Hello all formerly relevant high-profile franchise entertainment properties.  (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Jaws and Jurassic Park.)  Looking for some strategies for getting back on top.  Well, go no further.  Unsolicited advice follows.
I saw Star Trek last night.  It got me thinking about rebooting franchises.  I was never a huge Trek fan, but I’m pretty [...]

If you pick up one new band this year, make it The Mountain Goats.  Two of the best albums I own are  The Sunset Tree and Heretic Pride.  Actually, The Mountain Goats is basically a one-man operation.  Singer-songwriter John Darnielle is The Mountain Goats (similar to how Conor Oberst is Bright Eyes and Guided By [...]

My anniversary was yesterday.  We’ve been married for 11 years.  I spend a fair amount of time looking for new music that my wife will like.  At the five year mark, I made a double album mix tape (actually, CD) for her.  Here’s the playlist:
DATING 1993-1998
I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You - UB40
Under [...]

Three bands I’ve been listening to recently have been pushing 80s and 90s nostalgia buttons for me.  Don’t get me wrong - I’m thoroughly enjoying each of these albums on their own merits, but I just can’t shake the similarities I hear between them and other artists.  Anyway, consider that a preface to these short [...]

Spoilers follow.  Be warned.
Another day is over.  I made it through another 24 hours.  Actually, I’ve now made it through 168 hours of Jack Bauer’s life (or 170 if you include the 2-hour movie from last fall).  And apparently, Jack is going to make it through as well.
Ever since the first season shocker of an [...]

Paul Auster and I have a history together.  It’s not much of a history and I’m sure that memories of it are essentially only archived by me, but nonetheless I thought I should let you know as I write this post, particularly when I mention that I’m not sure that I liked his book.
From the [...]

Because I am incredibly anal, more than a touch obsessive-compulsive and I generally just like stats, I went through my Ipod to figure out which bands/artists had the greatest representation among the nearly 5000 songs.  Here’s what I found:

R.E.M. - 149 songs
Dave Matthews - 107 songs
U2 - 64 songs
Indigo Girls - 48 songs
Counting Crows - [...]

My seven-year-old son likes the song Given Up by Linkin Park.  It’s a loud song, which is much of the appeal, and you basically have to scream at the top of your lungs to sing along, which is the rest of its charm.  So I put it on an Ipod mix for my kids.
At this [...]

I’m just going to say it.  At the end of the movie Babe, I tear up.  Every time.  I don’t cry exactly.  I’m not a big one for crying.  But I definitely get watery when Mr. Hoggett and Babe have just proven everyone wrong at the herding contest and renewed their deep faith  in each [...]

I’m planning on downloading Dave Matthews’ latest album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, out of nostalgia.  I bought their last album, Stand Up,  out of guilt.  I felt bad that I had essentially abandoned a band I used to really pay attention to, that truly factored into a large part of my personal history.  [...]