Monthly Archives: January 2009

Yet another reason to write congenial book reviews

Posted on 30 January 2009 by

[x-posted at Gelf] Inspired by an aside in Terry Teachout’s excellent biography, The Skeptic: A Life of H. L. Mencken, I’m currently working on an essay about Mencken. While researching this project, I came across a longish New Yorker review … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, The Media | Leave a comment

The worst thing about rewatching Almost Famous

Posted on 24 January 2009 by

. . . is hearing “The Chipmunk Song” play over the opening credits and realizing that it’s a harbinger of Jason Lee’s unfortunate future.

Posted in Music | Leave a comment

The Lester Bangs of Saudi Arabia?

Posted on 20 January 2009 by

[Gelf] A few months ago, the New York Times ran a front-page story on Accolade, a Saudi Arabian rock band composed of female college students. Most of the reaction to this story focused on the band—their MySpace friend count went … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, Music, The Media | Leave a comment

Pop Orwell

Posted on 19 January 2009 by

[Splice Today] On December 21, 1940, George Orwell reviewed Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator for a London newspaper. “Simply as a film,” Orwell writes, “it has very great faults.” Yet he goes on to predict the film’s future impact: “What … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Features | Leave a comment