. I have five alternatives. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/m...

Cate Blanchett's Oscar win in 2013 was among the least deserved in Best Actress history. I have five alternatives. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/m...

Three albums in 30 years, each creating its discrete aural terrarium. I still love BROWN SUGAR best b/c of its sweetness, but what I admired about D'Angelo is how he made me work to cultivate the admiration. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/d...

The Bangles' hyped-up "A Hazy Shade of Winter" remains one of the most original and galvanic of covers: a tart vodka and lime. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2020/01/08/t...

Speaking of Simon covers, and probably far from the best, there's this 80s alt rock artifact. I recall enjoying it briefly in college when it showed up at the radio station. Their other album was "Doug - A Rock Opera & Comic Book." www.discogs.com/master/23537...

The Bangles' hyped-up "A Hazy Shade of Winter" remains one of the most original and galvanic of covers: a tart vodka and lime. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2020/01/08/t...

The anti-vaxxer M.I.A. rode "Paper Planes," much to my surprise to the top five after it showed up in a bloated stoner comedy. It holds up. Lapping behind it: "Déjà Vu" and The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice." humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/r...

In 1990 Paul Simon released my favorite among his albums. Laid back, occasionally sedate, THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS honors the subject of its title. This was what middle-age sounded like in high school. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2022/10/13/t...

It's about zombies who are overly pleased at accepting their new reality, so the probability of liking wasn't all that high to begin with.

The anti-vaxxer M.I.A. rode "Paper Planes," much to my surprise to the top five after it showed up in a bloated stoner comedy. It holds up. Lapping behind it: "Déjà Vu" and The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice." humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/r...

Anti-vaxer M.I.A. earns her biggest hit -- one of the biggest surprises of my lifetime was watching "Paper Planes" take off. She joins other things like The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" and Jeremih's "Birthday Sex." wp.me/pzXeC-kxD

I don't suppose I'll ever love "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/r...

I don't suppose I'll ever love "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/r...

In 1990 Paul Simon released my favorite among his albums. Laid back, occasionally sedate, THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS honors the subject of its title. This was what middle-age sounded like in high school. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2022/10/13/t...

Paul Simon, I love you.

Happy birthday to Paul Simon, songwriter and guitarist of exceptional subtlety but who wrote a song with the best of "crap" in pop. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/r...

Happy birthday to Paul Simon, songwriter and guitarist of exceptional subtlety but who wrote a song with the best of "crap" in pop. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/r...

I love the contrasts b/w Betty Wright and Shirley Bassey, b/w Neil Young + Crazy Horse's first (non-) hit and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well." Two discrete vocal approaches, two discrete guitar attacks. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/r...

I love the contrasts b/w Betty Wright and Shirley Bassey, b/w Neil Young + Crazy Horse's first (non-) hit and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well." Two discrete vocal approaches, two discrete guitar attacks. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/r...

Join us at @booksandbooks.bsky.social on Oct. 14 as we discuss the novel WAITING FOR BRITNEY SPEARS with author @passionweiss.bsky.social. Topics will include tabloid culture, the VMAs, and Parliament cigarettes. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/12/c...

Join us at @booksandbooks.bsky.social on Oct. 14 as we discuss the novel WAITING FOR BRITNEY SPEARS with author @passionweiss.bsky.social. Topics will include tabloid culture, the VMAs, and Parliament cigarettes. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/12/c...

When Diane Keaton's onscreen partner Albert Finney died six years ago, I paid tribute to SHOOT THE MOON, the movie for which I hope he (and Keaton) are remembered. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/a...

When Diane Keaton's onscreen partner Albert Finney died six years ago, I paid tribute to SHOOT THE MOON, the movie for which I hope he (and Keaton) are remembered. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/a...

