Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Kill Me A Son
Here’s a great documentary from the BBC’s Arena program. “Tales of Rock ‘N’ Roll – Highway 61 Revisited” maps-out the iconic American highway while illuminating Bob Dylan’s rock masterpiece which turns 50 this year. Critics often hear Blonde On Blonde as Dylan’s greatest, but I’d pick this one over that one. See for yourself… Stay [...]
Anderson/Burroughs
In the 1970′s few women were allowed in William Burroughs’ clique of male friends and colleagues. I’ve seen lots of lovely pictures of Burroughs with Patti Smith and I’ve read that she had a crush on the writer. According to this new BBC program, another woman who had access to The Bunker – as Burroughs’ [...]
Rothko Conspiracy
I’ve been reading a new book on abstract expressionism that I’m planning to review in an upcoming post. That and a second viewing of a television program episode about Mark Rothko’s last paintings has me thinking a lot about that great painter and his suicide. In 1983 the PBS series American Playhouse dramatized Rothko’s bloody [...]
Sounds of Scientology
Religion is a lot of things, but most obviously we can distinguish one sect, order, school or institution from another through their trappings: robes, candles, books, paintings, statues, gestures, poses and music. Music is central to faiths all over the world – songs are emissaries of religious stories, time capsules of historical events and they [...]
Becoming Stones
Felt like taking a break from the horror postings to share a new Rolling Stones documentary that just popped up on YouTube. The Under Review documentaries feature some of the biggest names in music criticism in their career spanning investigations. There are a number of Under Review chapters on the Rolling Stones, and here the [...]
Creepy Kubrick
Earlier this year, Indiewire posted a five-part, three hour documentary covering the career of the late, great Stanley Kubrick. Here’s their introduction to this fantastic project… For the past little while, the folks at The Directors Series have been putting together an extensive, detailed look Kubrick’s career in a series of video essays, which is [...]
Look Now
Trying to stick to all spooky posts this month, here’s a look at one of my favorite scary films. For me, Halloween means watching chilling movies and this one is a must-see classic of visionary, supernatural horror. Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now explores the otherworldly experiences of a mother and a father grieving the loss [...]
Finding Spyder
After James Dean died in his tragic autumn car wreck six decades ago, the wreckage of his Porsche Spyder toured the country as a traffic safety promotion. Then, it disappeared. Here’s a Northwest Herald story about a new leads on the Porsche’s final resting place… VOLO – Sixty years after the Sept. 30, 1955, crash [...]
No Poe
It’s appropriate that during the month of Halloween we’re also remembering the death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7th in 1849. But, just like one of Poe’s own detective thrillers, fans of the pioneering author are still wondering about Poe’s demise. Exotic theories abound, but my favorite explanation emerged in the 1990s: it illuminated [...]
