My my my generation is one that grew up learning how to dial a rotary phone, which plugged into the wall with wires that ran to a telephone pole outside. Some of us experienced the oddness of family lines, where several households had the same number and could listen in on the others’ calls. True. […]
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It has happened a few times recently. A moment when I’ve been chided with something like, “You’re the Culture Maven, or so you say, but you don’t seem to be posting much about, eh, culture. “The occasional movie review, or another blog about how much you love the Tedeschi Trucks band, but not much else. […]
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Triple entendre, that. The title, that is. First, simply literally. As I was taking care of errands, motoring about the other afternoon, it was a poetic spring day. Sunny. Short sleeve warm. Not too humid. And, oh my, that sky. Azure to infinity. Lazy billowy Cumulus. Layered. Textured. The sort of visual, like the Pacific […]
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In the nature of rock & roll acknowledgment, it is a mistake, an egregious omission of the highest order. A travesty. For those like me obsessed with such matters, it is difficult to swallow. Thus, I hardly give a glance to the annual induction announcement from the institution that ostensibly is the chronicler of excellence […]
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Yes, kids, that’s me wearing my personalized Hoopaholic ballcap. All day, Derby Day. Along with a Dr. Gonzo Kentucky Derby is decadent and depraved t-shirt. As for the quote on the back above the signature of Randall Ave’s Favorite Tormentor, “From that point on, the weekend became a vicious drunken nightmare,” those days are long […]
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One of Glorious Editor’s cute quirks is his annual call for members of the Commentariat to regurgitate their most mondo bizzaro stories of how they got home from the track on Derby Day. Hey, since, I got the key to the gate, I’ll weigh in. And, triple post it at all my venues. And, in […]
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Since I’m not at JazzFest — COVID shutdown years aside — for the first time since 1990, I’ve decided to repost some of my favorite reports from the past. This from the first Fest after Katrina. Bob’s back at Galatoire’s. Sumptuous and gracefully worn, it’s New Orleans finest old line eatery. Both survived Katrina. So […]
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It is that time of the year when I attempt annually to wring a drop or two of blood from the turnip. When, as JazzFest sits just over the horizon, I attempt to regale you with some tales I haven’t overtold, heralding how very very much I love Fest and New Orleans, why it has […]
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As I vowed in my initial post providing reasons why I, a Bob Dylan acolyte since he crashed onto the scene in the early 60s, wasn’t a premier day viewer of the Dylan flick, I watched it a couple days ago streaming. Despite my admittedly haughty take at first — we of strong opinion are […]
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I am now a denizen of the Land of Daily Medical Treatments. I know my pharmacist better than the neighbors who live on either side of me at my condo building. Last week’s smile inducer was discovering there’s a 24 hour/ 7 day pharmacy just five minutes from my place. On the Sunny Side. Paying […]
The post Facing 80 appeared first on CultureMaven.com.
Culling through the NYT, I saw a header that touched my inner cinephile. “Why Everyone Is Still Talking About ‘Paddington 2′” A kid’s move that appeals to adults. Funny. Clever. Well crafted. Deftly acted. Overwhelmingly well reviewed. A perfect 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Until, that is, one naysaying critic retroactively posted his negative review […]
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As those enamored with “The Big Lebowski” know, Walter Sobchak “don’t roll on Shabbos.” Others might not know Shabbos, that it is another arguably more immersive reverential for the Sabbath Day. No, the cult classic is not a part of this year’s Jewish Film Festival. But a truly cockamamie gem titled “Bad Shabbos” is. Sobchak […]
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Yet again, I am struck by how one’s personal situation, health, station in life, sense of well being, all that personal stuff affects one’s perception. It’s a significant thing to keep in mind. Whether it’s how we hear a new song. Or meet someone new. Or watch a film. Chasing down some rabbit hole or […]
The post Perspective & “Moonstruck”: A Contemplation appeared first on CultureMaven.com.
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One song. Two moments. One that actually happened and was pretty special. The other a dream denied. The song: Ghost Riders in the Sky. It’s just one of those tunes that’s lingered around, maleable, adaptable, written by Stan Jones in the late 1940s. It’s been dubbed the Greatest Western Song Ever. But that is far […]
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A new film has just dropped, another attempt to pin down the unpindownable. It’s about Bob Dylan. The early years. It’s called “A Complete Unknown” and stars Timothée Chalamet, who it is said spent a half decade learning how to mime the Unwashed Phenomenon’s affectations, speak and sing with the Original Vagabond’s inflections. Whatever. This […]
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