Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Snakes, Meat, Sex
Unforgivable is the title of a new book that looks back on the life and works of pioneering performance artist Carolee Schneeman. I found out about the book from an article I flipped into our Flipboard magazine the other night. Here’s a bit from The Guardian… Don’t bring your underaged children or grandchildren. Don’t bring [...]
Wild Horses
I already posted about Patti Smith’s debut album, Horses, turning 40 this year. I noted that I hadn’t seen much news about it, but notices have recently started popping up, and I’m glad to see that the year won’t pass without more light being held up to this seminal song cycle which begins with the [...]
Return To Sender
I know we’re bearing down on the jolliest celebrations of the holiday season, but I don’t seem to be able to free myself from these diabolical movie posts — it’s like Halloween is trying to take over Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all at once! I think that’s already a movie starring a skeletal Santa [...]
Seeing Colors
Spike Lee’s controversial new film, Chi-Raq shines a spotlight on the out of control gang violence in Chicago. In 1988, Dennis Hopper similarly pointed a camera at the gang violence in his own Los Angeles backyard. Hopper’s film Colors was a gritty-for-the-time cop drama starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn, but its most important contribution [...]
Happy Buckday
Today we celebrate the long strange life of actor, writer and director Buck Henry whose contributions to Saturday Night Live and scripting of The Graduate were crucial contributions to the countercultural voice that paved the way for the best of today’s contemporary comedy. Buck is 85 on December 9. Here he is discussing his twisted, [...]
Losing Lennon
On December 8, 1980 John Lennon was shot dead in New York. Here’s The Day John Lennon Died… Stay Awake! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel where I archive all of the videos I curate at Insomnia. Click here to check out more Music posts
Tom Waits Day
This December 7 we celebrate the 66th birthday of Tom Waits. Waits anachronistic, early persona and music mixed equal parts Lord Buckley, Louis Armstrong, Jack Kerouac and Frank Sinatra. I love the early, piano-centric albums and Small Change is a masterpiece. That said, it’s the second wave of Waits’s career, when he introduces Howlin’ Wolf, [...]
Fred’s Dead
In Chicago, on December 4, 1969 police murdered Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. Here’s The Murder of Fred Hampton… Stay Awake! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel where I archive all of the videos I curate at Insomnia. Click here to check out more Counter Culture posts.
Pryor’s Place
I posted a notice about Richard Pryor’s birthday to my Facebook page and got enough action on it that it seemed more attention was due for the clown prince’s special day. Pryor would have been 75 this week (born December 1, 1940). Pryor started his career modelling himself on the clean style of Bill Cosby, [...]
Robinson Remembers
I’ve been obsessing over Withnail & I lately. I think it’s because I’m hoping to get Bruce Robinson’s new book about the Jack the Ripper murders for Christmas. Turns out the writer/director of that great cult film is also a vintage crime researcher who counts many screen credits that might come as a surprise: he [...]
