Jon Cummings: Why am I so bummed that the debate season is over? Please, Barack, take McCain up on his pleas for a dozen more town halls! I know, I…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
I may be a bit slow on the uptake these days when it comes to television commercials — I don’t watch much live TV anymore, what with the TiVo and…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Make no mistake: The new right-wing comedy, An American Carol, is just as bad as you imagine it to be, if not worse. Even as I walked into the theater…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Bill MaherÁ¢€â„¢s aversion to religion is well documented, thanks to his regular, tangential diatribes on Real Time and the occasional scripted bit in his Á¢€Å“New RulesÁ¢€ segments. This weekend, however,…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Jon Cummings: My junior year at college I took a creative writing class in which all the students received copies of each otherÁ¢€â„¢s short stories and offered critiques in a…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
What a confluence of events this week! A few hours after this column posts, Sarah Palin takes the stage for what might turn out to be her one unscripted, real-time…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
This past Sunday, in a coordinated effort to flout a federal law banning political endorsements from the pulpit, 33 evangelical and fundamentalist pastors in 22 states used their sermons either…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Once again John McCain has chosen chaos over constancy as his presidential campaign Á¢€¦ Oops, I forgot: McCain currently doesnÁ¢€â„¢t have a presidential campaign. ItÁ¢€â„¢s been Á¢€Å“suspended,Á¢€ even as he…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Among the many types of radio star that video killed were what I like to call the Faceless Narcissists Á¢€” those acts of the pre-MTV era who felt compelled to…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
John McCain and Sarah Palin enjoy a light moment on the campaign trail, between feedings. From yesterday’s New York Times: “Laura Chase, the campaign manager during Ms. Palin’s first run…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Though my head is exploding over the lunacy of John McCainÁ¢€â„¢s increasingly cowardly and dishonorable presidential campaign, it seems imperative that I join the rest of the political culture in…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Dw.: Well, John McCain is in a pickle now, isn’t he? Last week he chose a running mate that would satisfy certain weak sectors of his ticket – the Christian…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Dw. Dunphy: Yes! I have been waiting for this all week: Palin Time! Do you think they’ll do the Dead Parrot sketch? Maybe even … the Cheese Shop?! I can’t…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Amie Miriello, I Came Around (BellaSonic/Jive/Zomba) purchase this album (Amazon) The current boomlet of female singer-songwriters hasnÁ¢€â„¢t yet spawned a Lilith Fair revival, but you can just feel one coming…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Dw. Dunphy: I thought IÁ¢€â„¢d start things off tonight with a joke: So Á¢€¦ Judas, Benedict Arnold, and the dude from Raiders of the Lost Ark who gets the spikes…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
ItÁ¢€â„¢s hard to know exactly what to write in this space today, because as of this writing itÁ¢€â„¢s difficult to know what form this weekÁ¢€â„¢s Republican National Convention will take….
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Jon: Well, so much for the Á¢€Å“civic dutyÁ¢€ I believed would guilt the Popdose community into following the political conventions: Even my heretofore partner in blogging crime, Ted Asredagoo, abandoned…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Jon: Our frequent commenter Á¢€Å“ElaineÁ¢€ is eager for us to objectify Hillary tonight. Are we Á¢€Å“upÁ¢€ for it? Ted: IÁ¢€â„¢m gameÁ¢€¦ Jon: So, Mark Warner looks pretty good. I keep…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Jon Cummings: Welcome to the first installment in a Popdose political adventure that wonÁ¢€â„¢t require you (or us) to leave the computer! HereÁ¢€â„¢s my little secret, Ted: A few months…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
John McCain trotted out an oldie-but-a-goodie on Monday at the VFW convention Á¢€” proclaiming once again that, unlike a certain current president who allowed Osama bin Laden to give him…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Last weekÁ¢€â„¢s massive international celebration of Vinyl Record Day (wait Á¢€” you say that big party they showed on TV was about the Olympics?) reminded me of my teenage fascination…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia My apologies in advance for taking occasional license with the meter… Johnny Mac went down to Georgia, he was lookinÁ¢€â„¢…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
When the compact disc was introduced in the mid-Á¢€â„¢80s, one of its main selling points (along with allegedly superior digital sound) was its durability. Vinyl records, we all knew, could…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Sometime last night, or this morning, or next Tuesday (why canÁ¢€™t the Chinese operate on American time, like everybody else?), George Bush gave what he probably fancies as his Á¢€Å“tear…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Á¢€Å“Napoleon once said, when asked to explain the lack of great statesmen in the world, that to get power you need to display absolute pettiness. To exercise power, you need…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Rick Springfield is getting something of a career re-boot this week. Twenty-seven years after Á¢€Å“JessieÁ¢€™s GirlÁ¢€ and the Working Class Dog album made him one of the Á¢€™80sÁ¢€™ first superstars,…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
By now itÁ¢€™s a clichÁƒ©, though often a useful one, to allow a particular song to remind you of a certain time or place Á¢€” that summer fling at the…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Nearly lost amid the fantastic PR (so far) and blind luck of Barack ObamaÁ¢€â„¢s Middle East tour Á¢€” and the horror show that has been John McCainÁ¢€â„¢s pathetic, flailing response…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
One of my favorite Popdose experiences to date came in the wake of Part 9 in our colleague Dave SteedÁ¢€™s wonderful Á¢€Å“Bottom FeedersÁ¢€ series. He had identified his first CD…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
For four days now, the left side of the electorate has been scratching its collective head and asking itself, Á¢€Å“Why donÁ¢€™t I think this is funny?Á¢€ Of course, Á¢€Å“thisÁ¢€ is…