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Know Yourself: Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ music video is about us

0 comments by on 10/21/2015

Drake has been the spirited quarterback of popular music for quite some time. While his contemporary Kendrick Lamar carves poetic justice into America’s poplar trees, and his elder statesman Kanye West adds volume to his endless cultural domain, Drake’s prolific production has permanently altered the sound of the time. His antepenultimate project Nothing Was The Same made him equal parts international […]

Where We Lie: True Detective, Season Two, ‘Omega Station’

0 comments by on 8/12/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on previous episodes of True Detective, season two, here.) In the end, True Detective wrapped its much maligned second season with a perfect metaphor. Thwarted by the cartel — whom he has affectionately referred to as “the Mexicans” over the duration of the season — Frank Semyon […]

Kill the Lights: True Detective, Season Two, ‘Black Maps and Motel Rooms’

0 comments by on 8/5/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on previous episodes of True Detective, season two, here.) In the wake of last week’s shuffling madness, I finally watched Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Unmistakably an influence on Nic Pizzolatto’s second season of True Detective, Kubrick’s colossal nightmare-fantasy — his final film — has been popping up online quite […]

In the Shuffling Madness: True Detective, Season Two, ‘Church in Ruins’

0 comments by on 7/27/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on previous episodes of True Detective, season two, here.) When True Detective is firing on all cylinders, it can be one of the most immersive television experiences we’ve ever had. Movie stars playing screwed-up characters; limitless photography exploring the depths of an unique American frontier — first the […]

Reality Comes a-Knockin’: True Detective, Season 2, Episode 5 – ‘Other Lives’

0 comments by on 7/21/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on previous episodes of True Detective, season two, here.) “Pain is inexhaustible,” Ray Velcoro speaks into he and his son’s digital recorder. “It’s only people who get exhausted.”  People — or, more specifically, some individuals with far-reaching digital platforms — have grown weary of True Detective this summer. In line with how Internet […]

Let’s Start Digging: True Detective, Season 2, Episode 4 – ‘Down Will Come’

0 comments by on 7/14/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on previous episodes of True Detective, season two, here.) Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige opens with a silent pan over dozens of black top hats discarded in the woods. Before we can ask ourselves what it is we think we’re seeing, Michael Caine juts in: “Are you watching closely?” Nolan […]

Riot shells, Ray Velcoro and the future of ‘True Detective’

0 comments by on 7/6/2015

(This post contains spoilers. You can read my thoughts on episode one and episode two of True Detective, season two.) Riot shells, the kind police use. That’s what brought us to this place. Somewhere between reality and the afterlife, Ray Velcoro finds himself trapped in a bar. It’s reminiscent of the one where he and […]

The History and Cultural Significance of Rappers Talking With Stephen Colbert

0 comments by on 7/3/2015

Over nine years of unprecedented comedic work, Stephen Colbert, the performer, became synonymous with a caricature of modern conservatism. Most people were in on the joke by the end — though holdouts remained. Colbert sharply satirized, among other things, the narrow focus of the conservative political agenda, and as a white male with traditional looks and unending charm, he was […]

Wake Up Call: Vince Vaughn comes alive in ‘True Detective,’ episode two

0 comments by on 6/30/2015

(This post contains spoilers. I’d highly recommend watching episode two BEFORE reading. You can read my thoughts on the first episode of True Detective, season two here.) At the spectacular Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, N.Y., on Sunday afternoon, my family and I went to see Rebel Without a Cause for $5. Spearheaded by the immortal James Dean, […]

President Obama on faith, getting old and gun violence with Marc Maron

0 comments by on 6/24/2015

Last Friday, President Barack Obama came to Marc Maron’s garage for an interview on the WTF podcast (the show ran Monday), days after the unspeakable tragedies in Charleston, S.C., and days before the Supreme Court determines the future of the Affordable Care Act — and, by extension, determines a large chunk of Obama’s legacy. Maron was unusually nervous […]

Don’t Go Hungry: ‘True Detective’ debuts predictably with more questions than answers

0 comments by on 6/22/2015

By refusing to emulate last year’s dorm room philosophy seminar of the same name, the opening installment of season two of HBO’s True Detective cemented just how removed the summer’s most anticipated drama is from its counterpart. The first go-around with True Detective was about creating binaries: Rust Cohle against Martin Hart. Man against woman. Good […]

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