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- “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- “Literature is the written expression of revolt against expected things.” Happy Birthday to the least happy man ever, Thomas Hardy
- “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
- “I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
- “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
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- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
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- Lyrie on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- Maddy on “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Lyrie on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- Donn Harris on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
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Tag Archives: Sam Cooke
“Voices ought not be measured by how pretty they are. Instead they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.” — Sam Cooke
It’s his birthday today. I highly recommend Peter Guralnick’s thoughtful and informative biography of Sam Cooke, Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke, which gives a good sense of the revolution of his career. Moving from gospel, where he made … Continue reading
“Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.” — Little Richard
It’s his birthday today. One of the best documentaries of the year is Lisa Cortes’ Little Richard: I Am Everything, which I had the pleasure of reviewing for Ebert. Little Richard. Live performance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, 1963. … Continue reading
Recommended: Biographies
For starters: My recommended Fiction books My recommended Non-Fiction books BIOGRAPHIES: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, by Joseph Ellis I’ve written a lot about Joseph Ellis’ work here. While I love David McCullough’s work so much, Ellis is … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Founding Fathers, James Joyce, Theatre, writers
Tagged A. Scott Berg, Abigail Adams, Alexander Hamilton, American Sphinx, Benjamin Franklin, Biography, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Lindbergh, Charlotte Bronte, David McCullough, Dean Martin, Edie Sedgwick, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ellen Terry, Elvis Presley, Emily Bronte, George Washington, Henry Irving, His Excellency, Howard Hawks, Howard Hughes, James Dean, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Adams, John Wayne, Joseph Cornell, Joseph Ellis, Marlon Brando, Mitford sisters, Montgomery Clift, Nick Tosches, Nureyev, Orson Welles, Oscar Wilde, Patricia Bosworth, Patricia Highsmith, Richard Ellmann, Ron Chernow, Sam Cooke, Simon Callow, Tennessee Williams, Thomas Jefferson, Truman Capote, W.B. Yeats, Zelda Fitzgerald
9 Comments
Autumnal iPod Shuffle
“Family Tradition” – Hank Williams, Jr. Bitter! It’s such a great “fuck you” to Nashville country-music prudes and a great wielding of his autobiography as a weapon: “If I get stoned and sing all night long, it’s a family tradition.” … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, B.B. King, Bleu, Bob Dylan, Brendan Benson, Charlie Rich, Doris Day, Eddie Cochran, ELO, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Eric Church, Etta James, Glee, Huey Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Judy Garland, Link Wray, Little Richard, Liz Phair, Michael Jackson, Mike Viola, Pat McCurdy, Queen, Robbie Williams, Rufus Wainwright, Sam Cooke, shuffle, Sinéad O'Connor, The Everly Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Wanda Jackson
16 Comments
Autumnal iPod Shuffle
Been a while since I’ve done one of these. I am working 3, 4 jobs and my writing career has morphed into a semi-regular schedule of work – expected and unexpected – but I will NEVER give up this blog. … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Bob Dylan, Brenda Lee, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, Chuck Berry, ELO, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Etta James, Foo Fighters, Frank Sinatra, Glee, Green Day, Huey Lewis, Indigo Girls, Jerry Lee Lewis, Liz Phair, Marilyn Monroe, Mike Viola, Robbie Williams, Sam Cooke, shuffle, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings
17 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2016
I look at this and I wonder why I always feel like I haven’t done jack-squat. Or, at the very least, I could do more. Well, I always can do more. Regardless, here are links to some of the things … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, On This Day, Personal, RIP
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Baz Luhrmann, Buddy Holly, Camille Paglia, Carrie Fisher, Carroll Baker, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Chantal Akerman, Compulsion, David Bowie, Dean Stockwell, Dolly Parton, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Eminem, friends, Gena Rowlands, George Stevens, Gilda, Isabelle Huppert, James Dean, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, July and Half of August, Katherine Dunn, Langston Hughes, Little Richard, Marion Cotillard, Marlon Brando, Matthias Schoenaerts, Merle Haggard, Mia Hansen-Løve, Miriam Hopkins, Patricia Highsmith, Rebecca Hall, Richard Linklater, Rocky, Sam Cooke, Something Wild, Stephen King, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sylvester Stallone, Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby, Wanda Jackson, William Shakespeare, women directors, year in writing, Zac Efron
6 Comments
Summer Shuffle
… over a two-week period where I never stopped running around. Still no sign of things slowing down. Out to LA on Thursday for only three days. A whirlwind. Here’s the music that’s been in my ears over the last … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, Brenda Lee, Brendan Benson, Charlie Rich, Doris Day, Elvis Presley, Everclear, family, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Joan Jett, Johnny Cash, Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz, Link Wray, Little Richard, Mike Viola, Nirvana, Pat McCurdy, Queen, Ricky Nelson, Robbie Williams, Sam Cooke, Supernatural, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Waylon Jennings
36 Comments