These days baby boomers, especially women, are in something of a panic. Demographically, professionally, financially and sociologically, theyÁ¢€™ve been dominating American culture for nearly half a century now, while succeeding…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
On the day we celebrated my daughter CatieÁ¢€â„¢s first birthday, my good friend Robert Simonson came out to the suburbs for the party and marveled at the mountain of toys…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
sitÁ¢€¢com n. Informal A situation comedy; a television comedy series involving a group of regular characters in everyday situations, often set in the home and/or workplace For three seasons, Weeds…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
When I worked at Billboard in the mid-Á¢€â„¢90s, a stroll past dance editor Larry FlickÁ¢€â„¢s cubicle was a necessity — he sat near the door — as well as an…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
The stifling heatwave that gripped southern California for a full week blew away just in time for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss to fill L.A.Á¢€™s Greek Theatre with music and…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Can you feel it? I feel it. You know what IÁ¢€â„¢m talking about Á¢€” that sudden jolt, that shock that has surged through the American consciousness over the past three…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
If youÁ¢€â„¢ve watched the TV news carefully this week, you may have noticed that somewhere amidst the all-Russert-all-the-time lovefest there were other events taking place Á¢€” some of which might…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
This was a tough weekend for political junkies Á¢€” particularly those whose televisions generally find themselves tuned to NBC-related channels. Tim RussertÁ¢€â„¢s death on Friday at the far-too-young age of…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Yesterday afternoon I was shopping around for a new mattress for my sonÁ¢€â„¢s bedroom, and I happened upon a brand-new AmericaÁ¢€â„¢s Mattress outlet in my town with a flashy Á¢€Å“Grand…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Last week in this space, I described a single by the Canadian rock band Prism as Á¢€Å“sounding like an early-Á¢€™80s Cliff Richard single (not that thereÁ¢€™s anything wrong with that).Á¢€…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
15. His trash-talking during high school basketball games inspired White Men CanÁ¢€â„¢t Jump 14. Until 2004, his last name was X 13. His actual grandmother? Oprah 12. HeÁ¢€â„¢ll only put…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Actually, itÁ¢€™s only Volume 2, but whoÁ¢€™s counting? This is an all-Canadian edition of my occasional series sorting through the wreckage of a vinyl collection that focused heavily on minor…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
The strange case of Joe Lieberman just gets curiouser and curiouser. Had things gone slightly different in Florida eight years ago, the current Á¢€Å“IndependentÁ¢€ senator from Connecticut might be wrapping…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Last week, Republicans half a world apart (in more ways than one) showed us the difference between rational, reasoned political thought and unthinking absolutism. In Israel, on the 60th anniversary…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
The difference between journalism and history is, of course, time and perspective Á¢€” as IÁ¢€™ve been reminded over the last few months, as IÁ¢€™ve presumptuously taken it upon myself to…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
It happened again last night, a sight that many liberals have come to love. Veins a-poppinÁ¢€â„¢, eyes a-bulginÁ¢€â„¢, ears a-steaminÁ¢€â„¢, limbs a-twitchinÁ¢€â„¢, looking generally like his head was about to…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Over the past several months IÁ¢€™ve been engaged in a Vision Quest on this tiny slice of the Internet, attempting to locate and suitably disparage the worst Number One songs…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure to see Standard Operating Procedure, the new Errol Morris documentary about the goings-on at Abu Ghraib. I had already seen Taxi to the…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
Man, IÁ¢€™ve got a headache. Maybe itÁ¢€™s a hangover from the most recent installment in this series, when so many readers joined me in sifting through the effluvial of the…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Some fascinating new polling data has surfaced on the most intriguing political battle of our time. HarvardÁ¢€â„¢s Institute of Politics conducted an online survey of the showsÁ¢€â„¢ key demographic Á¢€”…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
A few weeks ago in this space, I located the origin of my personal anglophilia in the syndicated radio show Rock Over London, which introduced Americans to Á¢€Ëœ80s-era British acts…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
As the Democratic primary campaign slogs onward to Indiana and North Carolina this week, Hillary Clinton Á¢€” despite her still-overwhelming deficits in votes, delegates and cash Á¢€” is reveling in…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Like a lot of music buyers back in the late Á¢€™70s and early Á¢€™80s Á¢€” a pre-Compact Disc era when recession, market oversaturation, aversion to disco, and other factors sent…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
One year ago today, my hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia, came face to face with a horror few American towns have had the misfortune of witnessing. To mark this somber anniversary…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Something’s come over me as I’ve contemplated this, the fourth edition of what promises to be a six-part series (the invention of time travel seeming unlikely before I conclude, sometime…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
I know IÁ¢€â„¢m a few days late, but may I please be the one who gets to pry the gun from his cold, dead hands? Forgive me if I decline…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Having spent the last two columns riffing on the careers of Robbie Williams and Texas, two acts that sped my acclimation to the U.K. during my familyÁ¢€â„¢s late-Á¢€â„¢90s stint as…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
In our current age of hyper-partisan combat and contempt Á¢€” to which I have proven myself at least as susceptible as my fellow fifth-rate political blatherers Á¢€” it sure does…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Imagine a band with a sultry female singer, an impressive new-wave pedigree, a sound that expertly blends Motown soul with contemporary pop/rock, and oodles of international success over more than…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Á¢€Å“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.Á¢€ — Abraham Lincoln Tuesday evening…