Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Let’s Dance at 35
I was traveling in the West last week when I came across this article about music producer Nile Rodgers, David Bowie and their classic 1980s project Let’s Dance. Bowie’s birthday was on January 8 — the singer-songwriter would have been 71 — and Rodgers marked the occasion by unearthing an unreleased demo version of the [...]
Kubrick & The Craft
Stanley Kubrick is a giant among filmmakers and cinema fans for his excruciating attention to detail, the stylized performances he evokes, and the sheer scope of outrageously ambitious projects like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Barry Lyndon. The director’s 1999 film, Eyes Wide Shut, closed-out both the 20th century and Kubrick’s career as the filmmaker [...]
Egypt’s Iron Throne
When we look back on the ancient past we are forced to parse through the clues we find in long lost artifacts, arts and writings. And even when science gives us fantastic instruments for peering into the secrets of the age-old we are often left to speculate and interpret before reaching for conclusions that may [...]
Madame Mars
I’ve been pretty preoccupied posting about music lately and I haven’t touched on anything truly diabolical or bizarre since the release of the JFK files back in November. Luckily, there seems to be no end to tales of the otherworldly and just this weekend I stumbled across a story about a woman I’d never heard [...]
Cassette Cobain
In the early 1990′s Nirvana made a massive impact on popular music, and the band’s influence seems even more impressive when remembering that they only released three studio albums. Of course, like most artists, their official output is only part of the story of the band’s production. And fans like me are always on the [...]
Darkness at 40
It’s a new year with a number of birthdays, anniversaries and notable dates to ponder. Yesterday we celebrated Elvis Presley’s birthday and today we’re noting that Bruce Springsteen’s 1978 guitar opus, Darkness on the Edge of Town, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2018. There will likely be more noise about the album when its [...]
A King is Born
Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. Here’s Kurt Russell as The King in John Carpenter’s 1979 made-for-TV-movie, Elvis. As I remember, this is the end of the opening scene, before we flashback to Elvis’ childhood in Mississippi. Celebrate the birth of rock ‘n’ roll by watching TV Elvis shoot a hotel television… Please [...]
Video Killed The Bard
Came across this lollipop culture candy the other day and wanted to share here. I hope the new year is as absurd and unexpected as this. Here’s the set-up from Open Culture… When it comes to music however, 80s retro tends to confine themselves to early hip and hop and electro, the synthpop of Gary [...]
Death/Glory/Strummer
Joe Strummer died ifteen years ago, on December 22, 2002. Here’s The Clash with “Death or Glory.” And here’s to a little of each… Please subscribe to my YouTube channel where I archive all of the videos I curate at Insomnia. Click here to check out more occult posts.
Salivation Nation
Feeling a bit lost in the desert recently but not sure if I’m Christ in the desert or just a fisherman starving in a shanty, but it’s been nothing but Willem Dafoe weather around here, and even though my blog can’t keep its senses together it’s insisting upon itself. Here’s another very odd entry that [...]
