Reader’s Notebook, 9/19/24
Trust Her – Flynn BerryThree years ago I read Berry’s A Northern Spy, about an unaffiliated Northern Irish woman, Tessa, who gets pulled into the conflict between the IRA and British authorities because of her sister. In this follow up, set a few years later, the siblings are settled in Dublin where they have carved out new lives with new…
Wednesday Links
Today’s first selection is a must-read for any fan of Prince, music in general, or celebrity in America. It is a deep examination of Ezra Edelman’s attempt to make a massive, nine-hour documentary about Prince’s life and death, and how changes in ownership of Prince’s estate may keep anyone from ever seeing it. I understand Prince’s family wanting to protect…
Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 103
Chart Week: September 7, 1985 Song: “Cry” – Godley & Creme Chart Position: #24, 8th week on the chart. Peaked at #16 the week of October 5. Every decade is filled with unlikely hits. In the Eighties, the best way to force your way into the Top 40 was by making a video that was unique and memorable. That’s how…
Weekend Notes
As has become standard so far this fall, Friday night was jam-packed with sports action from the couch. Things were ratcheted up a notch this weekend, as KU was playing, meaning I couldn’t casually watch tennis, baseball, or basketball while listening to high school football. No, this week I would be yelling at the TV while listening to the radio.…
Friday Playlist
“Favourite Songs” – Maximo Park This was the week I learned that MP and bands like them – The Kooks, The Futureheads, Editors, The Wombats, Bombay Bicycle Club – were lumped into a sub-genre called “Landfill Indie” by some critics. That was not considered a term of endearment. Which bummed me out because I liked a lot of those bands…
D’s Notes
I’ve been doing some blog maintenance lately, going back and adding tags to all of my nearly 3500 posts. After two weeks of work, I’m about two-thirds of the way complete. I’m not really sure why I decided to do this. Tags are hard. I tried to use them years ago and gave up because I was never sure how…
A Reaching For The Stars Series Update
My momentum in this series has been off for a few months. No worries for the two or three of you who care about these posts; I’m not giving up on them! A combination of factors over the summer kept me from listening to American Top 40 very often. Less time in the kitchen, where I play the iHeart Radio…
Tuesday Links
I had a couple longer posts in various states of readiness that I hoped to select from to post today. But, man, these early mornings getting up to take L to basketball wipe me out. More about that in another post. Instead of posting something longer, I’ll just share some links for now. A great story about a group in…
Weekend Notes
Another weekend jam-packed with sports dominating my attention. Personally, it was a tough weekend for football. Cathedral lost Friday night against Cincinnati St. Xavier in the closing seconds of their game, 35–31. KU lost to Illinois despite dominating on defense and having an unstoppable running game they, for some reason, went away from. M’s Bearcats blew a big lead and…
Friday Playlist
I’ve finally wrapped up the music projects that have been eating up a lot of my time lately. As I do, I find my new music playlist is down around 40 songs. For a good chunk of 2024 it’s been closer to 60 songs. The new tunes have definitely dried up over the past month. Hopefully just a lull before…