blog riley

SNAPPY HEADLINE Paper Thin Walls, with links to Douglas Wolk's 2006 double-disc mix. … [Read more...]

Rosenbaum in the NY Observer: Holocaust denial is a particularly insidious evil. It was almost painful to read The Times’ earnest struggle to report on the Iranian Holocaust-deniers’ conference in anticipation of its opening on Dec. 11. It will be fascinating to see how the rest of the media … [Read more...]

SITE OF THE WEEK indexed LEAD OF THE WEEK SENTENCE OF THE WEEK PHOTO OF THE WEEK … [Read more...]

Is it a coincidence that two of the best dramas on TV are savage critiques of medical culture? ER thrives in its 13nth season, even if it errs on the side of cheap laughs, disaster blowouts and sentimentality. Besides taking the most prized advertising eyeballs to Africa, it boasts complicated, … [Read more...]

NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE Anyone else toss their NYTimes across the room twice in one week when Rummy was prominently displayed above the fold? First he threw out a ceremonial football at the Army-Navy game. Then he held his hand to his chest, all choked up, saying bye to the Pentagon staff. Can you … [Read more...]

(Boston) Several giant supersquids are on track to hit Boston harbor this coming Monday, December 11, in honor of a terrestrial pagan ritual. The scientific names given these sprawling herbivores, who swam all the way from Scotland, include Fats, Wills, Buddy, and Graham. Go to this web page for a … [Read more...]

So, if you had to guess based on last night's show, is Aaron Sorkin Protestant or Jewish? SKL says Protestant, since Jews already know all that abstruse Christian arcanae. (Matthew Perry sure ain't Jewish.) SKL thinks the problem is direction, too many overplayed expressions, telegraphed emotions, … [Read more...]

Another barometer of the press losing its head under Bush came when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down last year. The NYTimes lauded her as an essential centrist, a fine judicial mind who balanced her opinions and offset in Scalia and Thomas. At 75, few mentioned her reasons for her retirement … [Read more...]

CHARGE! WE HAVE A PULSE! The roaring return of TV's best show was all but written off before the season began, though some howlers linger: Will Sam ever deal with her murder of HER SON'S FATHER? Will Luka ever deal with the guy he MURDERED on the waterfront "protecting" Abby during their first … [Read more...]

Unsung EMI engineers gather at the legendary studios to celebrate a new book about their accomplishments By Tim Riley ABBEY ROAD REUNION or All Together Now THINGS WE DID YESTERDAY SUBHEAD: Unsung EMI engineers gather at the legendary studios to celebrate a new book about their … [Read more...]

JUSTIN COBER-LAKE IN POPMATTERS Yikes: This is dated almost a year ago. So do I circle back and redress his weirdly regressive argument that "Be My Baby" was "driven by the sonics and fantasies of a male that benefited the bank accounts of those already in charge..."? … [Read more...]

FROM COLORADO SPRINGS, AIR FORCE CITY … [Read more...]

NOT TO BE KILLED New Joe Strummer biography by Chris Salesicz just out in UK from HarperCollins, FSG will release it stateside next spring... But it's already gettings raves from the Times and Guardian, and I'm gonna get me a copy when I head over November 7. … [Read more...]

BRUSH WITH FAME My sister texted me about being behind Steven Colbert in a rental car line last week, asking what she should say. Naturally, I knew exactly how to handle it: 1) Hey I loved you in 40-YEAR-OLD-VIRGIN! 2) Your show's great but give the telethon a rest! 3) Hey it's you! Is it true … [Read more...]

No decent thoughtful reviews of Studio 60 yet, but since Sorkin's morphed into pure brand, a pure product of the medium that's his subject, a revolving mirror's not much more interesting than a revolving door. Sarah Paulson was that Deadwood creampuff, and she's oh so fetching but the concept is … [Read more...]