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PopSmarts: This Summer I Hear the Drumming
Last week saw the anniversary of one of the most horrific events in American history, the shootings of four unarmed college students by National Guardsmen on the campus of Ohio’s Kent State University. Four
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PopSmarts: Looking for God in “Toy Story”
It’s not a revelation to anyone, anymore, to point out that Hollywood is no longer in the business of original ideas. It takes a great deal of money to make and market a movie
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PopSmarts: Going Clear with William Burroughs
The works of William S. Burroughs are often lumped in with the Beat school; but although he was friendly with leading figures in the movement, his works were far more dark and paranoid than
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Keep It To Yourself: The Writing On The Wall
So I’m standing on the 7th Avenue subway platform in lower Manhattan, circa 1983. Two knuckleheads are discussing a picture of a baby in a circle. The primitive image is drawn in white chalk on
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PopSmarts: The Judas Gospels
And so we come, by the turning of the year, to the end of Shrovetide and the beginning of the Christian liturgical calendar. When I was a choir director, these three days of Easter
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PopSmarts: Damned By Dawn!
It’s coming on St. Patrick’s Day now. That’s when all the amateur Irishmen come out for a night on the piss and an annual flirtation with Celtic folk music. In particular, the Pogues will
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PopSmarts: The Camera Always Lies
I’ve always been a know-it-all. I was the kid who actually did read the encyclopedia for fun, and I carried my reputation as a fount of useless knowledge into adulthood and into the workplace.
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The Popdose Interview: Brandon Schott Is A Man On (Many) Missions
Independent musician Brandon Schott is using his talents in an unexpected way -- to fight cancer
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Scales Of Justice: Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Does Taylor Swift's song have the same weight as Gloria Gaynor's
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Book Review: “Profiles in Courageousness” by Rep. Jack Kimble
Political satire is usually pretty lead-footed. It’s hard to do well, with the result usually falling into the realm of smug, obvious, and overwhelmingly direct (Capitol Steps), or fear-mongering and overwrought (Bob Roberts). It
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