Slowly but surely, the Academy Awards were addressing more aspects of the film industry in the flourishing sound paradigm, in spite of the pressure the Great Depression was bringing to bear on the country. The 5th Academy Awards — held on November 18, 1932 and honoring the films released between…

The Fleischer Studios were almost unparalleled in animation fidelity, gag-writing, and Pre-Code raunchiness in the early years of the sound era cartoon. Led by brothers Max and Dave, the studio would come to be best known for Betty Boop and Popeye. But the Fleischers had already made a name for…

Huddie Ledbetter had a difficult life, one that informed and begot his incredible musical career as Lead Belly. The folk and blues that Lead Belly practiced was anchored in a distinctly American tradition, brought to vibrant life by the man’s twelve-string guitar playing and powerful voice. Lead Belly was born…

Muse is one of those bands that I look back on with a mixed reaction. While I was never an uber-fan, I definitely listened to the alt/prog/electronic rock group with a frequency that I wouldn’t want to match today. And it is true that in their heyday, Muse delivered some…

I’ve come upon a startling revelation: a lot of people really hate director Jeff Baena’s movies. Perhaps best known as the long-time-boyfriend-turned-husband of Aubrey Plaza, the guy has turned out five indie-flavored comedy movies in the eight years since 2014. Plaza has starred in four of those five, and indeed…

Dive just far enough into the history of progressive folk music in this country and hopefully you’ll come across The Almanac Singers. This group of Communists and “fellow travelers” operated only for a short time and were inextricably tied to the politics of World War II, being active only from…

David Leitch exploded onto the directorial scene with JOHN WICK in 2014 and has since made a name for himself in action films left in its wake. Well, he exploded as an uncredited director; thanks to Directors Guild of America rules, he was listed as a producer and sole directorial…

This is the first in a series of pieces ranking the best albums of every year. This installment starts with the entire 1940s, the decade that began yielding the format we now expect music to be released in. As opposed to film, which is my foremost discipline of study and…

The music of Beyoncé, Bey, Queen B, Sasha Fierce, etc., looms large. From her days in Destiny’s Child (who I’ve written about before) to early solo success to Jay-Z marriage to childbirth and many, many more iconic and extensively covered career and life changes, Beyoncé has reigned as one of…