On Kendrick Lamar-SZA's "All the Stars," one of the better movie soundtrack themes of the last decade. wp.me/pzXeC-kvF

Children of the seventies like me grew up with riot-proof urban structures: solid, stolid, eternal concrete structures for whom windows were indulgences and indestructability assumed. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2021/10/12/m...

When Albert Finney died, I cited Shoot the Moon as his greatest film performance. Now I do the same with Kearon's death.

it's been great to see so many appreciations for "Shoot the Moon," a movie that's still--40+ yrs later--underappreciated. Keaton's character is also the only person with a moral center, or an ability to perceive reality, in "Manhattan"; she's the movie's one adult.

It's not retroactive thinking: I found MANHATTAN unwatchable in 1994, in part b/c Allen didn't allow any character enough sides. Keaton was the only one who created a recognizable (stereo)type -- and a better defined version of her REDS character.

On Kendrick Lamar-SZA's "All the Stars," one of the better movie soundtrack themes of the last decade. wp.me/pzXeC-kvF

The mumbles, hesitations, nose scratches, nervous laughter that Brando, Clift, et. al. introduced to acting — Diane Keaton incorporated them into a range of performances. She was a superb dramatic actor (SHOOT THE MOON) and a dizzy comedian. RIP. wp.me/pzXeC-e5Y

The mumbles, hesitations, nose scratches, nervous laughter that Brando, Clift, et. al. introduced to acting — Diane Keaton incorporated them into a range of performances. She was a superb dramatic actor (SHOOT THE MOON) and a dizzy comedian. RIP. wp.me/pzXeC-e5Y

Daryl Hall did his best to awaken a somnolent early '80s pop chart in America. He had chops without much soul, which made him perfect for the times. Hall & Oates' string of hit albums worked, though. Happy birthday. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/r...

Taylor Swift cites Ophelia, Miley Cyrus hires Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham, and Faye wonders about her husband. This month's @singlesjukebox.bsky.social reviews. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/s...

"I’ll get to Daryl Hall and John Oates’ seventies catalog some day: too inconsistent and desperate to absorb in one sitting…" here's a preview of my reaction in the event you come away unimpressed by 'War Babies'

Daryl Hall and John Oates earned a shitload of American top 40 singles, the sharpest of which, unlike their peers, they released after 1980. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/r...

Daryl Hall did his best to awaken a somnolent early '80s pop chart in America. He had chops without much soul, which made him perfect for the times. Hall & Oates' string of hit albums worked, though. Happy birthday. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/r...

The Nazi sympathizer Kanye West has forgotten, but few songs are as wise about exploiting and being exploited as "Diamonds Are Forever." Also: Nas, the White Stripes, and Alan Jackson. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/r...

The Nazi sympathizer Kanye West has forgotten, but few songs are as wise about exploiting and being exploited as "Diamonds Are Forever." Also: Nas, the White Stripes, and Alan Jackson. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/r...

David Lee Roth took to MTV like Orson Welles did radio. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2019/01/30/t...

Other than "Vienna" and its parent album and a handful of things I wasn't enamored of Ultravox's Midge Ure years, but hearing those songs after the John Foxx numbers the progression makes sense. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2021/05/20/t...

The death of Kirsty MacColl hit hard b/c she had recorded some of the most thrilling music of her life. She would've celebrated a birthday this morning. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2021/10/10/i...

😞

The death of Kirsty MacColl hit hard b/c she had recorded some of the most thrilling music of her life. She would've celebrated a birthday this morning. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2021/10/10/i...

I didn't honor PJ Harvey today. Here's a catalog which, despite a couple of misguided efforts, has no examples of accommodation. It's mighty. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/09/05/r...

I carved a blank space, babes, and wrote Rochelle Jordan's name. I review her and Taylor Swift's new albums. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/09/s...

I carved a blank space, babes, and wrote Rochelle Jordan's name. I review her and Taylor Swift's new albums. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2025/10/09/s...

Still think the bridge to "This Boy" is Lennon's finest moment as a vocalist.