Category: Culture
My Observations from Day One of Broccoli City Festival
Note: I did not go to the second day of Broccoli City Fest because the rainforest like conditions from Day 1 prevented me from purchasing day two tickets, respectfully (Justin La Boy voice). 1. Larry June is a star. To ...
Can Wet Leg and Jack White Make Indie Rock Fun Again?
For the better part of a decade, indie rock has been ruled by sad boys and sad girls. It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint when exactly the gloomy and the morose took hold of the genre – after all, a ...
What The Dropout Tells Us About Our Tech Obsessions
In a recent interview with Vulture to promote his new book The Nineties, cultural critic Chuck Klosterman refers to the titular time frame as “the last decade with a fully formed and recognizable culture of its own,” arguing that “it’s ...
What I’ve Been Listening To: Hurray for the Riff Raff, Cloakroom, and Part 5 of the Best Albums of 2021
In this week’s column, I look at two albums that may have slipped under your radar, and finally finish up my countdown of the Best Albums of 2021. The New Stuff: LIFE ON EARTH – Hurray for the Riff Raff ...
The Postrider’s 2022 Grammy Preview
Every year I preview the Grammys and every year, it feels a little more pointless. For all of the consternation about the Oscars not nominating enough blockbusters, it can’t be said enough how often the Grammys try to put over ...
Politics Express: “Don’t Say Gay” and Disney
Politics Editor Lars Emerson and Editor-in-Chief Michael Lovito are joined by the hosts of the With A Gay Twist podcast, Mason Dixon and Zachary Pen, to discuss the recent signing of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. In a ...
The Postrider’s 2022 Oscars Preview and Predictions
In 2019, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was in crisis. The Academy Awards, a television event – that at its peak attracted a 43.40 Nielsen household share – was coming off of a series that had attracted ...
Pony Express: The 94th Academy Awards
This Sunday, the eyes of the world will be trained on the 94th Academy Awards… at least, the Academy hopes they will be. After negotiations with ABC, the the Academy has agreed to present 8 of its 23 before the ...
What I’ve Been Listening To: Black Country, New Road, Luna Li, and Part 4 of the Best of 2021
In this week’s column, I discuss the (second) best-reviewed album of the year, a pair of promising young singer/guitarists, and march on with my Best Albums of 2021 list. The New Stuff: Ants from Up There – Black Country, New ...
The Honesty of Abbott Elementary
When I first heard about the show, Abbot Elementary, I could not help but attach to it the stigma of network TV comedies that were not as bold or funny as their premium channel counterparts like Insecure or Barry. But ...
Pony Express: The Batman
Michael, Louis, and Alex discuss The Batman, the latest film entry for the caped crusader and a fascinating new direction for the superhero franchise.
The New York Times’ Big Thief Blindspot
If you’ve been following the wider musical discourse over the past month – and if you’ve been reading my What I’ve Been Listening To column – you’ve probably at least heard of Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, ...
What I’ve Been Listening To: Big Thief, Mitski, and Part 3 of the Best of 2021
In this week’s installment of the column we review a frontrunner for album of the year, new releases from two indie rock icons, and roll on with our countdown of the best albums of 2021. The New Stuff: Dragon New ...
Pony Express: Studio 666
Michael and Louis watched the Foo Fighters’ horror movie so you don’t have to.
Honey on a Spoon: A Waxahatchee Live Review
I bought tickets to see Waxahatche perform in support of their most recent album, 2020’s Saint Cloud, nearly two years before I actually got to go to the show. They were scheduled to play Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club on April ...
All 32 NFL Logos — Ranked
A few years ago, inspired by a trip to the baseball obsessed city of Cincinnati, I ranked all 30 primary MLB logos. To celebrate the Super Bowl and what’s been a thrilling postseason thus far, I’ve decided to do the ...
What I’ve Been Listening To: The Weeknd, Jana Horn, and Best of 2021 Part 2
In this week’s column, we take a look at one of the most talked about albums of the year, an eccentric release from last year, and Part 2 of our Top 20 Albums of 2021. The New Stuff: Dawn FM ...
Pony Express: Search Party Season 5
Michael, Lars, and Louis review the bizarre fifth season of HBO’s sleeper hit Search Party.
Hulu’s Dopesick Shows How the Sacklers Built an Empire of Pain
“We have to use the terms pain and pain management,” says Richard Sackler in Dopesick. The quote illustrates how Purdue Pharma used these terms as linguistic warfare and infiltrated the American psyche during the inception of the generation altering drug ...
What I’ve Been Listening To: Earl Sweatshirt, Bleachers, and Part 1 of the Top 20 Albums of 2021
What I Listened to This Week returns not only with a review of one new (and new-ish) album, but also with part one of my countdown of the top 20 albums of 2021. Read my first two reviews, and you’ll ...
The Other Two Strikes a Balance Between Sunniness and Cynicism
Judging by our TV shows, there are approximately two different ways to look at the world. The first, exemplified by prestige-y, tragicomic series like Succession and Search Party, is a deeply cynical one, where characters are expected to treat their ...
Pony Express: 2021 Year in Review
Michael, Lars and Louis discuss their favorite movies, TV, music, and more of 2021.