Harold Ramis: Empathy for the Rebel (One Year Later)
Sean MurphyConsider this: a world without Animal House. Or Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. I can’t fathom how much less happy my childhood would have been without any one of…
Perfection Turns 41 (Revisited)
Thanks to AMC, I'm reminded that The Godfather Part II turns 35 (edit: 41) this year. (And they should know, they show it on a bi-weekly loop.) I'm not especially…
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and Me (Revisited)
And the Oscar goes to... Who cares? Okay, okay: I'll resist the urge to be a sourpuss and let it suffice that I express my indifference to the pompous and…
Do You Believe in Miracles? (Revisited)
On Feb. 22, 1980, in a stunning upset, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-to-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the…
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and…Perfect? (Revisited)
It’s always crucial, when talking trends—musical or otherwise—to contextualize the times and remember that wardrobe malfunctions, chemical excess and unspeakable atrocities like porn-star mustaches never exist within a vacuum. To…
A Portrait of the Boss As a Young Man: On Bruce Springsteen’s First Seven Albums
There is one key question that arises whenever a new box set of previously-available material is released: is it necessary? With Bruce Springsteen’s eight-disc The Album Collection Vol. 1: 1973-1984,…
Art vs. Life and Death, Again (Revisited)
Wow, look at the New York Times, today, on the complicated legacy of Roberto Bolano, here. Money quote(s): Few writers are more acclaimed right now than the Chilean novelist Roberto…
Art vs. Life and Death, cont’d (Revisited)
Here's the thing: one wonders how many of these artistic types are producing anything worthwhile? How many worthwhile artists do you run into who are even comfortable talking about the…
Art vs. Life and Death (Revisited)
Subj: art Date: 11/28/98 12:55:40 PM Eastern Standard Time From: BULLMURPH To: BULLMURPH Question: If artists are inherently not normal, but the goal of analysis is more or less to…
Whitney Houston and the Wages of Fame (Revisited)
Sadly, only the most optimistic or naive observers did not see this coming. Indeed, it is fair, if harsh, to wonder how it took so long. I make it a…